Progress, FINALLY!

Good news, everyone! Tony and I found the place we are going to get married. Wow, I teared up writing that, hehe. I am so happy and excited (oh, and looking for a job to help him pay for it so Tony can also be happy and excited)! Now that we found our venue, we're really close to setting a date.

THIS is the place! The photos on the website really don't do it justice in my opinion.

Urban Decay: super vegan-friendly!

I'm a little late on this boat as a result of my whole, umm, not posting ever thing, but Urban Decay is too cool to not post about. Around a month ago-ish Urban Decay came out with the most incredibly awesome vegan eye palette. I was stoked because I had recently been checking through every shadow in their other palettes, trying to determine if any were vegan. I was a sad panda because they sure weren't!

The new vegan palette comes with six eyeshadow colors, a small black pencil eyeliner, and one of their eyeshadow primer potions in a pretty champagne color. I think they did a good job of choosing colors that are fun and flattering to pretty much any eye color and skin tone. As with all their palettes, the vegan one comes in a cute little flip open box with a mirror inside and tattoo-type animal art on the cover.

How cute is this?


Urban Decay does not do any animal testing, and they even have a section of their website set aside for vegans. It lists every vegan product they carry. In the stores you can tell the vegan products apart because they put a little paw print by the name.

A bit of a ring debacle

Well, hello again! My last post was SO long ago. Since then, I've been through a bit of a personal struggle involving my engagement ring choice (see previous post). It's not really vegan related, but it's wedding related, and that's priority one in my mind these days!

First off, let me say, Simply Wood Rings is an A+++ company with wonderful customer service. Whether buying, requesting a custom item, or even complaining, they are quick to respond and very friendly. Ok, now on to my problem.

I received my ring a few months back. I was ecstatic... my engagement ring, teehee! Unfortunately, one thing bugged me about it: I didn't like the way the topaz was set on the wooden band (I must say the wooden band itself was spectacularly done!). I kept my discontent completely to myself for the first few months. This was my ENGAGEMENT ring, a symbol of our love! No bride-to-be wants to be unhappy with her ring! Ultimately, though, my internal struggle to be in love with a ring I wasn't entirely happy with bubbled to the surface.

I contacted the seller with my concerns, and boy was it a relief. Lauren was incredibly understanding and accommodating. She offered an exchange or return and was quick to send pictures of other possible ways they could make me a ring with no setting. Well, Tony and I decided to get a different engagement ring, but I still couldn't bare to part with the one I had (I'm sentimental, ok!). After discussing it with Lauren, I decided to have the topaz taken off my ring, and crushed turquoise inlaid all the way around the band instead. It will be like a promise ring I decided. I can wear it on my right hand or on a chain. Oh, and did I mention the changes are being done free of charge? They are too kind.

This is me, so I can't promise I won't have a change of heart, but I'm pretty set on another engagement ring now. I found it in an etsy shop called singleB: Beautiful. These rings are handmade with conflict-free stones and recycled metals, so I still get my eco-friendly ring, it's still not exactly the typical engagement ring, and now I get a socially-friendly version of my birthstone: diamond!

Here's a link to the ring I've chosen: 3 stone ring. And here's a picture!

Surprise!

Ok, well, considering everyone that reads my blog already knows that I'm engaged (everyone probably meaning no one with how often I've been updating), it's not really a surprise. Not to mention I'm almost a month late posting this. But uh, yah... I'm still damned excited, and you better be, too! This means a VEGAN WEDDING is in the planning! Green AND vegan. Just to make things extra difficult on myself! Difficult, but perfect with no regrets. I will (hopefully) start updating with my green and vegan wedding finds. I've planned SO much already, I have some blog catching up to do.

I'll start where it all starts: the engagement ring. My dearest Tony Balogna (tofurky balogna, of course!) knows me well. He took me on a surprise trip to Austin for the weekend to propose, and he told me I could choose my ring. GOOD decision, dear. I am picky! I had happened across a ring I liked previously, so I knew EXACTLY what I wanted.

The site we ordered it from is called Simply Wood Rings. They carry very unique handmade wooden rings. I picked out one of the more "traditional" engagement rings (traditional in comparison to some of the other choices). It's made of rosewood from recycled xylophone keys, with a 5mm round blue topaz. Beautiful and eco-friendly! I also fell in love with their poetic description of the ring. They're making it special for me, so I can't wait for it to be done!

Here it is:

10 Vegan Things I can't live without!

In no particular order:

1. LUSH's new Turkish Delight body polish - I LOVE LOVE LOVE roses!!! This thing is filled with roses and whipped up plant butters. Makes my skin soft and my showers smell heavenly!

2. Etsy.com - a great place to find eco-friendly and handmade things, a lot of which are also vegan! I can spend hours perusing items on Etsy. I hope to one day have my own shop on there. What I'll sell? No clue.

3. Coconut milk ice cream - the brand is irrelevant, this stuff is an insane sweet (but agave sweetened and not too sweet!) treat. Got some Mint Chip in the freezer right now!

4. Spiral Diner - I think I've already said how delicious this place is. Veg*n or omni, TRY IT OUT!! (if you're in the area, that is... they have a location in Ft. Worth and one in Oak Cliff)

5. Cupcakes!!!!!!! - Vegan cupcakes are seriously better than the normal versions. Seriously! They're more moist and less nasty to your body than their not-so-animal-friendly counterparts. Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule is a must-have. I've tried 3 of the recipes with my family (coconut lime, tiramisu, and chocolate mint). They are all to die for!

6. Vegan Beauty Review - I think the coolest thing about this site is that the owner, Sunny, was also inspired by her cats to go vegan (though many years before I was). She always finds all sorts of neat vegan cosmetics and other fun things. On the down side, my boyfriend would probably have a bit more money had I not found this site! GOTTA TRY IT ALL!!!

7. Lip Balm - Hurraw! Balm is the most wonderful feeling thing I've ever put on my lips. I'm also in love with LUSH's new Mint Julips lip scrub. Makes my lips so soft!

8. LUSH's Karma Kream (and Karma Perfume) - The most intoxicating scent I've ever had the pleasure of smelling. This will be my signature scent for a while.

9. Mineral Eyeshadows - There are several neat brands out there. Mine are all Bare Minerals, but I'd love to try a brand that is vegan-only.

10. Soy candles - Candles are so pretty and elegant. They smell so damn good, too! Definitely one of my favorite things on earth. I love Soy Candles by Phebes and Pacifica's soy candles.

Spiral Diner

I feel incredibly blessed that Dallas has an amazing vegan restaurant. It's called the Spiral Diner, and I freakin love it! I actually discovered it before I was vegan, when my sister, Beth, had the family go there for her birthday lunch two or three years ago. All the food is vegan and organic (unless they absolutely can't get a product in organic). Most of the meal choices are vegan versions of traditional American foods (like bbq sammiches, burgers, or even a brunch of sausage, biscuits n gravy, and tofu scramble), and they are so delicious that all the meat-eaters I've taken love it as well. My two favorites (so far anyway) are the Viva las Migas! and the current special, Vegan Meatloaf. I'll be sad when that special is over.

Tony and I had brunch there this morning. Well, more like lunch... he got a Philly Cheezesteak and I had the Vegan Meatloaf. For dessert we shared a Deathstar Sunday -- a brownie covered in a hot shot of espresso, homemade "I-Scream," and whipped cream om nom nom. Where else can I jazz up my cup of (organic) coffee with soy creamer and irish cream flavored agave nectar? It's a dream come true! And because Tony is such a sweetheart, I still have a Spiral Diner cupcake waiting for me after I digest a little!

5 months vegan!

Silly me... I didn't write down what day I went from vegetarian to vegan. I think I really started doing it unintentionally before I made a conscious decision. Anyhow, I believe it's been about 5 months, so I thought I'd post how things have changed for me. Ok, so a 6 month post would probably make more sense, but I've had this on my mind and couldn't wait!

Physically, I lost a few pounds fairly early on, and I've kept them off. I feel much more energetic, too. I used to feel tired ALL the time, so I'm happy to be rid of that annoyance. Mentally I'm much happier and more confident. It took finding this passion for me to realize that it's more important to be myself and see where that takes me than to try to be the person I think others want me to be. Not everyone will like the crazy vegan and eco-friendly Ev, but that's ok. I like me!

I also found new interests. Before I went vegan, I was going through a weird anti-girl phase. My daily attire consisted of crappy old t-shirts and jeans. I have no job or classes to attend, so I figured there was no point in getting all dolled up. I wore my hair up and rarely bothered with makeup. Now I'm in love with fancy soaps, colorful eyeshadows, henna hair dye, face washes... the whole shabang! The vegan scents are so naturally yummy and uplifting. It probably has something to do with the self-confidence thing, but now I just like to look good for me. I feel pretty! ... I smell damn good, too!

Speaking of intoxicating scents, I also discovered a new love for cleaning! Yes, I LIKE cleaning. It's so much more satisfying when you're inhaling fruit and herb oils rather than harsh chemicals. Somehow, a clean home makes life seem so much less chaotic. I also read an article recently in Body + Soul magazine (I freakin love that magazine) about using cleaning as a meditative practice. It explained how most people hate cleaning because it feels so repetitive. You do it, and things are dirty again the next day. But in the end, it's one of the few things we can really control. As you scrub away, you're guaranteed to find the shiny surface beneath.

The last change going vegan brought about I've mentioned in previous posts. Actually, I'm not sure it's a change as much as getting in touch with something I already cared about -- I decided to try harder and do more for the environment. No more bottles or cans going into the trash at this apartment! My long-term plans have evolved to include owning a clean green home with my man and my kitties one day. I can't wait to plan that out! I'd also like to get more into DIY recycled crafts and stuff, haven't really done much of that yet, though.

All in all, health has gone up to priority one. Both my own and the earth's. I feel more calm and centered, more loving, and just plain more excited about life. Okies, I should try to sleep now. It's far past my bedtime!