Sunday, was another day for friends & so I met for brunch with my good friend and former roommate Eliana, and Evan, at Peacefood Cafe. Trekking to the Upper West Side was a bit of a trip with the Sunday train schedule, but it turned out to be worthwhile. We all started by sharing a giant doughy Cinnamon Roll covered in frosting, it wasn't gooey inside, more bready, but still quite nice. I had read Peacefood's menu in advance & found myself fixated on the Roasted Japanese Pumpkin Sandwich. Japanese pumpkin, caramelized onions, walnuts, vegan goat cheese, and seasonal greens on spelt rye bread; it ended up being a bit too healthy tasting for me with the dry whole grain bread, although it still was good. Evan opted for the Mediterranean Oven Dried Seasonal Vegetable Panini with cashew cheese & basil spinach pesto, & without a doubt, I would get that next time! For dessert, I ordered the Strawberry Shortcake which was a hearty, yet fluffy biscuit filled with whipped cream & strawberries. We also had a Cheesecake that was not to our liking, but the owner graciously replaced it with a very delicious raw Key Lime Pie that was tangy, with a nutty crust. Peacefood Cafe is a beautiful place for seasonal food that will make your belly happy, check it out!

On Monday, I met Alyssa for a meal at Sacred Chow, which I almost walked right past, but luckily noticed before I got too far down Sullivan Street. I was thrilled to find out they were serving brunch on a weekday, so I went all out & ordered the Banana Bread French Toast. Oh. my. WORD. A giant slab of grilled banana pound cake, in a pool of blueberry sauce, topped in fresh fruit hit the table, & my jaw dropped! I ate every single morsel of this dish & loved every minute of it. Seriously, I think about it once in awhile & decided I HAVE to recreate the recipe! Alyssa opted for Mama's Soy Meatball Hero, which she also enjoyed! Sacred Chow, I will be back!

A relatively new spot on the NYC vegan scene is Cocoa V, a chocolate & wine cafe in Chelsea. I spent some time in the chocolate shop & ended up with a fair amount of the house-made, fair trade, organic confections, some of which were a gift for Hannah's birthday. I tried a roasted edamame lime cayenne salt cluster, the banana chip honey, vanilla caramel, & orange passionfruit caramel. While for Hannah I bought, a coffee caramel, almond butter bonbon, pecan praline, & also the orange passionfruit caramel. The chocolate here is very dark, a bit too dark for me, but the orange passionfruit caramel was phenomenal & the sweet center paired perfectly with the dark chocolate. They also bake goodies in house, so I also took away a Snickerdoodle & a Coffee Cake square that were quite good. I'd like to return & try the fondue, which looked incredible, especially with the Dandies Marshmallows they serve up. Cocoa V is not inexpensive, so be prepared to drop quite a bit of cash, even on chocolates. This is a great spot for a special occasions though!

Later that night, I met up with the lovely Michelle from MyZoetrope at Lan Cafe. Despite calling the day before & them assuring me they'd be open.. they weren't. So, we hopped in a cab & headed uptown to Candle Cafe. I just had to start with my favorite dish, the citrus herb marinated Seitan Chimichurri! Oh my, I could eat these daily. Next, I went gluten crazy & got the Porcini Crusted Seitan, with was atop a bed of mashed potatoes & gravy, greens, &  green beans. I believe I've had the same dish at Candle 79 & as always, it was excellent. We finished with some Tangerine sorbet, but unfortunately, it tasted strange, so we opted not to finish it & instead thought about our delicious dinners.

My last day in New York City came too soon & I couldn't go without meeting up with more friends! Ms. Hannah Kaminsky herself turned 21 & was kind enough to celebrate by joining myself, Eliana, & Nicole from Another One Bites the Crust for lunch at The Organic Grill! While Hannah & Nicole opted for wraps, & Eliana went with a special of the day, I like to pick my own dishes, so I made a sampler for myself with an order or grilled seitan, mashed sweet potatoes, steamed kale, & jalapeno cornbread. The cornbread was too dry for my taste, but everything else was nice & we all loved the sweet potato mash! Like last time, I think The Organic Grill is a solid option in NYC.

Of course, one day left means one last trip to Lula's Sweet Apothecary, with Alyssa & Evan! Yes, I am a huge fan of Lula's! I was lucky enough to get to try all the freshly made flavors, which seemed to be perfectly tailored to my tastes. I opted for a sundae with Cracker Jack & Chocolate Toffee Crunch ice cream, marshmallow topping, whipped cream, & a cherry. Have I mentioned I love Toffee? I really, really do. I can't think of a better final sundae for my trip!

For dinner, I headed to Pala Pizza on the Lower East Side, again with the awesome Terry, Jason, & Deb! I had been hearing Pala has a good sized vegan menu, as well as many gluten free options, & a dedicated fryer, it turns out it's true! We ordered 3 types of pizza off the menu; a potato zucchini pizza, a field roast sausage & cherry tomato pizza, & a mushroom parsley, all which had generous amounts of Daiya cheese on them. While the crust was nice, I wasn't bowled over by the pizza in general. Surprisingly, I liked the one with Field Roast & cherry tomatoes best, which is not what I would typically order. I did really like that they had dried oregano on the table, that you could pluck from & sprinkle on to your food. The service was also lacking, especially when we were asked if we could leave our table so others could be seated right after we had just finished paying the check. I would give Pala another shot, it's just not high on my "must eat" list.

For my final NYC experience, I had to hit up Atlas Cafe, after all it was Vegan Treats delivery day! While Deb took some doughnuts for the road, Jason & I crammed in to the tiny cafe & chatted over a giant Cinnamon Roll & a Boston Cream Doughnut. While I like my cinnamon rolls fluffier, the gooey frosting on top was pretty tasty. Also, I'm spoiled when it come to doughnuts, so I liked the Boston Cream, but it didn't blow me away. That being said, I still think Tuesday Atlas trips are a must when visiting NYC!

Apparently, I enjoyed NYC so much, I never wanted to leave. The next day, I missed my flight! Luckily, I was able to get on standby & make it home a few hours later than scheduled. Can you blame me for wanting to stay?! I love New York City!

For dessert, Mike, Melanie, Dayna & I raced over to Stogo, despite the 20 degree weather, for some ice cream. We arrived right before they closed & I opted for two flavors, Salted Caramel Pecan & Bananas Foster. They were both pretty tasty, with the Salted Caramel having a deep flavor that seemed to come from brown rice syrup & the Bananas Foster being sweet with a ton of banana flavor. The only downsides were my small scoops of ice cream set me back over $6.00, & the gal working there wasn't exactly nice when 11pm struck & she wanted us out. Thankfully, Stogo isn't the only vegan ice cream game in town.

The next morning, I met my friends & hosts in Vienna, Melanie & Mike for brunch at Curly's Vegetarian Lunch. While Melanie opted for the mock crab cakes, & Mike went with the pancakes with a side of "Sham", I decided on the Tofu Rancheros. This was quite the dish with 2 crispy tortillas, a layer of "sham", slabs of tofu, beans, & ranchero sauce piled high, plus a salad on the side with Creamy Bacon Ranch dressing. While it wasn't bad, the ranchero sauce was a bit over spiced & hot, but not exactly flavorful. I would give Curly's another try, but next time I would go with a lunch or dinner entree, & hope that next time the server wouldn't tell us about how she's "not even vegetarian". Doh!

After enjoying the peanut butter cheesecake by Red Mango at The Bean on my last NYC visit, I knew I had to get another slice to share with Melanie & Mike. Taking a break from the cold weather outside, we settled in to the cozy coffee shop & a slice of cheesecake. Yep, the chocolate cookie crust, bottom layer of peanut butter, layer of plain cheesecake, & ganache topped with peanut butter frosting is still delicious!

After a walk around the Lower East Side to check out Moo Shoes, Economy Candy, & Bluestockings, we headed over to one of my favorite spots in NYC, Lula's Sweet Apothecary, to meet up with Bazu & Evan. I was still pretty stuffed from brunch & cheesecake, but that didn't stop from the a Lula's specialty, Cake Batter soft serve! Better yet, Evan baked some Peanut Butter Caramel bars that went perfectly with my soft serve. Of course, this wouldn't be my last visit to Lula's!

After a breakfast of cupcakes, I headed in to NYC with Dani & Jake from Sweet Avenue Bake Shop to grab lunch. After reading about QuarryGirl's Chipotle fail, then hearing the news that the issue had been remedied, I had to check it out for myself. Chipotle recently introduced a vegan option called Garden Blend at select locations, made with Gardein marinated in spices. I opted for a salad, loaded with Garden Blend, black beans, & corn salsa, plus a side of two types of salsa, as they have no vegan dressing options. The salad actually hit the spot, despite the lack of dressing, & I would be happy to eat this again. Supposedly, if the Garden Blend does well, it will be expanded to other Chipotle locations, so be sure to write them a letter & let them know you want more vegan options at your local location!

This trip also marked my return to Pure Food & Wine, the last time having been in 2007. Once again, I was able to make it a meet up, as VeggieGirl was also in town, & invited me to join her at her favorite restaurant! We enjoyed everything we had, from the complimentary Hazelnut & Cashew Cheese crostini to our selected entrees. I went with the tangy & delicious Saffron Pickled Golden Beet Ravioli filled with herbed cashew cheese filling accompanied by pesto & cauliflower. For dessert, VeggieGirl had her Mint Sundae, while I selected the Chocolate Tahini Semifreddo. Layers of dark chocolate & tahini were sitting in a pool of lemon caramel, & topped with lemon whipped cream & a chocolate curl. I couldn't believe how rich this was! I hope I'll have the chance to return to Pure Food & Wine in the near future & will continue to have positive dining experiences there.

Another fabulous friend I had the chance to meet up with was Hannah Kaminsky from Bittersweet blog & My Sweet Vegan! One of the 1st vegan blogs I read, it was great to finally meet Hannah! We had dinner at classic NYC veg spot Angelica's Kitchen, & chatted for hours about everything under the sun. A bit of a hippie spot, I knew I was in for some healthy vegan fare, but sometimes that's exactly what you want! I opted for the 3 item Pantry Plate with Kimchee, the veg of the day, which was Sweet Potatoes, & the special of the day, a Udon Noodle Tofu Salad. While everything was tasty, I asked the server if the portion were large since I was debating some cornbread & didn't want to order too much. She claimed the portion size was hearty, but I would have been happy to have that cornbread in the end! Luckily, the light dinner gave me room for my next destination!

Ah, back to Lula's Sweet Apothecary with Hannah, this time to meet up with Alyssa, who reminds me of myself at the age she's at now & of course, Evan! Can you say sundae time? I can! I loaded up with a scoop of Peanut Butter Fudge, a scoop of Cookies & Cream, their new homemade Caramel Sauce, Marshmallow Fluff, Coconut Whipped Cream, & a Cherry! It was so good that maybe, just maybe, I had a tiny 2nd serving! I mean really, does it get any better than this? Friends & vegan ice cream. I'm livin' the dream! hehe.

I'll be back next week with more NYC treats & meet ups! In the meantime, I'll be dreaming about that sundae! yum.

As I walked the 10 minutes from the train to Sweet Avenue, it was snowing! Now, to most of you that may not seem like a big deal, but for a California girl who's only had snow fall on her once, it's was pretty cool! I was giddy with laughter & called my husband to tell him it was hitting me in the face & I didn't know how to dodge it! Now, back to the important thing.. CUPCAKES!

Sweet Avenue specializes in cupcakes, but they also have cookies & brownies, plus gluten and soy free options. They even ship nationwide! The flavors rotate daily, so be sure to check out the menu, so you can do on the day with the cupcakes that you desire. You can't really go wrong though! As you can see in the video, I had a great assortment of flavors, which were..

• Jet Black
• Black & White
• Sexy Sadie
• Boston Creme
• S'mores
• Fat Elvis
• Cereal Surprise

I hope you enjoy my little video as much as I enjoyed Sweet Avenue Bake Shop! Even from NYC, it's a quick bus ride from Port Authority. Support this vegan owned business & fill your belly with sweet treats!

By the way, if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sugar Beat Sweets has organized a vegan bake sale fundraiser for the victims in Haiti. Please join us this Saturday, January 23rd from 11am to 4pm in Patricia's Green (Hayes at Octavia) for a huge selection of vegan baked goodies from tons of bakers with proceeds going to Partners in Health and Food for Life Global. For those of you not in the area, be sure to look to see if there's a bake sale planned in your area!

In the meantime, I thought I'd let you know about this event coming up on Friday, February 12th in Berkeley, CA to benefit Vegan Outreach. My bakery Sugar Beat Sweets will be providing sweet treats to the attendees along with the other sponsors who will be spoiling you with fun goody bags!

It's sure to be a night of fun with dancing, drinks, & raising money for a worthy cause. Buy your ticket in advance at http://veganhealth.org/vday!

As I mentioned last month, in December we had another installation of the SF Vegan Bake Sale! Of course, Sugar Beat Sweets had to participate by bringing some goodies & working one of the many treat filled tables. We made our beloved cinnamon rolls, as well as brownies in classic, peanut butter, & candy cane, plus a new item; Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches, filled with Peanut Butter frosting. Our confections were a hit & most everything we made was gone within 15 minutes. We always feel bad when people come looking for our items & they're sold out, but the wonderful news is, the event raised $4200 for Save A Bunny & the Food Empowerment Project!! How amazing is that?! Another fun part of the bake sale was how many people wore our Sugar Beat Sweets shirts, designed by Josh Hooten from Herbivore Clothing. It was fabulous to see support from the local community! If you're considering having a vegan bake sale for charity, DO IT! It's a great way not only to help others, but it also demonstrates how delicious vegan food is, it's a win-win!

The Holidays came & went quietly around here. We kept things low-key by hanging out with my family locally & I am happy to say, much vegan food was consumed! On Christmas Eve, we had Tortilla Soup with big salads, then on Christmas morning I made everyone vegan French Toast. I'm so happy my family has been so open to vegan foods lately! For treats, I made a little platter of Salted Caramel Cashew Bars, Satsuma Cranberry Bread, & ugly Gingerbread skulls, hearts & bats! Yes, I have 99% Halloween related cookie cutters.

I'm going to keep this one pretty short & sweet because it's my birthday & I have lunch to eat at San Francisco's new vegan taqueria, Gracias Madre! I also have to pack my bags, since I head out to New York City tomorrow! I'll be around from January 6th - 12th, so get in touch if you want to hang.  Lula's date, anyone?! I'll be spending time with some of my favorite friends & bloggers, so I can't wait to share my adventures!

One of the newest places on the vegan dining scene in Chicago is Dragonlady Lounge, a dive bar serving up Korean vegan & vegetarian food. While you can get kimchi veggie burgers any day of the week & the menu rotates based on what owner Sue feels like making, the real prize is the all you can eat vegan buffet on Thursdays! Julia from Snarky Vegan & I headed there for the $12 buffet, shortly after I landed, so I wouldn't miss out on the weekly event. It can be a bit confusing to figure out when to pay & how not to get scolded by sassy Sue, but one taste of the Korean goodness & you won't mind! Once the food is ready around 7pm, Sue will call you in to the kitchen, hand you a plate with rice, & set you free on the buffet, reminding you, "DON'T WASTE FOOD!". I loaded my plate up with a couple types of Kimchi, noodle salad, cucumber salad, fried Dumplings, & perfect crisp-tender vegetables like green beans, broccoli in sesame oil, & spinach. Everything was delicious & seriously wish we had a vegan Korean option in San Francisco. I will be back, Dragonlady!

The next day, I met up with Kelly from Vegan Cookies for lunch at Great Taste Cafe. Another new spot in Chicago, the owners of Great Taste used to run the Balanced Kitchen. Everything here is gluten free & vegan, although you'd never notice from the many flavors on the rotating menu of wraps, bowls, & salads. Kelly opted for the Organic Rice Bowl which included brown rice topped with Yams in a Coconut Chipotle Sauce, while I had the Chard & Kale with Roasted Root Vegetables. I didn't expect the greens to be raw, but luckily the dressing cut the bitterness of them & the perfectly roasted vegetables were tasty. We ended our meal with the fabulous, seasonal Pumpkin Temptation ice cream & a gluten free Sandwich Cookie from Bot Bakery. While I was waiting for my order, I was surprised by one of the awesome gals working there recognizing me! I didn't catch her name, but it was great to meet someone who reads my blog, so Hello & Thank You darling cafe gal! While Great Taste Cafe can be hard to find, it's inside a gym on a less traveled road, the fresh, healthy food is worth the search!

After hearing Natalie rave about Dawali, home of her favorite falafel in Chicago, we decided to check it out with Tony & Teno. Dawali has a range of vegan options, like most Mediterranean establishments, & they know what vegan means, so you don't have to worry. I started with a comforting lentil soup, which was perfect for the cold weather. Next, I had freshly made, crunchy falafel with perfect tangy hummus, drenched with olive oil. I can certainly see why Natalie loves this place, it was absolutely delicious!

A trip to Chicago isn't complete without a visit to famous veggie greasy spoon, the Chicago Diner! For Natalie's birthday, a group of us went to get our grub on in the place where she married her husband! Of course, I had to have a Radical Reuben, but I also branched out & split a Dagwood (Natalie's favorite) with Shannon from Slash & Dine. The Dagwood totes seitan roast, corned beef, bacon, & cheeze, with lettuce, tomato, onion, pepperoncini & spicy sauce on a hoagie roll. Damn, that's a serious sandwich! I followed it up with a Monster Cookie topped in Temptation Cookie Dough ice cream, peanut butter, & chocolate chips. Needless to say, I overindulged & found my head spinning from all the food! Oy. Did I mention I also had a Peanut Butter Strawberry Cookie Dough Shake after Dragonlady Lounge? Sure, the combination sounds odd, but the waiter assured me it would be good, or he'd bring me a different shake. Well, I liked it! I prefer the classic Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Shake, but I wouldn't kick the PB-S-CD shake out of bed!

Chicago is known for its deep dish pizza, of course, but rarely will you find a vegan option that includes a non-dairy cheese. Delisi's to the rescue! Over 40 vegans descended on Delisi's on a Sunday afternoon to get their fix of perfect buttery, crisp crust, flavorful toppings like Upton's Seitan layered high with crushed tomatoes on top, & either Teese or Daiya non-dairy cheese. My favorite was the Hawaiian with Teese, as I love pineapple on just about anything!  In addition to pizza, Delisi's also has vegan Panzarotti, a deep fried calzone. I was able to sample one filled with mozzarella Teese, tomato sauce, & Upton's Sausage, & hot damn, it was tasty! Did I mention Delisi's delivers? Of course, I also had my fill of Chicago Soy Dairy's Temptation ice cream, since they treated us to rare flavors Pineapple, Black Cherry, & Peppermint. Chicago vegans are lucky!

Full of pizza & ice cream, I headed over to Deluxe Tattoo to meet Natalie for our "bro tats" by Chris Smith! A long time plan sullied by illness last time I was in town, we finally were able to put the image of our choice on our arms for eternity.. bunnies! Yes, we opted for Cram Cream bunny chefs, due to our love for all things cute & Japanese, our kitchen skills, & bunnies being the symbol of cruelty free items, like us! Afterward, Natalie went all out & got her neck tattooed, while the next day, I spent all day in the chair working on my sleeve.

After a marathon session of tattooing, my hunger was in full force, so Natalie & I headed out to Pick Me Up Cafe for everyone's favorite vegan French Toast! We also shared a delicious Humboldt County scramble with tofu, onions, mushroom, spinach, garlic, crisp potato cubes. I'm not typically a tofu scramble kind of gal, but this was great. Pick Me Up is still a great late night spot with a fair amount of options for vegans, so I always seem to end up there!

My last stop before heading home was a trip to Karyn's Cooked. After my last trip, I wasn't the biggest fan of Karyn's, but after convincing from many fans of the restaurant, I made my return & was very happy I did! With Danielle & Julia by my side, we ordered up a range of dishes. I opted for the Green Enchiladas, which were fabulous  garlic mashed potato filled corn tortillas in a green tomatillo sauce & housemade soy cheese. On the side, was nicely spiced, vegetable flecked spanish brown rice & refried black beans. For dessert, we all opted for different types of pie; Coconut Cream, Chocolate Silk, & my choice, Lemon Meringue! All of the pies were tasty & topped with a thick, housemade whipped cream that we were trying to determine how to make for ourselves! The Lemon in my pie layer was thick, tangy, & very sweet, I struggled to finish it, but couldn't stop myself! I would certainly go back to Karyn's, it seems I ordered the wrong thing in the past, although I have heard it can be hit or miss.

As always, Chicago welcomed me with open arms, horrible weather, awesome people, & delicious food! If you have a reason to go to Chicago, be sure to check it out!

By the way, my birthday is in one week! Damn, time flies. My husband-guy bought me the best gift a gal with wanderlust could ask for, a trip to New York City! Yes, I'll be on the road again in January, so look out for that update, & as always, get in touch if you'd like to hang out! I love meeting & eating with people.

Fritz Pastry is an adorable little European style bakery at 1408 W. Diversey in Chicago, but what many don't know is, it's vegan friendly! While things aren't marked, just ask the lovely staff what's vegan & they'll hook you up. We were able to sample 6 different vegan items & they were mindblowingly good! Seriously. These are not American style sugar overload sweets, but sophisticated pastries & some of the best I've ever had! Do yourself a favor & get to Fritz NOW!

In the meantime, check out our video for a little glimpse in to Fritz Pastry & their vegan options!

As I mentioned, I'm headed back to Chicago this week & I am seriously looking forward to a Radical Reuben & a Temptation Shake from The Chicago Diner! Ryan won't be joining me on the trip, which has resulted in serious food envy, but luckily Vegetarian Times posted the recipe for the Radical Reuben, so we decided to whip some up! While they don't have the beautiful marble rye or delicious Upton's Seitan, they still fulfilled Ryan's craving & made me even more excited to sink my teeth in to one later this week!

I love when the doorbell rings & a package arrives, so naturally I was happy to see the box from Bora Bora Organic Foods containing some of their "Organic Nutrition Bars" & a tiki mug! I had a chance to sample 4 of the flavors, which are mainly vegan (watch out for honey). The bars fall in to three categories; Energy, Superfood, & Antioxidant, of which I had the Tiki Blueberry Flax, Tribal Cinnamon Oatmeal, Island Brazil Nut Almond, &  Tropical Sesame Cranberry. These bars are pretty good. They're made from wholesome organic ingredients, aren't cloying sweet, & have interesting flavors. I'd be interested to try some of the other options like the Volcanic Chocolate Banana. Check out Bora Bora Organic Foods to find out where you can get these bars for yourself.

Recently, Amelia the lovely lady responsible for the tasty vegan soft serve at Toy Joy in Austin, TX, got a hold of me about Common Feast, a fundraiser zine she's involved with. House of Commons is a 27 person vegetarian cooperative in Austin, & they've created a zine to raise funds for household items, but also to show how to feed a crowd delicious, but inexpensive meals. Some of the recipes contained in the 49 pages include Creamy Chipotle Ranch Dressing, "Badass Frito Chili Pie", Apple Empanadas, & what to do when you have too many bagels! There are fun illustrations thiughout, as well as funny little stories. Consider supporting this veg co-op by buying a zine!

Well, I'm off to Chicago to celebrate Natalie's birthday, which will include getting sweet bro tats & eating too many sweets. If you want to celebrate Natalie's birthday, give money to a good cause, & get something in return, check out her Grind For Life Benefit, where all of the proceeds of the DIY Tiger Lady Tote designed by Model Citizen go to helping cancer patients fight for their lives. I ordered mine!

Life is starting to ramp up with the holidays & a slew of events are taking place over the next month, including my trip to Chicago for Natalie from Bake & Destroy's birthday! Expect many videos & silly pictures to surface in the coming weeks. Now, get your calendar out, you're going to be busy this month!

The next installation of the SF Vegan Bake Sale is coming up December 5th at 11am, once again at the purveyor of monster vegan sandwiches, Ike's Place! This time we're raising money for two more awesome causes, Save A Bunny & the Food Empowerment Project. Come join Sugar Beat Sweets & a cast of fabulous bakers to support these worthy causes by stuffing your face with treats! SBS will have more of our ooey gooey cinnamon rolls, fudgy brownies, & a new item you'll have to attend to see what it is! The bake sales tend to sell out well before the 4pm end time, so get there early to snag some sweetness in the name of the animals!

Another sweet event in the Bay Area is an ice-cream social & book signing with author & illustrator of That's Why We Don't Eat Animals, Ruby Roth! Join Ruby at Cafe Gratitude in Berkeley from 1pm to 3pm on Saturday, December 12th for FREE ice cream, woo! That's Why We Don't Eat Animals is the perfect book for children young & old to learn why people choose compassionate living through veganism. I can't think of a better gift for the kids in your life who ask, "Why don't you eat that??" when you pass on the food on the table. Go support Ruby & pick up a book!

Hey Chicago! As I mentioned, I'm coming back to visit. On Sunday, December 13th at 2pm, Snarky Vegan is hosting a Vegan Cheese Smackdown at Delisi's Pizzeria in Lincoln Square & I'll be in attendance. Teese & Daiya will go head to head in delicious Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, so you can choose your fave or just be stoked on a fully belly of goodness. Did I mention they have Upton's Naturals Seitan too? Ideally, we'll have a head count, so please comment here or drop me a line at melisser AT theurbanhousewife.com to RSVP! Everyone is invited! I'll be around Chicago for a few days, so if you want to hang out otherwise, get in touch.

If you're looking for a rad little t-shirt for a friend, want to treat yourself, or just want to support 4 vegan ladies chasing their dreams, my bakery Sugar Beat Sweets is having a fundraiser. Josh Hooten from Herbivore Clothing was kind enough to design this limited edition tee, so you can let the world know you're at the muffin top of your game! Orders end on November 30th, so hop to it & get yours before they run out forever!

In addition to a "Bake Friday" sale with Bake & Destroy items for crazy cheap, Natalie over at Bake & Destroy (pictured in a SBS Muffin Top tee has posted her 3rd Annual Gift Guide! While some of the items are no brainers like Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar or a donation to Farm Sanctuary, there's also a vegan section with items I've never seen like an awesome tattoo inspired vegan necklace by Etsy seller OrangyRedInk. Oh, did I mention it's a giveaway? 12 days of giveaways from sassy sellers like Very Happy Everything, Model Citizen, City the NZ Cupcake Queen, & even Bake & Destroy mugs by Circa Ceramics! Damn, I hope I win something. Go check it out!

Another shopping guide is over at Vegansaurus, where they've posted a Vegan Black Friday guide with discounts from Matt and Nat bags & more. When you're done reading the gift guide, check out the rest of the home of the pink dinosaur for not only a guide to dining vegan in the San Francisco Bay Area, but some of the funniest content for vegans on the internet, & cute animals too!

The Vegan Collection is participating in Buy Nothing Day by blacking out their site today. If you feel the same, be sure to support them for taking a stand.

Now get out there & spend with those who need your support!