Spring Break ’12 (CHICAGO!) {Part 1}

Hi friends 🙂

As promised, pictures from my chicago trip!:

A little random trip with just the brother and I, totally needed a mini vacation!

A hippy’s dream come true (I dont have a local lush!)

This too, yummy!

The brother on a mission

Beautiful weather!

Shed

Coming soon —-> Part 2: THE FOOD!

Have you ever been to Chicago? If yes, what was your favorite thing about the city?

Home Sweet Home ♥

Hi Guys! I am finally back from vacation and a long weekend.

We had so much fun camping on Lake Huron, I will share the details later in the week but for now I am  e x h a u s t e d !  We had a crazy market today because the art fair was going on as well. Tune in tomorrow for Market Recap Monday! I have something special in store. 🙂

What did  y o u  do this weekend?

August Goals / July Recap

Hi friends!

How is everyone? I am still enjoying my time on vacation so here is another pre-scheduled post! Woo!

Wow, AUGUST already? Imagine that. I love August here in Michigan. This marks the start of my favorite season it’s called “AUG.-OCT., the most beautiful time in Michigan” I think that’s a good name.

July Goal Recap:

• At least 1 hour of exercise 5 days a week. This can include nature walks, runs, gym time, biking, and Zumba. I NEED this hour everyday to lower my stress. I did the best I could.
• Use up my Zumba punch card at the dance studio. I bought a 10-class punch card in January and have only gone once. Mainly because the classes are all at night. Expires in August! I only used it twice, whoops! I think I am going to try to use it after it expires on the fifth. I might even slide a 1 in before the 5 on “Aug. 5th” if you know what I mean..
• Make time for family and friends. Check!
• Attempted to be more organized. Like paying bills on time, keeping my room clean, keeping up on laundry, filing important papers. Ehhh, check?
• Apply for Fall classes! Check!
• Roller blade on the new bike path by my house (repeat daily, I ❤ roller blading). Fail.
• Stay away from processed junk like oreo’s and nutter butter’s. Not worth the belly ache! Check!
• Limit fried foods to maybe once every 2 weeks. Yes, this included my favorite roll (sweet potato roll) at the sushi joint. Check! I’ve been eating a lot more salads and actually enjoying them!

August Goals:

• Reeelax.
• Read my Biology book to get a head start!
• Start studying early for fall semester.
• Go to Canada
• Celebrate my 20th Birthday on the 31st!

Did you make any goals for August!

 

& Were Off

It is officially vacation time & I couldn’t be more excited.

Granola? Check.

VOO and “Egg” salad? Check.

Apples? Check.

Bananners? Check.

& Were off to go camping on one of Michigan’s great lakes for the whole week!

No fancy restaurants, no Starbucks, no health food stores, no air conditioning, no hair dyers, no oven, no whining cats (sorry babes, mommy is going to miss you very much!), no familiar faces, no gym, no TV, no freezer, and no internet. 

I will bring the laptop but I doubt I will find wifi. I will be sure to share tons of beautiful photos next week. I hope you enjoy the posts I have lined up for the week! When we return, we have a big weekend ahead of us so be patient! (Details later! 🙂 )

Feature Friday: Vegan on Vacation

Hi guys! Happy FRIDAY! The weekend usually doesn’t excite me because it usually means being extra busy! However, I am totally excited for this weekend because I will finally be on VACATION! The boyfriend and I are taking our annual camping trip and we will be gone for 6 days! I am so excited to just relax on the lake for an entire week.

I thought it would be interesting to do this week’s Friday Feature on….

VEGAN ON VACATION!

For the past year and a half of following a vegan diet I found that I’ve had the hardest time when traveling.

Vegan eating on the road: Most people think that fast food is the only food to eat when traveling. Sure, it is convenient, but it is definitely not the only choice! If I am not prepared and need to eat something right away, I feel the best way to grab something to eat fast is at a grocery store. Pick up an apple, banana, carrots, berries, snack bars, soy yogurt, or a bottled smoothie. I also find it fun to stop at new local markets for fresher produce!

Packing a lunch isn’t just for children: I pack lunch like it’s nobody’s business. Remember last semester when I had to pack a lunch and dinner all in one day? Yeah, I’m not joking. For longer trips, pack a mini cooler! For my vacation I am packing days worth of overnight oats, potato salad, maybe some faux tuna or egg salad, bread, premade vegan desserts, chocolate, fruit, lots of veggies, tofu, cereal, and non dairy milk.

The perfect tools for a great packed lunch:

• Ice-pack
• Thermos
• Reusable bags
• Cloth
• Spoons

Salad bars are your best friend: What a great way to chow down on good food! It can be a challenge to find a good salad bar but definitely take advantage of it!

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare: In my opinion, preparation is the key to any healthy diet. Things like packing a lunch, meal planning, and bring along the right tools you need to stay on diet is very important. For me, this means packing dessert, I cannot live without chocolate! I would just be super cranky without it. Cravings are no fun to deal with on vacation.

 I am thinking about taking the Vitamix camping. I could make green smoothies out of the local produce! I think that will be fun. What do you think?

Any other great vegan/healthy tips for travel? Leave them below!

I need a vacation.

Hi bloggings!

I’m so excited because Operation Overstock is coming to an end! I feel like I have saved a lot of money because I have only been buying produce and making due with some of the random items I have found in my cupboard on my journey. I have picked up a few thing other than produce though such as tofu, tofu, and more tofu. I’m not sure what my problem is but I am loving tofu lately! Honestly, this wasn’t as hard as I thought. I have been so busy lately that I just haven’t had time to go shopping anyway. I might stop by the store on my way home from school to pick up a few things and to see what’s on sale.

For example, this yogurt.

I love you Kroger, but I am starting to think you are silly! Really, you are going to mark down soy yogurt that is usually 1.50, to 49 cents when it doesn’t even expire for another 8 days. I’m not sure if you are looking at your calendar correctly, but I wont tell, carry on.

Oh and not to mention this poor can of Amy’s soup that must have fallen off the shelf and got a wittle dent. I’ll take it! Thanks again!

Anyway, saving money (and time!) is really not all that hard. I am basically juggling 3 jobs right now and going to school full-time while I maintain time for me like going to the gym and spending time with other important people.

For example, the last few days have looked like this:

Wake up. Eat. Go to Zumba. Come home. Shower. Prep lunch for when I get home. Go to School. Pretend like I’m learning Algebra. Go home. Finish making lunch. Eat. Make diner to take to work. Go to work for 8 hours. Come home. Blog. Sleep. Wake up, hello Thursday. Shower. Eat. Make snacks for school. Go to school for 6 hours. Fail that test I didn’t study for. Go home. Go to the post office. Meet one friend for lunch. Eat. Meet one friend at the gym. Work out while you spend time together. Starbucks. Go to boyfriend’s cause he complains that he doesn’t see me enough. Eat. Go home. Try to catch up on the Goog Reader. Go to sleep. Wake up, Hello Friday. Go to work for 8 hours. Come home. Shower. Go out to eat. Hang out with bf. Sleep. Hello, Saturday. Bake my little heart out for the Farmer’s Market. Blog. Go to work for 8 hours. That’s all I got so far.

I need a vacation.

If you could go anywhere right now for a low-stress vacation where would you go?

I would really like to be on a beach right now with my boyfriend far away. I think we both need vacations.

btw, Picky Nicky is having an awesome giveaway that I would really like to win. 🙂