Arts Festival

On Friday, Mark and I packed up and drove to Salt Lake for the weekend. No big surprise here; I didn't even think to take my camera so what I get to post is some blurry pictures from my cell phone. Aren't you all excited? 

Nonetheless, we did have a great weekend! When we arrived in Salt Lake, we went out to eat at Sage's Cafe, a lovely vegetarian restaurant in downtown. I ordered the Pesto Sub with tempeh, and it was SO DELISH! Salt Lake has so many good places to eat, I love it. 

After that, we went to James' house (Mark's brother) and stayed the night. I played the Wii for the first time, and it was fun! I am so bad at it though...I think I have the reflexes of an old woman. 

On Saturday, James, Aleisha, Mark and I met up with Mark's sister Julie and her husband, Christopher. We got a quick bite at the Blue Plate Diner. Everyone got burgers and I ordered the Vegan Burger with guacamole. Scrumdiddlyumptious!  

Later that night we went to the Arts Festival to see Julie perform.  She teaches belly dancing and some of her troop and other girls danced for a bit. It was a amazing. I had the inspiration to whip out my cell phone and take a video...but by the time I finally did, it was too late. As usual! So I thought I would provide a clip via YouTube of her and her troop. They are awesome dancers.

Julie is the tall dancer that is on the back right starting at frame 0:10 I think. I really wish that I would have had a clip from the Arts Festival, because they had a live band and the song was amazing. Makes me wish that I knew how to belly dance. :) 

After Julie performed, we strolled around and looked at the local vendors. I managed to buy two headwraps, and they are adorable. Everything else was pretty pricey though, and I'm pretty sure that I'll never be able to buy any real art from there. Bummer. 

Here's a picture I took of Mark during the festival. Sorry for not being able to see Mark too well. It was a shame that I didn't figure out my camera has a "night" setting until later! That is the city council building in the background. So beautiful!

I finally managed to take a somewhat decent picture of how it was set up. There were plenty of people performing, plenty of people, and even more cups of beer floating around. So of course, you know what that means, drunken creeps galore! One guy walked up to me and put his hand on my back and tickled my arm, telling me to sing the words to the song "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". I told him that I didn't know the lyrics to that song (I really do, for the record) and thankfully he left me alone. Too bad that Mark wasn't around me, he would have laid the smackdown! 

When that happened, Mark was standing over by the Earth Harp. I had no idea something like these things existed and it was so amazing to see. Unfortunately, we never got to hear it be played. The base was at the steps of the library, and the top of the harp was tied to the walkway above. Who thinks of these things? It was definitely one of the coolest things at the festival. 

It was such a fun weekend. Salt Lake is so much fun to visit in the summer, and it was so nice to spend the night at James and Aleisha's. 

Hopefully we'll have many more of these summer nights, and I never want them to end!

 

Recipe Time!

I thought it might be fun to start posting a few of my favorite recipes on here. I love cooking in the summer when I actually have the time and money to make decent food. This is one of my all-time favorites and it is so easy and cheap to make. I hope it'll be your favorite, too! This is my brother's recipe, so he gets all the credit. 

Cory's Chili (Veggie Version)

1 onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. chili powder

1 T. cumin

dash of cayenne pepper

1 T. sugar

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 small can tomato sauce

2 cans of beans (I usually use one kidney, one black)

1 bag meatless burger crumbles (optional)

one bunch cilantro

In a large stockpot, sauté the onion and garlic in a little oil. Be careful not to burn the garlic, but cook onions until they are translucent. Add the spices and the sugar. Add tomatoes and both cans of beans (add the whole can). Cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat, or until the chili starts to simmer a little. If you are adding the meatless crumbles, add them now. Add about a 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro and stir just before serving.

One reason why I love this recipe is because there are so many things that you can do with it. If I have a few extra veggies in my fridge that I need to use (such as peppers or corn) I add them and it tastes amazing. You can make "loaded" chili and add tons of toppings, such as crushed tortilla chips, extra cilantro, guacamole, or just avocado slices. Yum! And since I'm so obsessed with cilantro, I add an extra heap to my bowl when I eat it, so I usually use the whole bunch.

Vegan Revolution!

Some of you have probably heard that I am now mostly vegan.  I decided to make the transition to veganism from being an off and on meat-eater. It's been a few months now, and for the most part I haven't missed meat, dairy, or eggs much! I've found it pretty easy to eliminate most of this stuff from my diet. There are only a few things that are constantly tempting me... Cafe Rio Creamy Tomatillo salad dressing and desserts. So hard to resist!
You might be wondering what on earth I am thinking going vegan, so I have provided a clip via YouTube to explain just some of the reasons why I am. :D




Luckily, I am not alone. Oprah and Ellen have also gone vegan, too! (Although I'm not sure if Oprah's is permanent yet.) I admit it sounds daunting, but with a few changes here and there, I love what I eat. I made some "vegan" chocolate chip cookies and passed them around at work, and they were a hit! It is actually pretty surprising, haha. Last Saturday, I made cinnamon rolls and replaced the milk with soymilk, the butter with Earth Balance, and the eggs with egg replacer, and I couldn't even tell the difference! Mark likes them too, which makes me ten times more happy. Hooray!
Here's to being vegan and still being able to enjoy delicious desserts! Now I just need to work on a substitute for that creamy tomatillo dressing...

I'm a Reel Lawn Mower!

Our landlord has graciously provided us with a lawn mower for the lawn out front. It is our neighbor's job to do it, but he has mysteriously disappeared and has been gone for a few weeks. So Mark and I have taken up the opportunity to do some yard work. However, there's only one small detail; the lawn mower looks like this:

EEK! Has anyone else tried mowing a lawn with these things? It is quite the effort. No wonder everyone back in the day was so skinny. :) But there is something satisfying about being able to mow a lawn with it. I love it! 

A Few of My Favorite Things...

When I was in Seattle, I stopped by a little store called Fireworks. It was in the SeaTac Airport, although I know they have several other stores in Seattle. I saw some soaps that were "all natural" so I gave some of them a sniff. They all smelled AMAZING! But my favorite one of all was this...

This soap by Pacifica smells so unbelievably delicious...I bought two of them! (One is for a gift, but I admit, I'll have a hard time giving it up!) And it doesn't say it on the package, so I don't know if it is a fluke or something, but one side has an exfoliating scrub. It feels like a dream! After my bar is gone...I just might die if I don't get another to replace it. 

And my next favorite item:

Can't beat 10 dollars from a street vendor! As long as I tried to refrain from buying the 80s style shades, I just couldn't take it any longer. By the way, the stripes are GOLD. I am in love. I admit I look pretty amazing in them, (ha ha)but I think Mark looks even more amazing. 

Oh, Seattle

Well, we did it! We went to Seattle this past weekend and it was a blast. We both loved it up there and it didn't even rain the entire time! It was actually really hot. But we really really enjoyed it. Luckily our hotel, the Ace Hotel, was located right in downtown, so we got to walk everywhere. (By the way, if you are ever going to Seattle, I would recommend the Ace. Cheap, affordable, and the beds are incredible! The only downside is that it is European style, which means you share a bathroom. It wasn't a problem at all and the bathrooms were clean and always open. There are rooms with bathrooms in them, but they are more expensive.) Anyway...where was I? Oh yes, most of the downtown attractions were within a few blocks of where we were and also right by the water. Just perfect.

Eight Belles

I was so saddened to hear about the tragic story of Eight Belles over the weekend. She was the filly who ran in the Kentucky Derby and placed second...only to shatter both of her ankles at the end of the race. Since the injuries were so extreme, she was euthanized on the track, with only ambulances to block the view of the spectators.

I can only hope that another horse won't have to die in this sport for some rules and minds to change. I definitely don't think this is an "honorable death" for a horse, and I don't think that any horse would choose to run until it's ankles shattered unless it was forced to. 

In the meantime, rest in peace Eight Belles. I know many people will miss you.