Friday, September 23, 2011

Vegan Taco Salad

I've developed what some people would call an unhealthy obsession with books about food. I wouldn't call it unhealthy, but only because the books are about healthy food. (On my Kindle alone right now, I have The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life, Food Inc: A Participant Guide, 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart, and Forks Over Knives.) The most recent result of all of this has been to dive into the vegan kickstart. The only downside of this is that the husband is somewhat of a cheese-a-holic, so I've had to come up with some tasty food to, I won't say "trick" him, but to sneak away his cheese.

Last night, I hit it big!!! Vegan taco salad! Mr. isn't big on salads, so it's never something I'd thought of before. But I decided that I could certainly make something delicious enough for even him to enjoy, and - success!



 It was super easy to make as well, which is always a plus. I chopped up some lettuce and tomato, and then added some veg "ground beef" crumbles sauted with some enchilada sauce. The topping is toasted tortilla. The real magic is in the dressing...

Taco Ranch Dressing
1/2 cup Vegenaise
1/3 cup enchilada sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon crushed, dried parsley

Mix and chill. Then chomp away!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Photography Apps

Yeah, yeah, I know, you're sick of lists of photography apps. Well, I am too, at least, I'm sick of lists that include the same apps over and over and over...As an admitted photography-app-hoarder, I am here to share with you some of my favorite lesser-known (or at least, lesser-shared) apps.

I have an iPod Touch and an Android phone, so I have apps on both. However, the iPod has an infinitely greater selection of photography apps (unless you count creepy porno apps, in which case the Android wins, hands down). So, here they are, in no particular order...



Plastic Bullet. ($1.99, App Store) I love this app because it creates random toy-camera, vignette, and light leak effects - perfect for those indecisive moments!


SwankoLab. ($1.99, App Store) It's like everything you love about darkrooms, minus the smell of developer! You get to mix developers, fixers, and additives to create different looks. You can also same formulas if you get a look you love.


ClassicINSTA. ($1.99, App Store) Everything you love about instant cameras, minus the expensive film! It even "ejects" the picture. You can change the cartridge to different effects or simulations of damaged cartridges. You can also change the instant film frame.


푸딩 카메라 (Pudding Camera). (Free! App Store and Android) This is a really versatile app. It's just that everything other than the camera and film names happen to be in Japanese. So, if you can read Japanese, great! If you're like me and you have no idea what the characters mean, you can absolutely manage. I actually have a few Japanese camera apps and can fumble my way through just fine! This one has a couple of motion camera settings and a fish-eye lens, plus some others. 


Are there any photography apps you enjoy???

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Adventures in Couponing

If you're like (the old) me, the word "couponing" leaves you terrified. I don't even have cable, but I've gotten the picture of how Extreme Couponing has made coupons seem like paper madness.

Well, I too, was afraid. But I've started reading Money Smart Fashion this year, and I have been inspired by the way Grace tackles saving without making clothes out of burlap sacks or eating nothing but Ramen noodles. Plus, she coupons and doesn't seem like a lunatic!

So I started focusing on saving dough. 

And then, my new Kindle (with special offers) offered me How to Shop for Free for $1. Great savings on a book about savings? It was obviously a sign.

So I took to working the coupon world. I got a subscription to the Sunday paper (with a coupon code, of course). I became a BzzAgent (it's amazing - it's how I got the food below for free). I've printed stacks of coupons. I've nabbed any available coupons in my path. I've added a bunch of couponing blogs to my Google reader. 

I'm certainly not "extreme", but I have saved a good deal of money. And donated to the food/toiletries pantry at work. This couponing thing is pretty fantastic.


Everything in the picture (except Elvis) set me back $6.50. It's not free, but it will do!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Achoo!

I think it's official: I'm sick. The first couple of weeks of the semester = lots of people mulling about = lots of people at work sick...

My brain is mush, so instead of some kind of content, I present you with the following list of things that I think would help me (or others) feel better.










Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Pre-Wedding

Since yesterday was our first monthiversary, I thought it was about time to post some more about the wedding.

There are far too many pictures to post at once, so I'm thinking some type of chronology is in order. We had a teeny wedding with about two dozen guests at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa. Lucky for me, my new aunt & uncle-in-law are professional photographers. Between their amazing pictures and our growing collection of toy cameras, it was quite the well photographed event!

Putting my bouquet together with my mom and Abby.

Abby making some doofy face amidst our getting-ready mess.

Brian's mom tying his tie.

I married this guy!

(Photos by Mark Suban)


The wedding, reception, and post-wedding mini-moon to come!




Tuesday, September 6, 2011

After Work Adventures in Food

(Disclaimer: August was super busy with getting married and work/school picking up, so I slept on the last half of the 30 Day Photo Challenge. D'oh. I'll post wedding posts and such soon! In the meantime...)

Brian's adventures in craigslist pickups this evening led to a short, but exciting adventures in food. 

Lucky for me, the person he was meeting led us to a coffee shop I had never tried: Downtown Credo. I had never heard of it before going, but the coffee is tasty, the atmosphere is swell, and although I'm either tired or their website is vague, it seems like they're doing good things.



On the way there, yours truly remembered it was Tuesday, meaning we could stop at the Lake Lily Food Truck Cafe on the way home! I hadn't been there in a while, and to my surprise, there were new food trucks! And at least one of them even had food I could eat!

While I was waiting for cupcakes (see below), Brian found The Gastro-Truck and ordered himself some mac & cheese and a grilled cheese for me. Tasty!



And last, but most certainly not least, cupcakes!!! The first part of the month is always very exciting as that's when The Yum Yum Truck  debuts their new flavor. This month, in honor of impending autumn, it's Hootenanny Harvest Apple! And it's scrumptious! So scrumptious in fact that I'm having a hard time not eating the one Brian was too full to eat. Must...not....steal...husband's...cupcake...