Penny's Portal

January Favorites

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I can’t believe it’s February already! January went by so fast, partly because I was busy launching this blog! Here are some of my favorite things from the past month:

Food/Kitchen Stuff

In December my plant based doctor put me on a low fat diet (to deal with some hormonal acne after getting off of birth control pills), so throughout January I didn’t consume any oil, caffeine, or alcohol. As always, I ate a lot of veggies, fruit, whole grains, potatoes/sweet potatoes, and pasta, but no oil or coffee and also no nuts/avocados.

I still love sweets and treats though, so I was glad that I found The Glowing Fridge’s pumpkin muffins recipe because they are oil/nut free and delicious!

I also made some yummy coffee cake adapted from one of Fat Free Vegan’s recipes, which I plan to share on here soon. (Update–the recipe is up!)

Instead of coffee, I’ve been loving Coconut Chai from Tea Chai Te ((A Portland friend recommended it a while back, and it’s so good!)) with homemade oat milk. I want to build up my tea arsenal though, so please let me know if you have any faves!

One of my favorite snacks is popcorn, and this microwave popcorn popper my Dad got me last month is basically the best thing ever. I used to make popcorn without oil on the stove, but it takes a while and you have to watch it constantly so it doesn’t burn, but with this popper, I can make perfect, fluffy oil-free popcorn in three minutes!

Fashion/Beauty

When I saw Rhian wearing the vegan truth shirt, I had to order one for myself. A vegan x-files themed crop top? Yep, it’s my favorite shirt now. Recently Teuf put up a full length version available for pre-order, so my partner Lucas bought one too, and soon we’ll be matching vegan alien nerds. Woo!

I bought my double terminated fluorite necklace (pictured) a while ago, but I want to mention it because I’ve been wearing it a lot this month. It’s from Lightworker Crystals, a crystal/jewelry shop run by the blogger behind one of my fave blogs, Logical Harmony. Update: Get 10% off Lightworker Crystals with code pennysportal!

In December I became a redhead thanks to Overtone! (And stayed a redhead as well by using their daily conditioner.)  I hadn’t colored my hair (other than a few highlights) in 10 years, so it was a lot of fun to finally do something different. I picked Overtone after seeing a blogger friend’s amazing teal hair. Read my full review here, and get $10 off with my link!

I didn’t buy any new makeup this month, but I’ve been loving the Lip Exfoliator I got in my last e.l.f. haul as well as my usual favorites.

Fitness

I decided to mix up my usual weight lifting routine and tried a butt/leg workout from Tess Begg’s YouTube channel, and my butt was hella sore after. I’m definitely going to try more of her workouts. And of course if you haven’t noticed from Instagram, I work out at Bonebreaker Barbell, a hardcore, motivational gym in Austin that’s vegan owned and has monthly community workouts/vegan potlucks!

Blogs/Vlogs

Last month I found and fell in love with The Spooky Vegan, a blog about vegan goodies and horror! I legit watched all of the trailers in their Most Anticipated Horror Movies of 2017 and sent the list to my horror movie buddy as well. I also recently found and am digging Fashion Veggie, a vegan fashion blogger from Dallas. And of course I’ve also been reading/watching my usual favorites, like Logical Harmony, Wifelife, The Glowing Fridge, Minimalist Baker, A Beautiful Mess, and Zen Habits.

Photography

I was ecstatic when my uncle sent me one of his Nikon lenses, the 85mm 1.4D., because it’s an awesome lens and also because I’ve only been shooting with one lens for the past few years (my 50mm 1.8D). It’s an older lens, but it still auto-focuses on my d610 and has amazing Nikon glass of course. ((The newer version is the 84mm 1.4G.)) I used it to shoot self portraits for my Top 6 Vegan Makeup Favorites of 2016 post and look forward to trying it out more!

Another thing I added to my photography gear in January was a white distressed wood backdrop Lucas made me after I showed him a tutorial I found on A Beautiful Mess. It didn’t cost us anything because he used scrap wood, and we already had wood stain and white paint. I definitely want to make some more mock table top backdrops!

Books/Movies

In January I read The Starch Solution, which talks about how a whole foods, starch based vegan diet is ideal for health and sustained weight loss, and it was helpful for me because it’s basically the same way of eating that my doctor recommended. Before I was vegan, I used to limit carbs/think some carbs were “good” and some “bad” and always felt restricted and low-energy without carbs, so it’s amazing to finally embrace carbs again. Bring on the bananas and fruit and grains and *gasp* even white potatoes and rice!

I also watched the documentary Minimalism on Netflix and liked it so much that I watched it again with Lucas. We’ve been into the general idea of minimalism for a few years now. We still collect some things and aren’t super minimalist, but we’re definitely a lot more mindful about the things we bring into our home and life now. I’d highly recommend watching it and if you like it check out The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up too, I read it last year and it was seriously life changing.

What were some of your favorite things this month? Let me know in the comments! Also, follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, & Facebook to see more of my favorite things!

*This post is not sponsored, and I bought everything with my own money (unless I mentioned it was a gift). Some of the links (read: the Amazon ones) are affiliate links, meaning if you buy through them, you’ll be supporting this blog, which is much appreciated, thanks!