Artist & Flea

Posted on November 19, 2014November 19, 2014 by Amanda

Who doesn’t adore delicately hand crafted one of a kind pieces? Especially in this overtly commercial main-stream society, creative artisan pieces are rare to come by.

This girl right here, goes googoogaga over hand crafted unique pieces, from jewelry, clothing, to furniture. I love them all!

So I visited the newest up and coming flea market in Williamsburg- Artist & Fleas!

I walked in the reconstructed warehouse and instantly felt at home- or maybe I just wanted to move in! The decor from bottom to top of the warehouse was creative, hip, trendy, and original; not to mention the individual touches each vendor created in their sectioned area. It was colorful and fun with so much to look at! There was something there for everyone from bow ties, jewelry, pet clothes and collars, clothing, shoes, and home appliances. The items were all so unique and beautiful. I wish I could buy one of everything. I brushed by each vendor admiring their talents and gently crafted work with a cup of lemongrass and ginger tea while starting small conversations eager to find out their story.

Immediately, I caught a view of build-able modern earrings hand crafted by the lovely Trime Modular Jewelry. Her work was remarkable and creative. We chatted for a bit and found out they are vegans also headed to the Vegan Shop Up! It was a special moment of connectedness that I appreciated deeply. You can check out her work at her website via this link.

Proceeding through the warehouse, my attention was directed towards a unique vintage gold chain with a hand wrapped amethyst stone dangling. I tried it on, and couldn’t take it off! I fell in love with its organic presence as the stone is rough and raw. I received multiple compliments throughout the day and was so happy with my purchase! Thank you Sparkle Farm!

Chase purchased a beautiful hand crafted mala bracelet by the talented Leila V. Khoury. Her work is remarkable! She was darling and sweet. I recommend anyone interested in Mala Beads to check out her Etsy shop via this link. She can also create hand made pieces as she did for chase! She is so awesome.

I continued throughout the market and behold my eyes met another meant to be hand crafted necklace, and I quickly purchase the vintage gold plated elephant necklace. Elephants are known for luck within symbolism when their tusks are raised, and who doesn’t need some “luck” in their lives? Marina at Giorgie Jewelry was super helpful and had a variety of charms and chains to choose from also available on her Etsy shop!

(Necklaces I purchased shown above)

Wow! What a busy weekend I had. It was so magical and enchanting in Brooklyn! I look forward to doing more traveling and reporting and sincerely look forward to more trips to Artist & Flea for vintage hunting and gathering to share with my readers and Etsy shoppers!

Thanks for stopping by and reading! Stay tuned for some vintage pieces on the Etsy shop!

Vegan Shop up!

Posted on November 16, 2014November 16, 2014 by Amanda

Imagine this, you’re walking into a bar, and not only are there magnificent hand crafted looking Bloody Mary’s in every ones hand, but a monster wave of aromatic flavors are inhaled and instantly adored. It’s macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, pizza, lasagna, empanadas, pies, brownies, donuts, and more possibilities teasing you at the tip of your tongue. Hello food heaven. You scurry around, trying one of everything. Maybe even having two of the same! You just want more. And the best part is- you can have more! No calorie counting. No fats. No additives. No GMOs. And absolutely no cruelty! It’s all vegan (plant based). You can eat a hot dog, an empanada, and three donuts while wash it down with a Bloody Mary and still feel light as a feather!

Welcome to my world- more importantly, my exciting weekend at the one and only Vegan Shop Up at the Pine Box Rock Bar in Brooklyn. It was filled with yummy new and familiar vendors offering food and beverages, and a great group of lovely individuals.

Yeah Dawg, offering vegan soy free hot dogs was present with whom I met at Catskill Animal Sanctuary featured in a previous post. I couldn’t resist a Yeah Dawg even in 30-degree weather! It was even more satisfying than the first time! Yeah Dawg is beyond wonderful and always impresses me. It is certainty my number 1 recommended vegan food vendor on the East Coast (BIG NEWS: I will be traveling out West in December to check out a few vegan restaurants and food trucks). The women are friendly at Yeah Dawg which makes it all even more worthwhile.

Proceeding, we grabbed a treat from Gone Pie, another vendor whom I met at CAS. It was great to chat and catch up! They teased me the night before with posting a picture on their Instagram of a rocky road chocolate pumpkin brownie! You better believe it was what I got! I loved every bite of it- which was followed by a nice stroll around the neighborhood. It was time for a walk to burn off the first round of food! We saw some great street art and were surprised by the glorious view of the Freedom Tour below!

I was really excited about going to the Vegan Shop up as I got wind Cinnamon Snail, a food truck out of Manhattan would be there. I have been hearing others rave about their Korean and Asian inspired dishes, which range from pancakes, to burgers, to bahn mi sandwiches, to an array of donuts! (I haven’t tasted a donuts in over two years!)

After looking through their menu the night before in preparation, I decided to go with the Gouchujang Burger Deluxe with sautéed kimchi, arugula, pickled red onions, black sesame gomasio and sriracha mayonnaise on spelt bread as they ran out of the herb grilled focaccia it normally would come on. The crowd was large and Cinnamon Snail was definitely the number one attraction so this was expected. (Picture was shot in my car as no seating available at the Pine Box Rock shop)

The burger was scrumptiously good. The flavors were infused with Korean excellence, which was the best part. I really enjoyed it as it’s not something I usually cook or eat regularly especially in the area I live in. It quickly evaporated from my hands.

Although, the serving size was small for the price, and didn’t come with any sides. The toppings were light and not as creative as I have had in the past. Literally the best innovative part was the sauce and as you can see most of it ended up on my wrapper. Would I go back and order that burger again? I wouldn’t. Yet, I would be willing to try a sandwich, as they have a big selection, yet the hoopla over Cinnamon Snail compared to my experience disappointed me.

And the donuts- how was I to pick 1 donut out of the handful they had available? I haven’t had a donut in years! I was so excited! I went with my gut (no pun intended) and I picked grand total of 6! And I regret to inform you they were all just.. Okay. The selection ranged from coffee cake twist, glazed with coconut flakes, peanut butter, peanut butter pumpkin with cookie dough, crème brulee (not enough crème in the middle), and apple cinnamon spice. I must have saved the best for last, which was the peanut butter pumpkin with cookie dough. That was a resurrection from all the others as it was moist, fluffy, and the cookie dough center was finger licking good!

Other NYC vendors were present, such as Monks Meat and She’s Got Balls. A few vendors were not present that were on the vendors list in which I was looking forward to seeing.

The atmosphere of the venue, The Pine Box Rock Shop was cozy, casual, and comfortable. The con of the venue was it became crowded very quickly due to the event. It really couldn’t handle the crowd. I ate my Yeah Dawg standing up, my burger in the car, as well as a few donuts.

All in all, I had such a wonderful time! It was great to co-create with like-minded conscious individuals and businesses. I came hungry and I left stuffed while making some great connections and relationships along the way. I look forward to the next Vegan Shop Up event in December and would definitely recommend visiting Pine Box Rock Shop bar if you are in the neighborhood! Toodles!

Namaste! Stay warm.

Festival of Living Vegan

Posted on October 13, 2014October 13, 2014 by Amanda

This past weekend my fiancé Chase and I attended Catskill Animal Sanctuarys annual Festival of Living Vegan in the small country side town of Saugerties, New York. I know I can speak for the both of us when I say we were so enthusiastic for this trip as we are both ethical vegans living in a community that is predominately made up of carnivores, so the anticipation of being surrounded by like minded individuals who share our same beliefs and goals was purely indescribable. Up until this weekend, we have been feeling rather lonely in our community, yet we are so thankful for this past experience and all the ones to follow. It was such a relief to meet others similar to us. We made so many connections from both our human and animal friends! I am incredibly thankful for this experience and shed gratitude as I reflect on the memories. I would like to give a special thank you to Kathy Stevens, a good friend of ours and founder of Catskill Animal Farm for inviting us and showing us such compassion.

We parked about 10 minutes away in a corporate parking lot, and toke a shuttle bus to the farm. It was packed with people all ages, from young to old. Upon arrival we stopped by Kathy’s house for a warm welcome. Her house is quaint and cozy with a beautiful flower garden surrounding the outside. Inside it was filled with animal paintings and books.

Next, we checked ourselves in at the welcome booth, and headed to the cooking demo performed by vegan Chief Linda at the sanctuary. Check out her blog, called Compassion Cuisine, which is an extension of the animal sanctuary. There are a ton of great vegan recipes! Linda demonstrated to a crowd how to make vegan mac and cheese, something Chase and I haven’t experimented with yet. The recipe can be viewed on her webpage via this link. We were fond of her technique, using nutritional yeast, cauliflower, and butternut squash as the main ingredients in the recipe! A great way for vegans to get their B12. She was kind and patient at answering our many questions. We got great insight on vegan cheese. We are particularly interested in trying Treeline vegan cheese thanks to her advice and sampling!

Another great idea we got from her demonstration was how to make your own vegan “bacon”. She cut a bunch of shiitake mushrooms, sprinkled salt and drizzled a little oil, baked them at a high temperature until *almost* burnt (very very crispy), then letting them dry out for 20 minutes, and well-ah! Vegan “bacon”. The recipe can be viewed via this link.

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Raven…who?

Posted on October 9, 2014October 9, 2014 by Amanda

I’m not an African-American but I am certain I have some in my blood line. I also know what the culture was before European invaders seized the land and the people into slavery (self research is the key). It was magnificent, beautiful, and diverse (don’t believe the text books). These initial Africans were extremely aware, conscious, intelligent human beings. Raven-Simone comments regarding her not being an “African” but an “American” are beyond insulting to myself and especially to Africans themselves.

The elite has done an excellent job of stripping Africans from their heritage and history and painting ugly pictures of what it once was. They have also done a wonderful job at promoting white supremacy and keeping you blindfolded (who doesn’t love the rose-colored glasses)? The elite has made Africans believe they are something they don’t want to be (which is black), because of the stereotyping that comes with it (lets not forget they created this). Hence, Africans don’t work together (community building is merely a Caucasian and Hispanic trait) instead Africans use violence against each other. They kill each other in the streets of New York, Miami, Detroit, Los Angeles, and many more locations. We see this also in Ferguson where the locals protested violently, looted at their own community stores (which makes no sense why would you destroy the little that you have,) and destroyed their own neighborhood through fires and stoning. I can’t tell which is worse the violence the police used or the violence the people used.

But this isn’t about Ferguson, it is about Raven-Symoné (who’s real name is Christina Pearman, yet Christina perfers to go by her stage name of Raven-Symoné) (which makes this even more of mind boggling discussion) comments about how she is not an “African,” despite her beautiful golden brown skin color and rich history that lays in her hair. Folks we can not run from our past or history. We must dive face first into it.

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What’s lurking in your food?

Posted on February 5, 2014February 5, 2014 by Amanda

The FDA has allowed food preservatives to be used in our food for centuries. Yet it has only been within the last few years, a mass awareness has been spread nationally on the truth behind these added ingredients.

I have created a list of the top 10 food preservatives that should be avoided:

Monosodium Glutamate or MSG information can be found by clicking on this link MSG Truth

Artificial sweeteners including but not limited to Aspartame.

Titanium dioxide can be found in milk, salad dressing, frosting, and coffee creamer to name a few. Titanium dioxide is also found in sunscreen as it can absorb UV rays.

Butylated hydroxytoluene or BHT can be found in cosmetics, jet fuel, rubber, and embalming fluid. More so, it can be found in your shortening, cereals, and other foods containing fats and oils. It is used to preserve food odor, color, and flavor. Many packaging materials incorporate BHT.

Butylated hydroxyanisole or BHA can be found in butter, meats, cereals, chewing gum, baked goods, snack foods, dehydrated potatoes, and beer. You can click this link to learn more on studies done with both BHT and BHA at Truth about BHA and BHT

Sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate are commonly used to preserve meat products. It prevents bacteria growth and helps meat retain its red color.

Sodium benzoate is a preservative used in acidic liquids such as vinegar, juices or soft drinks. It is also found in food products such as margarine and fast food hamburgers. Sodium benzoate is also used in fireworks and makes a great rocket fuel.

Potassium bromate is most often found in bread as it improves the quality of flour. A small amount is very harmful and has even been banned in Canada, Europe and China.

Castoreum is a natural flavor enhancer that is often used in fruit-flavored products to make them taste extra fruity. Believe it or not but this comes from a beaver.

According to the FDA, preservative and additives are perfectly safe. Yet, if you are anything like myself, you don’t believe everything you’re told without doing your own research. Scientist have performed studies that lead to the belief preservatives and additives pose a major health risk. It can give us small allergic reactions such as migraines. It can alter moods, growth, and learning. It can cause deadly diseases like cancer. Regardless that the majority of these preservatives are banned in other countries, our country still supports the use of them in our food products. Our labels do not contain this information, so be mindful, for our own sake and those of our future generations, as they will be the ones to spark the revolution.

Listed below are more articles to begin your independent research:

CNN In-Depth article with more information on preservatives and additives: Preservatives

This website is an easy reader with a check list of safe, cut back, and avoidable preservatives and ingredients with as an easy reader with a check list: Preservatives Checklist

On a lighter note, this past week had me occupied. I am still seeking balance and clarity in my busy days. I am proud of myself endlessly and remind myself daily that my hard work will pay off. I was able to hit the studio two times this week for my regular hot yoga classes as well have a few home practices, one in which I was able to snap a few pictures!