Dill Pickle Cashews, Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen, & FotoJet

Lengthy Post Alert!  LOTS to cover today!  First...a new snack I have been enjoying...Dill Pickle Cashews!  This isn't the exact bag I am eating from but you'll get the visual idea!  Many of you know I LOVE cashews and I can't get enough of Dill these days so it was the perfect duo.

I found them on Jet.com at a good price while doing some Christmas Shopping last week and HAD to grab them.  I also bought a pound of raw cashews, too!  Again, the price was right!  Cheaper than I could find them locally, that is.  I also found a few other little things for snacks and lunches I will share with you down the road!

Another book DH bought me this past weekend was Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen.  This is the first of Chloe's books I have added to my collection so far.  I have a feeling I will be adding others to my wishlist for down the road!  Sure there are your stereotypical vegan pasta recipes in there but she puts her own twist on them but she doesn't stop there!  Recipes that I wouldn't have considered to be Vegan Italian were throughout the book as well.  I was going to list a few of the recipes I was interested in but the list ended up being too long so once I jump in I will let you know which ones I do end up doing! 

Next up and LONG OVERDUE is my chattering about a free online graphic design site called FotoJet.com.  There are elements of it that are similar to other sites but it seems to offer much more in the terms of fonts and templates!  When I saw this first one I knew I had to make something with it because I've always adored the LOVE BUS!

In most browsers, you can click on these photos to enlarge them from my site.  This one says MyBlissfulJourney - Family - Food - Fiats - Friends - More!  I haven't quite figured out a way to resize EASILY for the header but I knew I loved the look especially because of the teacup on the upper left.  Plus it looked like a neat workstation and place to think.

I could see me using this a lot for blogging graphics!  I see it as a place for inspiration but also for organizing things on my blog at some point.  I have a lot of Projects in the Works so I thought a simple graphic like this would come in handy.

And speaking of inspiration...check this Daily Yoga Graphic out!  Something I surely need to get my rear in gear and do more daily yoga!  I've always thought of this blog as not only an archive but a way to be accountable and I really need to get back into Yoga!  This might help!  With FotoJet you can edit photos, make collages, and much more!

Just to mess around with the site I used some of the photos I have taken in the past and went with the Comic Book feature and made this!  Some of the other things you can do with FotoJet is make Magazine Covers, Posters, Invitations, Cards, Facebook Covers, YouTube Channel Art, Facebook & Instagram Posts, Google+ Covers, Twitter, Tumbler, & Email Headers, Thumbnails, Pinterest Graphics, and more! 

It's a great Marketing Tool, too!  You can create Logos, Flyers, Business Cards, Leaderboards, and Facebook Ads...just to name a few!

Gosh!  I still have so much to share from the weekend!  I will really try and post another blog entry later tonight!  In the meantime...which features do you like from FotoJet.com?  Let me know!

Mellow Mushroom ~ Pigeon Forge, TN

***There is still time to enter to win Organic Chia Seeds from Garden of Life***  CLICK HERE I will choose a winner BEFORE 5pm est today!

This first photo isn't mine...it's from the Mellow Mushroom Website.  But the other photos I took while on vacation.  This is the Mellow Mushroom location in Pigeon Forge, TN, and we stopped by while on vacation last week.  I think they had 3 locations in the area...this one, one in Gatlinburg next to Ole Smoky Moonshine, and one at The Island in Pigeon Forge, too!

First...I have to talk about the decor in this place.  It's so cool!  There are lights, mushrooms, tye dye stuff, hippie stuff - pretty much everywhere. 

These are some of the lighted tree decorations they had in the middle of our section.  I took some pics of the walls but they didn't turn out that great.  There was a HUGE painted wall that went from one end of the booth seating area to the other that was hippie and groovy but still a tribute to Pigeon Forge and the Smoky Mountains. 

They had this crazy stone fireplace that had some sort of mystical cartoon character mounted on it (thank GOD it wasn't a real deer - blah!) and candles and trinkets on the shelf below and then...look at the fireplace!!!  Instead of 'fire' it's a slew of Lava Lamps!  How groovy is that!?

There was plenty of parking outside, a lot of seating inside, a bunch of eye candy to look at inside and out and we haven't even talked about the food yet!

We will get to that in a moment...but first...I just had to show you another shot of this 'fireplace' of Lava Lamps...

I'm pretty sure that The Mellow Mushroom has 3 locations in the area of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.  At least that is how many I saw while we were out and about.  This one was in Pigeon Forge - stand alone.  There is another one in Pigeon Forge within The Island that I wrote about on my Travel Blog...then there is another one over by Ole Smoky Moonshine in Gatlinburg.

 Here's a photo of some of the mushrooms that were throughout the restaurant, too!  Of course when I added this to my InstaGram I had a few funny yet crude comments about what they looked like!

But...Mellow Mushroom's InstaGram 'liked' them so that's cool.  It was actually really neat because a lot of the pics I took and put on InstaGram I had the official place 'like' my photos!

Anyways...on to the food, right?  Dale ended up getting wings that were twice baked (not fried).  For those of you who are new to my blog - my husband is NOT vegan/vegetarian.

I, however, found out that they do vegan pizzas!  YAY!  They use Daiya Cheese!  They make their own vegan and gluten free crust from ancient grains.  I'm not Gluten Free but I enjoy eating Gluten Free foods from time to time.  There were other vegan options on the menu but I didn't really want to think about it and wanted to take some of the pizza back to the Cabin for later so this is what I went with.

It was the Veggie Pizza with the Vegan AND Gluten Free Crust.  Yes..Vegan Daiya Cheese.  The sauce was pretty good...but my favorite part of the pizza was the tomatoes!  They were AWESOME! 

The pizza - overall - was quite good.  I'm glad I was able to get it.  Very happy they offer it!  I do like the Vegan Pizza at Pizza Plant in Williamsville (Buffalo, NY, area) better, tho.  If you are veg - where is your favorite vegan pizza located?  Which eating establishment outside of the home, that is!?

Coconut, Long Hair, and Camera Stare

People talk about Superfoods all the time now but in my personal opinion Coconut SHOULD be on that list because they are so versatile and can be used in nearly everything and in almost any form...butters, oils, milks, waters, "meat", etc.  In the next few weeks I will be posting about Coconut Products quite a bit!  I'm excited!  PLUS...they are so GOOD for you!

I recently had an afternoon treat...this Classic Coconut Bar!  It was AMAZING!  After eating THIS bar - I certainly don't miss "Mounds Bars" because these are SO MUCH better!  I jotted that note down on my note pad next to my computer while eating and when I went to their site it mentioned the same thing on the product description so I really can say I found those claims to be true - at least for MY taste buds!  YUM!  It was creamy, sweet, with a wonder coconut center that gave it a unique texture all-of-it's-own!  It was very Tropical.  It was like a little escape - for me in the middle of the day - it was lovely!  There seemed to be a questionable hint of lemon - since it wasn't mentioned in the ingredients - but I absolutely LOVED it!  I would like to say that the BEST part of this is the wonderful chocolate flavored shell but everything else was JUST AS good!  What a wonderful treat this was!

Opal and I have been chatting back and forth about our hair getting so long!  Another friend of mine tells me I don't post enough pictures of myself...well...I never have anyone to take photos of me so the iPhone will be the ones you will usually see me posting...as goofy as they are at times!  Here is a photo from a few days ago.  You can see a lot of my hair but not the end of it.  I usually wear it up or back, too!

And my close friend - I call her "Yuma Jen" and I have an ongoing joke about me having "Hippie Hair" so I sent her this photo a few days ago and then came across this photo on Instagram (I altered it a bit)...it kind of cracked me up!  Here, in town I have seen "Hippies Used Side Door" signs but I really wish we had this sign LOCALLY, instead!  

I received my semi-weekly email from Infusion Tea yesterday and noticed they are involved with NO MEAT MARCH.  So I went to the website and found out you can pledge to go meat-free for the entire month of March.  They send you Vegetarian Recipes to your in-box for signing up!  Since I have been Meat-Free for about 19 years and Near-Vegan since about September I thought I would still take the pledge...to bring attention to it as well as continue to push myself to be and stay dairy-free, too!  PLUS...Free Recipes are ALWAYS fun!  I won't be participating in one of the big cities mentioned but on the personal level and on my blog!

I seriously can't wait to review this next product so I am going to do PART 1 now and update you with the results when I get more of them to show you!  I was lucky enough to get one of these Green Sprout Kits from Sustainable Santa Cruz a little over a week ago and I LOVED the presentation!  Everything all contained within the HUGE Mason Jar!  I mean...LOOK at this photo that was on their site!  You get the HUGE Mason jar, the lid, the screen lid, the shade bag, a recipe, and the seeds are in the middle of everything, too!  And you see the twine AND Green paper in this photo?  Keep THAT in mind - I used those items, too!  To REALLY "Go Green".  Here is the official product description from their website:

Grow your own superfoods right in your kitchen!   The path to happiness begins with good health, so nourish your body with wholesome ingredients, starting with sprouts!  Protein-packed sprouts will energize your body with enzymes and nutrients, while rejuvenating antioxidants will make you glow from the inside out.  Liven up salads, create fresh, healthy stir fries or invigorate your green juice,  with dozens of amazing recipes to choose from you’ll discover new favorites.  Begin with a few seeds or beans, simply add water, and a few days later you’ll find your jar filled with crunchy, delicious sprouts.
Green Sprout Kit.  Each kit contains everything you need for 2-4 uses, with lots of refill options available.

• Includes: two-quart glass sprouting jar; stainless steel screen; organic cotton produce bag; 4 oz. organic sprouting seeds; reusable seed tin; instructions and sprouting chart.
• Completely reusable, refills available.
• BPA-free.

Sprouting is easy, inexpensive and super nutritious. With dozens of seeds and legumes to choose from, we offer a selection of favorite premium, organic and versatile options to start you on your path to optimum health today.
Simple directions can be found here: How To Grow Your Own Superfood

Their website is wonderful, well done, and extremely helpful!  I'm VERY excited about this product for many reasons!  The Mason Jar is bigger than the others I have, the Screen is more user friendly than the plastic ones I have, and the Bag goes right over top of the jar to lock out the light - so far - it seems to be working MUCH better than the way I was doing it before - without a cover, that is.  I used some Radish Sprouting Seeds I had on hand as my first test.  I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing before using the lovely seeds they sent me!  These are the Radish Sprouting Seeds Soaking 2 nights ago.

And here is a photo of the Mason Jar with the Bag over it.  I turned it up-side-down to drain in a glass bowl.  It's also leaning against a wall at an angle.  I totally LOVE this bag!  I can see myself multipurposing it this Spring/Summer at Farmers Markets to hold Produce, too!

This morning I noticed that the Sprouts are doing quite well!  And QUICKER than usual!  They even look more...PURE...if that makes sense!  It MUST be that BAG that is doing the trick!  Either that or the combo of the bag and the screen both at a specific angle...not sure...regardless I am SUPER EXCITED!

And here I got a nice shot of the Screen!!!  If you look REALLY hard you can see little sprouts coming out of it.  I took this photo right after I rinse them so you will see a little bit of water, too!  The glass bowl I choose for this seems to work really well for this large Mason Jar, too!

I'm very optimistic - it just seems like everything is falling into place with this attempt!  Of course their Kit DOES make it VERY easy...AND FUN!

Again, I will let you know the outcome but I am VERY happy with this product so far!  So much so that I even took their "Green" a little farther!  I officially got back into crafting!  You see the "Moss Green" paper I used for the 2nd layer?  It's the Paper from the Kit!  I have some more left, too, so I will be using it in other projects as well!  And right above my name you can see a "Baby Blue" Metal Flower Embellishment in the middle of that I used the twine/string from the kit as well (in the center of the flower).  This image is a Digital Stamp from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff who is a designer over at MyGrafico!   You can also read more about Digi Stamps and those companies on my Craft Blog. 

And finally...here is my morning smoothie...not the best photo but here it is!  I eye-balled everything so it's not much of a recipe...Mango, Strawberry, 1 T Maple Peanut Butter, 1/2 tea Maca Powder from Foods Alive, Coconut Milk to taste/consistency.  This was quite good and I would definitely do it again!