What's NEW In My Bathroom!

I've had a few people ask me about new products I have been using or things I have tried and liked in the not-so-distant-past so I thought I would share them with you today and if you like this post possibly more in the future!  If you are interested in any of these products there are links for each in the text under the photo!

First up...Rainforest at Dawn from Teadora!

I like this because it's both an exfoliate scrub AND mask that naturally tightens when dry.  You can use wet or dry.  Natural ingredients from the Amazon!

Acure Orangics Hair Care Products is next!  I have to admit I like the conditioner better than the shampoo but both are good!  The conditioner I have used once or twice a week and it really does CLEAN and plump the hair!  It also acted as a de-tangler for me, too!

Lip Balm!  Yup!  Gotta have some!  Check this stuff out!  It' RAWKS!

HURRAW!  Lip Balm!  My favorite is the MINT.

It's cold pressed, raw, and organic!  The flavors/scents are out of this world!

Deodorant?  No Problem!  Lazuli Organics I learned about a few months ago and I'm HOOKED but it's currently out of stock over at The Raw Food World.  I will be on the look out from now on that is for sure.  The other deodorant I like is the Thai Crystal!

This next product I cannot say enough about!  Healthy Gums BUT it's more than just for your gums!  This stuff leaves my teeth with the silkiest surface I've ever experienced before!

I don't use any/much make-up and don't really primp myself up much but there are a few products I have really enjoyed the last several months and these are IT.  I figured they were worth mentioning.  I would LOVE to know if you have tried any of them.  If you have tell me what you think.  If you haven't YET tell me which products interest you and WHY.  

Past Happy Mail, Local Eats with Vegan Options, Paco Update

Hello everyone!  Thanks for all of the kind words, thoughts, emails, notes on Instagram, etc...I appreciate it!  I have so much to share with everyone but so little time! 

I hope to be doing updates more this week to try and catch up!  I have lots of products to share with you - I have reviews I need to catch up on - I have lots of articles and recipes to cross promote and link to over at TRFW and much, MUCH More!  In the meantime...here's a sneak peak at some of the things that have been exciting me lately!  My shipment from last month, actually!


In this first photo you can see Sun Warrior Immune Shield, a new Skin Brush, salted Sacha Inchi Seeds, Kelp Noodles, Shea Butter, and Nutritional Yeast.  Yup!  Had to stock up on some nutritional yeast...I was getting low.  I did get the Kelp Noodles but because of the horribly cold winter weather we have had for MONTHS now they froze.  I contacted the lovely customer service people over at TRFW and they said they could send me another one or credit my account because Kelp Noodles change texture if frozen.  I thought that was pretty amazing that they offered to do that - I mean - it wasn't their fault they froze,  you know?  It's not like THEY control the weather! LOL - but I thought that was wonderful!  I decided to opt for the credit and will re-order in the more fair weathered months since it's still really cold here.

In this photo you will see I stocked up on some snacks!  I couldn't resist!  The prices were awesome when I ordered them!  Plus I LOVE Foods Alive products!  I got two of their Flax Crackers.  I also grabbed a pound of cashews, a few salad boosters, some raisins, pro-biotic almonds, Organic Cayenne Powder, and some Khorasan Wheatgrass Juice Powder (Kamut).

I have to say all of the powders that I have been getting from TRFW have been AMAZINGLY fresh!  The colors and aromas are so VERY vibrant!

I've still been building my Raw/Living Foods and Vegan cookbook area in my house and this was one of the books I grabbed with my last order. 

I have a slew more on order again and hope to get them before the end of this week.  I'm also visiting my local library again since it has been a while.  If anyone is on GoodReads let me know - I have been posting on that app for a while now, too!

Have you gotten any new books as of late?  I'd love to hear about them! 

A couple of weekends ago Hubby and I went to our new favorite place in Erie...Mad Mex...mainly because there are a lot of vegan options there for me!  Here is what I had...it's the Chickpea Chili Burrito.  You can opt for the Daiya Cheese and Tofutti Sour Cream like I did.  We also got a few of their amazing dips!  2 out of the 3 of them were vegan.  Now hubby wants me to try and make Pepita Hummus and Tomatillo Avocado Dip...and I hope to do that soon!  I'm already trying to come up with a few other things I want to try at this place the next time we go!  They have 'home made' vegan salad dressings, too, including a RANCH.

Now...this past weekend we visited a local gem of a place that has been around for decades - and generations!  My husband loves it - always have - of course - he's no where near being a vegetarian - so yes - we are a mixed diet household - anyhow - they had a special salad for March - and I had them do it without what ever meat they had on the menu.  They came up with this for me and it was FABULOUS!  I asked them to add it to their menu full time!  Not sure if they will but it was great!  It was iceberg lettuce and mixed greens, pineapple, green peppers, tomatoes, almonds, roasted coconut, and I choose the grape balsamic dressing made with local grapes!  It was WONDERFUL!

Now for a quick PACO update!

His ITP has been under control for at least 3 months while he's been on a LOT of medication.  While I hate putting all the pills in his body - it's what he needs to stay 'normal' - we tried to take him to a lower dosage with the approval of our vet - he ended up relapsing - so she told us we had to get back on the dosages he was on prior to trying to take him down.  It seems to be working, so that is good.

However, it's been about a week and he had an unrelated issue...he basically threw his kneecap out of place.  This has happened once before about 3 years ago.  But this time was pretty bad.  He's been trying to 'walk it off' and has found some work arounds.  The first two days was rough but he's been getting better since then.  The vet told us she didn't think he was in pain - and she thought he just noticed a 'difference' or it felt 'weird' and it was something that he would have to work out himself.  He hasn't been acting like it's been bothering him but he will pull up on it every once and a while...I think he's trying to pop it back in. All-in-All he's been doing fairly well with it and we do have pain pills but he's only really needed one on that first day.  I hope to have more posts very soon!  There are LOTS of things going on!  It's been CRAZY in my whole lately! How about you!?

Random Shout-Outs, Mini-Goals, Product Reviews

Hello everyone!  I will have multiple posts again, today!  First off I want to do a few random shout outs!  I was looking at my stats and I was so happy to see people from all over the world swing by!  Of course people here in the US - but also people from: Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom, and Malaysia the last few days!  If you are stopping by from one of these countries let me know!  Also...if your country is NOT listed here - let me know about it, too!  Ever since I was in middle school I have loved hearing from people all over the world!  I had over 120 pen pals from over 40 countries!  I think the art of letter writing and snail mail is becoming extinct.  I'm thinking about starting it up again.  Another thing I noticed while looking at my stats I have been getting visitors from various sites but I want to do a little shout-out to these top 3 today!  Special Thanks to those visiting from: Peas & Crayons, I'm Celebrating Life, and The Charm Of Home.  Let me know if you are from one of these sites or have been referred by another site!  I would like to stop by their place and thank them!  And finally...here are my top 3 'search phrases'.  Thanks to those who have come across my blog via a search engine!  I was very excited to see these three phrases pop-up: "Vegan Mason Jar Meals", "Norway Vegan Recipes", and "Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Recipes".  Which brings me to my next topic!  My near-future mini-goals!  I'm going to set some mini-goals for myself based on these three searches!  I want to provide more Vegan Mason Jar Meals!  I have been chatting with a friend about this.  She isn't vegan but also wanted to see more ideas on my blog.  I also want to prepared these for lunches as well as consume more of them!  When I was doing Vegan Foods from around the world I tried to do a Norwegian Foods week as I have Norwegian roots in my family tree.  I will say it was a little hard to find vegan Norwegian foods but I am going to try and shoot for more!  I might even start trying to bake!  I know there are some Norwegian Cookies I have been wanting to try.  But I am NOT a good baker at all!  I have been avoiding it after many failed attempts!  And since I am originally from Buffalo I like to incorporate Buffalo Flavors or Spicier things into my foods.  I'm going to continue to try and do Buffalo Inspired Vegan Flavors and foods!  If you have any suggestions - please let me know!

I have now tried all 3 of these Defender Meal Bars from Core and I really enjoyed all of them!  I actually ate the 3rd one long ago and took notes for a later post.  The last one I tried was the Walnut Banana flavor.  Many of you know I HATE Bananas and I was sort of afraid to try this one!  BUT...keep reading...this was DARNED TASTY!  I didn't think this one was in-tact as much as the other two were - it fell apart a little easier than the others did.  I'm not saying that is good, bad, or indifferent, it's just something I noticed.  The dates and walnuts offset the banana so it wasn't 'all about the banana'...and that I appreciated.  The spices were similar to Banana Nut Bread...subtle and not overpowering.  It had a slight raisin after-taste that was nice and sweet!  The texture was a bit flakier and grainer than the others but it all worked out really well and the product was top-notch!  I still can't believe how filling these are!  They really ARE a full meal!  WOW!

Another thing I wanted to share with you in this post is my NEW LOVE for Antho.  This will be the first of a few product reviews for them!  I LOVE this company!  I know you aren't supposed to judge a book by it's cover by they had me at first glance!  Their website is beautiful!  Do check it out!  Their products are truly natural and pure, effective, eco-friendly, Made in the USA, and vegan!  Their creams are only made from unrefined, raw, organic oil!  They sell Body Butters, Oils, Bath Salts, Soaps, Shower Gels, Body Scrubs, Deodorants, Face Moisturizers, Cleansers and Toners, Masks and Scrubs!  They also have Scent Inspirations, Gift Boxes, Organic Gourmet, plus items for your home like Soy Candles, Laundry, and Home Fragrance products!  I LOVE their packaging, their bottles and jars, their labels!  Everything is really lovely!

 I'm so very excited about this product, specifically!  A few months ago I had a callus on my left hand on the inside by my first two knuckles and it was the only place on my hands that was dry.  I started using their Raspberry and Mint Hand and Body Butter and within 3 days it was 'back to normal'.  It was AMAZING!  I was overjoyed with the outcome!  I have been using it on and off for about 2 or 3 months now and I have only used a VERY little bit!  You can see in this photo it's barely 'touched'.  The jar is 4 ounces and I have almost all of it left!  This is going to last me for a good, long while!  I'm VERY happy about that because it WORKS and because it smells awesome!  I'm a fan of anything MINT but I loved that they did a Raspberry/Mint Combo!  It creates a scent of its own!  It's priced at $18.50 on their website but this product will certainly go a long way!  Totally worth it!  I think I will leave you guys with this info below and do another blog post later today because I kind of rambled a bit here - but - when I find things I am excited about - I just feel compelled to share it with the world! 

Here is a little bit more about this specific product that is listed on their website:

Raspberry Mint - Organic Body Butter

Why it is better:  99% USDA certified organic ingredients – extra high organic content  Scented with premium, therapeutic grade USDA certified organic essential oils  Synthetics & Preservative Free  Anti aging, nourishing & moisturizing for all skin types, especially dehydrated, damaged skin  100% vegan and cruelty free  Creamy, smooth, alluring texture  A little goes a very long way and saves you money!  Stylish dark amber apothecary glass with elegant silver metal cap – to protect the precious cream from light and keep it fresh for a long time  Deliciously sweet raspberry aroma 4oz/120 ml