Honest Scrap!

I've been nominated for an honest scrap award by Penny at Scottish Vegan Homemaker and DJ at Skint Vegan- so thank you both!

The rules of the award are simple:
1) Thank the lovely person who has nominated you and link back to them. Thanks again both of you! :)
2) Tell your readers 10 honest things about yourself.
3) Link to other blogs you feel embody the spirit of Honest Scrap and whose blog you find brilliant in design and/or concept.

So here's my honest scrap.

1- Pink Wafers are my latest food addiction! I've just discovered some of them are vegan(I'd always assumed they contained milk) so I'm making up for lost time, and am shovelling into some as I type!

2- I'm trying to grow my hair for my wedding(and to enjoy after it as well!), and as long as it looks nice and healthy, I'd like to get it down to my waist. Much easier and lazier than that traditional bride-to-be ritual of going on a diet and having a goal weight!

3- When I go shopping I tend to tidy things up- must be because I'm frustrated at people leaving stuff in a mess at their backside at work!

4- Hubby-to-be Jay is my toyboy at just 27- I'm 30 this September. And I do not feel nearly that old!

5- I love gently massaging Fudge the cat's front paws, and he loves having them massaged and puts them in my lap to be done! This makes Jay jealous as he also loves receiving foot and hand massages and asks if he'd get his done more often if they were covered in fur and he purred!

6- Despite being a vegan, I love all things vampire-related, from Buffy to Twilight to Anne Rice, and I watched Count Duckula, the Vegetarian Vampire duck when I was a kid! I'm currently reading the Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris(which the True Blood TV series was based on). I like werewolves too!

7- I honestly never imagined myself getting married- always thought I'd end up a crazy cat lady spinster type!

8- I have lots of things in the cupboard that I've bought for trying out a complex recipe I've read somewhere, and never got round to doing yet. I usually manage to squeeze in the recipe just before it's due to go past it's sell-by date!

9- My handbag carries a lot of nonsense, from a variety of medicines to an umbrella to a book currently being read and sometimes if I'm near the end, the next one in case I finish the first one before I get home, but I'm not taking anything out and making it lighter because I carry all these things "just in case" and if I do, I'll probably regret it!

10- I have a great memory for trivia and can often answer obscure questions on game shows etc, but anything important I'll probably forget!

My nominations are

Darmok The Green -

Kitchen Dancing -

Skint Vegan -

Scottish Vegan Homemaker-

Half Pint Pixie-

Two Vegan Boys-

I'm getting married!!!!!!!!!1111!

I apologise to readers for not mentioning my engagement earlier, as I was engaged in November, I actually thought I had, although Penny did mention it in a reply to one of my posts! Jay proposed after he went shopping while I'd been at work, and said he'd bought me an early xmas present, then gave me this box......Which had this card inside...
He had looked at rings, but wasn't sure what style I'd like, so he wanted to take me shopping to pick my own. So I chose this ring, which is tanzanite(Jay's birthstone) with diamonds on white gold...
:) :) :) :) :) :) :D !!!

We haven't set a date yet, although we would like to get married ASAP, and are currently looking into the details(venues, dresses, honeymoon destinations...). It's going to be a small and intimate wedding, close family only, in a registry office because we're both atheists, and we're going to go for a meal after it(vegan of course!).

I've been looking at dresses, and so many wedding dresses have silk in them, but I have seen a few I've liked that don't and are vegan-friendly. This 100% polyester number from Debut @ Debenhams is my current frontrunner , although they didn't have a size 12 in stock. I tried a size 10 on, which I liked although it was a little too small, so I'm really hoping the 12 fits and I'm not, as I often irritatingly find to be the case, a perfect size 11!

A close runner up, which was a perfect fit and also my mum's favourite out of everything I'd tried on, was this dress here, also Debenhams Debut. I'd highly recommend a look in Debenhams Debut to vegan brides to be as they have a lot of non-silk vegan-friendly fabrics in their collection.

BHS is also worth a look as they have lots of animal friendly fabrics too, although nothing I tried on was a good fit on me- but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll be the case for everyone, as I should mention that I wear an unusual bra size anyway. I did see lovely shoes there though!

Back with more wedding gossip soon!

Yours excitedly,
Kris xxx

I can haz... vegan cheezburgers! Vegan junk food product reviews from a self-confessed vegan junk food junkie!

...By making them with Asda Meat Free Burger Mix in a roll with a Pure "Cheese" slice! I'm particularly impressed by the tasty burger mix, which I found really easy to mould into burger shapes without it falling apart. They also make lovely sausage mixes- a great alternative to sosmix for anyone who misses that, and nut roast mixes too. And at just 78p it's a bargain too. 5/5- I'm definitely buying all of these mixes again!

The Pure slices are good in something like a burger though not something I'd eat in anything else, but then I was never a huge fan of the dairy version of plasticky cheese in my pregan days either. I'd probably buy them occasionally. An average 3/5.

Kris's Cruelty Free... Bathroom and Make-up bag!

For a change of subject, I love trying out new toiletries and cosmetics, so I've decided to post a list of my favourites. So, in no particular order...

Barry M 3-in-1 mascara- I don't wear a lot of makeup for everyday, but having very light blonde eyelashes, I feel rather naked without my mascara! (I've tried dyeing them, but I like the volume mascara gives too). Just one coat gives a nice amount of volume that isn't too heavy for everyday wear, and it also lengthens and curls, so no need for curlers. Fellow spectacle wearers will also love that it dries nicely and won't smudge all over your glasses. Available from their own website, as well as www.veganstore.co.uk and Boots and Superdrug on the high street.

Lush hair products for blondes- I absolutely love their The Blonde solid shampoo and Marilyn hair moisturiser pre-shampoo treatment. Like a lot of people's, my blonde hair has darkened as I've got older, and I've lightened it with highlights loads of times over the years. I was considering getting some more to brighten my mousy hair up a bit, but using these products gives me a a brighter, lighter colour after a while so I'm now a lot happier with my hair colour, and it's cheaper and less damaging than having it bleached at a hairdressers. They both smell pleasantly of camomile and remind me of baby shampoo.

I also really like their Veganese conditioner. I have very fine hair and I find a lot of conditioners can be too heavy, but this stuff is really light and leaves my hair soft and shiny but doesn't weigh it down. Has a nice fresh citrussy smell of lemons.

I love Montagne Jeunesse Moisture Miracle intensive conditioner and serum sachets. It leaves my hair in great condition and smells gorgeous and chocolate-y. Great stuff, I only wish they made it in big huge tubs as well as wee one use sachets!

Co-op own brand sensitive toothpaste- this stuff really works for my sensitive teeth, they had been incredibly sore for a while but after using this they hardly bother me. It's also cheap and tastes minty fresh.

I also love co-op's own brand anti-perspirant deodorants and body sprays, which come in a variety of light, freshscents, all of which I've liked so far. The anti-perspirants last ages and don't leave white marks, and are pretty cheap too.

I use Simple facial wipes or eye make up remover liquid(*I looked for a link and they seem to have discontinued this product :( , although they do have a new lotion version which I think I'll try next time), as I have very dry sensitive skin around my eyes and these are effective and don't irritate my skin. I also like their Kind to eyes soothing eye balm.

Jay uses Simple's Anti-Dandruff shampoo which is very effective at getting rid of dandruff. It's also unscented, which is a bonus as many anti-dandruff shampoos have a strong, often unpleasant medicated smell.

We both use Original Source shower gels which smell delicious. (And I use the men's ones as well as the women's!) Their minty ones are especially great for summer as they're cooling and tingly! They used to make a tingly mint deodorant spray, now discontinued, which I wish they'd bring back.

This weird and wonderful product, Montagne Jeunesse's Chantelle blueberry refreshing foot talc, which is a lotion that magically transforms into a talc when massaged into the feet, tingles and cools gently, feels great and is ideal for doing foot massages with. Jay and I both love it.

For Fox sake back the ban!

http://www.backtheban.com/home

If you don't want want to see the hunting ban repealed, then please sign the petition at the link above, and write to your local MP and candidates about this issue(the site has a feature which allows you to do this online).

Xmas potluck pics! With added cute!

I've got some photos from the Scottish Vegans' Xmas potluck, hosted by Penny of Scottish Vegan Homemaker and family, including this cute one of Susie the cat, above, peeking at as shyly from the stairs...
The cats might have been shy, but I got cuddles from doggies Daisy and Bobby, pictured above, snuggling in front of the heater....Bright-eyed, bushy-tailed 13 month old Bree, daughter of the Two Vegans at Leaves and Twigs, was singlehandedly proving that veganism IS healthy for kids of all ages! :)

Here's the spread of just some of our feast... I brought the vanilla sandwich cookies in the tartan tin. There's also lemon curd tartlettes, chocolate, pecan and pear cake, 2 pumpkin pies, banana cake with chocolate chips, nut roast stars, cranberries and oatcakes in the picture, and we also had soup, roasted veg, snow day pie, spicy carrot dip with breadsticks, stromboli, Catalan chickpeas, and cacao and peanut ice-cream (not pictured, sorry, was too busy eating!)



Apologies again for the lack of recent posts, I'm still alive and well, though I've been busy and knackered (being behind a till this time of year will do that to you! ;) ) doing overtime at work so I haven't had the time for doing experimental cooking and blogging about it, although my hours will be cut after xmas so hopefully I'll post more often in 2010!

Restaurant Review- Chapter One, Forres

Jay, his parents and I have just come from a lovely meal in Chapter One, an omni restaurant in Forres, in the north of Scotland, as we're up visiting them. His mum booked a table in advance asking if they could cater for two vegans in the party, and was told that was fine.

The Vegan Banquet, made specially for us, went above and beyond our expectations. We're so used to getting measly portions and still being hungry afterwards in omni restaurants so we were delighted to receive huge, enormous potions, which included a spicy mushroom and nut paella, mushrooms in a tomato-based sauce, stuffed tomatoes with a caramelised onion filling, asparagus-filled filo pastry and vegetable skewers. We gave his parents a little off our plates to try and they both found it delicious as well. :)

I'm going to award Chapter One an impressive 10/10 for their efforts, and I highly recommend booking in advance and paying them a visit if you're ever up this way.