*january 4 book signing!*

January 4th, 7-9pm at never felt better {vegan shop}please join me as i host the lovely melisser ellitott to celebrate her new book 'the vegan girl's guide to life'.  you can RSVP on the FB page or contact me for more details!  it's not to be missed, sacramento!  thanks for your support :) 

*raison d'etre*

*words can't express my love for these two little women, so i won't even try.   

*november's bounty*

i hate thanksgiving.  but boy do i love to eat the traditional {death free, natch} meal.  more recently in these adult years i have enjoyed cooking it, too.  even though my not-even-remotely-vegetarian mom led by example, i still had to find my way to veganize all those delicious and memory provoking recipes paving the way for our own family traditional vegan meal.  it's a total win when your kids look forward to your dishes and know what is in store, and also have some fundamental critical thinking skills to appreciate our choices.  is doing what's right really that hard of a choice after all?  

in the car on the ride to school this morning my youngest, lucy who is on the autism spectrum, newly 6 years old and in kindergarten says that when she grows up she is going to go tell all the farmers to care for their animals and not use them.  like the sheep, she says, that must be SO COLD when they are shaved for their wool.  she goes on to talk about winter time and how the animals must not suffer and she actually says "because it's our duty to take care of the animals ALL the time, not to use them for their meat or hair".  me and my oldest daughter just looked at each other in amazement and started cracking up when lucy then goes on to talk about kicking ronald mcdonald in the nuts  :) she probably will, too.

as i bid adieu to another november all i can say is it kicked october in the nuts!  let's see what december has in mind for us...

cherry agar agar fruit jelly with mango, bananas and dandies marshmallows

roasted brussel sprouts, green beans and carrots

vintage chicken centerpiece

it took a while but i ate the whole thing! 

that is the way

 

*anti-black friday for life!*

even though i would love for you to come shop today, it is 'buy nothing day' and i understand that you may want to steer clear of the big box stores on this most busy retail day.  you can always support your local, vegan, indie business...like ours and feel good about your purchase power.  i am not running crazy sales but i do have a sale bin of cute tees and misc. for you to paw through.  i have some great stuff that would make for easy holiday gift-giving to the vegan or veg in your life.  so if you are local stop by and check us out!  

our ad in submerge magazine running through the new year! 

 

*the animals THANK YOU*

the animals thank you this year for not exploiting and murdering them.  be a voice for the voiceless and go vegan.  give the gift of life this winter holiday season: it's easier than ever to live vegan.  this is my holiday wish for you and your loved ones.

happy tofurkey day!  hope yours is spent with people you love and vegan food you relish.

{what's new in pictures.}

*small business saturday is coming!*

i got approved for an ad sponsored by amex running on facebook to help small business by the very first "small business saturday" november 27th.  black friday...mreh.  cyber monday...pssssht.  come out and support your small indie business people on saturday.  click the link to "like" the FB page and support your little gal or guy trying to live the dream!  :))

*coming soon!*

oh so many things to look forward to this week.  i am staring at my master list of vendors and products that are ordered and en route and i am so anxious!  some items are being restocked such as the soycurls and soygo to-go individual creamers.  we are also getting another round of zenthreads screened scarves with new designs (makes a wonderful gift...for yourself! haha).  of course this weekend we sold out of both cheddar and moz teese but we still have some nacho sauce, and those should be here any day now.  we have plenty of dandies on hand but will be restocking those always.  never fear.

let's talk about what's coming.  {are you sitting down, sacramento?  you have no idea what you are about to be experiencing!}

since i pushed the refrigerator on the selling floor i can carry cold case items now...and now we are talking sweet and sara marshmallows and treats.  such as:

 the marshmallow sampler like a slice of heaven.  and the smores, above, are one of the best things i have ever eaten.  mmmm smores....

next up we have sheese.  it's an imported item from scotland, and boy do those scots {my people!} know vegan cheese.  

we were lucky enough to try this product while living up in portland at our fav vegan grocery foodfight!.  you want to try this for cooking, entertaining...stuffing in your face.  it's DElicious.  and best of all it does not come from mourning, suffering, or raped mother cows.  there is no such thing as happy humane milk...all those "happy CA cow" commercials were filmed in europe and i doubt they are treated any better anywhere, actually when it comes to mass production of a product.  our cows here suffer in untold ways...please consider going vegan if you haven't already.  milk is not kind.

also, i have been wanting to try this hickory flavored bacon salt for a while. i thought hickory was the only vegan flavor but i got some whack information LOL.  all flavors are indeed vegan and i intend to carry them all now! 

{for all the bacon-loving hipsters who think it's so funny to laugh about little piggies making delicious bacon, ham and *shudder* spam, i dare them to slaughter their dog or kitten and throw some of this up on it.  ;p  there is nothing funny about the suffering and eventual murder of pigs who are by all accounts MORE intelligent than our companion dogs (specisim=violence) and more like a two year old human animal than a dog.  to treat them the way we do is all but human.  and to laugh about it and jump on the bacon hipster train just shows what little brain rattles around up in that empty head of theirs.  educate yourself, watch earthlings, get off the train, think for yourself, and go vegan.  or you can eat your "pet", cuz there is no moral difference in your kitten and your bacon, dumbass.  

 my almost 13 year old daughter just said "the truth will set you free".  from the mouth of babes...

*the vegan girl's guide to life*

the book has been out for a couple weeks, and i have almost fainted from anticipation to get my hands on copies for the shop and today is the day.  you can pick up your copy here at nfbveganshop.com on-line and in person.  then i want you to turn to page 82 and wave hi.  that's me {and i can't wave back, k}!

this book is CHOKED and i mean stuffed full of vegan personalities, info and recipes.  a PERFECT guide for n00bs :)  or people like me who love to learn about the person behind the project/product.  i am seriously stoked to be in such great company.  these people are MY heroes, and i hope they will be yours too!

i will update when i know when she will be coming for a book signing, but i so happy to have the author melisser stop in for a night of food, conversation, pictures, drinks and veganocity beyond your wildest dreams. :)  {again, dates tba but it will be after the new year.  she's a busy lady!  and she lives in vienna! amazing.}

*picard for life!*

i just thought this was a little too funny not to post somewhere that i can link back to when a picard-style face-palm is totally appropriate :)

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i wouldn't even know who to credit this for, just know it wasn't  MY genius...it was theirs.  :)

*a little cross self-promotion*

our other blog was feeling sad and neglected, so i just updated it with our latest food venture to the loving hut out in elk grove.  if you are from the sacramento area and vegan, you might want to check it out. it's not the fanciest food blog on the planet and we are way to busy/lazy to have signed up for vegan MOFO but it's still our little food blog we like to give some blog lovin' too time to time.  :)  {blog love:  awwwwww}

i am hoping to get my copies of the vegan girl's guide to life early next week.  I haven't seen it yet and i am really excited {read:  anxious}.  i have heard from friends who have seen it and they didn't laugh at my lameness/geekiness too much.  actually they were quite kind, quite kind.  honestly i am in such great company in the book melisser could have photographed me picking my nose and drooling and i would be happy as a clam as long as i was mentioned in there somewhere.  there is a great interview with her on super vegan talking about, among other things, the women she featured in the book.  and your's truly is one of them.  {unbelievable}

in shop news, i have an unbeatable selection of the vegandish pottery in right now, just in time for holiday.  if i got one of these as a gift i would probably pee myself out of pure joy.  seriously.  they are just SO lovely and you can see the workmanship and pride.  i just love looking at them!

also i am getting in some more grocery randoms that would be perfect additions to your very vegan thanksgiving meal like gravy packets and so on.  speaking of, if you are unable to cook the traditional meal for yourself please consider sugar plum vegan's thanksgiving pre-order suggestions.  there is a meal size and price for everyone.  check it out and get your meal or just a pie or dessert order in soon!  

 i leave you with a picture of me on halloween.  i was a vegan zombie.  i was in the process of eating GRAAAAAAINS.  funny, my makeup job didn't show up very well in this picture and i looked just like i always do:  kinda dead.  ha!  enjoy!

good bye october

can't say i am sorry to see you go!  here we go into a new month with new possibilities and opportunities, not a moment too soon.  it's not the the month was *bad*, it was actually a good and productive month.  it's just not my favorite, that's all.  no hard feelings, october.  {it's not you, it's me}

the shop is doing great:  got some local print coverage in the sacramento news & review and an online mag about midtown's goings on.  free advertising:  i heart this.  people are making their way in finding us on happy cow, yelp, and twitter.  these things work believe it or not LOL.  a lot of bay area friends have made their way down to sacramento with super nice things to say.  whenever someone *thanks* us for *doing this* and gives us genuine support my heart melts.  i just want to *do more*, and with the support of my very small, local and vegan business is one way i can more for the animals and our cause.

i am sitting at the shop, sipping a jamba juice and having 'breakfast with the beatles' on itunes radio thinking how much i really love all this.  this constant state of deja vu tells me i have done this once before somehow.  and i am ok with that.  {everything has happened and will happen again}  

in the meantime, i hope if you are local you have a chance to come shop and say hi.  if you are not you can follow us on facebook to get more constant updates on what's going on. 

*time flies*

it's true what they say:  time really is slippin' slippin' slippin...into the future!  i cannot even believe the month is half over and halloween is coming.  i think i purposely blank out this month out of my memory.  i had some highs, and some very scary lows in octobers of past.  i do love this time of year.  i LOVE when the seasons change from summer to fall and winter to spring.  even here in the sacramento valley, there are seasons.  and they DO change!  {even if you have to drive to "see fall" in the mountains...}

my website is in flux...i am slowly adding things and making it look fresher...

 nfbveganshop.com  
click and you can see i have been working on my site...{grumble grumble don't talk to me about it webshit sux and takes forever.  or should i say i suck and am slow}

the store is doing great--when it's slow during the week i have been getting everything in order for taxes (already!  shutup gah! noooooo) and the financial side of everything is looking fabu.  let's see if i can keep on top of everything and not get in trouble or fined or something lol.  {there is a lot to keep on top of, trust me}  with the customers and supporters:  everyone has been so nice, i *almost* can't stand it.  {don't. stop.}

mostly i wonder if they can hear me singing downstairs and through the open windows?  because when no one is looking, you better believe it's karaoke up in here!  {serious business...don't laugh!}

 

*good day*

moved the books, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

well i got through a segment on good day sacramento, our local morning program this week. lesson learned? live TV is not the thing for me LOL. i had in my head all these AR one-liners to combat the zings from the reporter but she was so nice and positive when the lights came on i TOTALLY BLANKED OUT on who i was and what the fuck i was doing. well...at least my intentions were good. and they were not condescending about all the fierce veganocity going on up in here. so, all in all it was worth getting up at 5 to be here at 6am. {that's really, really early for me to be imparting ANY information of any kind ever. but that's just me.}

after she left and i had a few hours to kill i rearranged {again}, putting up a new metro rack for the grocery items. if you come here on the regular don't be too surprised if it's slightly to extremely rearranged constantly. it's just what i do. it's the OCD in me. so, sorry for any confusion :)

also it was like xmas with the shipments! new this week is chicago soy dairy products: mozzarella teese and dandies marshmallows. they were so nice to send samples of all flavors which we are in the process of sampling at home. the cheddar sauce is pretty major. we also got some awesome and i mean fucking awesome belts and key chains made from recycled bike tires, oregon brand vegan chai mix and AR pendant necklaces from christy robinson. her work is so awesome, i have loved these necklaces from afar for many moons. i am honored to have them available here! come see for yourself :)

on a personal front i have never been busier! between the girls, home and the shop i feel like i am going at 10 all the time. i have discovered massages/bodywork and I AM SOLD! what have i been waiting for my whole life to get these? i say reiki me, baby. i am so ready. also shawn has been busy making AR buttons...and we are planning to host melisser elliott, the author of the vegan girl's guide to life in november for a book signing party. {your's truly just may have a blurb in the book...but you will have to wait and read it when it comes out!}

have a great weekend and if you are local or traveling through stop in and say HI!

*not the heat*

vegan dish, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

apparently we are experiencing a heat wave. or at least, regular late late summer sacramento weather we are not used to since the weather was relatively mild for us. {so, we swelter, or so it seems.}

but, in spite of record breaking heat i am still having my positive mental attitude. i am re-ordering tee shirts as we are running low {that's a great thing}-along with some hoodies and long-sleeves, the vegan dish pottery came {which i am drooling over}, and we set up an account with chicago soy dairy {vegan run, made on vegan equipment!} for teese vegan cheese and marshmallows {huzzah!}.

things are looking good. and feeling good too. i can't wait for a real weather change for hats and sweaters and socks. pumpkin pie in the cafe and cobblers. mmmmm. {i love fall!}

*snack and book porn*

pantry, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

look i know you just had the 'bottomless brunch' downstairs at sugar plum vegan, but dammit you know you want some hazelnut butter and some boxed mac-n-cheeze. you know, for later noshing.

along with some mighty fine junk food, i also have vegan cookbooks if you are the READING type. ;p (reconstituting mashed potatoes in the microwave doesn't constitute following a written recipe!) just got in 'that's why we don't eat animals' by ruby roth. it's aimed at children but if you can read this beautifully illustrated and factual book on treating all life with compassion without giving your current omnivore status a serious second thought, you are a robot. it's amazing and would make a great gift to a child you know.  also, we got vegan yum yum which you need for next dinner party, and the cookbook the mad cowboy howard lyman penned called "NO BULL"--good reading cover to cover, all of them. {if you are the abridged reader and prefer zines...have a few of those too. even one dedicated to vegan smoothies for that smoothie diet you were talking about not too long ago. wait, that was just me and it was the babyfood diet! what? i am trying to lose 10 lbs!}

*day two*

fancy aprons :), originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

yesterday was awesome! lot's of positive people, sales and great conversation. shawn and kristie brought me flowers, too! {so thoughtful}

even though the SUPER GRAND OPENING {tm} haha will be in october, i would have to say yesterday's first day was very grand and very special. {i love my job!}

in other non-business news: our beloved cat simon had a almost week long hospital stay for a urinary blockage and almost died! he's home with a new and favorable prognosis, thank god. then, if things couldn't have been more hectic with that and the store opening, the same day he went into the hospital my oldest daughter took a spill at school and sprained one of her elbows, and fractured the other. hopefully she won't need a soft cast on the one and the sling will do. i did a tour of TWO hospitals on the SAME day :) it's amazing my head didn't spin off my neck but you know what...everything's going to be OK for both cat and daughter! so you just have to roll with everything and not get too caught up. {er, at least that is what i have been told ;p}

happy sunday and i hope you have a wonderful start to your week! let's hope neither you or i have reason to see a hospital or dr. LOL

*nine days, seriously?*

love my birdy fabric curtains, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

NINE DAYS until i throw open the doors? say WHAT?

it's funny, i think i am in shock about the whole thing. because in order NOT to freak out, i am just NOT freaking out and rolling with it. {it's so very unlike me, you know, not to freak out.}

the sign for the outside got delivered today: that makes it official! plus with 90% of the space painted and decorated{how much do you love the birdy fabric curtains? thanks ikea and your inexpensive fabric ways!} and the fixtures delivered and stock here and ready to go out, it's kind of a done deal! i believe the only thing not ready is not a thing at all, it's a being and that being is ME. {ok, i lied. i am actually quite ready. i am just nervous! EEP!}

never felt better {vegan shop} is go!...well, almost. NINE MORE DAYS!

*painting is fun*

just keep painting, just keep painting...

me, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

i worked all this waaaay up in my head as the worst possible job to do for the space, but actually minus the 15 ft. ceilings between elisabeth and i we knocked out the front two rooms over the past two days. easy AND peasy, but still a kick ass cardio workout. i am hoping to lose 10 pounds drilling up and down the stairs in the future when no one is looking, and i hope this is the jump start to my hypothyroid metabolism! {one can only pray...}

now, you may ask yourself...what in the world is that color yellow doing? but tell yourself it is still wet in these pictures and there is nothing wrong with a little color in your life. :) this room, aptly named the yellow room LOL, is the "kitchen" area as the future home snack foods, cookbooks, aprons, dishware, pet stuff etc. i am in love with the sunny/happy/vintage feel of the color plus it's name is fairly lily. {+1 in my book.}

today was a good day, a productive day. cheers to many, many more of those.

*sneaky peeks 2*

and a few more...

flapper girl

 

 

vegan aesthetics

books by bexx

plus don't forget there will be cookbooks and snacky and staple vegan foods, too!

*sneaky peeks*

oh so retro

bread and badger

fork n spoon

just a few of the types of awesomeness you will find at never felt better {vegan shop} scheduled opening sept 18th, and the website is being worked on so it's "under construction" for the moment--please check back later for the new version!

so, you sly vegan, you...check back for more sneaky peaks to come between now opening :)  {just enough to wet your whistle, eh sacramento?! there's more...so much more...}

*moving on up...*

new logo w/ text, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

well things are happening over here at nfb central. the move to the new store front is eminent, when the weather cooperates and doesn't give us the promise of a heat stroke in the middle of it! {have i mentioned the shop is in an old victorian...UPstairs with a dinky window AC. and it's been record breaking heat here in the sacramento valley. yeah. so...yeah. the weekend is promising more mild temps that are more conducive to hauling stuff up a flight of steep steps! i also have a cleaning and paint prep CREW now...so i don't have to suffer respiratory distress on top of all the regular stress LOL. again, it's a dusty old victorian. and it hates my lungs right now.}

i have received many new items in the past two days, including a partial food shipment {vegan jerky and candy, anyone?} and some awesome handmade vegan lovelies you had no idea you needed. a metric ton of tee-shirts, with more great stuff on the way. cute brooches, bags, and bath and body items...vegan CONDOMS... everything will be ready and we will have that soft opening by sept 15...second saturday if the weather gods smile upon our faces. {no more hothothot weather, k weather gods? seriously.}

oh and how about the new logo? {i am loving it. i hope you are too.}