Family Birthday Dinner, Stuff I Ate and Some Art

Hey everyone! I hope that you are all doing well. We made it through another week. I'm so exhausted, I'm looking forward to just relaxing a bit this weekend. I'll finally be able to catch up on your posts. I'm so sorry that I've been absent, it's just been so much happening at the same time. On the plus side, I have a lot to share with you, including some new art that I've made.

I chose a Turkish restaurant for our family dinner for my birthday and got these amazing veggie kebabs with some green salad. It was so delicious, I love this meal so much.

For my birthday treats I got a Rocky Road bar and an Cookies n Cream whoopee cookie. I have been enjoying those for the past few days!

I don't know why I forgot about avocado toast but I did. I had some this week on sourdough bread with some strawberries and it was a quick and delicious breakfast!

There was a lot of quick snacky stuff going on because I've just been feeling off. I enjoyed these veggie chips so much!

We are getting into apple season and I loved my first honeycrisps of the season! I had a root canal done on a tooth a few weeks ago so I'm going to hold off on biting into an apple until I get the post and permanent filling so I cut this beauty up and brought it to work with me.

This is how I love my baked oatmeal! I will either heat it up and eat almost like a dessert or I'll add some almond milk and heat it and turn it back into regular oatmeal. Either way it's so damn good.

And now onto some art! I have been playing with inks and stamps lately and I am LOVING the aesthetic. This is very much me and my style and I'm going to be working on a lot of pieces like this to start selling!

I made a few pieces as little gifts as well. They were personalized for each recipient.

This piece is my favorite piece I've ever created. I love the message, the imagery, the colors and composition. I'm so proud of this piece and I think it really captures who I am as a human being.

This is just a close up of the sentiment and the fucking amazing moth. I love it so much,

So that's what I have for you today. I'll make sure to catch up on your blogs this weekend and I'll be back with a new post on Tuesday. Have a great weekend my friends 💚

Birthday Dinner at Little Fu's in Hewlett, NY

Hey everyone! I hope that you are all doing well. Thank you all so much for your sweet and supportive comments on my last post. My family member is home and doing ok. It was pretty serious and she is still recovering but she should be ok. It was a very stressful time but things are finally getting back to normal. Sunday was actually my birthday as well and I had such a great weekend with friends and family. I went to visit Doug's grave on Sunday because he had specifically said to me that he was looking forward to celebrating my birthday with me so I made sure to include him in my plans and honor that for him. It was incredibly emotional but I'm really glad that I did it.

On Saturday night I met up with some of my friends for an epic birthday dinner at Little Fu's in Hewlett, NY. It has quickly become one of my favorite restaurants and I was really excited to go back and try more dishes. My friends that I went with are all vegan and were up for ordering a bunch of stuff and sharing so that is what we did! I got to try tons of dishes and they were all so damn good. I took pictures of everything to share with you.

Up first we had some steamed veggie dumplings. The order comes with 8 but we had each taken one before I remembered to take a picture, ha. These were really good but they were typical dumplings.

We decided to get one chick'n dish, one "beef" dish, one tofu dish and some noodles.

This is the chick'n with cashews. It came with some delicious veggies and cashews and it was so so good. Definitely a great dish and something I would order again.

The "beef" dish we ordered was the Pepper Steak which came with green bell peppers and onion. As you know, I'm not a fan of bell peppers but I did try the "beef" and the onion and it was excellent. I wouldn't order this again just because a lot of it would go to waste since I don't eat peppers but it was definitely delicious. 

The tofu with mixed veggies was DELICIOUS. It didn't sound particularly exciting because you can get tofu with veggies at most places but this was so good! The veggies and tofu were perfectly cooked and it had a really great combination of veggies. I really enjoyed it and it is definitely something I would order again.

I know it sounds weird but even though I don't really eat a lot of pasta (think Italian food) I do LOVE noodles. When we decided on lo mein I was super excited because lo mein has always been a favorite of mine and this did not disappoint. It was delicious and also something I would order again!

This is my plate piled with tons of deliciousness. I was stuffed but it was amazing and I enjoyed every bite of it. Even better than the delicious food was the amazing company. I feel so blessed to have made so many wonderful friends through Doug but this group of ladies and I have a special bond and I really love how close we've grown. They made me feel really special for my birthday and I was so happy to be able to celebrate with them and I look forward to more fun times with them!

So that was my birthday dinner with friends Saturday night. I'll be back on Friday to share what I ate when I went out with my family on Sunday, my actual birthday, along with some stuff I've eaten throughout the week. I also have some more art to share with you so I'll make sure to share that on Friday as well.

I hope you all have a good week and I'll be back at some point this week to check in on your posts as well. I'm sorry I haven't been able to keep up but life has been crazy. Anyway, have a great week and I'll see you here on Friday 💚

Trader Joe's Haul and Some Meal Prep

Hey everyone. I hope you are well. Today's post is going to be quick. Things aren't great here. I have a family member in the hospital with a serious condition since Saturday so I've been pretty preoccupied and busy. I have a Trader Joe's haul and some meal prep to share but that's about it. I'm sorry I won't have time to catch up on your posts, I just need to focus on this family member when I'm not at work. I'm incredibly stressed out so I'm just going to do the best I can.

For produce I got some bananas, pears, nectarines, a tomato, and avocado, strawberries, butter lettuce, shredded cabbage, the Sesame Crunch chopped salad kit, and broccoli slaw.

For random stuff I got some tots, the chick'n tenders, soy creamer and almond milk.

For randomness I got some sourdough bread, veggie chips, inner peas, sunbutter cups and an espresso chocolate baton. I can't wait to try that.

For meal prep I made The Healthy Maven's Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal. The only changes I made was swapping out the walnuts for sliced almonds because that is what I had and adding chocolate chips.

I can assure you it tastes as good as it looks.

Trader Joe's had these adorable succulent skulls for $10. I didn't get one but I really wish I had. Oh well.

So that's all I have for you today. I'm probably not going to have a post on Friday because I just don't have the space in my head for it right now. I'll be back as soon as I can and hopefully all will be well. It seems like she is improving but they need to keep her there.

Anyway, thanks for stopping in and I'll be back as soon as I can. 💚

More Randomness

Hey everyone! I hope that you are well! It is Friday and we made it through another week (well, just about)! This week has been hectic again and my post today will reflect that. I have some very sad snacky type things to share. I wasn't really prepared this week and didn't really meal plan or prep so I was scrambling and it definitely taught me that I need to think about it in advance and get my life together, ha. I will be going grocery shopping this weekend and I will be planning and prepping so my meals should be so much better next week.

Anyway, here some random stuff I've been eating (mostly snacks).

One night toward the end of the week I was hungry, low on patience, ingredients and time so I made a delicious personal flatbread pizza and it was delicious. Just the comfort meal I wanted at that point.

I've been snacking on some delicious grapes as well. Fruit is seriously one of my favorite snacks.

I have some of these veggie straws in my desk in case I need an afternoon snack. I have an early lunch time so it's nice to have something around in case I get a little hungry later on.

I've been eating a banana with some almond butter for breakfast and have been enjoying it a lot. This one is a little green so I put it in a paper bag and it was good to go in the morning!

So there you have it. I am looking forward to regrouping over the weekend and getting some groceries and meal prepping. I will feel so much more confident going into my week if I am prepared and ready to go. I am also hoping to get a little art time in this weekend. It is my happy place and I've been missing it so hopefully I'll have some pieces to share with you next week.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 💚

Some Randomness!

Hey everyone, I hope you are well and that you had a nice weekend! Mine was nice but unfortunately flew by way too quickly. I'm still struggling to adjust to my new schedule and new life but I know it'll click and fall into place. For now I'm doing the best that I can. Which is why I have the most random post for you today, ha! I have a little meal prep, some random food I ate and also a new vegan beauty product that I am going to try. I thought it would be fun to share it all with you.

Up first is a vegan beauty product that I'm excited to try. I've been looking to try a new skin care routine (or a skin care routine in general, let's be honest) and I figured starting with a good cleanser was a perfect place to start. I wear makeup more often now thanks to the new job and my skin is such a disaster. I have really sensitive skin that is so red most of the time and it gets even more irritated by makeup remover and just makeup in general. It sucks because I like to give my skin a break but it's so red that I don't particularly want to do that during the week. Anyway, I used to use a cleanser called Fresh Farmacy from Lush but hadn't purchased it in a while. I was going to head over and get it again because I really liked it but decided to make sure they still had it online before heading in and saw the rating was SUPER LOW. It seems like they changed the formula and people HATE it. So I saved some money by not buying it and I have heard that Pacifica makes some great cleansers. I am going to give this one a try and see how it goes! I'll make sure to update you after a few weeks of use.

And now some food:

I've been enjoying these plums lately. I think they are called dinosaur plums? Did I make that up because dinosaurs are awesome? Anyway, these plums are incredible, so sweet and juicy! I love them.

Of course I had a bagel this weekend. I used my own Tofutti at home so there isn't an obscene amount like when I go to the bagel store and have them do it. It was amazing, as always.

I brought this delicious sandwich for lunch yesterday. I made it on a roll this time and it has hummus, tofurky, thick slices of home grown tomato and tons of shredded lettuce. OMG so good. I had this with a plum and it was amazing.

Unfortunately that is all I have for you today. I will probably share more stuff I ate on Friday and then I hope to do something fun for next week! Hopefully I'll be able to get my life together by then 😂 I hope you all have a great week and I'll see you on Friday!

Stuff I Ate: My First Week At My New Job!

Hello my friends! I hope that you are all doing well! Today is the last day of my first week at my new job! It has been exhausting and stressful. There is a lot to learn and a lot to do all the time. It's great because time flies but it's been really difficult for me when I feel lost and need help. I came from a place where I've been there for 11 years and just knew what to do. Now it feels like I'm trying to keep my head above water. I'm glad today is Friday and that the weekend is coming up. I have been sleeping so much more this week (which is great because I typically don't sleep well) and I'm looking forward to resting over the weekend. I'll have to figure out some meal prep as well and I'm sure that'll find its way onto this blog 😉 I am still working on getting used to this schedule and daily routine (I went from a 10:00-6:00 schedule 7 minutes away to an 8:30-5:00 schedule 40 minutes away) and I will catch up on all of your blogs this weekend! I promise!

I wanted to keep things easy for myself this week so I decided to just photograph the meals I've been eating and wanted to share those with you today. I'm going to try to get something fun up for you next week but for today, let's check out some stuff I've been eating this week as I get settled into my new routine!

I have been eating a lot of Asian Chopped salad kits. This one was one that I got from a regular grocery store and I also had one from Trader Joe's. I love these. They are so quick and easy. I think that I'm going to try and make my own next week by just getting my own veggies and chopping and dressing them myself. I can get more bang for my buck and it is a great, easy meal to have on hand.

This beige delight is some of the Morningstar Farms Popcorn Chicken and some Tater Tots from Trader Joe's. Not healthy at all but so delicious and a comfort meal for sure.

I've been making sandwiches to bring to work with me on some days (other days I've brought salad). It is a very basic sandwich because I don't have much at home. It is made on sourdough bread with tofurky slices, butter lettuce and some hummus. Definitely basic but so delicious and easy to make ahead of time (the bread doesn't get soggy despite the lettuce and hummus!).

This is the Sesame Crunch Chopped Salad (or whatever it is called) from Trader Joe's. You guys. The toppings that you mix in make this salad the best. It has nori, sesame sticks and cashews. So freaking good. I made a few pieces of the cauliflower tempura from Trader Joe's to enjoy with the salad. This meal was perfect. I brought the rest of the salad for lunch the next day.

Finally, I've been snacking on Skinny Pop White Cheddar Popcorn since finding out it was vegan. It's so damn good. I've missed popcorn in general (I don't know why I stopped eating it!) and white cheddar flavor is definitely a treat when you are vegan! My current favorite snack for sure.

So that is what I have for you today. It has been a crazy week and I'm looking forward to relaxing and catching up on your blogs and my comments. I hope you've all had a wonderful week and I'll see you back here next week! 💚

Trader Joe's Haul

Hey friends! I hope you are all well! Thank you all so much for all of your kind words and nice feedback about my MoFo posts. I'm really glad I accepted that challenge and really did have a great time posting all month. Today is my first day of work and I'm really excited about this new chapter in my life. It is still surreal knowing that I am not going back to the same place I had gone every workday for 11 years but the new beginning is very exciting. I'm looking forward to sharing how it went with you!

For today's post I have something I haven't done in a little while! I haven't been to Trader Joe's in a while and after receiving a gift card I figured it was time to pay a visit. I got some fun stuff and thought I'd do a Trader Joe's haul post, just like the good ol' days 😉

From the freezer section I got some Tater Tots, Veggie Spring Rolls, Cauliflower Tempura, Corn and some Shredded Hash Browns (I have something in mind, ha!).

For produce I got some butter lettuce, the Sesame Crunch Chopped Salad Kit, some peaches and a head of cauliflower.

Then I got the fun stuff 😉A loaf of Sourdough bread, Inner Peas, Dolmas, Chocolate Hummus (!), Mediterranean hummus, some marshmallows because they are seasonal and will likely disappear soon and then some Sunbutter Cups (these can be hard to find too so I loaded up). 

So that was my fun haul! I have a little bit of produce left to fill in as well as some things in the freezer. I will likely share some stuff I've been eating on Friday as I get my bearings this week and then hopefully I'll be able to share some more fun stuff next week 💚