The moving re-cap & more! January 30th

This past week has been such a blur. Naturally on our moving day (Wednesday) was a blizzard, but somehow we forged ahead and got moved into our new apartment (which is truly a PALACE compared to where we were staying in Manhattan!). We're on the top floor now, which we deserve after having to listen to people stomp around above us for the past two years, living on the first floor! Peanut is still adjusting and doesn't really know what to make of it. But every day he's doing better and not hiding as much. And of course, I've been finding some eats here and there around Astoria! So let's get to it!!

The first night we were SO tired. We had all we could do to order pizza! Luckily there is a good pizza place near by called Salerno's that we ordered from. (The first place we tried, Rizzo's, was a disaster! The most horrible pizza we've ever seen! But hey, you live and learn!)

(Notice, no plates! Only paper towels that first night!)

I have found the BEST chocolate chip cookies EVER. They are HUGE and VEGAN too!!! I happened upon them at Sai Organics, a chain of health food stores here in Astoria (there's only two of them I believe, both on 30th Ave.). They make a lot of their own organic and vegan foods, so I'll be stopping by there often!!

Yesterday I met my friend Melissa for brunch at Grand Cafe. It was nice to see a familiar face, especially since I don't know a soul around here! lol

Their pre-fixe brunch was good (although they DID rip us off for getting egg whites!!). They started off by giving us some mini muffins...

Then we had a choice of drink and coffee or tea. I chose an orange juice and tea.

For my entree I had an egg white omelette with avocado and tomato with french fries (and it came with a side of whole wheat toast).

(These fries were SOOO good too-- they reminded me of McDonald's fries, which I haven't had in ages!!)

Melissa and I will be attending an event this Wednesday hosted by LightLife that we are really looking forward to, that I can't wait to blog about!! So stay tuned for that!!

On my way home from brunch I stopped in the other Sai Organics store (the one further from me) and saw that they had a new Luna Bar! Of course I had to get it!

I tried this today and it was okay. The chocolate chunk flavor could have been better if they added a layer of chocolate or icing of some sort at the bottom (like most Luna bars... my favorites being iced oatmeal raisin and the cookies & cream one).

And today I stopped in Mt Olympus Bagels to make my bagel sandwich that I like (with swiss cheese-- yes, I cannot sustain a vegan diet!!!).

(I had another favorite, a Mott's peach medley apple sauce with it.)

As for Peanut, he hid (which is unlike him) for most of the first two days we were in the new apartment (as you can see!).

But he's coming out of hiding more and more, and is back to his usual tricks!

(He's licking my valentine ring pop!)

I am happy in our new place though. It is so quiet, and the view is gorgeous. It really reminds me of those roof top scenes in Mary Poppins!

Ok, well our "fun" doesn't end there. Tomorrow we have to go back to our old apartment in Manhattan and tie up some loose ends (like taking down our wall, going through the apartment inspection, etc.). So it's going to be yet another busy week ahead! And everyone please PRAY that we are spared another blizzard this week! All of us here in NY truly can't take much more!!!

We're on our way out... January 24th

Well, the move is less than 2 days away now, and thank God the weather isn't supposed to be as bad as they initially thought for Wednesday! We've been extremely busy as you can imagine. The only person that has been enjoying themselves during this whole debacle has been Peanut! He feels like "king of the pride" on top of all these boxes (and reminds me of Simba a bit!).

On Thursday we had our lease signing in Queens, and then when we got back we had dinner at The Olive Garden.

I had breadsticks and minestrone soup...

and the very un-vegan five cheese(!) ziti al forno. (This is SO good though, I'm terrified to know what they put in it! lol)

I also got 3 of their mini (and I do mean mini, think bite sized!) desserts to go! They look prettier here (and you can get them individually or 3 of your choice):

I love the strawberry & white chocolate cream cake one! But the chocolate caramel one and tiramisu one were good too.

Last week I also stopped by my favorite, Wild Ginger... and I got the usual...

And today I stopped in one of my favorite asian eateries, Qi (and got my usual there too).

I've really been trying to fit in food whenever I can, not really paying much attention to what I ate (for example today I ended up eating chinese food twice!!). And it's going to be difficult for the next week or so. I look forward to canvasing Astoria for great eats though! ;)

Anyways, here is what Peanut has been up to the rest of the week!

Playing on my bed.

Hiding under the covers while my mom tries to make her bed.

And of course, LOTS of playtime on all the boxes! (He loves to sleep on the highest boxes, as you can see!)

Ok folks, the next time I post I'll be blogging from Astoria! See you then!

Making Headway... January 18th

The move is well underway, although at only just over a week to go (the big day in next Wednesday, the 26th), we still have a LOT to do! Peanut has been extremely busy helping us though, as you can see:

I've been trying to eat when I can, although on top of all the stress with the move, I also managed to get some viral infection in my throat (which I went to the doctor for today). So my appetite has been off too. :(

However, this past weekend I went to Sacred Chow to get my favorite brunch, their tofu scramble.

And yesterday for lunch I stopped in Suzie's, a chinese restaurant in the village.

I got their lunch special which included wonton soup (I get the veggie kind)

and their bean curd homestyle dish which is tofu and vegetables, with some veggie fried rice and veggie egg roll as well. (All this food for under $10, not bad!!!)

And today after my doctor's appointment I got a yogurt parfait from the Pax on Park Ave. Granted, it's not vegan, but I need all the probiotics I can get now!

When I got home, Peanut was helping us pack some more... can you find him? lol

There he is!

Peanut is in 7th Heaven with all these boxes!! He thinks the whole thing is just one big game!

I'll be updating more when I can, although it's going to be a really busy week!!

Face Lift! January 12th

Not me, of course, the blog! lol How do you like it? I was thinking about lightening it up for a while now. Anyways, this is about all I have time for these days. We started packing today and we're finalizing things with the apartment. We are moving to Astoria (in Queens, where I was born actually). They are still in the process of renovating the apartment... if I showed you the pictures now, you'd have a heart attack! lol But I was promised yesterday by the head contractor that it will be beautiful when it's finished (which will hopefully be in 10 days).

In the meantime though, Peanut has been enjoying having the boxes around! He likes to wedge himself in between the stack of them!

I'll be posting more pictures of him in the boxes soon though! He's having a blast!! Peanut is very much a paper puss! :) He loves paper bags, boxes, crumples, etc. We just have to pray that he doesn't chew the boxes to shreds before the move!

Hopefully I'll be posting some eats soon too. I have to admit though, I'm a vegan who cannot give up her cheese. It's rather sad, actually. But I haven't had much appetite lately with all the stress, so beggars can't be choosers! I must eat what I can, when I can. I did stop by Wild Ginger today since I was downtown for a doctor appointment anyway. That place always makes me realize how SUPERIOR vegan food is to all the rest! It's so good and good for you. I am truly spoiled here in NY with veggie restaurants! :)

A Busy Start to 2011... January 8th

I've been extremely busy looking for places to live and starting the moving process, so my blog has had to go on the back burner, and will continue to do so for the remainder for the month. But, here's a quick update...

I have been getting my eats in here and there, most of which have been vegan! Including this new cinnamon roll from the vegan store, which was tasty.

Lots of Luna Bars and I tried the new chocolate chip cookie dough Lara Bar (which was good, but I have to be honest, I'm not crazy about raw food).

And I got my usual pad se ew dish at Tue Thai Food recently, and made it vegan by omitting the eggs (so basically it's noodles, tofu, greens, in a delicious soy sauce). Their spring rolls are vegan as well.

Peanut has been super busy with his hectic sleeping schedule...

Watching the snow...

And of course, lounging around doing nothing! :)

I'll be updating when I can! But I wanted to ask, what are some of your vegan meals?