the giraffe life

I had to laugh when I saw this! I've been asked almost every one of those questions, with why? and how do you get enough protein?  being the most common. Maybe it's because I haven't been a vegetarian very long (only about 8 months), but I'm not annoyed by the questions (yet?). I see it as my chance to clear up some rumors and usually, people ask because they're curious, not to be mean :) So, wanna know why I went vegetarian? Read more here .

April has been a tough reading month for me. I've read several books, but haven't been LOVING books right and left like I was in February and March. So just as an overall reading update, here's what I've recently read. Cancer Vixen:  This is a true story of the author's life around the time that she found out she had cancer. It does address her cancer diagnosis and everything that goes with it, but it also recalls how she and her husband fell in love, how nice family can be even though they're terribly annoying, and her first year of marriage. It's a graphic novel, which is a little different for me, but it made for a super fast read. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats: I'll admit I checked this out because it was old enough to qualify for my read an old book goal . . and I like cats . . a little ;) Then after I started researching, I found out the musical Cats is based on this book, which makes me want to go see the musical that much more...

Happy last Thursday in April! I hope you've enjoyed the mini green changes this month :) My final suggestion is to think about the packaging. This is especially true in the grocery store, when it's easy buy a ton of stuff wrapped in plastic. For example, my local store sells two brands of organic ketchup. One in a glass bottle and one in a plastic bottle. I choose the ketchup in the glass bottle because plastic is a finite resource (it comes from oil  so we'll run out eventually) and it doesn't recycle well . Same thing with potatoes - my market sells them loose for 69 cents a pound or $3.45 for 5 pounds in a plastic bag. (Same price!) I prefer to buy them loose because I can pick out exactly the size and amount I want, but also because I can avoid the plastic bag.  So my challenge to you is on your next shopping trip - consider the packaging. Try the pasta in a cardboard box, the loose oranges, the milk in a glass bottle. It might be another painless change that ...

I got vegetable fajitas; hubby got the sampler, yum yum! Have you gone out to eat lately? linking up here and here

Soup is one of my favorite foods (probably second only to rice). And not only do I love eating soup, I love making soup. I rarely follow recipes exactly, so soup has a special place in my heart because it's so forgiving. A soup recipe calls for carrots, and you don't have carrots? Add corn, celery, bell pepper, potatoes . . . and it will still be delicious. This soup is no different, so feel free to substitute away! Using rice rather than pasta earned it bonus points and the unique combination of spices made every bite really flavorful. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did :) Let me preface this photograph by assuring you that although it looks like alien stew, it tastes really, really good. Pinky swear. This recipe is inspired by this one from Janssen and this one from Joy.  Wild Rice and Vegetable Soup • 1/2 cup wild rice • 1 cup water • 2  tablespoons butter or olive oil • 1/2 cup celery, chopped • 1/4 cup flour • 5 cups vegetable broth • 1 cup corn ...

Happy Friday! Meet my newest additions (and first attempt at indoor gardening): The first one is an air plant. Both it and the adorable pod hail from Bird and Feather , which I chose because it's supposed to be easy to keep alive. (We'll see!) The pansy was a gift from my hair dresser (so random and sweet!), hence the aluminum foil "pot," haha. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to rustle up a tiny pot for it or transplant it to the garden.  Do you keep indoor plants? I was so excited to find both of these aren't toxic for cats .

Hopefully I'm correct in assuming that the people reading this blog are female . . and if not, you may want to skip this post ;) Today's mini green change is: I think periods suck. The hassle, the cramps, the mood swings, the incessant food cravings ( always for weird stuff that I don't have at home!). BUT life goes on. Let's fast forward past the complain-fest. Enter something new - this cup - which I heard about from Crunchy Chicken . I read all her posts about it, and then I turned to the ladies on this forum , who gave even more information (down the nitty-gritty). It probably took me 3-4 months to work up the courage, but I finally ordered a Ladycup (the forum will help you figure out which brand you want) in 2009. And after I made it through my first period wearing it, I haven't looked back.  (Are you wondering why I said after my first period? Well because there was a lot of crying, panicking, and general hysteria the first time I tried to take i...

click to see it larger.   linking up here and here What surprised you the most? I was shocked to see that 62% speak a language other than the ones listed . . 

Here's a few recipes I've made recently: Homemade Pizza Dough: This recipe was ridiculously simple - as in, dump the ingredients in your bread machine and press start. After I rolled it out, I kept the laziness going by using leftover Papa John's garlic dipping sauce rather than than making pizza sauce. Topped it with cheese, baked for 20 minutes, and viola - dinner! Quinoa Cups: I needed bite-size food to bring to a party - and I had made this recipe before with great success (it's very forgiving in terms of substitutions ). I used spinach and cauliflower in place of the ham and zucchini and they were delightful. Chocolate Caramel Cake (or  Better than Sex Cake , depending on the crowd): I first tasted this at work when we celebrated a co-worker's birthday, and I made this for one of my husband's homecoming parties last week since he loves it. You don't have to combine the milk and caramel sauce on the stove, though - it works just as well s...

I do 80% of my cooking on the weekend. Monday through Friday, my general meal plan format looks something like this: Soooo repetitive, but I'm not sick of it yet.  Breakfast:  I eat cereal every morning. This one . Yep, I'm officially boring. But it works for me because all it involves is paying the bill when Amazon delivers 10 boxes of cereal to my front step, and buying like 4 almond milks whenever I think of it at the store. (I'd like to try making my own , but I'm just not there yet.) Quick and brainless - perfect for someone who wakes up ravenous. Lunch:  Leftovers. Pretty much every day. I'm kinda forced to pack my lunch because I only have 30 minutes to eat. Why not buy a bunch of pre-portioned frozen meals? Mostly because I'm cheap. But also because I try to avoid single-serve foods (and their inherent individual packaging). And it's so difficult to find vegetarian options around here (unless you want pasta and tomato sau...

Happy Thursday! Today's suggestion is: I think this suggestion comes as no surprise, considering I'm a vegetarian . But I'm not trying to be pushy, honest. This really is an easy way to be a little greener (and save a little money). This infographic shows it better than I could with words: Basically, we can feed more people with less land and water if we focus on growing plants. I bet you already eat tons of vegetarian meals, but here are some common ones: 1. scrambled eggs & toast 2. strawberries 3. pancakes 4. tomato soup 5. spaghetti 6. PB&J with bananas & almonds Want more ideas? Try Post Punk Kitchen , Vegan Yack Attack , Nature Box , or The Vegan Stoner . Let me know how it goes if you decide to try it!

linking up here and here

I'm sure you're all dying to know what cell phone I use, right? ;) Here it is: Just in case you want to run out and snag one, it's a Pantech Hotshot. I used the highly technical selection process of "which phone will you give me free with a contract?" to decide it was the phone for me. (It was actually the only free phone available.) Talking and texting on it are fine - I really can't complain about a free phone.  But let's take a look at the smartphone I've been craving on and off over the years: No surprise, right? I'm sure there are plenty of people who want an iphone. I definitely don't need it, but it certainly would be convenient and fun.  There are two obstacles, though. The first is the price - my provider requires a data plan for smartphones (honestly, I think all the big providers do), which runs a minimum of $30/month or $360/year (I like to calculate the yearly price for maximum do I really need this? factor). A...

Guess what I made this weekend? Lasagna! How'd you know? ;) I heart lasagna. You really can't go wrong with pasta and cheese! When I became vegetarian, I just left the meat out of my lasagna. And . . it was disappointing. I think leaving out that whole pound of ingredients kinda threw off the balance. So this time around, I made vegetable lasagna. I used spinach, carrots, and cauliflower because I had all three in my fridge, but there are tons of variations out there. Stouffer's makes a frozen vegetable lasagna with spinach, broccoli, and carrots, so I might try that combo next time. The cheese portion of the recipe also has tons of flexibility. I didn't use ricotta because I didn't have any on hand - just use what you have! Vegetable Lasagna • 6 lasagna noodles • 2 - 3 cups shredded cheese (I used a combo of mozzarella and parmesan) • 1 jar of tomato sauce (mine was 24 oz.) • 3/4  cup shredded cauliflower • 3/4 cup shredded carrots • 1 ...

One of my on-going goals (and passions) is trying to be more environmentally responsible. Since Earth Day is coming up (April 22nd this year), I thought I'd feature a "bonus" post every Thursday this month about a tiny change you could make to tread a little lighter (no pressure!) and maybe save a little money, too. I'll still be posting regular stuff MWF, so feel free to skip Thursday's posts (and let me know what you think in the comments). Here's the first one: Keeping short and sweet for this first one:  use half. The next time you reach for the toothpaste, dish soap, detergent, shampoo, whatever - use half as much as usual. See if it gets you by. You might be pleasantly surprised.  It's kinda like your first shower after a massive haircut - you still put a quarter-sized dollop of shampoo in your palm because that's what you always do. It's just a habit. I've found I can often get away with less without compromising cleanliness and y...

linking up here and here P.S. Have you heard about the Cat Cafe opening in London? Would you go?

Not quite as dramatic as the changing of the guards, but . .  :) 4 no drive days:   This was a tough one. I drive to work 5 days a week, meaning I had to cut back on my weekend driving to meet this goal. Not wanting to become a complete hermit, I decided to run errands after work to "earn" the ability to drive on either Saturday or Sunday. It worked (for the most part) and I didn't use my car on the 3rd, 9th, 10th, and 29th. Hot breakfast:   Unless we count warming up frozen tater tots, nope. Didn't happen. Read 5 books:   Six this month! I enjoyed Bomb , The One and Only Ivan , Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore , and The 100-Year-Old Man  (click to read a longer review). Son and Happier at Home were okay. Plan my garden:   Check ! I pulled the dead stuff out over the weekend, but still need to add compost. Then I can sit back and wait for warmer weather (which might suck if the weather keeps teasing us with 50-degree days follo...