Hello! I hope everyone is having a fantastic week.
With the weather still very mild here, (more an extension of Autumn instead of winter), we are taking full advantage of hiking and exploring. 
Autumn in the desert â–¡
Wednesday's are for sneaking out of work early.
I snuck out of work early (so yeah. my office is still only 20 steps from my bedroom.) But it was such a nice day! We went hiking, did a bit of shopping and had a nice meal out. #Heaven
So when we aren't on the trails, I'm trying new things. Here are a couple of cool finds for November: We are LOVING Forbidden Rice! 
And of course it's VEGAN!
Healthy, tasty and a great addition to any meal. It's pre-made so heat it up on the stove to in the microwave for a nice addition to your meal.
Grab it at Amazon before it sells out. ​HERE ​And I am sooo late to the party on this next one! 
Alpha Skin Care Renewal Body Lotion
It's sooo worth the hype! All the beauty guru's talk about this lotion and for some reason I was put off trying it. But this month I broke down and tried it! WOW! I love it and it will become a stable in my war against aging. ​ It is affordable at under $20, goes on thick, but absorbs well and by the second use I could see a difference on my sun damaged skin. BIG WIN! Okay, I still have about 30 books to review and a couple of new recipes to share...Stay tuned! Speak soon~
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 Not the prettiest apple pie I've ever made, but it was eaten so fast it didn't matter!
We went to pick apples here and had an excess of sweet, tasty apples that were begging to be cooked. I have tried a few recipes and most are full of unnecessary sugar. This simple recipe will make a delicious pie and doesn't require extra sugar or take all day to make. I also bought a vegan pie crust and to make it even simpler. I used a large 10.5 deep dish pie plate, but you can adjust this simple recipe to fit your needs. Simple Vegan Apple Pie 2 Prepared vegan pie crusts 2 pounds apples 2 cups natural vegan apple sauce (unsweetened) 2 tablespoons cinnamon 1 tablespoon nutmeg Vegan butter Preheat oven to 350' (read the instructions on your pie crust) Place one pie crust in the bottom of your pie pan. Peel and cut your apples into thin slices. Transfer apples into a medium bowl, sprinkle in spices and stir to coat. Place coated apples in pie crust, add apple sauce till almost full and place the top pie crust over the apples. Seal the edges, and cut small steam slices in top crust and gently brush with vegan butter. Bake for for 50-60 minutes or until the apples are tender. Allow to sit for 20+ minutes before cutting. Enjoy!   We had a nice time in the orchards. Watch the video for all the fun and details. 🍎🍏  Roadtrips later in the year mean finding fun at home this summer. July has been about fresh fruit, eating healthier, and catching up with old friends. (Okay, primarily online, but still.)  I tried blackberry smoothies, baked way too much and also did a bit of gardening. I'm still looking for a good summer read, as I power through my TBR pile of books and is it me, or is there NOTHING on TV right now??  The weather is actually too hot to move. UGH - So most of my day is spent inside glued to the a/c. I tried some new snacks via VeganCuts and baked at night.  VeganCuts haul â–¡  Easy apple pie- It hasn't been a bad month, just rather uneventful.
Catch up with you soon~  Today was a good day for Vegan Nice Cream! I'm not sure how, but June is almost gone!
I hope you are enjoying your summer and finding time to explore your world. I have about 1,000 photos to sort, edit and hopefully post in July. See you at the airport! 
​It's another beautiful day in the southwest! Here is a quick weekend round-up of what I'm reading, watching, and eating!
Think Again: Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
​by Adam Grant This was a recommended book from a friend and I'm devouring it. It has enough stories to offset statistics and is anything but another dry psychologist theory self-help book. Direct quote, "Intelligence is traditionally viewed as the ability to think and learn. Yet in a turbulent world, there's another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn." I'm finding it very entertaining as well as informative. You can learn more about the book here: 
What I'm Watching: Debris
Looking for something new to watch? Debris is a new American science fiction television series. It is on NBC and premiered on March 1, 2021. The premise of the series is that debris from an alien spacecraft begins to fall to earth and causes all sorts of odd occurrences and problems. Then add in world governments trying to weaponize the debris and people coming into contact with it on accident and having supernatural experiences and you get a nice mix of chaos, horror, and government intrigue. 
What I'm Cooking:
Smoothies! It's finally warming up enough for smoothies! I know it's not a revolutionary recipe but I have perfected the blueberry, banana, coconut, and almond slivers procedure! Okay, so mainly I just dump everything in the blender and call it breakfast.. but when simple works you stick with it! 
​Have a great weekend!
This post contains links to buy the book on Amazon, I receive a few pennies if you purchase (the price doesn't change for you) and it helps to offset the cost of the website. 
Happy Weekend! When I'm not chasing tumbleweeds I'm busy looking for my next read or some yummy vegan recipe to try.
​It's really a beautiful weekend in the Southwest! I've been spending as much time as possible outside, but when it's time to come in these are the things I'm obsessing over.
​Here is a quick weekend round-up of what I'm reading, watching, and eating! 
What I'm Reading: Reaper Man (Discworld, 11)by Terry Pratchett
I'm more or less a fan of Terry Pratchett - but I need small doses at a time of his British wit. My goal is to read all the 41 Discworld books, I think I've read about 4-5 so far. (I better get with it, no?) Currently, I'm about 110 of 352 pages in this novel and enjoying the book more than I expected. I will do a full review once I'm finished. In the meantime, you can read my review of Good Omens here. 
What I'm Watching: Resident Alien
Looking for something new to watch? Anything that isn't depressing? I highly recommend this quirky comedy from the Syfy channel. This alien romp is based on a Darkhorse comic book series created by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse. (Which now I believe I MUST read.) It stars Alan Tudyk and a talented cast of misfits. The comic series has been published by Dark Horse Comics in installments of four-issue miniseries since 2012. Five miniseries have been completed, and a concluding sixth miniseries is forthcoming. The tv series premise: After crash-landing on Earth, an alien takes on the identity of a small-town Colorado doctor and wrestles with the moral dilemma of his secret mission, while also dealing with a 9-year-old boy who is the only person who can recognize he is an alien. (Wiki) ​ And speaking of aliens... 
But on to the food..
What I'm Cooking: Vegan Chickpea Cookie Dough (So much better than it sounds!)
Truth - I'm not a fan of cookie dough. I know some people would rather eat raw cookie dough than bake the damn cookies. (I'm not one of them.) But then I found this vegan, raw cookie dough recipe, and all that changed. This healthy alternative makes a nice dip or can be eaten alone as a snack. The simple recipe is here: Cookie Dough but be warned, you will be making this regularly. Have a great weekend! This post contains links to buy the book on Amazon, I receive a few pennies if you purchase (the price doesn't change for you) and it helps to offset the cost of the website.  As an after Christmas gift to myself I took advantage of Pacificas end of the year sale and stocked up on some favs plus some new skincare items.  This is what I ended up with:  So much good stuff!  Love the top on this Vit C!  This is my 1st time trying - will let you know if I noticed any difference.  I was also excited to try these two new clean shot products.  A couple of days in and no redness or burning from the Retinoid.  I have been using Pacifica nail polish for years and love it!   I was going to wait till I tried all the new goodies for at least a month and then report back, but the way life is going that really means I would never get this post out.  So far the eye pencil has been really good.  I'm not a huge fan of patchouli but I have heard such good things about this perfume I thought it was worth a try.   It smells really good!  I just restocked the hair masks, underarm wipes and the Dreamy Youth day/night. They are all tried and true products I use all the time.
If you are looking for a really good, ethical vegan brand for your skincare and beauty needs I can't recommend Pacifica enough. Catch you later~  Hello and Welcome to 2021~ I hope you are having a rocking time. Okay, before we get too deep into this staycation post let me be honest on two points:
 Work = more money for travel, after all Plus we have to wait until the pandemic is over to do much of anything, because it is still raging in the US. So we tried to make the most of life by cooking, (and eating) new dishes, saving for that BIG trip, and getting clear on where we want to live next.  Greece?  Back to Rome?  Australia? So many possibilities! I'm also working on a December food diary post - And before you ask, yes I will include the recipes. I made everything from Vegan Ch'kin and Dumplings to Apple Pie last month.  Vegan Ch'kin Dumplings in progress..... I also managed to meet my 2020 reading challenge over at Goodreads.  Setting a challenge really helped me monitor how much I was reading... OR NOT reading as the case was... Which will end up being its own post too. If you are on GoodReads as well please friend me and lets compare notes on books, k?  So overall my December Staycation ended up being a busy time! I can't wait to see how this year goes.
Catch you later~  Hi gang, Can you believe it's already Thursday? This week seems to have just flown by! Today's my birthday so it's going to be a busy one. I had company this week and we stayed up late watching the annual meteor shower, eating and laughing! I haven't posted much this month because well, we were too busy enjoying life. Here are a few highlights of Augusts adventures (so far) and some of my birthday goodies:  So much Vegan goodness! We feasted!  Crappy Iphone Moon Picture...from one late night meteor watching.  Early gift to myself! You can never has too much storage and for TWO TB this was a STEAL! Read more about it here:   Even the desert greened up nicely!   Was surprised with these lovely birthday flowers :D   Love them!  And any excuse to make vegan cookies...  And more... (These are oatmeal chocolate chip) I have about a 100 more pictures (a lot of food, lol) but it's time to go do the next "thing" - I promise to post again really soon. The External hard drive is an affiliate link, but I really wanted to share that good price with you. My Mac Book Pro is FULL and that was a life saver...
Okay I'm off to brunch, speak soon! |
Author Welcome to my (I'm excited to travel again) 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 and laugh a bit too! 
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