1st Annual SoCal Vegfest

The second I heard of SoCal Vegfest, I knew I wanted to participate. Most major vegan events are usually in Los Angeles, so I was very excited to find an event local to me. I was able to visit with some of my favorite vegan businesses and was exposed to many others! 

First discovery was I Love Vegan a vegan Thai restaurant from Long Beach. They had a couple of dishes available but we were intrigued by the Thai iced tea. It did not disappoint. Looking forward to visiting their restaurant. Last time I tried to find vegan options in Long Beach, I didn't have too much luck, so I'm happy to see I Love Vegan is there! (I also noticed that they deliver, so that's awesome for the Long Beachers!)

There were about 5 food trucks there, & even though I've been to Sage Organic Vegan Bistro before their Jackfruit Nachos were calling my name. 

Absolutely delicious. 

The turn out for SoCal Vegfest was incredible. Lines were long but (for the lines I was in) they went quickly. 

Plant Food For People was right next door to Sage so we ate our nachos while we waited in line for some tacos. (We're smart vegan cookies.)  

We had two jackfruit carnitas tacos with coleslaw & chipotle mayo & two jackfruit tacos with tomatillo & chipotle mayo. So flavorful and delicious. It was a jackfruit kind of day.

& Keith had the spicy torta. Yield the warnings for spiciness. He knew I wouldn't be able to tolerate a bite, but he enjoyed it! 

There were also MANY vendors with free samples and products for sale. Dropped by Field Roast to try out their new Chao Slices. I tried the Coconut Herb with Black Pepper & I liked it! I had it cold, but I would probably prefer it melted. More of a reason to pick it up at the store.  

For the longest time, I've wanted to try Donut Friend. (Check out their Instagram and you can see why.) So I was excited to see that they were at SoCal Vegfest. I wasn't excited to see the LONG line that came with it. We decided to come back to the booth when the line got shorter. The line got shorter when they were sold out. ::womp womp:: Just a reason to head to their LA storefront and check them out there!  

I was really happy to see Uncle Eddie's Vegan Cookies. It is very safe to say that their cookies are my absolute favorite. Keith & I got to try some flavors that aren't distributed locally to us, so we were super excited. We got to try the Trail Mix Cookie & the Molasses Cookie. & of course bought both bags. (Fear not, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, you will always have a place in my heart.)

Conveniently, Beanfields Snacks was right next door. I absolute LOVE their nacho flavored chips. (I even had some today!) I call them vegan Doritos but they're way more healthy and way more delicious. The chips really do it for me when I get that cheese craving. They were offering free samples so I "tried" the nacho flavor. ;) But I also tried some of their other flavors. I also really liked the Pico De Gallo & Salt N' Pepper.

Not only was there food at SoCal Vegfest, but there was cooking demos, yoga, music, speakers & food contents. Another fun thing was apparel! I did so some window shopping for Christmas. Isn't ^^this tank^^ adorable!? 

I was happy to see Beet x Beet at the event. I've been pinning some of their products to my Pinterest, so it was nice to see the products in person. They recently celebrated their one year anniversary, so it's great to see this young company doing so well! (& you can see why when you visit their site. Really love Plant Based Party & In Plants We Trust.)

Love it.

I was also VERY happy to see Herbivore Clothing. ^^See?^^ See how happy I am?  

I absolutely fell in love with this Vegan Pizza Strong Baseball Tee. LOVE. Keith & I make it a point to have pizza on a weekly basis. I mean, why not? Tradition make people happy. It is now my goal on one of these Friday nights, I will wear this shirt to dinner. (Also, I didn't realize my second favorite shirt is right next to it, King Koala Tee!) 

Josh, co-owner of Herbivore, sensed my vegan pizza happiness and generously gave me a "Vegan Pizza Strong" sticker. Very thankful, Josh. I am finding the perfect place to stick it! 

Notably, I also got Ellovi's Butter & Tinted Lip Butter. These products were suggested to me from Tashina from Logical Harmony. Check out her review of the butter to learn more about it! I'm excited to give my own review soon. 

Also, SoCal VegFest's program had A LOT of local vegan meetups listed. (Let me know if you're interested & I'll post the list!) So I really appreciate SoCal Vegfest's efforts to bring together the local (vegan) community on the day of & for the future. This event just made my vegan bubble a lot bigger & I really appreciate their efforts to expose a vegan lifestyle. 

Thank you, SoCal Vegfest & participates! 

- Christina

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How to Eat Vegan in Barcelona

There is a huge misconception that Spain is not vegan friendly but that is simply not the case. With the help of these resources, I was able to find plenty throughout Spain. (See my Bilbao & Madrid vegan guides.) While in Barcelona, we were in the Poble Sec neighborhood so the dishes I found are local to that area. 

Calle Blai (a pedestrian street with many restaurants) had a handful of options for vegan tapas. Pictured above is from Pincho J a restaurant bar on Calle Blai. They always seemed to have grilled vegetable tapas & always satisfied.

I also found shishito peppers (a common tapa in Barcelona) & a quinoa/magno dish at La Esquinita de Blai. This bar restaurant has great costumer service so don't be afraid to ask if they have more veggie options at the tapas bar.

Cooking your own food while traveling is always a more affordable and healthier idea. La Boqueria (described further here) has so many options to cook up a meal on your own. Pretty frequently we'd gather ingredients at La Boqueria to make paella for dinner.  

Juices & fruits are a great option for breakfast!

& there are plenty of snack options at La Boqueria, too!

This is our homemade paella. We grabbed a few different types of veggies, veggie stock, rice, beans & paella spice at La Boqueria & shops to make for dinner. Recipe to come!

Another restaurant we frequented was Dostrece. It's an omnivore restaurant with vegan brunch items. You can see above that when I went to Barcelona the first time the menu was rather small. But when I returned in June, it more than doubled! So many yummy options. We probably went to Dostrece probably 6 times for brunch. 

We loved it so much. 

& there are pastries! 

See? So many options!

Gopal is a completely vegan restaurant & deli. It's a burger joint with many options to build your burger. Lots of vegan cheese and burger patty options. & you can have patatas bravas! Patatas bravas are fries with a spicy sauce that is mayonnaise based. So Gopal has a plant-based sauce so it's nice to be able to participate in a traditional Spanish dish!

They also have patties and cheese to take home with you! Another great option.
Don't miss out on the donuts & desserts, too!

gelaaati! DI MARCO can definitely satisfy your sweet tooth. This gelato shop has many dairy free options with great customer service, so just ask which ones are dairy free. (I cannot remember if they are labeled.) When I asked for chocolate the employee suggested I get another flavor because it's rather rich. I got it with mango & it tasted delicious! They give you a healthy portion with a size small ^pictured here^.

Tacos Tacos! We loved this place. I feel like I'm constantly saying that these Barcelona restaurants have great costumer service & it's probably because everyone is just so friendly in Barcelona! But yes, Tacos Tacos (no "!" but every time I mention it it makes me want to shout it. ;)) is an omnivore restaurant but they did a great job modifying my tacos so they could be vegan. They were just beans and guacamole but super delicious! They have a few different group meals where you can get something like 20 tacos for the table, with nachos & drinks. Great restaurant for groups.

I wish I had more photos to show you Flax & Kale. Such a beautiful restaurant with beautiful food. Next time I'll go for lunch so I can get better photos. ;) (They have great natural light see their Instagram!) Flax & Kale is a flexitarian restaurant with plenty of vegan options. See their well labeled menu here. I got the kale chips, the Green Power Ravioli & DESSERT! :)
La Heladeria Mexicana is a pleasant surprise. It's a Mexican ice cream shop by the beach with A LOT of vegan ice cream options! I got the small horchata flavor. Did you know that Spanish horchata and Mexican horchata are different? The person helping me informed me that I was ordering Mexican horchata not Spanish. I didn't even know there was a difference! Mexican horchata is rice based whereas Spanish horchata is nut based. Don't miss out on stopping by at La Heladeria Mexicana when you're by the beach!

More burgers & patatas bravas in Barcelona. Got no problems with that. I've been wanting to go to Cat Bar Vegano for years. I discovered this blog post & because it had to do with veganism and cats, I was in. It was a priority for me to go Cat Bar when we were in Barcelona. It did not disappoint! My mouth waters just looking at these photos. The environment is great, too! A lot of cat art. & they also have a huge selection of Catalan beer.
I was not expecting to find a little vegan snack at the BlackLab Brewhouse. You've probably seen your share of spring rolls so it's not groundbreaking but it's nice to know you have an option! They're near the beach and open during siesta so it's a great place for travelers.

& that rounds up my post of vegan options in Barcelona. Whew! (I didn't even name them all! We also went to Juicy Jones for breakfast, too! But choose Dostrece over Juicy Jones for breakfast in my opinion. :))

I absolute LOVE Barcelona & CANNOT wait to return. To be completely honest, I think about Barcelona & these meals all of the time. This is the 2nd of 4 posts I have about Barcelona. See what we did in Barcelona here. & stay tuned for a post about Barcelona cocktails & things to do for FREE in Barca!

- Christina

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3 Social Media Tips & Tricks: Snapchat, Instagram & Twitter

Since I've been hired as a social media manager, I have done a lot of research on how to have appealing platforms. So I've applied a few things I learn into my own blogging/lifestyle social media. 

I'm excited to share, so let's get into this!

Are you ever annoyed by not being able to fully express yourself on Snapchat? All the woes, haha. Well I have a hack for you! (Disclaimer, all of my tips are iOS 8.)

Go to your Notes app and hit "return" for a few lines. Select All of the blank lines & Copy.

Paste your blank lines into Snapchat and type up your wise words. ;) As you get to the end of your first line, your words won't push to the second line, so you will have to choose the next line to continue your statement. 

Click "Read more" to make your Twitter more visually stimulating!

My First Wedding Video + Wedding Videography Tips!

I first became interested in wedding videography when I assisted Melissa from Video By Melissa. I've always been interested in videography because I majored in film (& I like vlogging!) but that was my first professional experience. (These are the weddings that I assisted with Melissa, Natalie + Joe & Brandon + Courtney.)
A few months later my sister, Ashley introduced me to the opportunity to shoot a wedding on my own. (She did photography for the wedding. You can see some of her photos here.) I'm so thankful that the Sherwood's gave me the chance to experiment with wedding videography during their special day.
I learned some tips about wedding videography that will serve me well for the next wedding I shoot.  Here's some things I learned the hard way:
Stick to minimal camera movement. Being a smooth (camera) operator is hard! (Get it? Get it? ;)) Do not move the camera too too much. Some camera movement is good but the subjects will move for you, so don't be consumed by it. & when it's all said and done camera movement takes practice. 
Have extra batteries. This is a "no duh," but I didn't think about this before the Sherwood wedding. It ended up costing me not getting any footage of the ceremony! 
Talk to the bride & groom about surprises. It's also a "no duh" to talk to the bride and groom but be sure to ask about the details. It's good for the videographer to know if there's going to be any flash mobs, special dances or anything special that needs to be caught on video.
Once again, I am so thankful to the Sherwood's for this opportunity. I hope you enjoy their highlight video! I know it's a little late for wedding season, but if you are local to the Orange County/greater Los Angeles area, & are looking for a wedding videographer feel free to shoot me an e-mail!

- Christina

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i'm still here

I've missed you guys! How are you? Let's catch up. 

Consistency is something I really strive for on my blog but I've been struggling this year. Firstly, travel blogging is very difficult & I commend the people who can do it well. Speaking of which, my dear friend Katie is nominated for a Bloglovin' award for travel blogging! I am so freakin' proud & excited for her. She's so humble & says she doesn't deserve it. But she does! She has amazing photography skills, travels to very unique places & has great tips and advice. Her blog is definitely worth a visit & vote for her here!

I've decided that I need to give myself smaller goals with blogging. I have such grand dreams for this place on the internet but because I put so much pressure on myself, sometimes it feels looses it's fun. Can you relate? I really want to share my travels with you but the posts become such a huge project between editing all all the photos, writing and linking. (See my most recent post about Europe here. It's about my favorite city, Barcelona!) Do you feel the same way about some blog posts? Do they become time consuming for you, too?

I feel that I was starting to niched myself into a vegan travel blog. Which is my intention but I want to still talk about my other interests. I still am going to post about Europe frequently, but not necessarily every post. I've also decided to have the small goal of posting at least once a week. A post once a week is better than going a whole month procrastinating my next post. How do you keep consistency on your blog? I'd love to hear your tips!

I also have been busy trying to find a job & I've found a GREAT one. I work as a social media manager. (Insert emoji of the face with the eyes open really wide + the emoji of the one with heart eyes.) It's a perfect position for a blogger. Now that I do social media for a living, my personal social media is becoming more of a priority. Twitter has quickly become one of my favorites. & Instagram's new update has made me so freakin' happy. I've always struggled with how I want my Instagram profile to look. The struggle of having square photos or posting the full crop of the photo was something I was constantly going through. If you scroll through my feed on Instagram you can see the struggle. Not proud of it. But now that's a thing of the past. ;)

I also couldn't be consistent this month because I got 3 of my wisdom teeth pulled. I'm not exaggerating when I say it was the most stressful & painful experience of my life. I had an atypical experience which made it more awful than it is normally. I'll spare you the details. 

Summer is almost over & with fall in the horizon, I want to use my calendar & pay a little more attention to my to do lists. Do you have things that stay on your to do list for forever? I'm tired of that. Time for a change. 

What have you been up to? Excited for a new season? New goals?

- Christina

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