This morning I met my good friend Denise for breakfast at Magnolia Bistro in Burlington. This is my favorite breakfast spot in Burlington because not only do they have tons of vegan options but they are a certified green restaurant that sources their goods from local resources. Although I was eyeing the potato pancakes I decided to go with my favorite tofu scramble, the sesame tofu scram.
I also enjoyed a fresh squeezed organic orange juice because it’s delicious and I’ve been trying to crowd out coffee.
Breakfast was delicious and I had a wonderful time chatting with my dear friend who is on her way back to Denver tonight boooooo. Now I’m off to work! Blog you later!
Just as we were arriving home we received a call that the lady who was supposed to view our apartment an hour earlier had pushed the time back. We said it was fine that she went in that we would hang out on the bench in the front yard so that she could have a chance to check the place out. It was a nice treat for our indoor kitty because we let her come out and rub her face in the grass- she was in heaven. Everything was going fine and about a half hour later we decided that it was time to bring the kitty inside and we expected that by then the lady would have seen enough and be leaving. BOY WERE WE WRONG!
She proceed to tell the rental agent about 30 things that she would like improved or changed if she were to move in. My husband and I were sitting in the living room going ARE YOU SERIOUS! Anyways this went on for another 30 minutes and then finally the Hubz told them that they just had to go…but they didn’t go far they hung out in the yard for another 20 minutes. Maybe I’m too rigid but I think after 30minutes of viewing an apartment that the potential renter had already viewed the week before is just rude.
Okay rant over. Since the viewing ended up going way longer than we expected I just wasn’t feeling like putting together dinner so the Hubz took me out to the Skinny Pancake for vegan crepes; I had the vegan crepedilla and the Hubz had a vegan monster and a Harpoon brew.
After a delicious dinner we came home to enjoy a little Netflix and I had a Pomegranate Seltzer Mocktail and the Hubz had a sour beer.
Q: When you look at a new place to rent how long do you generally spend looking? Do you make certain demands/request before you agree to take the rental space?
We had a pretty quiet night on Saturday, after our relaxing soak and dinner at Whole Foods we went back to our room where we enjoyed a few yummy vegan chocolates from Whole Foods. We split a Health Crunch and A Chocolate Salted Caramel Cup both of which were delicious.
We headed home on Sunday morning but not before stopping in at Whole Foods for an iced coffee and bagel with cream cheese.
After we ate our breakfast we spent a good 45 minutes roaming the aisles of the store picking up a number of goodies such as donut peaches, kale, apricots and coconut milk yogurt. Luckily I brought our cooler bag which I filled with ice from the hotel so that we could get some refrigerated items to bring home with us. Once we finally got on the road we decided to stop in York, ME at Stonewall Kitchen so that we could try all the hot sauce, jam and mustards that they have there, who doesn’t love free samples? The place was insanely busy and there were tons of rude people who kept pushing and shoving so the hubz and I made this a quick trip and got out of there before we were trampled.
From there we headed to Kittery ME to visit the outlets. We also picked up lunch for the road which we ate in Kittery after our disappointing trip to the outlets there. When did the Kittery outlets become so horrible?
After Kittery we decided to take the “scenic” way home and headed on Route 4 to Concord and to our delight we spotted Redhook Ale Brewery and decided to stop in and take a tour. When we arrived we had about an hour to wait before the next tour was to occur and since we were in no rush we decided to wait and get a sampler of their beer to try. We also had some chips and salsa because I only finished half my salad and I knew without a little food in my belly all that beer was going to have quiet the effect on me.
I finished all of the IPA and ESB but only took a few sips of the Slim Chance doesn’t exist it’s now the Blonde, the seasonal and the limited release (oatmeal stout). I also snacked on some chips but tried not to eat too many.
Finally the hour passed and it was time for our tour, which we almost didn’t stay for. We are glad we stayed though because for only $1 each we had a very informative tour and received a Redhook tasting glass as well as 4+ samples. It is one of the best tour deals I’ve ever seen.
We finished our trip in Concord NH where we stopped at Boloco to get something to eat for dinner. I was excited to see that Boloco has bowls instead of wraps now (I know my husband said it’s been like that for awhile), anyways I was pumped and decided to get a Goloco Bowl. Goloco is basically putting whatever you want in a bowl or wrap; for mine I had brown rice, organic tofu, fajita veggies, cucumber, corn salsa, tomatoes, scallions, balsamic and black bean hummus. The hubby got a wrap and we shared an unsweetened ice tea.
We had the best time in Portland – great city and I can’t wait to go back again.
After our “wild” night out on the town in Portland we decided that we needed to get some veggies in our systems, so we went to Whole Foods. This would start our day of eating entirely from Whole Foods. As soon as I saw the 2 different kale salads, I was in heaven.
I quickly devoured this entire bowl of goodies which consisted of 2 types of kale salad, vegan chicken salad, tuscan pasta salad, snow peas and a little bean salad. There was also a piece of sweet potato that I didn’t like, so after a nibble it went into hubby’s bowl.
The Hubby and I also shared a Vita CoCo Coconut Water.
Once we filled our bellies it was time to head out to do something active and since I had heard great things about the various trails around Portland we decided to try one out. We chose the Fore River Sanctuary Trail which lead us to f Jewell Falls, Portland ‘s only natural waterfall.
After our 2.5 mile walk we were hot and in need of some iced coffee and a shot of wheat grass from……WHOLE FOODS- this would be trip 2 of the day. While we were there we decided that we would head to Freeport to do a little outlet shopping and visit L.L. Bean so we picked up some lunch for our trip. For our lunch we each had a donut peach and shared vegan chicken salad, a multigrain roll and a salad of kale, red cabbage, pasta salad and a few other treats
Freeport was fun and we really enjoyed L.L. Bean which was filled with every camping item that we could ever want …and never need. Neil also enjoyed a nap in one of the tents.
After his nap at L.L. Bean it was time to head back to the hotel for a real nap in our bed before we headed out for the evening. This evening was a little, well more like a lot more low key than our first night in Portland. We made last minute reservations at Soakology a wonderful foot sanctuary and teahouse. I unfortunately couldn’t take any photos during our soak which was the most relaxing thing that either of us had done in a long time. I did a peppermint soak and the hubz did a Maine Woods which had spruce in it and he was in heaven.
While you sit in huge comfy chairs with your feel in giant bowls of warm water the soakologist provides you with a warm neck wrap. We sipped on some tea and relaxed while having our water warmed up ever 15 minutes for about an hour. We had the most relaxing time and after that we headed out for a walk and then dinner at ….take a guess…
Whole Foods!
I know what you are probably thinking, aren’t there any good vegan friendly restaurants in Portland? Yes, there are a number of great vegan friendly restaurants in Portland however for our trip we had one pricey night out and decided to keep things less expensive and enjoyed the convenience of Whole Foods. If you are looking for some good vegan options that aren’t Whole Foods I suggest: Green Elephant (vegetarian, but mostly vegan), Mesa Verde (Mexican, with some vegan options), Silly’s (pubish food, tons of vegan options), Wild Burrito (vegan-friendly), Bintliff’s American Cafe (vegan-friendly w/vegan brunch options), Aurora Provisions (vegan-friendly with local tempeh and tofu and vegan desserts); there are also a number of vegan-friendly Indian and Thai restaurants in the area as well.
The hubz and I took off on our anniversary trip to Portland Maine on Friday afternoon and were lucky enough to beat the traffic. Once we finally arrived in Portland we were hungry and decided to find a place to eat and spend the evening enjoying Old Port. After our 10 minute ride in a urine scented cab we finally made it to our destination, Boda, a Thai restaurant that is the sister restaurant to Green Elephant.
The menu isn’t super vegan friendly but the options that they do have (and we tried) were delicious! We started out with a shiitake skewer with teriyaki seasoning sauce and a portobello skewer rubbed with sesame oil and mushroom sauce.
After we polished these yummy skewers off we moved on to the Larp het salad with was Grilled assorted mushroom mixed with chili, shallots, soy sauce, lime juice, mint, long-leaf coriander, and roasted rice powder. Served with romaine.
Our last yummy dish was Tofu Shrimp with glass noodles: Traditionally cooked in a rustic earthenware pot with pork bellytempeh bacon, ginger, celery, scallion, cilantro, and soy sauce. Served with jasmine steamed rice. This is a silken dish, simple yet very pleasing. It is one of the few occasions when noodles may be eaten with rice. Available vegetarian with organic tofu, shiitake and tempeh bacon.
After our wonderful meal which included a shot of 11 Tigers (Thai spiced bourbon) that we sipped on and a Rogue Buckwheat ale we headed out to Novare Res Bier Cafe where we had a few beers-I had an Unibroue and an Allagash. Following these two drinks we decided to get a cab back to the hotel…however our minds changed when we spotted Sebago Brewing Company and it’s $3 beers after 10pm; so we stopped in for a hefeweizen.
Keep on the lookout for parts 2 and 3 of our anniversary weekend.
Hubby was running late at work tonight and since we were starving we decided to go to On The Rise in Richmond VT (finally). We have wanted to try it forever but have never seemed to be able to make it there. The menu is so vegan friendly there is even a vegan pizza! We ordered a small vegan pizza, a deluxe salad with marinated tofu, and a chocolate macaroon. The food was delicious, fresh and amazing.
Now onto the giveaway: Earthlust sent me one of their stainless steel water bottles and guess what the sent me an extra one just for one of you lucky readers. EarthLust bottles are hand made from high quality #304 (18/8) food grade stainless steel, which is naturally safe unlined. They use non-toxic paints and BPA-free safe polypropylene #5 caps. I received one of the 13oz bottles and it is the perfect size to take every where with me. I am thinking about investing in a 1L bottle for trips and such but the smaller bottle is great for everyday use. I also love that they are unlined, unlike Sigg bottles which have a weird lining and make your water taste funny. Additionally, their bottles have some really great designs. So now it’s your chance to win this bottle (see below) isn’t it so cute?
Disclaimer: Earthlust provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.
How to Enter: Please leave individual comments for each entry. Entries will be accepted until April 17th at 8am.
Visit the Earthlust website and tell which bottle is your favorite. (Leave me a comment)
Today I am meeting up with a friend from my old job for lunch at Kismet Kitchen, a great little spot that prides itself on using local, organic ingredients. I have been here a few times before and tend to always get the same thing. Today I am giving you a chance to decide which dish I should try today. So take a look below and let me know by 11:40am today what you think.
