 The wind is howling and a storm is blowing in. I'm in the mountains so the weather is very changeable.  I may be forced to read by candle light, lol  I'm enjoying these stories. Full review coming soon.  I did get dinner made before the storm started. (This was Amazing!) This dish was super easy and quick to make. I roasted garlic, asparagus and grape tomatoes in the oven while the couscous was cooking. (It was seasoned with green onions and veggie stock.) Then plated the couscous and put roasted veggies, more green onions and slivered almonds over the top. #WIN and instant favorite! Meanwhile the rains have started.  Rain means flowers (and veggies) soon! #Win So I'm not complaining at all.
Catch you later-  And actually you know that could be anything... Mostly it's uber exciting stuff like moving furniture around, watering the plants and doing laundry...(Roll your eyes, it's okay.) This weekend I had company over.. fun, fun, fun.  Right now we are heading to Albuquerque to eat at An Hy Quan, (a Vietnamese restaurant) serving excellent Vegan food.  Yum!  See you there?  I haven't been reviewing any boxes lately because I actually figured you were tired of seeing the same old thing....but I did get a Spring Fab Fit Fun box in and some really awesome Vegan snacks though and thought I would share. Are you like me and love mystery subscription boxes? It's really nice getting something other than junk mail or bills in the post, lol. So here is what I received in March:  Spring Fab Fit Fun box!   Full Magazine explaining everything that is included.  I had to read - but the mask is VEGAN leather. #Win! There were a few items I didn't really care about and a few that were not vegan so I donated, but for only $49.99 I still feel like I got my money's worth. I will probably go ahead now and purchase a yearly subscription. You save $20 by doing this and get first pick on "add ons". If you want to try and a box (and save some money too!) use this link: SAVE You get $10 off your 1st box! (This is my 3rd box!) It works out to right around $200USD worth of stuff...and almost ALL of it is full size, so you get to actually try the products out.  The purse is Vegan Leather too!  The pattern + the cool mint color really feels like spring.  New beauty products included this month.  Oh my, LOVE the COLORS!!  I did read this is made with honey, so I will be donating it.  And a cute bag of lip masks.  Oh! Almost forgot this nice soy candle was also in the FFF Box.  Vegan Cuts had over 15 products!  March Vegan Cuts box was jam backed with goodies!  So much stuff!  I am glad to see this in a "take away" size package.  There were a lot of snacks and also this FULL SIZE box of spaghetti. I buy this brand, so am excited to try.  This tea is REALLY NICE! The Vegan Cuts box is $22.95 (including shipping) - it goes down in price if you buy a 6 month or year sub. There are always at least 10 and sometimes 15 products inside. I didn't take many pictures, because at the time I wasn't planning on posting a review. UH OH....but yeah you get the idea right? I have been getting this box for over 2 years and it only gets better each month. #WIN And not from a box (but notice my new candle, lol) I have been eyeing these marble trays for some time. I finaily broke down and bought one. I love it and have no idea why I waited so long!  Nice, right? I paid a little more to get a size big enough to actually use. So what boxes do you get? Are there any good ones I should check out? Leave me a comment - I'm always looking to try new products and find cool, vegan or off beat stuff.
Once again save $10 off your first FFF box here and enjoy your weekend! See you at the airport~  How can March almost be over? This month has flown by! So how has your month been? March has been wonderful for me. Work is going great, lots of good things are in the works (more about them soon!) And I even found time to read a bit. #WIN  Currently reading..  I am behind in my book reviews...  I hope to post the reviews later this week.  But then the trees started blooming and I don't want to stay inside on the computer...  OMG!   Spring is here!   I have also been cooking less and snacking more this month...  The March Vegan Cuts box was excellent!  Love this new tea.  Really nice and organic. More book and product reviews soon.
Plus more travel tales and more all around randomness! Catch you Later~  It's Chinese New Year and once again I'm moved to plan a MEGA trip to Asia. I really had hoped to go before 2017, but the whole move to England, then move to New Mexico kind of got in the way. Plus there was that hurricane...  An unexpected turn of events caused me to postpone this adventure for a couple of years, but I think it's time to start planning.  I’ve always wanted/planned to sail from California, take in the Hawaiian Islands, then on to Australia, Singapore and end up in Japan. I know that's vague AF and a whole lot of land to cover. I have a friend in Maui I'm gonna spend a week with before moving on to the land down under. I'm trying to allot as much time as I can for exploring there. (2 months? 3 Months?) Then spend six weeks in Japan. And that’s where you come in. Since I have no itinerary, I thought you could help plan my trip.  I also need some logistical help: I want to avoid flying and take boats and trains as much as possible. If anyone knows the best routes, please let me know. I want to stay away from the tourist traps and really see Australia and Asia. If you visit here much you know I'm an 'off the beaten path' type traveller. I like to eat local and stay in holiday houses over big hotels. If anyone has traveled through the region this way before, I’d love to hear about your experience and pick your brain for information. You can email me msoneworld4me@gmail.com or leave a comment below and we can chat. The rough plan is to spend 5 months in late 2020 having this amazing adventure. (Why does that sound so far in the future? It's only 2 years away!) While is this a huge trip, with lots of planning I want the pace to be slow and relaxed so that I have time to really enjoy the experience.  How long should I plan to be in Singapore? Lastly, if you live in the region, I’d love to meet up, so leave information on how to contact you (if you want to host my friend and me, that would be super, too!)
I’ve been dreaming of a big Asian trip for many years. Japan has always called to me and there are so many places I want to visit. Who knows what this trip will bring?! Speak soon~  Everyone should experience Mardi Gras at least once in NOLA. #TrueFact (And if you like it then over and over.) I didn't go this year nor the year before. My friends from New Orleans usually come to visit me. Because to be honest most of the locals leave the French Quarter during Mardi Gras and let the tourist run wild. And wild it becomes...  But it all depends on what Krewe you follow and what type of experience you are after. There are parades, parties, formal masked balls, etc. Not just drunks puking in the streets. I prefer now to only celebrate Halloween in NOLA or go for Jazz Fest. I'm thinking about a trip in early December, which is a lovely time to go as well. I went in 2013 and was ill, so it wasn't that much fun. #FML :( But if you can't go to NOLA, bring it to you! I don't decorate for Valentines Day - instead we pull out the creepy dolls and crazy stuff I have bought over the years in NOLA.  Some of the dolls and feather boas, candles, and of course beads I've collected over the years.  I also have posters, Krewe tokens and lots of other stuff, lol.  What do you think? Festive or creepy?  They will only stay out for a week or so, lol- cause they don't really go with my decor either. Decorating aside, I really want to spend one Carnival in Venice. Can you imagine?  Oh how cool would that be?  #OMG!  Happy Fat Tuesday, where ever in the world you are!
 127 Blog Posts! This is my 8th blog post of 2018. Last year I blogged 127 times, that makes 10.58 blog posts per month, almost 2 blog posts per week. HEY THAT’S NOT BAD. Considering that it is a luxury to actually have time to sleep. I even made the effort to update the look of the website and added video headers, plus some new pages. I have also opted to add a few affiliate links. I’m actually not sure if I want to continue them, we shall see. I also tried to refrain from bitching about work and being constantly exhausted all the time. My 2018 new year resolution is blog at least 3 posts per week. I have never really cared if anybody reads this silly little blog, it has been more about documenting some of the places I’ve been and the insights I’ve had. So I am always surprised that people do follow. I want to say a BIG THANK YOU! 🙂 for your continued support. Okay back to reviewing 2017...  It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...  No, actually it was a good year. I spent most of it in New Mexico.  Which is a state in the USA, not the country of Mexico. Confusing, right?  We are still in the same house. Which we love very much.. This is somewhat surprising. We are still here, on the outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. I post mostly landscapes and of course food picture from here or random selfies, lol. Honestly I am so in love with the mountains and the blue sky here and of course the house. We have a nice garden and mostly this feels like heaven. So I try to keep the house tidy and minimal even though it's big 2 story with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and a huge bonus room I use for an office, but I don't actually talk much about the house. The kitchen is nice, much better than what we had in the UK, but not as well thought out as the kitchen in France. But it works for us, as you may have noticed I am sharing more food picts and recipes. More Vegan Food I have posted more and more vegan recipes and cooking stuff in general this past year. Mostly because I have been home more and have the ability to cook more. I still want to remind you I am NOT a food blogger.  #MsOneCooks  (Avocado pudding.)  (Mango & Chili Nice Cream) 2017 hair I think I have taken more selfies in 2017 than all the past years combined. Remember when you wondered what I looked like? Yeah, those days are long gone. But back to my hair, it is still blonde - And yes, I’m bored with it. I considered cutting it off this year, but I think I will wait another year. It grows pretty fast though and if I do not flat iron it you can see it is really thick. Using the flat iron may make the style look better - but I hate how thin and flat it looks. :(  See? It's everywhere.  Vs Flat Ironed and styled. Travel in 2017 Travel this past year was sparse. Well, compared to other years when I'm running back and forth to NOLA, Florida or France. But I did mange a few adventures...  Another day, another hotel room... Janurary here in central New Mexico started out snowing... I am still impressed with snow. It was fun for a few days and then it was over. #Goodtimes  Snow around my yard. Jan - left the odd snow storm and headed to New York City. It was dark, cold and snowing there too. But New York is always amazing no matter what the weather is like. This trip was part busines/part fun.  In February we left the dark and flew to Iceland. This was a destination that's been on my son's bucket list for years, but I was not that excited. But guess what? I LOVED IT!  It is so friggen' awesome! And totally not what I expected. It did snow while we were there, but we still managed a night trip to see the Northern Lights. We stayed 7 days and it was not long enough. I'm sure we will return soon.  There was much more Vegan food than I expected and while the shopping is costly you can still find inexpensive gifts too. March was a short Vegas get away and April was me at home planting a garden and experimenting in the kitchen. May I had company and showed them around the area here. You can read about it here. I also started a mini food diary to share what I eat (people still ask) and what I typically purchase at the market.  This is the Isleta Resort and Casino - which my guest always want to visit.  Where I seem to spend 99% of my time..  August I began "What Are You Reading?" A quick review of my recent reads and such. Work was still very busy, but I made my mind up I was going to make time to read and relax more.  I'm an eclectic reader, so people seem interested in what I've read and my reviews. It has been nice comparing notes with fellow readers.  I'm still doing book reviews here and there. September another review and of course the hurricane hitting my home in Texas. I actually didn't talk much about it. Maybe this year I will be able to share more, it's just completely overwhelming. STILL. October was Halloween and I was supposed to go to NOLA for a right old party, but I came down with a bug and spent it in bed. #FML (But look out this year!) November I blogged about American Myths and more book reviews. We debated on going somewhere exotic for Christmas, but decided against it. After spending the holidays in Europe and other amazing places it was nice to just stay in and chill for a change. We did explore around the area, here some. Check out this short video if you want to see an ancient Native American site we hiked. I also posted more about my not so secret love of flowers and house plants this past year.  The bright side of being home more is I am able to garden. So I posted more about gardens and houseplants than ever before. It's not quite an obsession, but almost.  Rescued succulents from the "dead" tray at Home Depot. So all in all it was a great year. We didn't travel as much as usual, but that's okay too. I'm so thankful we are able to live in a nice place, with lots of natural beauty and good people.
I'm also thankful for you, taking the time to read my silly little blog. I appreciate it and the encouraging emails I get from ya'll. Thank you for your friendship and support! Do you have big plans for this year? I can't wait to see what adventures 2018 will bring! See you at the airport-  Hi and Happy 2018! Currently in America the weather has gone ape shit bananas...*Yes, that's the technical term. Have you seen all the crazy snow/blizzard/crazy storm picture coming out of the East Coast? I have friends flying in and they have been stuck in NYC for a day already and are unclear if their flight will take off tomorrow or not. They are chill, no pun intended, so they seem to be making it okay. I was digging around on my camera looking for old pictures of us together and found some photos of January 2015. Oddly I didn't post these here. I only did one post for Jan 2015 and it was random crap found on my phone. Life changing it was not...but I am glad for those memories. (Because apparently I am getting Alzheimer, based on the one post "found on my phone"? WTF I was in England in Jan 2015. You would think I would have found something to blog about?) Anyway here are the picture I found on my camera.... (Damn, did I just do it again?)  This was taken on a snowy night visit to the Long Meg standing stone circle. It was freezing! It's located at Little Salkeld, Penrith CA10 1NW, UK "Long Meg and Her Daughters is a Bronze Age stone circle near Penrith in Cumbria, North West England. One of around 1,300 stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that lasted from 3,300 to 900 BCE, during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.[1] The stone circle is the sixth-biggest example known from this part of north-western Europe,[2] being slightly smaller than the rings at Stanton Drew in Somerset, the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney and Newgrange in County Meath.[2] It primarily consists of 59 stones (of which 27 remain upright) set in an oval shape measuring 340ft (100 m) on its long axis. There may originally have been as many as 70 stones. Long Meg herself is a 12ft (3.6 m) high monolith of red sandstone 80ft (25 m) to the southwest of the circle made by her Daughters. Long Meg is marked with examples of megalithic art including a cup and ring mark, a spiral and rings of concentric circles.[3][4][5] Infra-red aerial photography has identified several undated enclosures that seem to pre-date the Long Meg circle in the area. There is also the smaller stone circle of Little Meg (Maughanby) close by.[6]" From Wiki  You know I love visting standing stones and old megaliths. I am also sure I have pictures of this in the daylight.  That was serious snow! Hope you are warm and cozy where ever you are.  Catch you later- Happy Monday!
Hope you had a great weekend. I had a very chill weekend for a change, I took off early and fake baked vegan candy and cookies, we finished the Punisher and went to look at the holiday lights in the neighborhood. #WIN I made a quick video of the lights...see above. It was too cold to get out so we enjoyed doing a slow drive by with a nice cuppa. Some of the lights were so over the top! I really like the projectors people are using to make a complete light show on their homes. I would just sit outside all the time watching it....I love things like that so much. #Nerd Have a great week and speak soon! |
AuthorWelcome to my travel blog, my healthy Vegan lifestyle blog and my life! It's a lot, but it's my passions and I just love to write about it. Here I share tips, stories and photos from my adventures and life. This is the place where people can find daily inspiration to travel and motivation to live healthier lives. I'm just an average woman in the world. Follow my journeys as I travel, shop, and meditate my way through life... 
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