Wednesday, December 15, 2010

We Moved To Ocean Grove!

We are so excited to have moved to Ocean Grove. Our official Grand Opening was this past Saturday and we were welcomed so warmly by the community, fellow shop owners and residents. It's great to be back in town since we lived here back in the '90's. It was sad to leave this beautiful town back then but we didn't go far, just over to Ocean Twp. But through the years we spent so much time in Ocean Grove and always wished somehow we could come back. So now we have the pleasure of working here and coming here every day again! With our move brings new and exciting items from all around the world:



Fair Trade Tibetan sterling silver jewelry









Gorgeous Fair Trade houseware products from Bali: napkins, oven mitts, market bags






Fair Trade Orange Peel jewelry and ornaments from Colombia





Organic cotton tees with great eco-messages







Organic cotton hoodies and yoga pants




If you are in the area, please stop in and visit, we would love to meet you and show you our new shop!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Hanging in Lewisburg, PA

We had a great trip recently to PA to visit some friends in Clearfield. It’s beautiful countryside with rolling hills, would have been great to bring our bikes. We were treated to a lovely dinner at Luigi’s in Dubois and I have to say, their pasta meals were excellent, I even brought my leftovers home for the 5 hour trip the next day. We had a cooler, so why not? And we certainly appreciated not having to cook dinner after the long drive. On the way home, we found this quaint little town near the Delaware River called Lewisburg, home of Bucknell University. Since most college towns have a great downtown, this one does not disappoint. It’s full of cute sidewalk cafes many with great veggie options. We had lunch at Mya's cafe and had a nice table outside so we could relax and watch the world go by. There’s also an amazing historic theatre, Campus Theatre (http://www.campustheatre.org/ ) that shows recent films along with classics and also film festivals. We had the pleasure of getting a sneak peak inside this beautifully restored theatre that originally opened in 1941. The work that’s been done is spectacular with murals on the walls and restored seating. There’s also a special seating section with tables on a raised platform near the entrance to the theatre where you can sit and dine on snacks with old fashioned prices. You can just feel the nostalgia and imagine couples holding hands on their first date watching the old classic films. It is a must see, we only wish we could stay till evening to catch Pulp Fiction which was currently playing. "Bring out the gimp".

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Vegan Haven in LBI

On a recent trip down to LBI, I thought I would search on HappyCow just to see if there were any good veggie restaurants I might be missing out on and sure enough there was "Living on the Veg" in Beach Haven, 4 W Maryland Ave near the amusement park area. It is a lovely little cafe and such a relaxing respite from the hot sunny beach. The seating is small and just at the counter with stools but the atmosphere just begs you to hang out for awhile. We had wraps made which we took to go. Mock Chicken salad with tempeh bacon and the Chuck-wich with seitan, coleslaw, cucumber, onion, lettuce and barbecue sauce. So yummy and they give you a choice of a vegan side, we had potato salad and cole slaw. They also have salads, smoothies and juices so we came back later on our way home and indulged in some amazing smoothies. Again so refreshing after being back in the sun. They are also offering dinner options which we plan to go back for soon. Living on the Veg is definitely worth the trip. They are open every day in the summer and open late till 9pm Tues-Sun and Mon 11-4. So go ahead and plan a road trip! You won't be disappointed.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Animal Sanctuary in Edison, NJ

Who ever knew there was a wetlands area in Edison with an animal sanctuary as well ! I grew up right next door in Iselin and was always surrounded by suburbia and we had to travel a bit to get to some farmland or hiking areas. http://www.edisonwetlands.org/about/programs/triple-c-ranch/ The Edison Wetlands Association works to help clean up water ways and waste sites. At the animal sanctuary there's a mini pony, goats, chickens, a turkey (named appropriately "Turkey"), ducks, a pig and a ram. The friendly folks there will take you on a tour so you can meet the critters and if you're lucky like we were, you will get all loved up by the goats. They are so affectionate and just love to nibble on your clothes and rub all over your legs. They are such a happy group!


The chickens are probably my favorite. How could I ever have eaten them before? They are such beautiful, intelligent creatures and so curious about us. They make the most amazing little clucking sounds and come quickly over to check you out. They turn their heads to the side a bit to get a good look at you and you can almost picture them saying "look at me, I'm beautiful and special !" They dig around in the dirt and make little nests in their fresh straw. So sadly, chickens raised for egg laying are crammed 4-5 to a tiny cage and have no room to spread their wings or root around in the dirt. Their beaks are cut off so they don't peck each other in the cruel entrapment they spend their whole life in. And you're out of luck if you are born a male chick. You are simply discarded (alive) into a garbage bin. That's the egg industry so when you convince yourself that it is ok to eat eggs because you are technically not killing an animal, think again about the horror you contribute to.

Well back to the lucky few who can live out their lives at a sanctuary. The rooster cock-a-doodle-doos right in your face. He seems so proud of himself and what he can do. "Turkey" also loves to cluck happily at you and he also comes right over to "chat" with you and check you out. The pig is laying happily in the mud in the shade, the pony trots around his pen and snacks on grass. It's such a happy place!

We have so much to learn from these amazing animals. Their simple desire to live, be free and just be themselves without any harm.

There's also great hiking trails through the surrounding woods that go along the Bound Brook and you're sure to see many different bird species along the way. We saw a Rose Breasted Grosbeak, my first ever! And plenty of Red Winged Blackbirds, Robins and Swallows.

It's a great day trip for families and maybe it's right in your backyard and you didn't even know it.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Burlington, VT -





Just got back from a great trip to Burlington, VT. It's May 17 and the weather is glorious. 70 and sunny. Crisp blue sky and lilacs are blooming everywhere. They must be native to the area, we even heard there were 400 varieties of them although I thought they came in either a lilac color or white! Almost every front yard has one or two. There’s this amazing bike path that runs along the lake front (that’s Lake Champlain) where we biked several times. It even turns into this narrow strip of land about 15 feet wide where you are surrounded by water on both sides. This is as you head north and get near the islands in the lake. It’s such a beautiful area, you feel like you’re in Canada. We even saw two beavers swimming along in the water. Very cool ! Another really cool thing we saw for the first time was bike polo. We came across an outdoor hockey arena and saw a bunch of guys and one gal on bikes hitting a ball with homemade mallets. So we stopped and chatted with some guys watching and they told us it is indeed bike polo and it’s not that new, there are many places in the US where people play. They do have to rig up a bike to work for this. They change the gears so you can pedal forward or backward and they take off the brakes. If you want to slow down you just go in reverse. And many put on a shield to cover the spokes on the wheel since as you can imagine, your mallet can get caught in the spokes of your opponent quite easily.

We stayed at the Howard Street Guest House which was perfect. It's a converted carriage house with two rooms, one up and one down. It's one of the most charming, spacious, beautifully decorated places we've ever stayed. This is my ideal when travelling. If only I could find an inn like this every time I went away. http://www.howardstreetguesthouse.com/rooms.html

A must stop in town for all your food needs is The City Market http://www.citymarket.coop/ – the town’s co-op, this is an amazing natural foods and then some store with a deli, bakery, wine section and hot and cold food bar. I could eat here every day and never get bored. They had an entire vegan section on the food bar with creative tofu, seitan and tempeh dishes that changed every day. Burlington is so bike friendly that they have a huge bike rack area. If you build it, they will come! Almost every other customer came by bike. Very eco-friendly.

For dinner one night, we ate at Stone Soup, College St – we had the Seitan Reuben which was heavenly and they also have a vegan hot food bar which I indulged in – seitan stew, barbecued tempeh, steamed kale, rice pilaf.

Dinner another night was at The Skinny Pancake, a creperie, Lake St. http://www.skinnypancake.com/ The decision here is whether to get a meal type crepe or a desert crepe. So we had both. The Vegan Monster-House-made
Seitan, baby spinach, VT wild mushrooms, caramelized onions, and roasted red peppers served in a vegan crepe shell. And the Hot Apply Crispy – tart
Vermont Apples, Pure Vermont honey, Cinnamon Sugar. They have great outdoor seating across from the lakefront and it was fun to see the grads from UVM dressed in party dresses racing down to catch a party boat for a sunset cruise on the lake. This place is extra cool since they source most of their ingredients from local farms and food producers.

There were so many great restaurants with veggie options that we didn't even get to them all. Be sure to check out Happy Cow if you're planning on visiting the area.

There’s also a great fair trade shop, Peace & Justice located on Lake St (right next to the Skinny Pancake!) They are an organization working on racial justice, peace and human rights and also have this great shop with fair trade products from around the world. We got a new peace sign magnet for the car here.

All in all, it was a great trip; the weather was delightful and the sights were a treat. And of course the veggie food was divine.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Florida in winter






We just got back from sunny, beautiful, freezing Florida. We were looking forward to getting away to somewhere warm and since my friend was so generous in lending us her condo in Key Largo, off we went in search of the warm sun. Unfortunately we hit the most unlikely historic weather in the Keys with a full week of temperatures in the 40's and 50's. One day we did get to lie by the pool when it hit about 60 degrees, it was downright balmy. We had a good time anyway though, lots to see and do in the Keys. There's a wonderful bird sanctuary with rescued hawks and egrets and every day they have a pelican feeding by the water. But since it was so cold, there weren't many pelicans around and the few there didn't seem too interested in eating, maybe they were just chilly. There's lots of dolphin research centers which I'm torn about. I love to see the dolphins up close and I know we can learn alot from them, but some of these centers border on entertainment as a way to get funds and that I don't agree with. We also visited a turtle hospital ( http://www.turtlehospital.org/) hoping to go on a program tour. The poor sea turtles were freezing in the cold waters and were being rescued and brought in by the hundreds. I couldn't decide who to donate to first once we got home, the turtle hospital or to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. So I did both. The poor fish were also dying in the cold water, some swimming upside down and some already gone. It was so sad but inspiring to see so many people doing what they can to help the animals. Some people were bringing animals home to try to warm them. Iguanas were falling from the trees frozen but we were told they go into a cold hibernation and sometimes as their bodies warm, they come back to life. Although the Keys are beautiful and full of things to do, it is very difficult to find much vegetarian fare. We were fortunate to have a full kitchen at our condo so we did our food shopping at the local Publix and were happy to find they were stocked with tempeh, tofu and the new Gardein mock chicken products which are our new favorite. We actually wound up eating home pretty much every meal and saved lots of money that way! We really enjoy cooking while we are away since you don't have to worry about all the other household chores you usually do at home- cleaning, laundry, changing kitty litter pans, etc. (But I do miss my kitties when we're away!) So back to any veggie options...we did find the usual pasta and salads and even one place The Sundowner in Key Largo had a separate vegetarian menu but we were disappointed to see that all it really contained was pasta, vegetables and salad. We had hoped for a tofu stir fry or something else creative. We went down to Key West one day and they have plenty of options there- Help Yourself-Fleming St, Green Republic- Fleming St, The Cafe- Southard St and Sugar Apple on Simonton St. but at the end of the day after freezing out in the elements watching the required sunset and all the festivities that go with it, we opted for a comfort food veggie burger at Margaritaville on the famous Duval St. Back in Islamorada, we did find the Midway Cafe which is a cute cafe that had a tofu wrap on their menu in addition to some veggie wraps and hummus wraps. That of course was the day we had PB&J's packed so we didn't indulge but were happy to at least see those options. The cafe also tries to be as green as possible, using recyclable plates and cups and using green cleaning products. Basically you're surrounded by fish restaurants in the Keys but I can't blame them too much. The biggest tourist attraction there is fishing and every 2 feet along the Overseas Highway (Rt 1) you can pull over and fish and launch a boat but I just wish restaurants would have at least one option on a menu for us veg folks other than pasta (that was probably cooked with chicken broth). Oh yeah, while we were there, a fugitive who shot members of his family on Thanksgiving day was caught in a small motel in the keys. Thanks to the America's Most Wanted show, the motel owners were tipped off by a picture of the guy and the authorities raided his room and took him in to custody. We hear the Keys are a place where all sorts of funky folks hide out though. It really is a tropical paradise with beautiful blue green waters everywhere, palm trees, lovely sunsets from almost anywhere and oh I almost forgot the little Key deer. They are only found on Big Pine Key which is towards the end of the line of Keys (from Cayo in Spanish meaning "small island") and we've never had the pleasure of actually seeing them until this visit. We drove over on to No Name Key right near the No Name Pub and there they were walking around in residents' yards. They are smaller than our deer in NJ but oh so cute. They are very protected there and sadly there are usually almost 100 killed each year by car accidents. They think there are only about 700-800 left in the area.
The Keys are definitely a unique place and I highly recommend a visit there. Just plan to pack your food if you're a fellow veggie!