Life-altering vegan pancakes

That's right. Life-altering.

As I ate the meal I am about to describe, I felt as though I were in Cora's. Those who know me know how much I loved Cora's before becoming a vegan. I lived for raspberry crepes, and strawberry custard waffles. I loved to stuff my face with sweet, delicious breakfasts.

Since becoming a vegan, however, I have not been eating as many delicious breakfasts as I used to. Sure, I had pancakes and waffles from time to time, but they were always lacklustre. I always felt as though I wasn't doing the pancakes justice, but no matter how many recipes I tried, they were never quite right.

Recently, I stumbled upon a recipe for pancakes that made my mouth water.

http://ohsheglows.com/2014/02/25/easy-vegan-and-gluten-free-pancakes-strawberry-shortcake-w-whipped-cream/

Looks amazing, right?

As usual, I had very few of the ingredients on hand, so I decided to just use the recipe as inspiration. They very clearly explained that you could not substitute the flour they had chosen, which was an ingredient I was missing, so I decided to use an ancient grain, gluten free pancake mix to start. I did take their suggestion of adding diced banana to the batter, and then used their whipped cream recipe too.

And then, using a can of coconut milk I had bought ages ago in order to make whipped cream, I made this:

Using this recipe:
http://ohsheglows.com/2012/08/30/coconut-whipped-cream-a-step-by-step-photo-tutorial/


Here is what my pancakes looked like in the end:

Not bad, if I do say so myself.

And they tasted even better than they looked. I ended up adding a ton more of the "cream," which was surprisingly delicious. I don't like whipped cream, so I doubt this was very similar to real whipped cream, but it was very delicious.

So, finally, I have a sweet vegan breakfast option that I love. Hopefully, I can perfect some more vegan breakfast options soon.

Stay tuned for my life-altering vegan garlic fingers, coming soon.

Happiness and perfection

Etsy Shop!

In January I began working very hard on my Etsy shop. It has been open for a long time, but has been very inactive. I just used it to sell things to people who wanted an item they saw on Facebok, but didn't live in my city. But now, I am making an effort.

I have been working very hard on listing items on Etsy. I have hundreds and hundreds on Facebook, but only had about 20 or fewer on Etsy until January. I now have more than 100 items on Etsy, and there are so many more left for me to list!

A little preview:

Check out my shop here: http://www.hodderdesigns.etsy.com/

Please keep an eye on my shop while I continue to develop it! There will be many more updates there in the coming weeks, and some amazing new photos will be added soon (more info to come in a future blog post).

Also, if you see anything on Facebook that you would like to buy online from me, but I haven't listed it on Etsy yet, just let me know! I have too many pieces of jewellery to post them all on Etsy, but am working on putting some of my best ones on there this year.

Smile

http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/originals/e0/d2/00/e0d200760ab05b9c41d635f4f46ba43e.jpg

A Quick Kindness Tip

Send someone an e-card! Either send a free one, or buy a yearly subscription (my subscription to Hallmark.ca only cost me $12, and I can send e-cards all the time!)

Hedgehogs!

Today, I give you...[drumroll]... hedgehogs!

Actually, I should be posting pictures of my own hedgehog, but it's quite difficult to do a photoshoot with a nocturnal animal that really, really hates the light! So, I am going to attempt to lure him out of bed early tonight, before the sun goes down, with lots of delicious food, and attempt to get some pictures of him. Until then, here are some other people's hedgehogs!

http://www.mrwallpaper.com/Cute-Hedgehog-wallpaper/

This hedgie clearly enjoys baths more than mine does.

http://www.jokeroo.com/pictures/funny/cool-hedgehog.html

These next two hedgehogs make me think that I should be shopping for some clothing for my hedgehog...

 http://living.msn.com/family-parenting/pets/off-the-leash-blog-post?post=a8165da1-03c1-4c7d-99a6-d2383bf161ce

http://www.cutestpaw.com/images/look-at-this-hedgehog-wearing-a-tiny-hat/

And this one is just too adorable for words.

http://menacenetwork.com/true-facts-about-the-hedgehog/

Hope you have a good Monday!

Living in the present

I have always planned to spend my days doing something truly important. I never wanted to be someone who worked at a job I hated, and only found purpose and enjoyment in my free time. I know that life isn’t always so simple, and that we all have to make sacrifices in order to put a roof over our heads and food on the table, but I have tried to stay true to my young, idealistic values over time.

I am inherently a planner. I focus on the future and think that planning is the best way to teach my goals. However, this can lead to me getting too caught up in planning for the future, and I can forget about other things that are often more important.

Every day, I try to remind myself to do the things that are truly important. The things that aren’t related to money. The things that I would immediately start doing if I knew I only have a limited amount of time left on earth. Things like family, laughing, creating, and enjoying life.

We all need to realize that we do have a limited amount of time left, and that the things you would long for if you found out you were dying, are the things you need to grab a hold of and enjoy each and every single day.

The only time we have is the present. Planning for the future to a certain extent is practical, but experiencing the present is crucial.

If you’re never living in the moment, then you won’t get to experience that ideological future when you get there. You will always be looking forward, planning and worrying about the next step.

What point is there to living in the past or the future, if you’re missing the present?