Hey everyone! It’s time for my second monthly favorites post: keep reading to find out more about my favorite things from February!
BLOGS/VLOGS/Instagram
Photo by Beauty with Morgan
I love Instagram because it’s a great way to find other great accounts and vegan blogs! One blog that I found via Instagram this month is a vegan beauty blog, Beauty with Morgan. I enjoyed Morgan’s Best Date Night/Valentine’s Lip Colors post and 2016 Favorite Makeup video–it’s so fun to see what other vegan babes’ makeup staples are (and add them to my wishlist, of course!)
I also started following Shine With Plants on Instagram, and I love Fabiola’s colorful, positive posts with plant based foods!
I’m constantly finding new YouTubers I like, and this month I’ve been digging Irene Rudnyk’s channel–Irene creates beautiful images with an ethereal style, and she’s also vegan! She posts behind the scenes and editing videos, and it’s really cool to see her process, especially since she doesn’t use strobes and only utilizes natural light.
Speaking of photography, this month I discovered two vegan food photographers whose feeds are both drool worthy–Gerard De Moragas and Tim. The lighting in Gerard’s images is always absolutely gorgeous, and I love the dark, moody feel in Tim’s images (and of course, delicious vegan food!) Seriously go check out both of their accounts ASAP!
Another person I have to mention that I discovered on Instagram is TK the Artist–this video he posted (originally on Instagram) gives me life!
FASHION/BEAUTY
This month I finally got a new purse to replace the main one I was using (an old faux leather one that was literally falling apart). I ordered this super cute Lavishy bag from Herbivore Clothing that’s made from recyclable/biodegradable vegan leather. Update: the strap on the purse broke after only 2 months. 🙁 But I was able to get a credit from Herbivore and got this rad shirt (and some unicorn socks) instead.)
This month I bought a fresh Kat Von D tattoo liner (my fave!), and I’ve been loving some of the things I picked up in my E.l.f Haul a while back though like the Ultimate Blending Brush, which works really well with liquid foundation. I also love their Illuminating and Contour palettes.
I already talked about coloring my hair red in my January Favorites post, but this month oVertone shared my photo on their account which was really cool!
FOOD STUFF (Vegan/gf/oil free)
One of my favorite recipes that I found and tried this month was Potato Strong’s No Cheese Quesadillas. It’s a really simple and oh so tasty recipe for low fat quesadillas–I made them multiple times for Lucas and I this month, and he says they taste kind of like Taco Bell, but healthier, lol.
I also tried three vegan, oil free restaurant options this month–one in Austin and two in The Woodlands while I was visiting my Dad. It’s kind of hard to find vegan options at restaurants that are also gluten and oil free, so I figured I should share them!
In Austin tried the Veggin’ Out Plate at Bouldin Creek Cafe with their delicious red and black beans (I asked and they don’t contain oil–yay!), organic brown rice, steamed broccoli, and salad.
In The Woodlands, I got a vegan orchid roll from Whole Foods with carrots, cucumber, and avocado–it was so good! (Ask them to make you a vegan roll with black rice because their brown rice veggie rolls contain honey.) I was also excited when I found out Salata has a fat-free sun dried tomato dressing, and I devoured a massive salad with lots of veggies and quinoa. I really appreciate it when restaurants have information about what’s vegan/ingredients they use up on their website!
One last food thing I loved this month was Engine 2 Blueberry Vanilla Granola that I picked up while I was at Whole Foods–it’s lightly sweetened with maple syrup, doesn’t have any oil or added fats, and is crunchy and amazing with oat milk or in smoothie bowls!
FITNESS
This month I decided to mix things up and do some p90x workouts. I was doing a power-lifting/body building routine with Lucas, which was fun and built my strength up, but I wanted to do some faster paced workouts with more cardio and less rest time. I did the p90x program in 2009 when I was 22 and still going to UT and had great results, so doing them is fun and makes me feel young and kind of nostalgic. I still want to get into the gym to do some heavy squats and dead-lifts though!
This month I also watched the Bonebreaker Barbell Push/Pull meet, and Lucas won second place! It was really inspiring to see so people smashing their personal records–the energy was awesome! If you live in Austin and haven’t been to Bonebreaker Barbell you should definitely check it out–it’s a hardcore, motivational gym in Austin that’s vegan owned and has monthly community workouts/vegan potlucks!
BOOKS/MOVIES
My movie highlight of the month was Hidden Figures–if you didn’t get a chance to see it while it was out at theaters–definitely check it out as it comes out on DVD–it tells the amazing story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson (mathematicians for NASA in the ’50s/’60s). It’s incredibly moving and inspiring!
What were some of your favorite things from the past month? Let me know in the comments! Also, follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, & Facebook to see more of my favorite things!