This Week's Food Obsessions

I'm pretty sure I have an obsessive personality. Once I get it on my head to do something, I have to do it as soon as possible. Once I get it in my head that I like something to eat, that's all that I want to eat. So here are some of the foods I've been obsessing about this week!

1. Tofutti's Dairy Free All American Casein Free Cheese

I know that the name is a mouthful, but after being vegan for a year now, I can easily say that this is the best cheese substitute that I've come across so far. They use it at the health foods store closest to me on their veggie burgers, so I bought it to use on mine. I've been so in love with this stuff that I've been eating a LOT of veggie burgers lately! Soon I hope to try some grilled cheese!

2. So Delicious Coconut Milk Cookie Dough Ice Cream 

This is my new best friend. I'm trying so hard not to buy three or four of them every time I go grocery shopping! My Little, Cortney, introduced me to this dairy-free ice cream last week and I've been obsessed ever since. It's really hard to remember that not all vegan things are good for you, because I would use it as an excuse to eat things like this on a daily basis.

3. Sour Supreme 

Again, one of the best substitutes that I've come across so far. Obviously it doesn't taste exactly like sour cream, but the texture and consistency are close enough to fool me. I've been making vegan fajitas on a regular basis because of this wonderful stuff!

4. Hershey's Sugar Free Strawberry Syrup 

Of everything on this list, THIS has been my number one downfall. I've been trying to cut down on spending money on tea and coffee in the mornings, and one morning I made strawberry soy milk instead. I've been hooked ever since. This week, I finally switched from regular strawberry syrup to sugar free. I know it's still not healthy, but it's one tenth of the calories so I'm not complaining!

Until next time,

Hayley:)

My Summer Wishes

Every April as school is wrapping up, I tell myself that the next four months are going to be amazing. I tell myself that I’m going to go out all the time, enjoy the weather, hang out with my friends, and do other things that I generally don’t have time for during the semester. But every year at the end of August, I’m disappointed in myself. I always spend the majority of my summer on the couch watching TV after I get out of work, staying home to relax on the weekends, and just acting like a total bore. 

 

I’m determined that this summer will be different, and I’m using my blog to hold myself accountable. This summer, I’m making a list of all of the things that I want to do, and ACTUALLY doing them!

 

1. Get a tattoo

I’ve wanted a tattoo for ages. I was going to get one last summer, then in December, but I chickened out each time. But no more! This summer will be the summer that I get one; I just have to decide what I want first.

 

2. Go on day trips

In approximately eight days, I’m going to be turning 21. In honor of that, I plan on spending a lot of time this summer trying different wine from around the state. I’ve heard that they have amazing cherry wine in Traverse City, so one of my goals is to take a day trip there to sample of this deliciousness, and find other places to go from there.

 

3. Go to a concert

This one should be fairly easy, because I’ve already bought tickets. I’m going to see Lana Del Rey at the end of May, and I couldn’t be more excited about it! She is my fashion icon and has the most amazing voice I’ve ever heard. Seeing her in person might just be the highlight of my summer.

4. Go camping

As of right now, I’ve talked a lot about going on a camping trip or two this summer, but I have yet to make any concrete plans. This is where my big summer ideas always fail; I’m great at coming up with fun things to do, and horrible at the execution. I’ll be making reservations soon, so that this goal can become a reality!

 

5. Go to the Renaissance Festival

I love Ren Fest, I really do. I have a costume and everything. Every year for the past three years I’ve gone, and I’ve always said that I should go more than once over the summer to the different theme weekends, and this year I’m going to. Plus, I’ll get to see the mermaids (and cry again when I see them)!

 

6. Work out

I want to be fit and healthy again, and I have the time in the summer to do so, I’m just ridiculously lazy. But this summer, I’m going to venture out and go running. I’m going to start going to Zumba. I’m going to take yoga up again. I will make sure that I fulfill these goals this summer, and I can’t wait!

7. Be in nature

I want to spend the majority of my summer outside, even if most of my work day is spent at a desk. This summer, I’m going to force Gary to come outside with me. We’re going to go hiking, go on picnics, and swim.  We can spend our nights watching Netflix when it’s too cold to go outside.

 

8. Chicago

I want to take a weekend trip to the Windy City, no reason needed!

I can't wait to complete all of my summer goals and make the summer of 2015 the best one yet!

 

Until next time,

 

Hayley :)

 

Vegan Update #7: Garlic and Chile Rice Soup

I've realized this week that I really hate cooking. That's probably why a ridiculous portion of the money I spend every month goes to eating out; I love eating good food and hate making it myself. At the moment Gary and I are saving up to possibly buy a house, which means I have to force myself to cook so we can save money. This week, I planned a ton of meals to make at home, and this was my first attempt. 

I decided to make garlic and chile rice soup with spring greens for dinner, which was quite a process. This is a recipe that I found in a vegan cookbook and looked delicious, so I had to try it out. First, I cooked the rice (which I later realized I wasn't supposed to do). 

After that, I had to chop up some onions and garlic (I recently discovered that I LOVE garlic. I chopped up way too much and put the rest in the freezer so I can use it to cook later on in the week!).

Then, after the chopping was done, I cooked the onions and garlic in oil, then added the other ingredients (rice, ginger, and a slightly spicy pepper). I cooked those for a minute or so, then added the soy sauce and vegetable stock and put the lid on and let it cook for about half an hour.

While it was cooking, I tore up the spring greens (I used Boston Lettuce), and after the thirty minutes was up, I threw them in and let it cook for another five minutes. 

Finally my food was done! It was wonderful, but so much work that if I ever want it again I'll probably just bribe Gary to make it for me.

I also made vegan no bakes! I used cane sugar, vegan butter, and soy milk and Gary couldn't even tell the difference. They were definitely my favorite thing to eat!

*Smores kept bothering me while I was cooking, because that's just what she does. Except when I try to get a picture, and all of the sudden she's having none of it*

But, maybe all of this cooking will force me to enjoy it more!

Until next time,

Hayley:)

Sister of the Week: Bailey

Today, I wanted to talk about an amazing sister who doesn't always get recognized for her level of awesomeness.

At the beginning of 2015, Bailey got the position of Philanthropy Chair in our chapter, and in the four months that she's had it, she's already done an amazing job. She set up a massage fundraiser, where a masseuse actually came to our school and gave people massages for $1/minute! Plus, she set up a bake sale at Relay for Life, and even though I know she was stressed, she did a great job. 

This year, I've gotten closer to Bailey than I was my first year in the sorority, and I'm so glad I did. She is one of the sweetest, most genuine people that I've ever met. I honestly don't think that I can put into words what an ideal sister Bailey is. She is always there to lend an ear if you need her (which just goes to show what a complete angel she is, because I could talk for days), and she listens patiently and offers support and advice every time.  She's a voice of reason when people get a little emotional, and her love for sisters is one of the reasons I stick with it through tough times.

Did I mention that she's one of the cutest people on the planet? She's basically the only person I've ever met that can flawlessly pull off purple hair!

I love you, Bailey! I can't wait to become even better friends, because I'm pretty sure we're going to be at school together forever.

Until next time,

Hayley:)

Founder's Day

This weekend was pretty busy! After our adventure in Ohio (called America's Armpit by us Michiganders; our states have a small rivalry), the next day was Founder's Day for my sorority! For all of the non-Greeks out there, Founder's Day is the day that a sorority or fraternity celebrates the founding of their organization, an anniversary of sorts.

We had it at a steakhouse this year, and the place that we went has the BEST bread. I got the chicken alfredo (minus the chicken) and for dessert I shared a gluten-free cookie with my Little instead of having cake ( I had eaten so bad at lunch I decided to keep it a little bit healthier for dessert)!

 

Our theme this year was Kentucky Derby, and girls went all out. The only big hat that I have is a floppy mess, but everyone else had really cute ones! One of my favorites was Cortney's.

I've barely gotten to blog at all since the fall, but back in October or so, I got two Littles! Cortney is the older one, and she's the one you see with me at Founder's Day. Her outfit was one of my favorites, she and Meghan looked like they came straight out of "American Horror Story: Coven"! 

We had such a great time at our 102nd Founder's Day, and I can't wait to celebrate again next April!

Until next time,

Hayley:)

Adventures in Ohio

With school finally over, I'm  happy to say that I have free time again! And now that summer has started, I'm back to blogging. Since I last posted, nothing much has been happening with life, just the usual school and work drag. But, the next four months are jam packed with crafting, trying new recipes, and loads of new adventures!

This weekend was my first without the worry of homework or a chapter meeting to attend for my sorority. So, Gary and I went on an adventure with my sorority "twin" Mary and her boyfriend Jacob. Jacob was in the playoffs for his lacrosse team, so we made the trek down to Ohio to watch him play!

It was ridiculously cold outside for April (a downside to living in the Midwest), but we had a great time! I had never seen a lacrosse game before, and I wasn't really sure how it was played before this weekend, but I really like it now and I'm hoping that Jacob plays again in the fall so we can see more of his games!

After dinner, the four of us went to this bookstore called Books-A-Million, which legitimately felt like it had a million books. I could spend all day (and all of my money) in there, but I settled for just buying one book while Gary bought a record to use on the record player that I bought him for Christmas. I ended up settling on "Can You Keep a Secret?" by Sophie Kinsella. She's one of my favorite authors. My favorite kinds of books are cheesy romance novels, but she writes romance novels with more of a substantial plot, which is what I love about them.

After we left the bookstore, we headed out to this Italian place, Biaggi's, that we had noticed on our way to the game. I ordered the cheese ravioli and it was delicious. The restaurant was wonderful, even if we all did feel a bit under dressed!

My AMAZING cheese ravioli!

Jacob and Mary were pretty tired at the end of the day...

After Biaggi's, we walked around for a little bit before heading home. The mix of the cold weather and a full tummy after dinner knocked me out, and apparently it knocked Gary out, too, because we both showed Mary and Jacob how beautiful we are when we sleep...

I was so happy that my first weekend of summer break was such an adventure! And now that it has started, I really can't wait to see what the rest of the summer holds.

Until next time!

Hayley :)

Sister of the Week: Kate

This week, I wanted to post about one of our more newly initiated members; Kate!

Kate is one of the nicest girls I know. I feel like I say that about every sister I post about, but it's true! I didn't know Kate very well when she was first initiated last semester, but I was able to hang out with her a few times over the summer! We baked together for our chapter retreat in August, and she taught me how to properly fill cream puffs(which is a really big deal, since I have very little baking knowledge).

Kate's Big, Taryn, transferred schools this semester, so Kate has had to adjust to being a newer member without her Big here, and I think that she has done an awesome job. She just took over as our Fundraising chair, and I can't wait to see how she does! She's sweet and truly exemplifies what it means to be a sister, and I know she will be a great leader in the chapter one day!

Love you, Kate!

Until next time, 

Hayley :)