Vegan Options Inside!

After reading Vegan Power's post about volunteering for Humane League without actually living near the Humane League offices I decided to look into doing something with them, too!  I signed up for their Fast ACTION Network.  Within a few days I was contacted via email by Rachel.  She was telling me about a few things I could do online and semi-locally and regionally to get involved.  It's wonderful because there are ways to participate regardless of HOW you do it.  One way was to hand out (what I consider to be) graphic info/facts/stats on farmed animals.  Another way was to participate in the Subway Boycott.  But the action I decided to be a part of was to contact area restaurants and see if they want to put one of these nifty stickers on their doors to let veggie-heads know that they have at least 1 (hopefully more than 1) vegan option inside!  I have at least 3 places I know of here in this small town that would most likely be interested in putting this on their door.  Because of what I do for my full-time job and the small town where I live I have to be careful how I stir the pot so to speak.  I try and take a pro-active approach.  I try and promote the positives.  I feel one of those positives to be area businesses that provide vegetarian and vegan OPTIONS.  I really liked this action of theirs so I wanted to be on board with this one for sure.  Altho I think ALL of their Fast Action Network campaigns are great in their own right...this one...was the one that fit my way of doing things and certainly something I could do on a local level.

I'm going to have more than one post today.  I wanted to do a quick write-up about the Humane League.  I have a few other posts coming up in the near future including one about Foto Jet - an online collage making and photo editing program that I am pretty excited about.  But I have that one popping up sometime in the next week or so.  I also have to share some items I found at TJ's this past weekend, too!

So many things to blog about...so little time, eh!?  What have you been up to?  Have you looked into the Humane League yet?  Have you seen any of the Vegan Options Inside Stickers at any of the restaurants near you YET?

MELT Bar & Grill Visit

Last weekend hubby and I took a drive over to Mentor, OH, and then on to Woodmere, OH, to visit Wholefoods Market...more on that trip to the store another time.  Today I'm talking about the experience I had at MELT Bar & Grill!

I'll work a little backwards here and start with the food then move to the atmosphere!

First up...my main meal.  YES...they have a slew of VEGAN options!  Woot!  I opted for the half sandwich which was a good thing because I couldn't have eaten any more!  What you see here is called the PARMAGEDDON.  This 'bad boy' had Potato & onion pierogis, fresh Napa vodka kraut, sautéed onions, vegan cheddar on their bread!

I started things off with these 'puppies'.

These are Buffalo Tofu Wings with Vegan Ranch.  Believe it or not...my far-from-veg-husband actually tried them, too, and he REALLY liked them!

These were VERY memorable for both of us - especially because hubby already said he would have them again the next time we went back.

The vegetarian and vegan options were clearly marked on the menus.  The menu's were on the back of old record sleeves.

This place was AWESOME and eclectic and eccentric and just about anything else you can think of.  A wonderfully FUN place with lots of interesting food options.

Every couple of weeks they come up with some off-the-wall special feature such as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cowabunga Melt or the Glazed and Very Confused Donut Bacon Melt...not that either of those are vegan but you get the idea...

Either way...it gives me great ideas to try to veganize, eh!?

What do you think!?  Here's their Instagram, too!

Around The Grounds...

I still have a few more posts to blog about with more pictures to show off from our trip to West Palm Beach Florida last month and our stay at The Breakers!

Today I thought I would share with you some of the random photos I took from around the grounds of The Breakers.  I still have pics coming soon from our trip to the Garden of Life Headquarters as well as our downtown West Palm Beach Walk.

First up...I'm pretty sure that this is an old Fiat.  I could be wrong I couldn't get much closer to it that day but I thought it wasn't something we saw every day and thought I would take a pic of it.

In addition to all of the photos I've already posted having to do with the Organic Herb and Vegetable Gardens they have at The Breakers I thought I would post this, too!  It's a photo of a sign that I saw more than once on their grounds.

The Breakers utilizes reverse osmosis, an environmentally friendly alternative water source, to irrigate our golf course and landscaping.

I thought this was so cool!  The Breakers is a very old and historic place and even they are able to take steps to help the environment so why can't everyone else?  Every little bit or large step helps!

Here's a photograph of one of the ducks we saw on a walk one day.  It was on the one golf course.  He wasn't afraid of us in the slightest!

This duck is a Muscovy Duck.

He was pretty cool!

I wish I was able to see more wildlife while we were there - we did see more birds in the middle of flight - but we didn't see very many on the ground while we were there.

For those of you who are from or have visited Florida - what's your favorite bird of the region?

And finally - this is one of the many hallways in The Breakers.  I just LOVED all the lamps, tapestries, chandeliers, ceilings, rugs, comfy chairs - you name it!  They really have mixed past and present with the decor at just about every turn!

To the left of this hallway was one of the bars and restaurants called HMF. The name of the restaurant stood for Henry Morrison Flagler the owner of the original Breakers. Did you know that The Breakers Hotel Complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973? In 1973, the 105-acre listed area included 15 contributing buildings and one other contributing object.

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!?

Northern Railroad Bluegrass at Hadley

Last weekend my husband's band 'Northern Railroad' played at The Hadley House in Stow, NY, which along Chautauqua Lake.  I was able to attend as well as some of the other girlfriends and wives of the band members.  It was a nice time to catch up with some old friends, too!  They played outside and the weather held up for about half of the event.  They then moved inside.  I was able to take a few photos while they were out on the deck, tho! 

In the first photo you will see an extra member suiting up to play guitar.  This is a friend of the bands that they asked up to play a few songs.  There were a few other local musicians there, too, and they did a song or two as well!  It was fun!  Another rare occurrence was that both my parents attended for a bit as well as Nicole's mom, 2 grandmothers, and niece.  they are pictured in this 2nd photo.  My father is in the blue and white shirt and my mom in the black print shirt with their backs facing the camera.  Nicole is in the turquoise and her family to the right of her.  The other girl in the melon color shirt on the end is the bass players girlfriend Sharon.  The menu was pretty pricey but it was a fun night.  I know this sounds strange - I wasn't even going to eat anything at first - but I noticed they had a house dressing that I really wanted to try - so I ended up having a side salad with it.  It was a Key Lime Balsamic Vinegar.  It was FAB and now I want to try and make a version of it, too!

Here's a look at the surroundings of the Hadley House/Chautauqua Lake area.  I hope the guys will be playing there again in the future!  It was FUN!

Taste of India - Amherst, NY - Visit

Yes, once again I am behind on my blogging but I do have a lot in-store for this week so stay tuned.  I would like to thank everyone for the well wishes for our cat Charlie.  He's progressing with his recovery and I hope to post a progress report on that later this week. 

In the meantime...for today's post...a visit to A Taste of India in the Buffalo, NY, area a little over a week ago.

My husband and I took a day trip to a few places in the Buffalo area in the Abarth.  This is where we had lunch.  They have a HUGE menu and a nice vegetarian section.  I thought it was neat that you could 'name your heat level'.  I decided to choose Medium but next time I will be going with the Hot.  What did I have?  Well...off their vegetarian menu I chose the Chana Saag.  Curried Spinach with Chickpeas.  It came with Rice and in their white rice they added simple chunks of carrot for color.  I really enjoyed it. 

Along with my meal I had a large glass of straight-up Mango Juice.  Dale is somewhat hooked on Mango Lassi Drinks now.  I am going to start making them at home for him.

Because he's FAR FROM Vegetarian he chose one of the platters because he wanted to try a bunch of different things that they offered.  I believe there was Tandoori Chicken and Shrimp, Chicken Tikka, Boti Kebab, Naan, Sauteed Onions and Peppers, Beef Curry, and he had some of the white rice of mine because there was a huge plate of it and I thought he would enjoy it.  The location was on Sheridan Drive in Amherst but many people just say "Buffalo".  It's always FUN visiting the area I grew up and I think we will be doing it more often with the small cars and the Fiat Club.  Speaking of which - we hope the weather holds for this Saturday because it is the first time we hope to meet up with them.  We are planning on visiting the Zippo Factory and Museum in Bradford, PA with a few other stops along the way.  More on that next week, tho!

Vegan Pizza - Pizza Plant - Williamsville, NY

One of the places we stopped on Sunday was The Pizza Plant on Transit Road in Williamsville, NY, for my Birthday.  They have an AMAZING selection of Vegetarian Options.  They have a great deal of Vegan Options as well.  We've been to the Pizza Plant a few times...they have two locations.  The other is in Walker Center.  I was born in Buffalo and raised in a few towns and cities around Buffalo.  My Mother's Father owned part of Transit Road back in the day.  Of course that was probably 50 years ago or more, but still...we have history there.  I'm always excited to visit.  We didn't meet up with any of my family members - such as cousins, uncles, aunts, etc...we just went for the day and didn't really know where we were going other than Trader Joe's, Guitar Center, and a few others stops.  We ended up at Pizza Plant. 

I noticed they had not only Vegan Pizza - but Vegan Pizza - WITH Vegan Cheese!  I have to confess - this is the very first time I have had Vegan Pizza with Vegan Cheese - eating at an establishment.  You just don't usually find that around much.  So...it was my birthday and I splurged!  They make their own sauces, their own crusts, and use very fresh ingredients.  On this pizza I had Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Artichokes...with herbs!  The crust was their Garlic Crust.  It was AMAZING!  I had plenty to take home...that's for sure!

There are so many things you can veganize on their menu in addition to the already vegan items they clearly mark on their HUGE menu!  PLUS our waitress was WONDERFUL.  As soon as I said "vegan" she lit right up and started raddling off a bunch of additional info!  She said ALL of their doughs were vegan except for their Whole Wheat.  Good to know!  In the past I have opted for the "Pods" that they are famous for MINUS the cheese.  Which would be various veggies and sometimes a sauce inside of a "Pod" which is basically a Stromboli but better!  It opens slightly on the top and they aren't greasy like you would see in stromboli's plus they have over 30-some different combos!  YAY!  Anyhow...I really like this place...perhaps it's because I'm not able to go there often...or maybe it's because of the vegan options....heck...it's probably BOTH...but I'm even HAPPIER after our last visit!  YUM!

Holiday Valley, Elicotville, John Harvard's, Sister Time, Scenic Drive

I think this will be the last of my posts for today.  This is 3 of 3 - so please continue to scroll down!

Here's another photo of my sister from over the weekend.  When you read my other posts it will all make sense!  It's a photo of me trying to dry her pants with a hair dryer! LOL

Yeah...so after we were caught in the heavy rain we decided to pay my parents a visit at the resort they were staying at for the weekend.  It was part of a promotion where my Dad works.  He and my mother helped work it and the accommodations were amazing!  They were at Holiday Valley in Elicotville, NY.  Holiday Valley is known as a Skiing Destination in the winter and a get-away in the summer months.  They are also quite busy during the fall.  It's been YEARS since I have been there for any reason.  Since we left our event 2 hours early we decided to swing by.  We saw some 'friends of the family' we haven't really seen in a while - who also worked with my father.  Mom and Dad were on their way to a dinner but Megan and I decided to go to Dinner in one of their restaurants within the Resort.

The name of the restaurant was John Harvard's Brew House and it was a really nice place!  There were a few vegetarian options on the menu and they could easily be veganized by omitting an ingredient or two.  The waitress was really nice and willing to help with this!

My sister - who is NOT a vegetarian - had a flatbread pizza with a Basil Pesto Sauce, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, and Onions.  So technically her meal was vegetarian but not vegan.  She really doesn't eat a lot of meat but still isn't veg.  There are several foods she stays away from because of stomach related issues such as fried foods, red sauces, carbonated beverages, etc.  She really liked her flatbread.  I'm not going to lie - it smelled amazing.  So much so - my next kitchen adventure might have to be a Vegan Basil Pesto Sauce.

We ended up splitting an appetizer.  We got the Mediterranean Platter (minus the Feta) which consisted of: Hummus, Tabbouleh, Roasted Peppers, Kalamata Olives, Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Pita Bread.  It was the first time my sister had Tabbouleh and she really liked it.  I told her next time I make it I would save her some! 

For my Dinner I got the Mediterranean Wrap (Minus the Feta) which was Hummus, Olives, Baby Lettuces, and Diced Tomatoes.  It was HUGE.  I took half of it home.  It was tasty, tho! 

After we were done with dinner we took a stroll around the grounds a little bit.  We came across this Faux Bon Fire out behind the one building!  I thought it was beautiful!  Everything about the place was nice, tho!

This was a photo of the building my parents and their crew stayed in...

My sister and I chatted the whole way home about trying to go back at some point and stay longer and have a girls weekend but I am sure it's very expensive!

Even if you don't STAY there you can go to the restaurants and different things around town which is more of what we are apt to do, I guess.

I also mentioned it to my husband and he was interested in taking a trip out for dinner some evening and/or weekend!

Neat Place!

Amy's Place, Buffalo Sabres Hockey, Photos on the Road, & Paco's Nails

This is sort of a PART 2 from yesterday - since I blabbed on for quite a while!  I still had a lot to say!  A big part of today's blog post will be about Amy's Place in Buffalo, NY!  I was lucky enough to go there last week while with my Mom & Dad after the Carrie Underwood Concert the night before (see next post for photos or find me on Facebook I have over 170 posted there!)  Amy's Place is located in the University Height section of Buffalo and is a Lebanese and American Restaurant with a great eclectic feel to it!

Their menu is HUGE and includes LOTS of Vegetarian and Vegan option which I was so VERY thankful for!  When I actually HAVE options at a restaurant it takes me a long time to choose what I will have as it's not very often I have that many choices!  It was wonderful!  Their  Vegan Options are clearly marked with a V inside a leaf.  They have a neat collection of Coffee Mugs they serve their warm beverages in.  It's interesting to see which one you get when you are served!  My mom got one with sunshine on it and my dad got one with veggies on it.  You can also see a photo of some of their mugs on their site linked above.

I decided to go with the:

Falafel Sandwich

Mini $4.99 / Full $6.75

Ground fava beans, chick peas, onions, parsley & spices rolled into patties and fried, then rolled in a pita with lettuce, tomatoes, tahini & house dressing.
It was AMAZING!  I got the half which was Gigantic!  I couldn't imagine what the full looked like!  I gave the chips to my dad and my dad gave me his marinated cucumbers!

I had such an amazing time at Amy's Place and I can't wait to go back!  I think my non-veg husband would like it, too!

I noticed this "Be Nice or Leave" Crafty-Looking Sign hanging on their wall and LOVED it!  So True!!!  I've been in Customer Service my entire life and have always tried to stay positive and treat everyone nice and I think when you are in that position you have a new appreciation for others in that same situation.  YES...there are not-so-pleasant customers but lately there have been straight-up HORRIBLE customers that treat others with so much disrespect - it's awful!  Sure - if you are dissatisfied - by all means - let someone know - but there is a right and a wrong way to do it, ya know?  So, YES, I LOVED this sign!

Another reason I frequent Buffalo whenever I can - other than being FROM that area originally - is I still follow the sports!  Especially Hockey!  And with the Trade Deadline approaching my eyes and ears are on the news!  This past year The Buffalo Sabres acquired Steve Ott and I have come to LOVE him.  I hope I am not jinxing him by saying this but out of everyone on our team - I hope he stays!  I really hope they don't trade him!  He's wonderful with the media, a great player, and in a season of uncertainty has been one of the few rays of light on our team!

As you can see here - his number is #9 - I saw this jersey on sale in LUXE in the Walden Galleria Mall!  I didn't buy it but wanted to - but also didn't want to jinx it - my last favorite was Paul Gaustad - and he's no longer with the team.  I'm still not over it.

But...I SHOULD be used to it as I am a life-long Buffalo Sabres Fan.  I've had a laundry list of favorites over the years!  I was lucky enough to meet a few of them, too!  I haven't met Steve Ott (YET!) perhaps one day I will.

My mother is a HUGE Hockey Fan, too!  She was actually the one who got my father into the sport more when they met!

She was really into the French Connection so I was lucky enough to learn a lot thru her!

Here is a photo of the (new) French Connection Statue (now) outside of the First Niagara Center.  This past week was the first time I was able to see it since it was placed there and dedicated. 

On our way home we did stop at the "Galleria" as I mentioned above.  We stopped at Teavana and bought some tea, we stopped at Dick's Sporting Goods to see about getting a new Canopy for our Wildtree display, too but were unable to find one we liked.

My parents then spent the weekend up near Syracuse with friends of the family.  My Dad is actually their daughters "God Father".  They were able to find a Canopy that they thought would work nicely for this next year!  I'm excited that it's now April!  Our "Busy Season" officially begins TONIGHT and will go thru the end of the year!  Yes...that's a LONG Busy Season, eh!?

I'll have more on the Wildtree Adventures as they become available and happen!  We have an event tonight and another one on Saturday!

In other news I did take Riley to the vet this morning and I know a little bit of what they think it 'could be' but I am going to wait and let you know tomorrow after I know for sure!  Thank you for the comments and emails with positive thinking and vibes for our Riley!  They are appreciated!

Because my morning was "out of sequence" I spent some time with the 'kids' and Paco was quite the character!  He learned this behavior from his brother Riley!  He's chewing on his feet!  What a little weirdo!  But of course - we love them ALL!

Emeril's Stadium

This is one of Emeril's many restaurants in Vegas.  It's taken outside of the Stadium on the strip.  I loved that it had water inbetween the seating and the walkway.

We didn't eat there but it looked awesome atmosphere-wise and a very good photo-op!

Participating in:
Water Wednesday

Water World Wednesday

I'll be updating this post throughout the day!