LOVE your library!

Hey everyone!

I have been super bad about updating, aside from my desire to show how AWESOME Heidi Swanson is. I got her book Super Natural Everyday and it is breathtaking, also featured in Whole Living magazine this month. It's a good thing I pre-ordered...considering that amazon.com sold out! I'll admit I haven't tried a specific recipe yet, but the tips that she gives are always great! Go veggie!

I just finished Mystic River, by Dennis Lehane, and let me tell you it was well worth the procrastinating. So many themes and so much talented writing in one book. After my intense social work research, mixed with lighter chick lit, this deeper read was very welcome. I also read 7th Heaven by James Patterson, which was just so bad that I felt like I couldn't be my normal find-the-good-in-all-social-worker because there were so many clichés and stereotypes that I was not impressed. Next, I'll be reading Unbearable Lightness, by Portia de Rossi. As an LGBTQ advocate, and a huge fan of Arrested Development, I'm excited for this read!

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/books/books-podcast-archive.html

Felt the need to include the NYTimes book review podcast, which keeps me SO updated on the book life whilst commuting for hours to my internship in Queens. I am back working at Borders in NY, and I'm so glad to have the security of employment this summer.

Others aren't so lucky. Libraries have been such a big part of my life, and when my friend Torie and I found out that there were going to be ridiculous budget cuts in NY, we began advocating as a source of our advocacy classwork. However, our need to really help preserve this essential part of the NY communities (esp. Queens and Brooklyn) has become such a big part of us!

Help join the postcard campaign, and join us in June for the Read-In! Seriously, I hope I can get a sweet spot where I can re-live my acting days, haha!

For more info, check out: http://savenyclibraries.org/

I met up with some uber-chic librarians in Greenpoint, and it reminded me so much of Chicago! Love my hipsters out there :)

Be well, and let me know what you're reading!

Everyone needs an update!

So madame Sandra is here, and feelin' pretty good!

I finally have a break from my staying-up-late-to-finish-procrastinating work, so I have the lovely privilege of entertaining Mr. Andy's sister and one of my best friends.

We are both cupcake lovers who appreciate the baking process, so we've hit Magnolia, BabycakesNYC (Where I am praying for a counter job! Keep your fingers crossed!), and soon Butterlane.

I don't have nearly enough time to divulge into many topics I've wanted to write about, but here's a few.

1) Border's in Evanston closing. As much as I sold my soul to pay my rent, I met a lot of people and solidified my love of literature and everything books. Hopefully the e-books don't take over!

2) Japan. Tragic. My love goes out to absolutely everyone affected. One of my friends from LUC is doing business in Japan and my heart about stopped when I heard the news. Thankfully she's ok, but we realize that life is short. Working in a senior center, I fear for the older generation in Japan who saw Nanking and Hiroshima. They are put in this horrible position of having survived this trauma, only to re-live it.

3) On a lighter note: New cookbooks! I have pre-ordered the books seen above. Super excited!

Sending so much social worker love to all! I was accepted to our Dialectical Behavioral Therapy special project for second years. To learn more, click this link. Marsha Linehan, PhD created this remarkable therapy to help those with suicidal thoughts and who engage in self-injurious behavior. I cannot wait for this exciting and thought-provoking opportunity!

Some extra love to my family. When I was back home I realized just how much I love them, and how much support they have given me over the years.

xoxo!!

P.S. I've started to at least type the recipes!

My boo...plural :)

Before I talk about my boos, a few little treats I got for graduation week! Ebay and Crossroads Trading Co. MAGIC :)

J.Crew...$11.00

Betsey Johnson....$20

J.Crew.....$15.00

I have many "boos" these days. I adapted the phrase from Michael, a coworker of mine in the cafe, who stole my heart with phrases like "kitten" and re-naming himself to BooshalayX (the X is silent). I felt the need to give some pics!

One boo is Vegan Drunk Puppy. It's kind of a joke between friends, but also something cute to alleviate the pressures of being a vegetarian/ vegan activist or supporter. So while we can say "Awww..Vegan Drunk Puppy- stop getting sick near the Seitan!"...I do know that there's more to it. :) Some of my other "boos" are the puppies in my neighbor who get walked all the time...SO CUTE!


Speaking of puppies...hipster puppies...you won't regret it!

Another is my friend, Kelly. Oh Kelly! This girl is going to California to live the dream. YOU GO GIRL! She is one of my inspirations: non-judgemental, and just wanting to do some good for the world. Very litle can go wrong when she's around...

Kelly, the other white meat! JUST KIDDING! :)

Which brings me to a new project! After re-watching the tail end of Julie & Julia (with the lovely Meryl Streep- eep!) , I wanted to see what I could do to channel Julia Child herself, to bring the deliciousness of the French to the veggie community!
Step one was a sort-of creme brulee inspired cupcake. IT WAS DELICIOUS- and on a more egocentric level, photographed quite nicely (see I can still learn, Dad! hehe). I have such a love for food photography after seeing how it was done. YUM! My next step is to try Coq au Vin...veggie style! :)


The Yuppie's Vegan French Creme Cupcake!




Another shout-out to Dan Savage, the sex columnist for The Stranger in Seattle. Much like Anderson Cooper to Perez Hilton, Dan is my boo! He is so open-minded and just lets people get cold and unadulterated advice about their love lives, to the point that I am encouraged to NOT overanalyze my relationship. Seriously, there should be a Nobel prize for that :P


A special "thanks" to my Special Friend, who I'll be seeing in NYC at some point. We'll both be going away from Chicago soon, but we can help each other salvage our love of Chicago in the Big Apple. Vegan fraps for you, boo!

More adventures with Vegan Drunk Puppy!

So it's been a ROUGH past few weeks. I've been working literally every day, and I have been in a vicious cycle of getting myself sick and tired. I'm very close to needing to make a decision on grad school, and very few have gotten answers back to me on financial aid. Columbia, for one, was not very helpful in the $$ department.

Oh well, I digress and I think I'll have some lovely choices coming to me soon! I just gotta have faith...and coffee.

In veggie news, Vegan Drunk Puppy has tried the DAIYA vegan cheese...and loves it! Certainly no replacement, but helpful on those rough nights when I can't get to a cheap grocery store to buy anything else (read: Amy's Vegan Burritos...such a college girl!)

I'm done in a few weeks, so I'll have more time to blog. In other news, I've been looking up more sustainable practices for being girly! My graduation dress contestants are flying in the mail from providers on ebay.com

I'm also in the market for vegan candles, and may have met my match on etsy. This Kenny CoOp looks just wonderful, pretty cheap, and has great reviews...YES

CHEAP EATS:
Vegan Drunk Puppy tried to steal my Trader Joe's edamame! It's less than $2.00 for a bag, and you just pop in in a pot of boiling water and presto! Not-super-processed soy for your day....delicious!




CHEAP DRINKS:


$8.00 for almost 2 pounds of Organic Coffee..um yes please!

CHEAP CANDLES:
I bought this candle from the Heartland Cafe in Chicago. I've always loved their food, but their adjacent store is always packed with fair trade and organic goodies! This candle isn't my favorite soy candle I've tried, but it did the job...and smelled wonderful!



OTHER GOODIES:
My new favorite blog is Savvy Abby via VegNews! VegNews is absolutely one of my favorite mags, and this blog is a leading example of why. Recognizing their key demographics, this college girl likes seeing cruelty-free stuff for CHEAP! Excellent job :) Her most recent article talks about cheap makeup, and also features Pacifica, absolutely one of my favorite body-product companies. WOOT! $5.00 @ Sephora for cheap hand cream that smells like sorbet...yum!

I'm so excited!

So I work everyday this week...NOOOOOO! It's frustrating when you nanny and you have another job, because sometimes people don't see he childcare aspect as being a job. It is definitely a job, peeps! However, kids are so wonderful, and the babies bring down the stress level. Take that decaf-nonfat-latte-overly-rich-rude-suburban customers!

Phew.

Anyway, some new discoveries! My sister (the one who calls me a yuppie) is always joking about how often I go to Whole Foods. It's right by work, and I almost always need food, so it's just convenient. So like a blissful Jewish mother, I am so pleased to find how many coupons they have! My latest purchases have included Back to Nature products- the ones that I got were vegan (on accident)!! I was so pleased, as one of the treat boxes is their Classic Creme, basically a healthier Oreo cookie. SUPER bad for you, but I've been needing a mental health break, with all of the transitions in my work schedule and school schedule! I first discovered some of the Back to Nature stuff through a family I babysit for, one of the BEST ways that I've gotten health food ideas. Hopefully, I'll make an awesome mom one day who passes on good food to the nannies!

After all, it was through Kelly, the Food Allergy Mama herself, that I first discovered soy milk, and now I have it just about everyday! Her book is still a baking staple for me- she's coming out with a new vegan book and I am SO STOKED!

Onto my latest veggie news: I am so excited for friendly times this week! On Wednesday, one of my best friends from home is visiting me in the city! Ms. Dana is just amazing, and we've been writing letters (with ink and everything) to each other all throughout college. Just wonderful, and she's coming with me to see Kim Barnouin at my school! After reading Skinny Bitch a little over a year ago, I was struck by the logical nature behind keeping your body more pure by getting rid of meat. I will be unable to contain myself! Dana and I will more than likely be baking, too! I was thinking Babycakes NYC's blondies...in honor of Dana (the very non-stereotypical blonde- I LOVE HER!)

Talk about a crazy veggie time! Kim has a very cool website, Healthy Bitch Daily, which gives lots of cool eco-tips. I purchased 7th generation's laundry detergent the other day, to see if it would be any good, so I feel like I'm at least getting back to some of my green roots as well!

My other best friend Caitlin is visiting with her wonderful crazy friend Suzette! Their meeting the boyfriend, and we're visiting The Chicago Diner.I'm so excited! I also just subscribed to VegNews, so that will be an exciting subscription to start getting as well! After all, the chic Vogue needs a companion. I wonder if steak-eating Anna Wintour would ever consider seitan....

V'Day!

Ahh Valentine's Day...It's my favorite! So many people get depressed, and whine and cry about not having a significant other, but even in my mostly-single-dominanted years, I loved this holiday. I just bought Super Natural Cooking, about a month and a half ago. Included in this beautiful, made from recycled paper, cookbook includes 2 major, holy crap I wish these could be made vegan desserts...panna cotta, and chocolate mousse! Delicious, now I just need some creme brulee! Mi amour and I decided to have a Valentine's Day in this year, and we'll more than likely be vegged out w/ some romantic candles and dark chocolate. What a wonderful year to have such a supportive boyfriend, who definitely TOLERATES my nagging about food.



He took me to The Chicago Diner, and upon one of my best friend's recommendations, tried the Country Fried "Steak." Amazing! Heartland Cafe, also in Chicago, has a delicious BBQ Seitan Sandwich. Pulled pork used to be an absolute favorite, so it was so refreshing to have a veggie version.

My craziness has escalated into my classes. During our mundane discussions about ourselves in my lab class, I mentioned that I had an extensive knowledge of speciality dies and would be happy to help anyone with questions. So, a girl that I used to work with pulled me aside after class and said that her grandmother was just diagnosed with celiac and was anxious about not baking bread anymore. BABYCAKES TO THE RESCUE!

I am very excited that I am getting more connected to the vegan lifestyle, even though I am not vegan myself. More posts to come...including a trip to NYC! :)

Why being vegan is made easier by being in Chicago!

Hello all,
Amidst making coffee, studying, watching children, and occasionally applying to graduate school, I have indeed been researching the vegan lifestyle, as well as the eco-lifestyle.

The transition has been incredibly strange for me. Throughout the past year, the amount of time that's past since I gave up meat...cold turkey (hehe), I've felt like more and more people have switched to a veggie or moderated veggie lifestyle.

One of the best things about Chicago (and I suppose any urban city) is the amount of cheap European/Mexican markets. My friend Travis and I frequent our local Morse Market, and we're able to stock up on not only cheap produce, but ORGANIC produce. Trav is also experimenting with the Raw lifestyle, which means nothing heated over 100*F to help preserve the food's natural enzymes. I've also read some of Ani Phyo's stuff (and subscribed to her podcast), and in addition to ameliorating some of my dairy-based habits, I've made a larger effort to incorporate some of the raw foodist's dream foods. She makes a peach cobbler on her show that makes me want to convert...or move to Georgia?

My boyfriend and I decided to celebrate a bit of an earlier Valentine's Day, and he took me out to the Blind Faith Cafe (of which I've blogged about before, when first experiencing Ratatouille!) and I had the BEST pasta dish ever! It had sprouts, broccoli (a generous heaping amount too, none of this "Noodles and Company" mostly pasta bullshit), and handmade pasta and tomato sauce....with cheese. My chai was milk based as well, but my boyfriend without realizing it ended up having a completely vegan meal. AWESOME! He's so supportive, and even though he gets a little anxious about what would happen if he had a vegan girlfriend whom he had to introduce to his McCain-lovin' crowd, at dinnertime he's willing to try some animal-free dishes.

*Note about Blind Faith....they're awesome...but don't try the Rice Dream Latte, or any milk alternative latte, without an extra shot of espresso- that's just my coffee snobbery opinion*

So, overall, I've subsided to a 75/25 vegan diet. If I had the time/money to go all the way, I probably would. I think the reason that people are leaning towards this (especially in Chitown) is that it's so much better for the environment, and because it just makes you feel better! Anytime I eat dairy, without my probiotics or zinc supplements, my face BREAKS OUT. Acne is not a fun thing, kids, and when in college...dairy, meat, and alcohol (and stress..duh!) are all super fine contributors. Gross. I'd rather have a "easy, breezy, beautiful Cover Girl" face (a phrase I've gotten accustomed to using during the support group I lead...Travis says I'm getting gay-er everyday!)

There's lot of networking food sites, like Vegan Chicago, but I prefer just a simply yelp.com search.

I'm going back to NYC in March for spring break, and my awesome friend Scott (omnivore extraordinaire) is also looking into getting some vegan/ vegetarian cookbooks. Kiss Me, I'm Vegan is a wonderful blog, as well! Ms. Wolf (Mrs?) has been essential in helping me be less-cruel to animals and find cheap places to eat vegan in NYC (which will be crucial considering how much this veggie girl spent the last time she was there!)

WEEEEE! I hope everyone has a magnificent Valentine's Day. As I always say, don't be bitter on V-Day, eat bittersweet chocolate :)

LOVE YOU!