Another Vegan Sandwich Idea

I have come up with a new delicious vegan sandwich. Here is what you need ;

• Yves Bologna Slices or Tofurky,
• Dijon mustard, 
• pickles, 
• lettuce, 
• onions, 
• black pepper. 

Squeeze these ingredients between two pieces of bread, into a tortilla or pita, then voila! You have a great sandwich :)

Jojoba Oil and Shea Butter

Very recently, I headed to my local health foods store and purchased a jar of 100% pure Shea butter, and a bottle of 100% pure Jojoba oil for the first time.

I'll start off with my favorite of the two, Shea butter.

There you have it, this amazing jar of goodness, from a cruelty-free brand (now). 

Here is why and what I use it for. I am lactose intolerant, and whenever I eat food containing lactose, my skin dries up. I get flaky, red, dry spots. This also gets worse during the winter season (here in Canada, it gets pretty cold...). If you have happened upon my LUSH Skin Drink review, you're probably wondering why I needed another moisturizer. Truth is, the Skin Drink wasn't doing much for my dry/flaky spots, despite it being great for my all-over face moisturizer. 

My brother gets eczema, and uses Shea butter to help with this. My sister has also converted to using Shea butter as her only moisturizer. Being surrounded by these avid Shea butter users, and in the need of a really good moisturizer, I decided to test the waters. 

This stuff really moisturizes well, it is soothing, clears away dry, flaky skin, and can be used anywhere else on your body. Also, a little goes a long way. It is truly amazing. You need only to warm the product up by rubbing your fingers over it, in order to make it a good spreading consistency, then you're ready to go. I urge you to try this.

Next is the Jojoba oil.

It is said that this oil is the one that most resembles our skin's sebum, so is known for it's pore clearing uses. When applied to oily spots on the skin, it goes down into your pores and clears it out, without being replaced by sebum and dirt, because your skin believes it is oily enough already. 

I've been rubbing this directly on my forehead and nose, where I get blackheads, and I won't say that they are completely gone, BUT I have noticed and improvement, and I think that a bit more time using this product will do some good.

I've been thinking of experimenting with the oil by mixing it with some sort of moisturizer, then just putting the moisturizer all over my face all the while getting my dose of jojoba oil... It's an idea, with which I have yet to follow through. If I do end up doing anything with it, I will talk about it in here :)

One thing that I love about these two products is that they are 100% pure and natural, so I'm not worried about putting harsh chemicals or anything on my precious skin. 

Delicious Meat-free Sandwich

Like many, I am a lover of sandwiches. That being said, I am NOT a lover of meat, on or off the bread. Here is a great alternative for those lacking vegetarian (or vegan) sandwich ideas that give them a dose of protein.

- Spread Baba Ganoush on two toasted (or not) pieces of whole grain bread;
Conveniently, this spread contains protein, as it is made of chick peas, so it also replaces the meat in the sandwich.
- Add any veggies you like. I opt for lettuce, carrots, onions, and pickles. If you feel like it, baby spinach, radishes, celery, cucumbers or any other vegetable would be great on this.
- Add pepper over your veg mountain, and squish it all together and enjoy!

This would also taste great as a wrap, or even with a bit of cheese for those who eat it (I confirm that it tastes amazing with cheese). If you don't like Baba Ganoush, or are scared to try it (don't be, the eggplant is not at all the dominant taste in it), hummus is also great in this sandwich.

Let me know your alternate versions of this. Enjoy!

Pondering (end of the world, the gift of life)

As the end of the world passed
She knew, if it were to have really happened,
She would have had regrets.
Regrets, in regards to what?
Relationships.
But does this matter?
For when one is dead, they cannot feel.
They cannot think.
Would the regret be there?
Would she be conscious
of all the things she has not done?
Is this all worth it?
If in the end, you don't know
what has come,
and what has gone,
what has been missed,
or over exploited.
Did she spend to much time in her head?
Too little time enjoying the "life"
that she was forcibly given?
Too much pondering?

The gift of life.
Is it really a gift?
Or more of a burden,
an inevitable unhappiness,
in which one struggles for happiness?

A.W.

Christmas Food and Boxing Day Haul

Merry Christmas to all! And I hope all other celebrations for different religions around this time of the year are going well as well. I hope your holidays are relaxing and fun. :)

So today I'd like to address, firstly, FOOD during the holidays. I'm sure many others go through the same thing as me every year. We know how it goes... "Yay! The holidays are here, I'm going to eat delicious Christmas dinners and have people's special desserts that taste oh-so-good!" But then comes the time when you're eating said foods, and you start to feel full... But your brain tells you "It's ok, it's Christmas, it's the time to eat more than usual.". So you end up eating so much that you forget what hunger feels like, and can barely appreciate all the good food on your plate. Why is this large amount of food even a requirement for Christmas??! I can literally count more than 5 different desserts in my kitchen right now. This is too much. So every once in a while during the holidays you think: "Tomorrow, I won't eat to the point that my pants are too tight". But come on, lets not lie to ourselves, this mini-resolution can last up to half the day, because once you set eyes on another sweet pastry or cookie, you eat more. The presence of all this food causes me to feel so tired and over-stuffed the whole duration of the holidays. I'd really love to just have regular meals, and maybe one dessert, but not to have twice the size meals and a very impressive choice of desserts that you just HAVE to taste all of them. And don't even get me started on the munchies that sit around between meal times. TOO MUCH! (I won't deny though, that I love every single bite I put into my mouth... Christmas food is delicious.)

So on a different note, I'd like to tell you about two things I bought on Boxing Day.  The first thing I picked up was this tarte mascara called Lights, camera, lashes.

This is a cruelty free and natural makeup brand that I have had my eyes on forever. I'm thrilled to finally have bought one of their products. I've used it for the first time today, and I've got to say that my lashes look great! They're really long, and look thicker than usual, which I love. This mascara goes on smooth and leaves no clumps, and from what I've seen, doesn't flake either.

I then bought a yoga DVD featuring Deepak Chopra and Tara Stiles. I'm familiar with Tara Stiles from her YouTube yoga videos. (Here is her channel, btw, she's great if you're interested http://www.youtube.com/user/TaraStilesYoga?feature=g-high-u). The DVD I got is the Strength and Energy edition. I have yet to try it out, but I'll probably get on that tonight. Yoga has been my go-to physical activity as of late. It stretches, strengthens, makes me feel really happy and energetic, and it seems that my nutritional choices improve when I regularly practice. I love it, and if you're not into it yet, check out Tara's videos for an easy intro! I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Thanks for reading!
Ames xxo

Help the Animals!

The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily so they can meet their quota of getting FREE FOOD donated every day to abused and neglected animals in their shelters.

It takes less than a minute (only about 15 seconds actually) to go to their site and click on the purple box titled, ‘Click Here to Give - it’s FREE!’. Every click gives about .6 bowls of food to sheltered dogs. You can also click daily!

Keep in mind that this does not cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising.

Go to the website here.

Please and thanks you guys! Show love and care for the animals, especially during this holiday season!

Much love,

ames

Award Nomination!

Today I had the pleasant surprise to be nominated by http://humanelychic.blogspot.ca/ (Camila) for a Liebster Award. Thank you very much :)


The Liebster Award is for new bloggers with under 200 followers. And I'm sure you would agree I fall into that category :) Its an awesome opportunity to help relatively unknown amazing wonderful bloggers get more exposure. 

Here are the rules:

1. If you are nominated for the award, post it up on your blog and thank other person who awarded you.

2. In the post let everyone know 11 facts about yourself.

3. Answer the 11 questions your nominee has asked you.

4. Choose 11 other bloggers with under 200 followers to nominate (not the person who nominated you), link to their blog and make sure you let them know they are nominated.

5. Choose 11 questions for your nominees to answer.

6. The nominees do their bit and the Liebster love keeps going round and round.

So here are my 11 facts:

1. I am very shy. 
2. I feel more pain for the dying animals in movies than for the humans.
3. If I lived on my own, I would be completely vegetarian.
4. I have only ever been to two countries (Canada, where I live, and USA - Maine and NY).
5. I have seen the northern lights.
6. I have moved multiple times around Ontario.
7. In my room, there is no main light with a light switch ..I have four different lamps, and when I need to turn the first one on, I blindly make my way across my room, arms outstretched, feeling for the switch.
8. I sacrificed a double bed for a single because it meant I would have more space for bookshelves in my room.
9. I am frequently told that I closely resemble Zooey Deschanel (and have the personality of Jess, her tv character from New Girl).
10. I hate the heat.
11. I like to draw.


 My answers to Camila's questions:

1. What is your favorite color?
It changes with my mood. Right now, it is purple :)

2. What languages do you speak?
French and english.

3.Have you ever lived in another country, other than your native country?
No :(

4. What is your favorite book? And why?
THE ENTIRE HARRY POTTER SERIES I CANNOT GET OVER THE AMAZINGNESS THAT JK ROWLING HAS CREATED <3

5. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Since I have not visited many parts of the world, I will say underwater (I truly would love to be a mermaid haha), because my opinions on other places are not very in depth... So why not choose somewhere impossible? That's my way to do it.

6. Who's your celebrity crush?
Ezra Miller -I can not comprehend the beauty of this man.


7. From famous people who have passed on, who would you choose to go on a date (does not have to be romantic) just to chat about their life?
Elvis Presley, babeh.

8. What is your favorite candy/sweet?
There are so many... I blame it on the french culture in me. That being said, I will pick sucre à la crème, a delicious french desert that we usually eat around Christmas time :)

9. Are you a dog person or cat person? 
Cat, usually, but I think that is because of the amazingly human personality that my cat has... I doubt I ever find a cat as friendly as mine.

10. What is your favorite cruelty-free makeup line?
For what I've had the chance to try, I like Physician's Formula, although, as soon as i get my hands on a Tarte product, I think it will take the cake.

11. Who is your favorite Youtube Makeup Guru? and Why? I you don't have one, who inspires you in the aspect of beauty & fashion?
ilymorgannn :  http://www.youtube.com/user/ilymorgannn 
She is about cruelty free products, body modifications, and this girl is so confident and real, I love her.


Alright, so Camila is my only follower, and I'm pretty sure the blogs that I follow have many followers... So if you're reading this, going HEY I HAVE UNDER 200 FOLLOWERS AND I LIKE THE SAME STUFF THIS GIRL LIKES, then, by all means, let me know about your blog in a comment and I'll check it out and probably nominate you :) 
Thanks again Camila!!!