REVIEW: May Favorites

Hello, friends!! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! Did you get up to anything exciting?! We had a pretty low-key weekend which was nice compared to the month or so we’ve been having. Managed to get out on some hikes during the month of May and just spend time together as a family.

I can’t believe I’m sharing this photo because I am a bit horrified at how I look, but a random stranger offered to take a pic of the three of us….a rare moment!

For those who were unaware or don’t follow me on Instagram, we were really struggling with our dog Abbey’s health. Six vet visits, x-rays, a few urine analysis, acupuncture, switching vets, herbal supplements, urine culture AND we still don’t have a definitive answer. We made the switch to a local holistic vet because our old one was insanely quick to prescribe medication without knowing what was wrong….not our lifestyle. This new vet is a breath of fresh air! You see, Abbey has been peeing and leaking all over the house. The cleanup and laundry has been absolutely exhausting (round the clock) and not to mention heartbreaking because we just want to see her happy and healthy. All of her tests have come back negative – no infection, so we are left to believe that she is an older dog with incontinence. Since we had exhausted all of our holistic/herbal options, we have moved to a low dose of prescribed medication to treat incontinence…so far we’re seeing improvement! Fingers crossed things continue to look up. It’s also been hard because since we rescued her last January, we don’t know anything about her history other than she is 11 years old. So all of this combined with a few other stressful events, I’m ready for a new month!

But this post is about my FAVORITES! So let’s move on to happier, fun things! Thanks for reading my rambling thoughts!

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M A Y   F A V O R I T E S:

Randomness:

Before I dive in, I just have to share a quote with you that really hit home and inspired me. Do you subscribe to Ruby Roth‘s newsletter? If you do, I apologize for repeating something you already read, but if not, here’s some words of wisdom:

I painted this piece during a tumultuous period in my life, when the idea of surrendering to the chaos with quiet abandon—rather than fighting it—brought a sense of calm over me. They say it’s when you step off the tightrope and stop trying to maintain balance that one finds relief.

And for the last month or so, Willow and I have been obsessed with watching videos from this YouTube channel…totally NOT vegan, but you can absolutely appreciate her mad talent!

PRODUCTS:

ORGANIC (HEMP) NUT MILK BAG >> I purchased this bag a few months ago after my favorite bag finally broke and I’ll be honest…the first few times I used this hemp bag, I didn’t like it. It took more arm work and time to squeeze the pulp, but it produced the cleanest milk I’ve ever made. I ended up purchasing a couple of other bags (not hemp) just after this one and all of them bust open…none of them were as sturdy and strong as this hemp one! Now, a few months later, it’s been broken in and gets used 2-3 times a week AND it’s still going strong! A lot of nut milk bags contain chemicals or are bleached, but not this one – which leaves you with the best tasting milk. With the bag being a super fine mesh, you won’t get any pulp sneaking into your milk after being strained. Another thing I LOVE about this bag is the size! It’s a lot bigger than any nut milk bag I’ve ever had.

I do “sterilize” it after every 3-4 uses by putting it in boiling water for a few minutes. Super easy to clean, too!

NEROLI TONING MIST >> ANNMARIE GIANNI >> If you’ve been following my blog, you’ve probably heard me mention Annmarie Gianni’s products! Well, I have a new favorite! This Neroli Toning Mist is going to be my go-to this summer because a couple of sprays leaves your face feeling cool + refreshed! I use it after washing my face with her Aloe-Herb Facial Cleanser and then apply a moisturizer.

INTENTIONAL WEAR | SPIRIT ANIMAL | EAGLE™ >> ROOT FOOT >> This delightful little bottle came in my May Goddess Provisions box and it was instant love! Literally all of my favorites in one convenient bottle: Made with Pure Organic & Wildcrafted Essential Oils with Organic Jojoba: Cedarwood, Palo Santo, Geranium, Sweet Orange, Cinnamon Leaf. Heaven. I love how delicate, yet powerful this blend is – it’s not strong in scent like your typical bottle of perfume, but rather a subtle “made-just-for-you” kind of scent. Eagle is for Perspective, Spiritual Awareness, & Leadership. I want to try so many of their products, but I think I’ll definitely order Mountain Lion™  as it is for Assertiveness, Personal Power & Strength. If you believe in the healing powers of essential oils, I highly recommend checking out Root Foot!

RECIPES WE TRIED AND LOVED:

I don’t have many to share with you since I spent a lot of time fine-tuning my own and making repeats, such as:

The Vegan 8’s Mexican Tahini Sauce

Feasting on Fruit’s Mint Chocolate Chunk Nicecream

Vegetarian Gastronomy’s Vegan Cucumber Ranch

and

Peanut Butter & Vegan’s Red Velvet Smoothie

you can find photos and full reviews in previous Favorites posts!

Here are two new ones we tried in the month of May:

VEGAN QUESO BLANCO DIP (WHITE CHEESE) >> VEGGIES DON’T BITE >> Run, don’t walk, to the store and grab any missing ingredients and make this NOW! OMG. We made this in the beginning of May, just before my fully raw week. I looooooooved this dip so much and the possibilities were endless as to what to pair it with. I dipped pretty much any veggie (raw and cooked) we had on hand in it, ate it with roasted oil-free potato wedges, and used the leftovers by tossing it with gluten-free noodles. Since I knew Willow wouldn’t eat it, I didn’t hold back on the spice level and I absolutely loved the tang and spice of this dip!

ZUCCHINI CARAMEL NICECREAM >> from @viedelavegan‘s book HIDE & SEEK VEGETABLES >> I learned about Kyra through one of my favorite people (Natalie of Feasting on Fruit) and when I heard that she was coming out with an ebook with all sorts of hidden veggie recipes, you better believe I downloaded it right away! The photographs are gorgeous and the recipes are all oil-free, plant-based, and have a super short ingredient list! My eye was immediately drawn to this Zucchini Caramel Nicecream recipe because we LOVE zucchini and anything caramel-y. I made it for breakfast one morning and again the following day because it was SO good! The zucchini goes completely undetected and adds more creaminess with the bananas. Veggies for breakfast?! Yes, please! Almost all of the recipes are gluten-free, if I recall, there’s one that uses spelt flour…but the rest are gluten-free.

BOOKS I READ & LOVED: 

I spent the month of May rereading some thought-provoking books (Light is the New Black and Medical Medium) and here are two quick-read fiction books that I really enjoyed:

THE ORPHAN QUEEN by JODI MEADOWS

INCARNATE by JODI MEADOWS

 

BOOKS I READ & LOVED WITH WILLOW: 

Every couple of weeks we take Willow to the library so she can pick out some books to bring home…we leave with a big bag full and some of them are real gems…here are the ones we both adored:

TELL ME A TATTOO STORY by ALISON McGHEE

MAPLE by LORI NICHOLS

MAPLE & WILLOW TOGETHER by LORI NICHOLS

MAPLE & WILLOW APART by LORI NICHOLS

DANDELIONS by KATRINA McKELVEY

MUMMIES in the MORNING (Magic Tree House #3) by MARY POPE OSBORNE

Here is a book we purchased a hard copy of via Amazon and it is WONDERFUL! Filled with awesome ideas and projects to make the outdoors even more fun!

A LITTLE BIT OF DIRT: 55+ SCIENCE and ART ACTIVITIES TO RECONNECT CHILDREN WITH NATURE by ASIA CITRO

 

As always, I’d love to hear what some of your favorites are! Any new products? Books?

Thanks for stopping by!

❤