The past few days weeks I have been working like a crazy person on a big 3 day event for my day job and now that things have calmed down it’s time to make some positive changes. Over the past month there have been too much:
Drinking
Wheat & Gluten
Sugar
and not enough:
Water
Sleep
Green Juice
Blogging
Yoga (since Wanderlust Vermont is only in a few weeks)
That being said I am focusing on reducing sugar, wheat and gluten, eliminating alcohol (until Brewers Fest in mid July) and of course increasing all of those wonderful things I need more of. The Hubz is going to do all of this with me which will make staying on track so much easier. What do you need more or less of?
Wrentham Village Premium Outlets where we spent four hours shopping our butts off. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed getting some shopping done while still being able to walk around outside. For lunch we packed up wraps and fruit and enjoyed a nice little picnic on a green patch that we found next to our car. As for the success of the shopping….well the Hubz purchased a bunch of tops and a pair of shorts and I left with a pair of earrings and a tennis skirt; not so successful on my part.
After our shopping trip we were left with a huge dilemma- what do we do now? Honestly there isn’t much happening in the Wrentham area and our hotel which was in Franklin well was just not what we’d hoped for on our anniversary. So we decided that since we got a steal on the room via Hotwire that we would eat the cost and find a new room in Boston so we could enjoy a nice night out. Again turning to Hotwire (seriously addicted) we chose a 4 star in Cambridge and ended up with the Hyatt Regency- WIN!
Our accomodations went from:
Room at Hawthorne Suites - Franklin MA
Room at Hawthorne Suites - Franklin MA
To this:
Hyatt Regency Cambridge
Not only did the romance factor increase so did the ability to get out at night and enjoy ourselves. I mean as much as I loved that evening trip to Target and Shop & Save I’d rather be galavanting around Boston. So we checked in at the Hyatt Regency and headed straight to our room to change and take advantage of their gym – we were in need of a good run to stay on track for our training plan.
View as I Ran
After our run and a good shower we got all done up and took a walk across the bridge to Boston to catch a T to our next destination, Addis Red Sea. We had made reservations at Addis Red Sea because it has in the past been one of our favorite restaurants to visit in Boston. We love the atmosphere and the Ethiopian food and have always had a good experience ….until this past visit. We arrived 2 hours before closing and were seated. We were super hungry so we decided to order a lentil sambusa and the vegetarian plate for two along with a few beers. Well once the girl finally took our order we settled in to what we hoped would be a great night. About 10 minutes later the waitress returned to tell us they were out of the lentil sambusa but they had the veggie if we wanted that instead; we said yes and 10 minutes after that she returned with two sambusas. I had a feeling something just wasn’t right so instead of biting right in like I normally would have I tore a corner off only to find that our veggie sambusa was actually beef; can you imagine if I had taken a big bite!! Well 10 minutes after that I finally got the waitresses attention and told her of the mistake and that we would rather not have an appetizer at all and we would just like our meal at this point.
After waiting a bit longer our meal finally arrived with two lentil sambusas (I guess they found more?). We started into the food immediately since at this point we were ravenous after waiting for almost an hour for our food. After a few bites the Hubz noticed that we were missing our salad that was to go with the meal and that most of the food was cold and in addition to that when we finally took a bite of the sambusas they were freezing in the middle. Overall we had the worst experience ever at this restaurant ever and we have been here many times. Unfortunately, after this experience I wouldn’t recommend Addis Red Sea and wouldn’t return- there are enough other great restaurants in Boston to eat at so don’t waste time (or money) here. Oh and we got charged for the sambusas after the whole mess and the fact we told them to disregard the order since they couldn’t seem to get it right.
Oh well! We didn’t let the dinner get us down instead we headed out for a celebratory (for our anniversary, not the horrible dinner) Manhattan down the road. Honestly one of the best Manhattans ever and I had the best company with me too. Love.
Hey Bloggies! Hope you are enjoying your weekend I am sure the Hubz and I are. Ashley is currently on the last leg of preparing for her June wedding and is presenting you with her top five tips for planning a vegan wedding. Enjoy!
How to Plan a Vegan Wedding
You may want to choose a vegan wedding for your commitment to the environment, to match your own diet or just to do something different. Of course a vegan wedding is just as much work as any other wedding. The difference is your leg work and research into everything from the best vegan caterer in the area to what your wedding dress is made of.
On June 25th of this year I will marry my fiancé, Richard. Afterward our friends and family will enjoy a delicious vegan meal of sloppy joes, tempeh wraps, roasted sweet potato salad, sesame green beans and cornbread at our barbeque style reception. Our decision to host a vegan wedding is a reflection of my own vegan diet and Richard’s desire to show our friends and family how exciting eating without animal products can be.
Below are a few tips for planning a vegan wedding.
Remember: vegan is delicious. There is more to a vegan meal than lettuce and rice and beans. Talk to local vegan/vegetarian restaurants who believe in show-stopping local and creative vegan food. If your town has never heard the word “vegan,” contact caterers and ask if they’d be able to cater to a vegan event.
Consider not telling your guest list. Some guests think that lack of meat equals lack of taste. You know that is not true and that your meal will be delicious and filling. No need to create an uproar before the big day.
Expect conversation. A vegan meal is sure to spark discussion. Be ready for lots of “really, this is vegan?” and “I didn’t think vegan could be so tasty,” comments.
There is more to vegan than the food. Consider vegan options for your attire, china and decorations.
Make a statement with your wedding. Compostable plates and flat ware, local vendors, recycle bins and fair trade favors all give a nod to social and environmental responsibility.
Neil and I are celebrating our Third Wedding Anniversary this weekend and today we are off to explore Providence, Rhode Island. While we are galavanting around Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire I hope you enjoy the Vegan Wedding Feature posts. In this first post Tess Challis discusses her all vegan menu and how if the food looks beautiful and taste delicious anyone will eat vegan. Enjoy!
Lentil Spinach Soup (photo by Michelle McCluggage)
Although my marriage didn’t have a fairy tale ending, I can happily say that my ex-husband and I are still great friends! We were married in the fall of 2002 in the Lizard Head wilderness. Here in Colorado, you can legally marry each other without anyone else present. However, we did want to have a gathering to celebrate a few weeks after the actual marriage took place. At the time, we were on a shoestring budget so we had to get really creative. Luckily, there were lots of incredibly kind and generous people who offered to participate. Local professional musicians offered to sing at our celebration for free and the space we rented for the celebration was also practically free!
So, all that was left was food! Being a vegan since 1991, I was determined to work delicious vegan cuisine into the event as well. And since I was in charge of the food (and my husband was a vegan-friendly vegetarian), we decided on a delicious, all-vegan menu. Having done quite a bit of catering and personal chef work at that point, I knew what dishes were crowd pleasers. For an event like this with mostly omnivores, I wanted a menu that would be exciting and satisfying for everyone. I didn’t want even one person to say, “That was good, but where’s the meat?” So, we decided on a menu that included the following: Creamy hummus (pictured) with sourdough bread, gourmet mini-pizzas (pictured), Italian bread salad, fresh spring rolls with peanut sauce, Lemon Asparagus Linguine (pictured), Lemon Lentil Soup (pictured), and Chocolate Decadence Cake (pictured). I’ve obviously found that Italian food is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser! And it was – even my meat-and-potatoes grandma said after dinner: “If you cooked for me every day, I would be a vegan!” Everyone loved the food and talked about it for many months afterward.
Creamy Hummus with Sourdough Bread (Photo by Olga Vasiljeva)
Mini PIzzas (Photo by Michelle McCluggage)
Lemon Asparagus Linguine (Photo by Michelle McCluggage)
Chocolate Decadence Cake (Photo by Michelle McCluggage)
So, this has been my path! Turning people on to a vegan lifestyle via delicious food. It’s such a sneaky approach, but one that works surprisingly well! I can’t tell you how many people have told me over the years that the vegan food I’ve served them has been just about the best thing they’ve ever eaten. It’s so exciting to turn people on to really delicious food that awakens their taste buds – and then to tell them, “By the way, that was all vegan – and healthy!”
Quintessence (“Tess”) Challis began her holistic health journey in her late teens. After a lifetime of numerous health ailments (including acne, obesity, strep throat, constant illnesses, anxiety, and depression), she found that a vegan diet along with an “inner wellness regime” of meditation and visualization literally made a world of difference.
In 1994, she began sharing this knowledge through cooking classes, catering, meditation classes, and workshops. She has also been a personal chef to many clients across the United States.
In 2009, Tess published the 2nd edition of Radiant Health, Inner Wealth, a vegan cookbook and complete holistic health resource. Tess’s latest book, The Two-Week Wellness Solution: The Fast Track to Permanent Weight Loss and Vitality, was released in June 2010 and includes a foreward by Dr. Neal Barnard. Her next book, Radiance 4 Life: The 4 Cornerstones of Ultimate Vitality, is due out in June 2011. She currently works as a wellness coach, cooking class instructor, author/speaker, and personal trainer.
Last night Allie invited the Hubz and me over for a vegan dinner party along with a few of her friends. Allie was excited to try her hand at making Isa’s black bean burgers from Veganomicon which she served up with grilled zucchini, broccoli slaw and pesto. Everything was delicious and the company enjoyable. After stuffing our faces with Allie’s yummy burgers we dived into the Carrot Cake with Cinnamon “Cream Cheese” Frosting that I brought.
Allie hard at work
Dinner- yum!
Cake- so good
After dinner it was time to take out all of the animals- I think they literally out numbered us at one point. Allie has two ferrets, Polar & Bear and two rats. One of Allie’s friends also brought along her little dog Wally (because it was storming out and he is afraid of storms). We had a great time watching the ferrets play with the dog, seriously entertaining for hours- I know we are easily entertained.
Polar
Wally
After dinner at Allie’s we headed home to get ready for our weekend away. This included finishing dishes, packing, providing the kitty with some love and finding time to sleep. I ended up getting up way too early this morning to finish things up however once this work day finishes the Hubz and I will be off for our Anniversary Weekend adventure and Allie has so kindly agreed to guard the house stay with the kitty while we are way.
Blogging. I have been a busy bee and blogging has unfortunately taken a backseat. I am in the midst of working on a number of personal and work related projects one of which will be over in two weeks and than means back to regular blogging and daily posts.
Green Smoothies. It’s finally starting to look like summer here and with summer comes yummy fresh foods. One thing I have been missing lately are green smoothies & green monsters– I think it’s time to make a come back.
Hiking. Again one of those summer things that we hope to do a lot of this summer. We are even going to pump it up notch and go backpacking (do some over night hikes) on the Long Trail. So June please come soon so I can blog more, hike more and work (a little) less.
Yoga. Lately I have been so dedicated to my C25K and strength training that yoga has taken a back seat. At this point my body hates me because it is getting so tense – it is screaming for yoga and I should probably listen.
Quintessence (“Tess”) Challis began her holistic health journey in her late teens. After a lifetime of numerous health ailments (including acne, obesity, strep throat, constant illnesses, anxiety, and depression), she found that a vegan diet along with an “inner wellness regime” of meditation and visualization literally made a world of difference. 
