More Regional Stops & Snapshots AND Even More Vegan Finds

Strange question right off the bat?  I'm a little OCD and can't stand it when I have a post that has zero comments LOL.  I posted later yesterday and earlier today and at the time of writing this yesterday's post didn't have any comments so if you can help me out by commenting on both of the posts I would appreciate it.  Does anyone else have this OCD issue when it comes to blogging?

Anyways...more photos from the last couple of months including this vegan find!  I believe I found this at Giant Eagle in Erie.  It was pretty good.  I see they are coming out with more breakfast options, however, I have found that I am eating them for dinner!

These lil gems I found at Wegmans and I have to say I'm a fan!  I see they have other products that are vegan, too, so if I see them again I will have to try them! 

I also spotted these at Wegmans.  I had been seeing other people post other flavors on IG and when I saw them FINALLY I just about jumped for joy!  I have yet to make them but one of these days I will get to it!

I've already downed this bottle of Goddess Dressing from Trader Joe's!

These I bought at Lakewood Apothecary.  They have some neat vegan snacks there.  I tried these and like them but find it to be an occasional snack and not one where I would eat an entire bag at one sitting.

I also found this Detox Toothpaste at Lakewood Apothecary!  Has anyone else located this yet by chance?  I have used it a few times and it's ok so far.

I consider myself to be somewhat techie but there are certain things I still like to have to physically write in and to have in front of me instead of using an app or device.  A daily planner is one of those things.  I have been on the search for one for what seems to be EVER and a few weeks ago I finally found one that I really like.  This was the quote that was on the front.

While in my travels for work I enjoyed the time I spent on one block of Jamestown where there were a few shops within that block.  This was one of the shops.  It's the Bio Dome Project and they had a co-op/vendor feel to it and carried some interesting items.  I loved their window store front and snapped this pic for my co-worker since she's our resident 'plant lady' and has gotten a few of us started with office plants!

Right next door was The Sprinkle Cone.  I really LOVED the look of this place!  Artsy!  They even have about 3 vegan options daily.

The space is opened via garage door but they converted the inside for this space.

It's seasonal but super cool decor where you can scribble on their chalk board walls!

While in Jamestown I also stopped over at Full Moon Rising Bakery.  They had a nice space, as well, and carry at least 1 vegan option daily.

This is the outside of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, NY.  Jamestown is the home of Roger Tory Peterson who was a naturalist, educator, artist, and environmental advocate before environmentalism was 'a thing'.  His specialty was birds.

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute is right down the street from SUNY JCC - Jamestown Community College.  That's where I went to college and it's been a while since I have stopped over and spent time in that neighborhood.  Down the other side of the street is this park I used to spend time at while in college.  It's called College Park and before that it was called "Hundred Acre Lot".  The history behind it is that it was SAVED by fundraising efforts by area teachers and students and was one of the first School Parks in the nation.

Oh!  I almost forgot to post about this Vegetable Panang Curry I found at Trader Joe's!  I figured it was time for another food break in this post before moving on to more travel and regional photos and tidbits!

These two photos were taken at the foot of Bett's Park in Warren, PA.  I've featured other photos from this park before but I don't think I have posted about the water side of things.

It was a bit on the dry side when I took them.  Sometimes the water is higher.  These trees will be changing colors for fall soon.  I will try and get more fall photos this year and post them soon!

And one last photo for today.  This is another park.  This one is on the other side of Jamestown and is called McCrea Point Park.  It's a nice little park in the middle of old factory buildings and a bit of hustle and bustle.

More Vegan Finds, Plants, Community, and Such!

With the many months I took off from blogging - I still have TONS of photos and things to share!  I'm trying to schedule a few blog posts in between to try and catch up, too!

Here you can see one of the painted rocks I found this year.

This was on the fairgrounds.

I'm still LOVING these Swapples!  If you haven't tried them yet you should!  They are VERY dense and VERY filling!  Soooo versatile, too!

I ended up grabbing 3 different flavors of these at the beginning of summer and they helped me in between meals during fair week.  They are a little dry but the flavor is good.

I'm having some ups and downs with my office plants lately.  I'm pretty sure it's because fall and winter are coming.  I remember that happening last year.  This is one of the plants that seem to be doing well lately.  It's one of my newer plants.  It's called a Dragon's Tongue.

Near the end of August I attended a community event in Irvine, PA, at the Wilder Museum.  There was a speaker from SUNY JCC highlighting the life of a local suffragist by the name of Elnora Monroe Babcock who was born in Freehold Township and grew up around Columbus, PA.  She went on to do AMAZING things in the Suffrage Movement throughout the state of New York, too!

This isn't one of my plants but it's a hanging basket I got for my mom for Mothers Day and it's still going strong!

This past summer I spotted a new-to-me product from Earth Balance and HAD to try it.  It doesn't taste extremely different from their other vegan butters but it is tasty!

I was going to safe this for a work lunch some day but I ended up having it for dinner one night in stead.  It has been way too long since my last vegan meal from Annie Chun's!

I'm pretty sure my new favorite shreds are from VioLife!  I got these at Mustard Seed but just spotted them LAST WEEK at my local Tops and I couldn't be happier about it!

I also spotted a new-to-new product from Gardein while at Giant Eagle in Erie, I believe.  They are still in my freezer and I haven't tried them yet but I'm thinking it will be SOON!

At first taste I wasn't overly thrilled with this Good Karma product but have since paired it with some things like Salsa and it wasn't too shabby.

This is a product that Hillary and I have been boasting about on IG.  I really enjoyed it and wish I would have bought 5 more!  I'm pretty addicted to it, actually!

And here is one of the new-to-me Amy's Kitchen products I found at the Erie Target a while back.  I really enjoyed this, too!

Vegan Finds, Changes, & Updates!

I was going back thru a slew of photos I have been sitting on since my hiatus and realized just how many I still have yet to post - to blog about - and to share!  This post will be just as busy as yesterday's if not BUSIER!  First I wanted to share with you a salsa I made.  I was lazy the other day and opened a cheap storebought salsa.  It was pretty underwhelming.  Once I added sweet corn and black beans it made all the difference in the world!

Before fair week I went to Wegman's for one last shopping session before all the fair craziness!  My mother and I went and had their salad bar.  This is what I was able to find and it was tasty!  There were 2 kinds of greens for salad base, pickled sweet peppers, butternut squash zoodles, carrots, mushrooms, various seeds, cabbage, peas, artichokes, etc.  I believe I topped it with a Pomegranate Balsamic of sorts. 

One of the items I finally broke down and purchased was Miyoko's Vegan Butter.  I had not yet tried this because it's usually quite pricey.  I remember it being on sale by a buck or two so I figured WHY NOT.

I grabbed a package of these to have in the camper freezer.  I have had them before and with the right dipping sauce, they are pretty good.  

In my travels over the last couple of months I have been seeing more and more places carrying Lenny & Larry's!  I remember having them when they first hit the food shows last year and enjoyed the ones I tried up to that point.  I was just so excited that I saw these at our local Sheetz that I had to grab one!

I picked up these but I cannot remember where I got them.  I want to say they were over at the new Giant Eagle in Erie but I could be wrong.  They were pretty tasty.  I would probably purchase them again if I came across them.

These Vegan Potato and Onion Pierogies were something left from last last Ohio Trip.  They were YUMMY and I remember making a Cashew Based Alfredo Sauce which was even better than the Pierogies themselves!  I was just sooooo thrilled to find a storebought Vegan Pierogies that I couldn't pass them up!

About a month ago or more I made my first online BRANDLESS purchase.  There were a few things that didn't go as planned with my order but it all worked out in the end.  This was one of the things I bought and I am so happy I did!  It's delicious!  And I'm not going to lie...I recently had a couple of spoonsful stand alone and straight up.  I know that's weird but it was tasty and I bet would make a good soup!

One thing I made before Fair Week kicked in was this Lentil Curry.  I just used what I had on hand (which wasn't much) but I made do with what I did have.  Lentils from a Halal Market in Buffalo, Frozen Spinach, Canned Coconut Milk, Canned Stewed Tomatoes, and some spices.  It turned out fine and dandy!

Next up is this Vegan Camping Food Plate.  I have to apologize for the foam plate.  I don't usually buy them or use them.  It was someone elses and it was a thrown together potluck meal.  My mother made Baked Beans which were vegan and no one even knew.  I made the Sweet and Sugary Tomato Salad and there wasn't much of that left.  I used an organic and vegan natural sugar for it.  I also made the Vegan Macaroni Salad which is now being requested by many on the fairgrounds.  Of course that makes me smile.  I'm glad I'm not the only one eating the vegan stuff...eventho...the other people aren't vegan.

One of the new things over at the VIP Tent during fair week was the 'throw back' looking popcorn machine.  The accidently vegan kicker was the 'buttery' look...it was actually a non-dairy coconut oil base.  YAY!

Our fair was the first full week of August but this past weekend we went to a neighboring fair.  We were treated to a special 'ice cream' and because it wasn't vegan I wanted to participate somehow.  I noticed they had frozen bananas on a stick.  I asked if they could do one PLAIN and she said yes.  Oddly...I HATE BANANAS!!!!  But I thought I would step out of my lil box of comfort and try it.  When it was completely frozen it wasn't too bad.  When it started to thaw I couldn't handle the banana taste or aroma.  I ate what I could and shocked my husband in the process!

I did find another accidently vegan option this past weekend, too!  This was a Blooming Potato!  I asked the vendor about the oil and the fryers all they used in the fryer was potatoes and the oil base was vegetable.  There were tons of toppings you could opt for but I stuck with the basic potato and hit up the condiment bar.  I put onion, relish, and ketchup on them and they were VERY filling!  It was a WHOLE POTATO afterall!  I shared with about 6 other people, too!  It was a real winner!

Not sure if I mentioned on the blog but I mentioned on my IG that our town recently got a new Ollie's Bargain Outlet!  I used to visit the one in Erie when I was around and always had to hit up their book section for vegan cookbooks!  Now I don't have to go to Erie!  I have one right here!  So far I have bought at least 4 or 5 discount vegan books there and added them to my collection.  This was one of them.  It was only $2.99.

I absolutely LOVE this photo I was able to take of one of the stray cats in our neighborhood.  I felt bad for her that she was stray but she seems to be fine with being outside.  Prior to leaving for fair she was laying and sleeping on our front steps and stoops.  As soon as I approached her she would run away.  I haven't seen her in about a month.  I hope she's ok.  I always worry about our busy street and animals getting hit.

Another thing I haven't updated you all about in a while is my adorable niece who FINALLY started walking the past couple of weeks.  My mom and dad watch her 3 times a week and took her to a local park yesterday.  Here she is with my mother and their dog Lexi.

And speaking of furkids...here are my two pups!  They have been doing more and more of this since we lost Paco.  Riley is about 17 years old and our feral cat Charlie is 18 so I'm afraid what the future may bring with the two of them being older at the same time.  

Cricket is about 5 now, I think.  She is still the Queen of the Castle.

And another thing I forgot to tell you was that I finally cut my hair a couple of months ago and think I'm already due for another haircut!  With my last two haircuts they cut off about 14 inches of hair!  WOWZA!