What makes me happy

Oh wow.  This is a great topic.  What exactly makes me happy.  First of all, I have to say FOOD!  Food makes me very happy.  Gotta give shout-outs to Gardein, Spork Foods, Cafe Gratitude, and so many other cruelty-free products and restaurants.  It's funny because before I went vegan, I think that I took food for granted.  I didn't really taste anything or understand my relationship with food.  However, now I am practically orgasmic for certain foods.  It's fabulous, made all the more better by being compassionate as well!

Animal Acres makes me extremely happy.  My good friend Kelly planned my bridal shower there and it was more than I could ask for.  Not only did it get many people that otherwise would not step foot on a farm there, but I think some of my friends finally made the connection between the animals out there to the ones on their plate.  Yes, there were a few jokesters who made bacon comments in front of the pigs (which enraged me but I kept my cool) but for the the most part everyone was on their best behavior.  Animal Acres is just so lovely.  It's apparent that the staff truly loves and cares for the animals. They couldn't ask for better homes than Acton.

My girlfriend/fiancee/wife-to-be makes me happy.  She's my best friend and the only person I've ever been able to spend so much time with without being driven crazy.  Sure we fight sometimes and I get mad at her, but she's helped me become a better person.  She's unlocked a loving part of myself that I had hidden away.  Becca really is the best.

Brand new babies (including but not limited to human) make me happy.  Our friends just had their first son two days ago and I'm very excited to meet the little guy!  I will also be attending my first bris which makes me nervous I'm not going to lie.  However, I love how newborns look, smell and feel.  I love anything that just sleeps and looks cute all the time!

Traveling to new places makes me happy as well.  Perhaps not the travel part since I dislike airports and get bored in cars but nevertheless, I love being somewhere new.

And finally yoga makes me happy!  I am a new convert and still don't get to practice as often as I'd like due to my hours but I love every second that I do attend.  I am getting back into the habit of going at 6:15 am just to round out my 6 am bootcamps haha.  I am getting more into the idea of liking exercise so yoga is my transition.

Inspiration

Ok so my b.  Already failed the 30 day blog challenge by not posting at all this weekend but I was a busy girl.  So I decided that I would continue in spite of my lack of discipline.  So today is about what inspires me.  Right now animals are a huge inspiration to me.  I am going to attend Farm Sanctuary's Walk For Farm Animals which will raise money for the sanctuary.  It's so important to help organizations like this because the sanctuary helps raise awareness for the plight of farm animals.  It also exposes people to farms, many of whom would never otherwise know how friendly farm animals can be.

The Spork Sisters are also incredibly inspiring.  They have a cookbook coming out in October and I can't wait!  They offer amazing vegan cooking classes but beyond that, they are true examples of veganism at it's best.  They are not judgmental at all.  They believe in what they do and teach so it's fantastic to be around them. They're cheerfulness is totally addictive and the good news is that it rubs off as well!!!

My friends also inspire me because they stick with their convictions and help me to lead a fuller life.  I will be forever grateful.  And of course my bride-to-be helps inspire me to be a better person.  I strive to keep us healthy and happy.  Because I met her, I am able to better myself for her.  I am so grateful to have met her!

A Very Vegan Weekend

This weekend was kickass on the friend and vegan front.  On Friday night, Becca and I were housesitting at her old boss's house.  They have a washer and dryer so we literally washed the mountain of laundry that we had accumulated, including but not limited to a dozen towels and blankets. My friends, Beth and Cathy came over and drank while we watched Cooking Network and Entourage.  It was a rocking good time even as I constantly swapped wet clothes for dry.

On Saturday I attended a Comfort Food cooking class with the Spork sisters.  It was literally THE BEST MEAL I'VE EVER HAD!!!!  If the Cooking Network called and asked me to describe the best thing I've ever eaten, I would most definitely point to this meal.  Here's a pic of what we made. First, we had a salad with homemade "bacon" ranch dressing then beer battered tempeh nuggets with chipotle ketchup.  The most amazing part of the meal, however, was the twice baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese. I've tried to make these before and though they turned out great but they were NOTHING compared to these bad boys.  Even though I was stuffed full I still had a second spud because they were simply too good to ignore.

Then there was CAKE.  Vanilla cake with the sweetest most amazing vanilla frosting ever that makes me want a cake pedestal, cover and Kitchenaid soooooo badly. Absolutely yummy through and through.  If you've never taken a class at Spork Foods, sign up asap! The prices are competitive and the sisters never repeat a meal so it's always new!  So good and you feel good about yourself when you leave. Plus you take home your recipes to make yourself, which I will be doing with the twice baked potatoes tonight.

Then on Sunday, I blew off my sewing class (boo me) but Becca and I wanted some snuggle/hang out time.  We went to the Farmer's Market on Fairfax.  There is an Italian gourmet pizza place with VEGAN pizza! Score. It's called Deano's and although the vegan options are not listed on the menu, they will totally add Daiya to any pizza. I got a personal cheese pizza on whole wheat crust.  Though technically for one person, there was plenty of pizza. My only minor qualm is that they actually used too much Daiya (I know, I know I didn't think it possible either!)  However, I peeled some of it off and it was delish, especially the crust. In the picture below, you can totally see that I went a little crazy with the red pepper flakes, which had my mouth burning for more than 20 minutes.  Of course the beer helped immensely :).

To cap off the evening, Becca and I went to our favorite LA dive bar the Short Stop where we met up with my friend Alexis and played UNO.  Yes, in the bar. We had wanted to go to Barcade but recently learned it was closed (silent tear trickles down my cheek.)  However, in spite of a few missed appointments and some disappointing bar closures, this weekend was fantastic, vegan and just what I needed.

Now the rest of the week I will continue my fitness bootcamp (Lord have mercy) every day at 6:30 am in Griffith Park. Wish me luck!