The Whole World In My Hands

Happy Earth Day everyone! The weather is lovely today and we spent it biking around Toronto, grocery shopping in Kensington Market, and enjoying the splendid outdoors our city has to offer.

I have also completed a special set for my photos from my trip to San Francisco. I thought it was only fitting to highlight it here, being that San Fran appears to be a green city. They have even recently put forward a by-law to forbid plastic bags at grocery and retail stores. Totally cool idea. Check out this great garbage can too.

We all can do something to treat our beautiful Earth. One way to help is to think of it in 4 parts - it's physical self, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Yes, our Earth is a living, breathing thing, so why not treat it as such, right?

For me, today and continuously, i am committed to:

1) Decrease the amount of plastic bags i use by reusing the ones i have and remembering to always bring one of my many cloth ones
2) Relish in the beauty of the nature outside and say thanks for it
3) Make the connection for others that being a vegan is also a conscious decision to nuture the environment (for me it is, anyways)
4) Do a little prayer for Mother Earth to remind her that i care

What can you do?

Edited to add: Oops, i forgot to mention this lovely group blog: Sew Green, a collaborative blog that looks at environmental ways to be crafty. Check it out.

A City of Neighbourhoods - Shopping

I think sometimes i should change the title of my blog to 'a vegan shopper' or something like that, because as much i am crafty, i sure know how to shop! Case in point, my trip to San Fran was so successful, i had to buy another carry-on bag just to help me bring it all back!

So, for this post, i wanted to highlight some lovely local stores, mainly the ones that support local artists as well as those that offer a great outlet for crafters!

1) Doe - a wonderful treasure in Lower Haight - i went there a couple of times and left with purchases. They sell whimsical things like pillows and pottery, fun stationary and magazines, lovely clothing and accessories predominantly made by local, independent designers, and at reasonable prices. I got my much coveted (by me) Blissen wallet there.

2) Candy Store - this store is located in the Mission and it too supports local and independent artists. One other fun feature (besides the cute decor of the store itself) is that they sell vintage things from shoes and purses to old Star Wars playing cards.

3) Polka Dot Variety Store - what a great find for me. I happened to be walking past this store in Polk St. and saw that they sold pens, and i hoped they had some staplers (J needed one). Well, i still don't know if they did because i was too busy looking in all the cute little drawers - inside with old toys, cake toppers, dice, playing cards, and more and more. I just loved it! Here are some of the things i left with:

4) Needles and Pens - another great store in the Mission and this one definitely had the vibe of supporting local DIY and craft culture. They had a great selection of zines and how-to books, plus a vast array of accessories and posters highlighting upcoming events.

5) Stitch Lounge - this store was in Hayes Valley and it was J who made the connection that they are the ones that published Sew Subversive, a great book he had bought me. They house sewing studio space and sell what they make - a very cool concept!

6) RAG - the owner of this store is an environmentalist who wanted to offer an alternative to SF - one that really supports indy artists and designers at an affordable place. They had been closed for a couple of months so i'm so glad they re-opened the week i was there!

7) The Other Side - located just steps from our hotel in Lower Haight, this second-hand/thrift/vintage shop was fantastic. I spent quite a bit time looking at the vintage bet sheets and old sewing patterns, and i walked away with a lovely sheet.
8) Bell'Occhia - what a lovely lovely store, and so odd at that. The friendly women at Miette Candy Store recommended i find this little treasure. Just a short walk from Hayes Valley, located off Market St, this curio shop offered the strangest and darlingist things like vintage trim, lifesize plastic fish and strawberries, Marie Antoinette dolls whose heads fly off, and oodles of yummy chocolate. Unfortunately, they don't allow photos because the best part was the decor of the room itself - a small shop that looks like it stepped out of Alice in Wonderland's world.

9) Urban Knitting Studio - located in Hayes Valley, this store was wonderful. It was housed in a large room that had a modern vibe (lots of concrete walls) but the abundance of colourful yarn and books made the space so warm. The owner/staff person made me feel even more welcome and we had a great chat comparing our knitting stores.

10) Oh, it's hard to choose just ten! Some other lovely spots are Mingle (on Union St) that sells both local things and other small name designers. I loved this area of SF as it was closer to the water and to the Golden Gate. The owner also was a sweetheart. Another similar store (of sorts) was Cat Seto on Polk that was a sweet boutique that sold both lovely clothing and gifts. Cotton Sweep and Lavish (both in Hayes Valley) are also sweet little boutiques. The first one offers clothing right out of our favourite Japanese craft books, and the second is a great spot for new moms and friends of new babies.
11) Just cuz there's so much to share: the Mission seems to be where it's at - it is home to 2 amazing thrift stores. We scored quite a bit at Mission Thrift Store and it's worth mentioning. Another great vintage/second hand store is The Painted Bird on Guerrero. We literally stumbled upon it and i was so happy to find it. A very cool and happening store (as the other clientale seemed to be saying), i bought the cutest poncho there. American Rag (on Van Ness) is also a great big second-hand shop that also sells new things - i couldn't believe how big it was!

12) Also, for anyone who lives to write - Little Otsu is a store run by vegans that sells the best array of stationary and near it is the Pirate shop founded by Dave Eggers - a great store and studio dedicated to helping children become interested in storytelling (in the Mission).

Whew, seems like i could go on but i think those are my favourite shopping highlights!

A City of Neighbourhoods - Restaurants

I'm back from San Francisco and i'm not sure where to begin: with only being there a week, there's so much to share. The restaurants, the greenery, the stores, the neighbouroods - wow, what a wonderful city!

Something worth mentioning here are the great restaurants, and vegan ones at that. Before going to SF, i knew a little bit about its culture and way of life, but i didn't realize just how laid back and liveable this city is. And restaurants that aren't officialy vegan/vegetarian are very vegan-friendly. I loved going to a brunch spot that serves meat and egg entrees alongside with a scrambled tofu dish, or grilled seitan sandwich. Can i say 'only in SF?'

Anyway, here are some food highlights for me:

1) Medicine Eat Station - a fantastic lunch spot in the downtown core. It is a vegan shojin resto with the most creative dishes - very healthy but also very artful. I just loved it and i could have eaten there daily. I went in one afternoon just to haved their matcha green tea soy ice cream. Heaven on earth!
2) Poleng Lounge - not just a vegan spot but the menu had a good selection of dishes for me. Again, artistically prepared and so delicious. The atmosphere is even better - they host poetry nights, and the decor is dark, funky, and intimate. Very cool. The Buddha's Treasures dumplings were great and i had a fantastic drink called the Monkey Love Juice made with raspberrries, black tea and rum to go with it all.
3) Golden Era - i love Chinese vegetarian restaurants, when they're good, like this one was. The dishes all had their own distinct flavour and the portions weren't too big (like some other places i've been too like this). We had a yummy lemon 'chicken' dish that was fantastic. It's worth the walk to the Tenderloin for this great spot.
4) Herbivore - we went here a few times. There are 3 locations in the Bay area and we were lucky to have one just down the road from our hotel. I had a great veggie burger that had a neat taste of mint in it, an amazing ravioli dish that was soaked in a cream marinara sauce, and the best chocolate cake ever - not entirely mousse, but there was enough icing to make me happy, and a lovely coconut filling to balance the flavour of the chocolate. Oh, and i have to mention they know how to make a great soy mocha latte! I even got myself one of their grilled tempeh sandwiches for my long day of plane riding home. I just wish that airports were more vegan-friendly. When i was going to SF i had to declare my sandwich at customs and the dude there was like 'what's tempeh?' I think only my customs form will say 'soybean sandwich' on it!
5) Waziema - a tasty Ethopian restaurant, again near our Hotel nears Hayes Valley/Lower Haight. The decor seems to have been left over from another lifetime as a pub, but the deep burgundy velour wallpaper added a nice bordella vibe to our food.
6) Cha-Ya - a great vegetarian Japanese resto in the Mission. The sushi entrees were creative, like this one where the avocado was on the outside of the roll, and we also liked the signature sushi roll that is lightly deep-fried.
7) Love and Haight Deli - i had a 'chicken steak' sandwich to go and i just loved it. I got to put what i wanted in it and while it was a bit messy, this sandwich took no time at all to be eaten, even while walking along Haight Ave to catch a bus!
8) Dolores Park Cafe - looking over the park and a gorgeous old monestary (i think) that was turned into a high school sits this quaint cafe. We were there on Easter Sunday and it was filled with people out to join in the Easter Egg Hunt hosted by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. J had a great grilled seitan sandwich and we had some great smoothies to go with our brunch.
9) Boogaloos - my first introduction to SF was Saturday brunch here - i had a huge tofu scramble at this busy joint. We waited in line and in the rain to get a seat outside in the rain. But it was worth it! Not officially a vegan spot but we can eat there without a problem!
10) Indian Oven - voted the best Indian resto in SF for over 10 years. It's in Lower Haight and we especially enjoyed the dal sag dish (lentil stew with spinach). Not my favourite Indian food ever but a good spot nonetheless.

San Francisco or Bust!

Well folks, i'm off to the lovely west coast city of San Francisco this week. I'll be away from blogland for about a week and am so excited to meet San Fran for the first time. My honey is already there, and i can't wait to join him. Eating alone is not something i enjoy, though it is nice to have the bed all to myself!

While i'm away, i plan to do a lot of walking and eating at all the great vegan restos! I can't wait to see the cherry blossoms, the hills, the culture, the vibrancy of this great city. Of course, i did some research and got some help from some locals, so i know of some great local artist/crafter/DIY/bloggers shop and sell their wares. I do know a city based on how good the shopping is, i have to admit!

Until then, here's some great reading for you:

San Fran Bloggers and Indie Artists:
* A Bird in the Hand
* Anti Factory
* Bits and Bobbins
* SFgirlbybay

Cool places to visit:
* Doe
* Cool Restaurants for me!
* Minnie Wilde boutique
* Museum of Craft and Folk Art

Other Fun Reading for You:
* Herbivore Magazine - my first published article is featured here - subscribe to read "14 Things to do with Vintage Fabric!"
* Split Yarn - a new to me blog!
* Stay Fancy Free - yet another fun new blog
* West Coast Crafty

That should keep you busy for a few days. See you soon!