Aug-Sept vegan Food Swap.

I have been so happy that I have decided to participate in the vegan food swap. It's so much fun getting packages from lovely senders all around Canada. Not to mention yummy treats. Most barely make it to the photo op before I devour it.
So since my computer is back up and running I can load pics of what I got for Aug.
My partner made me some curry kale chips which I used on salad and also some coco, coconut date balls which were so yummy! Thank you for the extra effort and thoughtfulness of baking for me! I also got a vega smoothie powder, and enchilada powder mix, chocolate, hemp hearts, coffee and tetley water infusions which I loved to take to work.

And Sept.

 

 

The small bottle is organic maple syrup!! YUMMO!

Thank you to my lovely partners for the treats! I hope they liked mine as much as I loved theirs.

 

I love vegan leather!

I was at Winner's and made an awesome discovery!! They now carry Urban Expressions; luxury vegan leather purses. The tags are PETA certified and the prices totally rock at about $24-45.
Urban Expressions is a small indie company that popped up and is making a great name for itself.
http://www.urbanexpressions.net/index.php/about-us

I scored this awesome bag for $29!!

 

Update

I haven't been on here for months and for that I apologize. My laptop has bit the big one so I can only check on things sporadically when I hit up the library.
I will try to make a special trip just to post all of the lovely things I got from my vegan food swap partners from Aug-Sept.
 

Vegan Food Swap

I was looking for something to participate in and I came across this: a pen pal vegan food swap. I love getting fun mail and I love food so this was perfect. The idea is that each month  you send an email to the blog linked below in either the US or Canadian version and she in turn sets you up with a random partner in your private email address. You send to them and someone else sends to you. The limit is under $20 and once you get your package you write a little thing about what you got and add a picture.

So here is what my lovely partner sent me.

The sweet potato cookies were full of chocolate chips and walnuts and so delicious they didn't last long at all. I need to find me a recipe for those. And the coffee was rich and yummy and totally on the spot as I am a coffee addict but it has to be gourmet coffee for me. And I've always wanted to try something by The Merry Hempsters so the lip balm was an awesome treat. Everything was wonderful and yummy and I am so happy that I signed up for this.

It's also really fun to search out vegan products to send to your partner. It seems like people really put a lot of thought into it and try to find items that are local. I know I had a lot of fun checking out the health food store and now when I am at a grocery store I make mental notes of things I see that could be used in the next swap. This is definitely way more fun than getting bills in the mail!

If you want to sign up here is the blog..http://meshell.ca/blog/veganfoodswap/

Something so small can make a huge difference

To the life and welfare of the creatures around us that we take no notice of. Random acts of kindness.

North American Hemp Co.

I was looking for a new lotion to soothe my suddenly extremely dry  winter skin. Having moved from a damp climate to a dry one my skin suddenly went haywire and became very dry and flaky. My requirements where natural ingredients, paraben free,animal ingredient and cruelty free. I came upon the North American Hemp co. at the drug store and decided that since my skin was so dry it could probably use the wonderful properties of hemp. I purchased Hemp Holy Grail unscented body lotion at $9.99 for 342ml.
The body lotion is nice and thick with a pleasant slightly nutty aroma. I use it everywhere- on my body and my face and have noticed that since I have used it my dry scaly skin is no more, yet there is no greasy residue afterwards.

In case you are unfamiliar with hemp's wonderful properties it contains loads of Omega 3,6 & 9 oils which makes it wonderful for skin dryness and elasticity. A little goes a long way so this lotion will last you forever- ok maybe not that long but a few months for sure. I use it everyday right out of the shower from tip to toes.

The North American Hemp co. is based out of Ontario, Canada which also fits my criteria of trying to purchase Canadian made products. They make a whole range of hair and skin care products from body lotion, face cream, hair serum and styling products. Each contains certified organic hemp seed oil.  For whatever your needs there is a product out there for you.  You can also visit their web site and find some fun facts about hemp's history and skin benefits.

http://www.northamericanhempco.com/home.html

Food for thought.

I have been reading Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin and came upon this awesome quote.

"Think of how you feel when you are angry, afraid and grief stricken. Bear in mind the physical feelings that accompany these emotions. These emotions fear-grief- rage- produce chemical changes in our body. They do the same to animals. Their blood pressures rise. Adrenaline courses through their bodies. You are eating high blood pressure, stress and adrenaline. You are eating fear, grief and rage. You are eating suffering, horror and murder. You are eating cruelty. You are what you eat. You cannot be thin and beautiful with a glowing complexion when you eat fear, grief and rage. "

http://www.skinnybitch.net/

Organic Hair Colour and Care

I recently relocated to a very small town in Alberta- pop.3000. Needless to say that can sometime make it quite difficult to find products that are vegan so imagine my immense pleasure when a local salon opened that is all organic and vegan! I mean everything- all hair dyes and styling products are vegetable based with no chemicals and completely cruelty free. Their bottles are also made of an organic biodegradable plastic that contains tree seeds so that when disposed of creates a fertilizer for tree
growth. How cool is that?

The hair care line the owner uses is simply called Organic Systems. They make hair colours, perms, straighteners and hair care products. They are ammonia free, certified organic and PETA certified
 vegan and cruelty free.http://www.organicsalonsystems.com/

Vegan Etsy!

If anyone out there hasn't discovered this hand made market place they should hop on over right now for some very unique hand made goods and killer finds. http://www.etsy.com/?ref=si_home

As I have mentioned before in previous posts you can find all sorts of up and coming indie designers on a budget. It is a great place to find clothing and accessories made in eco friendly materials like bamboo, hemp, soy, organic cotton and upcycled reclaimed clothing..

Here are some of my pics for items that are good for the earth yet don't make you look like one of those "crunchy granola types" as I know some women do not want to look like what a "vegan" or eco friendly person stereotypically looks like..

The Love Root tshirt by Thelotusroot. Hand screened water based ink on an organic cotton and bamboo tshirt. $28.00

100%Hemp bag lined with 100% organic cotton with poppies made by Uzura $58.00

The Black & White Paisley Leggings are made with eco friendly modal knit. Made by FineThreadz $26.00

This dress is made from ridiculously soft Organic or Eco jersey fabrics (see colour chart below). Upcycled twill fabric make up the "suspenders" that cross in the back and have upcycled large Buttons in the front! Made by Alterecoclothing $70.00

Rock Star Zipper Ankle Boots w/ gold studs and spikes. Black vegan leather with a 5" wedge heel. Each pair is custom made to order by JennyFallsDown. $115

There's something that really irks me about being vegan.The price tag. It seems that these days clothing designers are really adding a sky high price tag for quality items that are Eco friendly and cruelty free. I think this could be a huge deterrent for someone who simply doesn't have that extra cash flow to spend on such items. I recently saw a really cool veggie leather coat that was $570. Now that is more then what I pay for my part of rent! So having said that there are so many small designers that are up and coming who are promoting a cruelty free lifestyle are affordable and they also donate part of the proceeds to charity! One such designer is on Etsy: Love Peace Vegan clothing. Every item you purchase goes to help support such charities as farm sanctuary and the price range is from $3.99-39.99.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lamotif01?ref=seller_info
   

Sexy Canadian Vegan Women

I made a post here a few months ago on sexy vegan men, and since I am equal opportunist I thougth it only fair to show off some sexy vegan women.

Bif Naked

K.D Lang

Carrie Anne Moss


Alissa White-Gluz: From the Montreal based band The Agonist.

Alanis Morissette

Live Clean

I am always on the scout for new products that promote a conscious attitude towards sustainability, cruelty free practices, plant based ingredients and are affordable to boot.

While wandering through Pharmasave yesterday looking for a quick fix for my overly staticy hair ( gotta love winter for this), I found the company Live Clean.

They are Canadian and promote all of the above mentioned must haves. I purchased a shine and smoothing cream with agran oil ( the nut Moroccan Oil is made from because it is only found in Morocco hence the name) that can be used as both a fixative on wet hair and a finisher on dry hair. And it was only $6.99

I popped over to their company web site because I like to know what decisions and companies I am supporting every time I fork over my hard earned money and found they have loads of information on earth news and how the world is growing more eco-friendly. They also have lots of coupons you can sign up for and a way to search your area for local green events that you can get involved in.

Here is their mission statement:

mission
Our mission is to provide a line of products that contribute to a greener planet and perform at the highest level. Live Clean is a unique eco-friendly beauty care line that delivers exceptional results using natural, plant based ingredients. Live Clean formulations are made with a minimum of 96% replenishable, renewable and sustainable plant ingredients...as good for the earth as they are for your body. Go Green without compromising performance.

live simple. live beautiful. live clean.

Happy Love Day

One day I will totally own one of these little guys. I can't help it I am in love with a piggy..

Shout out.

It is a mild balmy day in the Albertan foothills county - warm wind blows off the mountains and while I sit here sipping good strong coffee this feeling of gratitude washes over me. Gratitude to all of those out there who have been a source of inspiration to me; both artful and spiritual. Those who have made me want to be a better aspect of myself and have listened and in turn seen me as a source of inspiration. I need art and creativity like I need air, so thank you for the long talks on cooking, spirituality's, books, letters from Sweden, postcards from around the world and shared and exchanged artwork. I am blessed by your offerings and truly flattered that you in turn find me to be a source of inspiration as well as someone you can confide in.

~NAMASTE~