Vegan Brunch: Philly

Most things are fairly easy to replace in a vegan form. Now that Vegan Brunch has taken the world by storm, its even easy to replicate a lot of your favorite breakfast dishes, like the formerly elusive omelet. However, one of our favorite pastimes has always been going out for breakfast. With most diner offerings no longer being options, and our not wanting to pay $8 for a bowl of oatmeal, what is a vegan couple to do?

Well, after a quick search for vegan breakfast venues in Philadelphia, we just ate at home. Kind of a no-brainer. But then, when I was least expecting it, a place serving vegan brunch came onto my radar. Excuse me? I thought I had thoroughly researched this?!? A quick Google search told me that I was horrifyingly wrong, and hence, we had to go. ASAP.

Enter Mi Lah Vegetarian Restaurant, which is vegan, and on Saturdays and Sundays they serve up a fantastic vegan brunch.

We started out with a cup of coffee, with a sweet little plate of seasonal fruit. I love that its apple season, by the way. The decor in this place is perfectly sweet and modern, I really loved it.

It was very hard to make a decision because so many things looked so good. Okay, everything looked so good. The menu on their website it outdated, it used to be a Prix Fixe, but now they have a larger variety of entrees, and also encourage making yourself a meal out of their side dishes. (If you're curious about the price, now that it is not prix fixe, it was actually cheaper for us.)

I settled on the dish I had heard raves about, the omelet. Not really an omelet fan in my pre-vegan days, this was completely perfect.

My three fillings were red pepper, vegan sausage, and cheddar cheese. I was hesitant about the cheese, because as I've said here and again, I hate almost all vegan cheese (yes, even Teese, yes, even Daiya), but this was good. Altogether the omelet was amazing, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and plenty of filling. On the side were some red bliss and sweet potato home fries. All incredibly yummy.

Nick had the Yard Beer battered seitan with Belgian waffles. They ended up being chocolate waffles! He seemed fairly pleased with his, although he said he wanted an omelet next time.

As I mentioned, they have a wide variety of sides, not least of which is French Toast. Nick had to try the French Toast, so we split it, and...it was divine. On good crusty bread, it was wonderfully sweet with just a splash of their organic maple syrup.

All in all, I can't wait to go back. I'm not kidding, I wanted to go back for dinner (we didn't). There are quite a few vegan restaurants in Philly, and many of them are Chinese. New Harmony and Singapore are two we've tried and are both very good. But sometimes you want brunch, and sometimes, you don't want Chinese food! So I'm happy that when this place is done with their delicious vegan brunch, they break out a very local, seasonal, menu. Think: brussels sprout and butternut squash gratin. Granted, they have this at Horizons, but this is less expensive.

The moral of this story is, be sure to go here. Don't even think twice, if you're in the Philly area, or within driving distance, you must go. Oh, and you don't even have to get up that early because, in true brunch fashion, they serve until 3. You will be happy, I promise!

New Harmony in Philadelphia

We have been living "just outside Philly" for a few months now. But since we're always away on the weekends, we have barely gotten to get over there at all. And after my initial disappointment, we finally got a chance to make up for it.

There are a few places that I have really been wanting to try. First on the list however, was a place that was right over the bridge that had vegan Dim Sum. How could you possibly go wrong? You can't, and they did not. The place is New Harmony Vegetarian, and for $12 a person, we got all the Dim Sum we could eat!

Hot and Sour Soup

Steamed Veggies and Scallion Pancake

Steamed Veggies and a Tofu Skin Roll

Steamed "Pork" Dumplings

Dessert: Fried Bananas and Fortune Cookies

Not pictured is Nick's Won Ton soup, and sticky rice with black eyed peas and vegan ham.

It was all good. Every last bit of it. But the *best* was the "Pork" dumplings. They were perfectly delicate, and savory, and just really wonderful. Another winner: fried bananas. It is kind of their specialty, they suggested it as soon as we said "dessert". Simply bananas in a light batter, fried, with a light sweet sauce. It was ooey and gooey and just totally perfect.

Its going to be hard to not come here every weekend! Those dumplings were really that good. Plus, who doesn't love a good fortune cookie?

If you are ever in the Philly area, definitely stop by. Although I am glad to find that my initial disappointment was unjustified, and there are plenty of really great veg places in Philadelphia!!

Animals, Avocado, and Angelica's

I spent this past weekend at my parents' house. Yes, again. I know, I can't get away from it. I guess it is mostly because Nick isn't home, but he should be back sometime next week. Anyway, my brother and his wife were visiting and even though the rain ruined our hiking plans, we still went out and did something I had been wanting to do for awhile.

Sunday we visited Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. Long story short, it was amazing. The tour was great, the animals were happy, and surprisingly...

the skies were blue! We met all the animals on the farm (except the cows, they were on the other side of the field being anti-social).

All of the animals were amazing, really. I don't understand how someone could go to a place like this, look in an animal's eyes, and not see their food differently. I was the most surprised by the turkeys! Those strange looking heads of theirs are actually incredibly soft, and they love to be pet. They're so sweet. Everyone we met was really great, from the goats and pigs to the ducks and chickens.

After the sanctuary we went back to town and I had had lunch at the Garden Cafe, a vegan restaurant. I had an excellent Mexican corn souffle.

The next day I went into the city with my mom and brother. We went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex, but had to grab something quick to eat first. This was nothing special but these avocado spring rolls totally hit the spot.

The fruit is a mango nectarine, which I thought sounded so cool! It ended up just tasting like a really juicy and delicious nectarine, but I'm not complaining. The Rock and Roll Annex was fantastic. The regular museum was really very cool, but the special John Lennon exhibit made it even better. I've never been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio, but the way it works here is really cool. You get your own headphones that are attached to this transmitter, and the music changes depending on where you're standing. Really cool.

We also went to Strands, the home of 18 miles of books. It was cool, they had a lot of old books, but I was tired and hungry, so I visited the travel book section and found a place to eat. Now, whenever I go to the city, I have big plans for places to eat, and it almost never works out. This time, when I had no plans, we ended up being just a few blocks from Angelica's Kitchen. The atmosphere was great, casual but intimate enough. It actually reminded me of a place we had breakfast when we were in Kauai, just in the way like you truly felt as though you were in someone's kitchen. I guess that's why it's called Angelica's Kitchen, huh?

My mom and brother both made their own combo bowls. My brother featured tempeh, which I thought was some of the best I've had. My mom's had soba noodles with a yummy sesame soba sauce. I had the three-bean chili, mainly because it came with cornbread, which I had been craving for awhile!

I also had this coconut carob orange cookie, which was good, although I think there was almost too much coconut in it. My brother had a peach cinnamon muffin, which tasted amazing, plus there were huge slices of peaches in it. It was a tad on the dry side though. When I go back there (and I will go back there), I will get dessert again, but I would definitely be going there for the food first. FYI, if you go, they are cash only.

I know I promised that my next post would be a giveaway, but I didn't want to put this one off, since it actually happened this weekend. Tomorrow is giveaway day, and I'm really excited about it!

Wegmans Loves Coquitos

I think that the obvious thing that must be done when getting acquainted with a new area, is visit the grocery store.  

Okay, maybe that's just me, but regardless, Cherry Hill has been an adventure because there are about a million grocery stores.  Alright, not a million, but in less than a week I've already been to three.  Acme?  Meh.  Shop Rite?  The Shop Rite near my parents' house was amazing, so this one couldn't really compare, but it was decent.  Wegmans?  Love.  Seriously.  I might leave my husband for Wegmans.

I really REALLY wanted to take pictures, but I thought that would look SUPER creepy.  Instead, you are left with my narrative.  

First, off, I didn't really *need* anything per se, I just wanted to check it out.  But I was immediately assaulted by pints of local strawberries.  They smelled delicious, they were red and juicy, and they were even in cardboard containers like when we used to go to the strawberry farm and pick our own (there has been a bit of sarcasm in this post so far, so I feel like I should tell that I did actually do that).  The rest of the produce section was amaaazing.  Three different kinds of eggplant, more types of mushrooms (fresh and dried) than I bothered to count, fresh herbs, dried chilis, huge heads of cauliflower, sprouted beans, organic berries.....et cetera.  The only thing that was lacking was...the avocado.  I actually went back to produce to buy one as I was leaving, and they were all quite overripe.  There may have been one or two that would have been okay if I was using it today, but I wanted it for tomorrow.  I went with a bright shiny red pepper instead.

Then I went into the specialty foods section.  They had a whole Asian section, not only with different sauces and noodles and whatnot, but Asian snacks and candy too.  Other ethnic food followed, and I sadly just passed it all by, because we are pretty much living in a shoebox and I don't have room for... anything.  

Moving on, I went into what I thought was the bulk of the store, the "normal" section.  So happy was I to see so many products that are so familiar to me.  Look!  Puffins!  Look!  Laura's Junk Food!  Look!  Sweet Riot!  You get the point.  There was a gluten free section, a baby section, a bulk food section.  In a word:  Freakingawesome.  

When I got past that, I went through the frozen/refrigerated section, found the tofurky, coconut milk yogurt, and baked soyboy tofu, and then...I was on the "other side".  I honestly hadn't realized that I was in the natural food section because it was so big that I just assumed it was the regular store.  Look at that.  A soda aisle.  Chips.  A candy store?  Yeah, there was an entire bulk-style candy store in the middle of the store.  Coming from a former candy-a-holic this was amazing and horrifying at the same time.  I didn't spend a lot of time on the "other side" of the store, although it still looked like they had a lot of higher quality stuff.  

So, I signed up for my Wegmans card, and skipped out of the store (not literally, that would have bruised my strawberries).  

Gosh if you read that, then you shall be rewarded with pictures!  

First, the strawberries.  Heavenly.  

The first one literally exploded in my mouth (in a good way).  It reminded me of this picture I have of me and a girl my mom used to babysit, sitting on the front porch of our house, with a pint of strawberries we had just picked between us, and strawberry juice all over our faces.  If I had the picture, I'd scan it.  But I don't.  Story over.  

Next, microwavable baby squash.  Hm?  What is baby squash?  

This is baby squash.  I also got some mixed veggies.  

I got these little bags of veggies because..well, I needed veggies.  They're the kind that you cook in the bag because I needed them to be easy.  To give you an idea of why, this is where we are currently staying:

Yes, I can fit the whole room in one picture.  And yes we are messy.  We got a sublet for the next three months though.  We move in this weekend.  We are very excited.

In case you were wondering (which I doubt, its random), Zoe is here with us!  

She is not very happy.  There are lots of young children running around outside, and she spends most of her time under the bed.  When I'm here, she comes out sometimes, but some kids just scared her back under there.  

One last thing.  Coquitos.  Cowhatos?  Even the cashier was intrigued.  

I had to do some research.  The package said they are:

Yes, baby coconuts.  The website claims the same thing:  Coquitos.  I am here to report that you can indeed eat them whole, although they are a *tad* difficult to bite into.    

But they sure are delicious.  They really do taste just like a very small coconut.  They suggest putting them on salads, or grating them as a dessert topping.  If you haven't seen them in a store near you, I hope you do soon, they're good.  If not, just feel comfort in knowing that they are listed under "amazon oddities" on Amazon.com, so most people probably don't have them in their local grocery store either.  

And if you're googling, there is also a Puerto Rican beverage called the Coquito, which is pretty unvegan, and similar to eggnog.  

As a short aside, today is graduation!!  I'm not walking, but I'm still graduated now, yay!  We are going to Candle 79 for my graduation dinner this Saturday.  I'm excited.  Any idea on the dress code?  I know a lot of you have been there before.  

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I have yet to hit up Whole Foods, or Pathmark...not to mention the many other Shop Rites in the area.  Also, I skipped an entire section of Wegmans, they have a whole prepared food section that I literally did not even step foot in yet.  Exciting!         

Welcome to Philly

Okay, so the title of this post is kind of a complete lie.  First, I need to finish with my last few bits about New York, and then...well I don't actually live *in* Philly.  But...well you'll see.  Read on if that didn't scare you away :)

The New York wrap up first.  My last cooked meal in New York had been bubbling around in my mind for about a week.  In fact, I roasted the garlic about 3 days before I ever even got around to making it.  What I ended up with was Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower with Quinoa and Peas.

It really doesn't get easier.  It is just a head of cauliflower, steamed; a bulb of garlic, roasted, 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked; and a cup of frozen peas; defrosted.  The first three ingredients go into the food processor with a little bit of cooking water from either the quinoa or cauliflower, add a little oil (like, a tsp or two) if you want, and it is all blended together.  Then mix in the peas.  While its really easy, and uses minimal ingredients, it is also really really yummy.  

You may have noticed that I stopped calculating my nutrition information around the same time I started blogging with any sort of regularity, and that is simply because I just didn't have enough time.  I'm not a calorie counter, I just like doing that to show how nutritionally complete vegan food is/can be.  That being said...I have time now!

Serves 2 (with 2 tsp oil)

Nutrition Information:  359.4 Calories;  10.2g Total Fat;  0.8g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  82.5g Carbohydrates;  15.6g Fiber;  20.6g Protein

I also have something non-food related that I want to share before I move on to what I am currently up to.  This is the front door to my parents' house (where I have been living for the past almost 2 years). 

On Wednesday of last week, my mom, brother, and I came home, and a little visitor came in with us.  Turns out, we have had a tenant all this time and had no idea.  She lives in these flowers:

And....she has babies:

SO CUTE!!  We named the mommy bird Sangria, and the two babies are growing so fast.  We've been going in the side door to keep from a.) scaring them, b.) Sangria getting in the house again.  

Cut to...today.  My student teaching is done, my thesis is finished, graduation is on Wednesday.  I still don't have a job.  I know that I mentioned my husband came home, I don't know if I mentioned that he got a job in South Jersey teaching ROTC.  Well, he did.  I really wasn't thrilled about it; when I came down a few weeks ago we were not happy, but for some reason, our attitude has changed.  I came down here last night, and today has been a really beautiful day, we found an apartment to sublet for August as long as the credit check passes ::crosses fingers::, I went to the ROTC commissioning ceremony this morning, and then...we went into Philly.  I don't know what happened, but it did not go well.  

We went to Govinda's, which I had heard was one of the better vegan places in Philly.  I, apparently, was wrong.  

Okay, that's a little harsh, but it did not live up to my expectations.  First, we went to Govinda's To-Go, which is apparently different from the actual cafe (which I just learned by reading online, oops), but it was kind of dirty, the employees weren't nice, and the thing that I really wasn't expecting was...it wasn't vegan.  Yes, it is called Govinda's Vegetarian Cafe, but for some reason, I was thinking "vegan".    

This was upsetting because the whole draw of going to places like this, is not having to ask questions.  Normally it sounds like "Is there cheese on the soup?" or "Is the broccoli cooked in butter?"  Which...is actually okay because it just makes me sound health concious.  But at a place like this you end up having to ask "Is the ______ vegan?"...and that's annoying to me.

For example:  "Is the soy cheese vegan?"  "Is that cookie vegan?"  etc.  

In case you were wondering, their soy cheese is casein free...I had to ask about that, almost all of their meals have either fake cheese (or real cheese if you want) or fake meat.  Since the employees weren't exactly courteous, I didn't feel like asking about the desserts.  

All that being said, I had the Chicken Quesadilla.  It was actually really good, although the picture isn't exactly flattering.  

So while the food ended up being pretty good, I doubt I'll go back.  I'm not big on fake meat and cheese, and I really didn't like the vibe of the place or the people who worked there.  

This explains why I've been in a bad mood today, my first vegan place in Philly and I have to give it THAT review?  Not as much fun as I wanted it to be.  If anyone is in/near Philly/South Jersey, or has been to the area and has suggestions...PLEASE let me know!!  Right now I've got a bad vegan taste in my mouth for Philly, and I'd really like to remedy that.  Gianna's Grille is next on my list right now! 

It (Was) My Birthday!

So I mentioned awhile ago how excited I was for my birthday, and then, I completely missed the opportunity to post about it.  I did have a good day, no one important forgot, I got a hug from my yoga teacher, Denny wrote a lovely post in my honor (that's a first, thank you Denny!), and my mom went crazy finding me a vegan cake.  But find one she did!  So, I felt I would be remiss to not share it with all of you.

It is from Back to Earth, which I have actually never been to before.  I've intended to go a few times, but never actually made it.  And, it is peanut butter chocolate.  Oh man...you all are most likely aware of my slight peanut butter obsession.  Needless to say, it did not last long.  Thanks mom :)  

The main reason I didn't post on my birthday was because I was so busy.  Too busy to even come up with birthday present ideas.  My brother was smart enough to ask me almost a month ago, and I got his present a few weeks ago (he's at college), and have been using it, so there is no real picture, but it is this Gaiam yoga mat bag.  

Love it!  I wanted one where you could open it to place the mat in, not slide it in, because my last mat-holder (meaning the mesh bag it came in) was like that, and I hated it.  This has a nice magnetic closure, and lots of pockets.  I have no use for said pockets, but I love that they're there.  Gaiam has lots of other bags and yoga accessories, if you are in need of anything like that.  

My other brother and my parents gave me my presents the night before my birthday, along with going for Indian food at Saffron, and then my cake.  

The only thing I could come up with for my parents was a stainless steel water bottle.  I think the rest of my present will be a dehydrator, but I'm still on the fence, plus, I haven't had time to research them.  Anyway, the water bottle is great!  Its a liter, but because of the way it is shaped I can still fit it in my hand.  Made by Enviro Products.  My brother who lives here got me a turtle Build-A-Bear (the shell is a backpack!).  Its really cute, and he knows I love turtles!  Its name is funny but...well, also potentially offensive, so I am choosing not to share it online.  Trust me, its better this way!  Plus, the fact that my 16 year old brother spent half an hour in Build-A-Bear making my birthday present?  That is almost present enough!!

So that was, more or less, my birthday in a nutshell!  I did go to DC the weekend prior, had fun, went to Sticky Fingers (awesome), and I do have a few pictures from there, but they're on my phone so....don't count on ever seeing them, frankly, haha.  I expect to be going back there soon, so I'll try and remember to bring my camera and take real pictures.            

Double the Karma

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in almost a week.  I’m disappointed, but I honestly just haven’t had anything to post about.  My raw leftovers left me until yesterday, and the one dinner I did make, I wasn’t impressed with.  

It is time to start a new week of food though.  I am faced with a bit of a challenge this week because I have eaten my local store out of their GoRaw bar stock, so I will have to start packing some kind of healthy lunch-ish meal.

Anyway, I have until Tuesday to worry about that.  Right now, I have today’s food to worry about.  Wait, worry?  No need to be worrying about food.  I had my last teaching certification exam this morning, which meant that I missed yoga (sad), but I got to go to the vegan cafe that is near the test location!  I’ve posted about Karma Road before, in New Paltz, NY, its a cool little place.  

You always get a soup sample when you come in, and today was Sweet Potato Carrot.  It was really good.  What I ended up getting was the Baked Tofu Sandwich.  

Tofu, pesto, roasted red peppes, lettuce, and nayonaise

I can’t resist picking up some dessert when I’m visiting a vegan establishment, and as much as I was tempted to have the “Oh My God” chocolate cake again, I went for the Brown Rice Crispy Treat.  

No Picture Because I ATE IT too fast.

Puffed brown rice, brown rice syrup, vegan chocolate chips, and peanuts.  

Both were excellent.  I wish I lived closer to this place because they have an awesome deli selection; homemade veggie burgers, beans, salads, tofu, etc.  There was a “curry of the day” that looked really good, but I was looking for something more portable.  

Additionally, I want to thank the very lovely Paulina for nominating me for the Kreativ Blogger award.  If you haven’t been to Paulina’s blog, go check it out!  She has recently started herself on a very high raw vegan diet, and its so great to see the stuff she comes up with, as well as her recent experience with traveling raw.  

I think I am supposed to tell you seven things that I love.  I will keep is short and sweet.

1.  Sleep

2.  Gym

3.  Music

4.  Zoe 

5.  Sleep

6.  Family

7.  Carob covered raisins

That being said, it is time for sleep.  Somehow, I end up going to bed even earlier on the weekends.  What can I say, I like my sleep! 

Monster Hash

So the color makes this more appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day, the title more appropriate for Halloween, but I figure it is irrelevant since I didn’t get to post this on Valentine’s Day anyway, right?  

My brother loves anything with potatoes, and I’ve had some pretty Austrian Fingerlings sitting in the crisper for the past few weeks, so I decided to make him some hash browns for breakfast, since it was Valentine’s Day, and I was being nice.  Of course, I couldn’t just make hash browns.  I mean...just pure potatoes?  Not healthy enough.  So I made Broccoli-Potato Hash Browns, using my food processor to grate the potatoes and broccoli, which worked so incredibly well, it made my day.

We had it with my Tempeh Bacon Hash, which I posted a loose recipe for a few weeks ago, but I figured I would post it more officially here, since it has become one of my favorites.  

Double Hash for 2

Broccoli-Potato Hash Browns

2 cups potatoes, grated

2 cups broccoli, cooked until slightly crisp, and grated 

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Press it an oiled pan and cook until browned on one side, and flip (I do this in pieces, I don’t flip the whole thing).  

2.  Cook on the other side.  I tend to flip it a few times until it is cooked through.  

Tempeh Bacon Hash

1 package tempeh (8oz), crumbled

4 tsp Bragg’s/tamari/soy sauce

4 tsp agave nectar (honey can sub for this if you aren’t vegan)

4 tbsp ketchup

4 tbsp water

liquid smoke to taste, about 1/8 tsp

1. Mix together the crumbled tempeh with all the other ingredients, let marinate while you do something else (like cook the broccoli-potato hash, or whatever else you might be making with it).

2.  Spread in an oiled pan, cooking until it gets kind of golden-brown, and then you want to keep turning it until it is slightly crispy and golden all over.

Totally easy; minimal, simple ingredients, and best eaten all mixed together. 

Meal Totals

Serves 2*

Nutrition Information:  465.4 Calories;  12.7g Total Protein;  2.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  66.4g Carbohydrates;  7.8g Fiber;  29.9g Protein.  

*This could probably serve 3 or 4 people, but for my brother and I it was appropriate, I like a big breakfast.   

Besides breakfast, I did spend the rest of my Valentine’s Day with my brother.  We went on a little road trip to good old Pennsylvania.  He wanted to go to Sonic.  I was not thrilled with this idea, but I did a Happy Cow search for stuff nearby, and found that Vegan Treats Bakery was only a few short miles away.  So off we went.  

Two hours later, we had our very first Sonic experience.  Of course, there wasn’t really anything for me to eat there, but I did get a limeade!  Their drinks were always what intrigued me anyway.  My brother got some kind of bacon burger on texas toast, which he said was good.  My limeade (diet limeade, actually) was really good.  And, we went during “Happy Hour”, so it was only $0.90. 

 

(Yes, that is the actually scenery, we were in the middle of NOWHERE)

Next, we headed over to Vegan Treats, who have been featured in VegNews a number of times.  My brother was already stuffed, but he was a good sport and had a giant cookie.  I also got a giant cookie for my dad, a cupcake for my mom, and some carrot cake and a mini vegan Oreo cheesecake for myself.  

Yes, two cakes for me.  I ate the carrot cake right in the car, haha.  I forgot a fork, so...hands it was, right out of the box.  No, it was not a pretty sight (ask my brother)...but it was delicious.  Actually, the cake was delicious, the frosting wasn’t cream cheesey enough for me.  I could tell just by looking at it that it was too white, but the cake part was worth it.  

The only problem with this little adventure is that I haven’t been eating a lot of sugar lately.  By cutting out eating sugar after 8, I haven’t really been eating any sugar besides some carob raisins here and there.  So, this carrot cake went straight to me head and I had a headache in about 20 minutes.  

I still had to taste the Oreo cheesecake when I got home though.  You can see it has a kind of Oreo mousse on top...that was fantastic.  The cheesecake itself didn’t really taste like much, which was disappointing.  I actually liked the cheesecake we made for Thanksgiving more than this one.  Maybe they have yet to discover Tofutti?  I mean, I don’t think it is hard to mimic the cream cheese flavor, which I clearly love since both things I bought were (or should have been) cream cheesey.  Oh, and I can tell you that the cookies my dad and brother had were delicious, because I had a taste of my brother’s, and my mom said the cupcake was good.  So, my suggestion is to just avoid the cheesecake.  Not that it is bad, it just isn’t worth the calories, in my opinion.  They have soft serve soy ice cream and doughnuts too.

I was greeted with a nice surprise when I got home too.  Up until now, it was looking like my brother was going to my Valentine this year, and...not that I don’t love him but...well that’s kind of weird.  But I came home to find a Valentine’s Day surprise.  

This pictures isn’t very good, but on the bottom right is an orange and red rose.  I’m sure you’ve seen them, its kind of mixed, and it is my favorite.  There were a few of them, but you can only see one in this picture.  

I also got a turtle in a can.  I mentioned in my posts about my trip to Hawaii that my husband and I are really fond of the turtles, and we would go and visit them often.  So, he sent me a turtle in a can.  Like, I used a can opener to open it, and this little guy popped out.  

He is so cute, although Zoe is a little wary.  

Oh, I also wanted to follow up on the Chilies & Cherries ChocoLove bar.  It was possibly the best piece of chocolate I have ever had.  I’m not really a huge chocolate person, but I ate the whole thing.  I will usually only have a piece or two at a time (I mean like, a square at a time), but I happily ate the whole thing.  Yes, before the 8 PM sugar cutoff (not hard when you go to bed at 9:30).        

Speaking of 9:30, it is rapidly approaching bedtime.  I did want to mention quickly that we went to see Coraline today, and it was...weird.  The 3D was cool, although you kind of forgot about it after a few minutes.  But the movie was just...weird.  I can't really recommend or NOT recommend it, it was just...weird.  Although, I went into it having no clue what it was about, so that may have affected my opinion.  I think I may have liked it more if I had an idea of what it was about beforehand...so check it out before you see it!

I am doing a raw day tomorrow, plus more running and more yoga, and I'm so excited for it.  I hope everyone is having a good weekend!