Best Sushi Ever: Vegan!!!

Hey everyone! Last week I went to try vegan sushi with my friends for my birthday, and I'm not exaggerating: it was the best sushi I've ever had. One of my favorite things about vegan cooking is that all the ingredients shine in a different way, whereas if you're having a meat dish, the star is the chicken/steak/fish/whatever and everything else is complementary. My impression is that with vegan food every ingredient plays a key role. This sushi was so innovative and so delicious, it kinda blew my mind a little and I can't stop thinking about it!

The restaurant in question is called Sushi Momo and it's located in the Plateau area of downtown Montreal. The only downside to this restaurant is that the service is horrendous because they do takeout and have a seating area, but presumably they only have one chef. That said, I was able to put up with it because the sushi was so tasty.

At first I was a little taken aback by the a-la-carte pricing. I think I'm just used to having all-you-can-eat sushi for like $20-25 and not worrying about it, but in the end I only ended up paying $14 which is pretty good. Bear in mind that the sushi in the following photos was split amongst 3 people. I was totally satisfied hunger-wise by the end of my meal, but I do wish I ordered more so I could taste all the awesome variations of vegan sushi.

I honestly can't really remember what exactly was in all of these but here's what I can recall. There was one roll (I believe the 5 pieces on the right) that included vegan cream cheese, tomato, avocado, carrot, and sliced green apple, which I know sounds SO odd but it was really good. I think it was called the "Four Seasons" roll.

Then we got these two which were the total standouts for me. The roll on the left was stuffed with "creamy jackfruit". I definitely knew I wanted to try something with jackfruit because although it is literally a fruit, vegan chefs use this to mimic pulled pork/chicken texture, and it does a pretty good job of picking up the flavor of whatever you cook it in. Then on the right was a spicy, creamy tofu roll which was honestly just as delicious as the jackfruit. It actually might have been my favorite.

We also shared a plate of tempura sushi that had sweet tofu, mango and avocado, and it was so amazing I forgot to take a picture of it. I loved the texture combo of having creamy avocado sushi fried in a tempura batter. The mango was a really nice tangy touch too.

Last but not least, we had to try the "Poutine Hosomaki". Basically, this dish consists of sweet potato sushi cut into bite sized pieces, fried tempura-style, then baked in "cheddar cheese" (I have no clue how they did this) and shiitake teriyaki sauce. Um... yes. It was everything.

All in all, I desperately need to go back to this place. Next time I would definitely go for lunch on a not-so-busy day because I'm thinking the service was slowed down because it was a Saturday night. Or maybe I can try and probably not succeed at making this stuff myself...!

3 Makeup Tutorials to Try in 2016

One item that did not make it to my New Year's Resolutions list but is still very much a goal of mine, is to get back into enjoying makeup! I can probably count the number of times I wore a full face of makeup last year on one hand, which is such a shame because I have so much makeup & I love to apply it. I don't know why I didn't delve into makeup more last year... I probably got lazy, and to be honest I wasn't really feeling myself ~appearance-wise~ so I guess I didn't want to. I figured I would put together a short list of tutorials I would like to try out in 2016.


I usually think grey/black when I think "smokey eye" but a nice, warm brown-red smokey eye sounds amazing. I love the way the glowy cheeks & subtle lip balance out the eye makeup. This is a must-try for me.


This dark lip paired with cool, silvery eyes is such a nice combination. I definitely have to attempt to pull this off before spring rolls around!


I love the idea of blue/green eyeshadow and this seems like such a polished & classy way to do it! This is tagged as a NYE look but I think it can easily work year-round. The bright blue would be nice in summer as well.

I'm excited to try these out :)

Changing my Etsy Logo & Discovering my Illustration Style

Hey everyone! I mentioned a while back that I was going to talk more about my foray into small businesshood (haha). At the end of January I decided my Etsy shop needed a little makeover. I thought my designs were getting kind of stale and could use a revamp. Also, I was adamant that, in the new year, I would try my best to tackle Illustrator and develop an illustration style that could be carried out with all my designs.

The first order of business was to revamp my shop logo. My previous logo (similar to the logo I use on this blog) was near and dear to my heart because I painted the watercolor overlay myself. Like, painted painted with a brush and watercolor paints. I feel like traditional forms of art like painting and hand scripting are falling by the wayside, so I was always proud of incorporating that element into my logo. That said, it was time for a change. I opted for a similar watercolor-inspired style, and chose one color - a beautiful, bright coral. What I like about having one color in a logo is that it's super malleable. I now change the color of my logo based on the sticker sheet so that everything matches. It's a simple adjustment but it makes everything look cohesive.

Then I decided to close my shop for a couple days to create 10+ brand new sticker sheets. This was kind of nerve-wrecking at first, because I wasn't sure I could afford to close the shop at all, let alone for more than one day. I put out an announcement on Instagram saying I intended to close my shop & that all items in the "SALE" section would be discontinued. What happened then shocked me... I received TONS of orders scooping up the last of the sale items, and made about $200 in a day - a record for me. It was really effective, to say the least.

So I closed the shop and got to work. The first thing I wanted to do was design a full page of colorful breakfast stickers. I knew I wanted to work on this first because breakfast foods are overall really "illustrateable" meaning that they're colorful and easy to make into little clipart elements. My strategy was to get the outline for each item down in Illustrator, and then import the design into Photoshop where I would add the color and lay out the sticker sheet. This breakfast theme is one of my absolute favorites - I love the bright colors and how well everything works with my new logo.

Once I got the ball rolling with the breakfast stickers, I designed more than 10 new sheets. I worked super long days trying to get everything set up for the shop reopening, and overall I accomplished what I set out to achieve: a fresh, new shop look with hand-illustrated stickers in a unique style.

3 Weeks Vegan... WHY?

I'm writing this blog post in part to figure out how I can better explain why I decided to go vegan to my friends and family. Especially since, once you full-on say "yeah, I'm vegan" it somehow seems irreversible. But there's no way around it... You can't have a slice of cake at your friend's birthday. You don't order your usual cheese pizza. There are questions.

Avocado Alfredo spaghetti.. So good!

I decided to go vegan based on timing, circumstance, and belief. For one, I'm firmly against anthropocentrism. I don't believe that humans, as a species, are meant to be at the center of the universe. I believe that we share this Earth and environment with animals. I think as soon as humans start to get too egocentric, we start to neglect our surroundings and let nature & the world around us falter. So on a purely moral basis, how can I logically choose to support the animal agriculture industry, an industry that is dangerously excessive, hostile, and abusive towards animals? I love my dog to bits, so how can I deny that same compassion to animals being unnecessarily slaughtered for food? But this idea is not new to me. I've always thought veganism was the right thing to do. It's the timing that made me choose to take the leap.

I can't realistically say transitioning into veganism is for everyone in any circumstance. I'm fortunate to be in a situation where I'm no longer in school & work from home, meaning I can spend time meal planning and cooking really hearty and wholesome animal-free recipes. I feel like this can't be overlooked. There are nutrients that your body is accustomed to getting from animal products (B12, iron, protein, etc) so you need to ensure that your meals can fulfill these needs. Without the proper planning and care, it would be easy to fall ill by not eating enough and not eating the right things.

I'm not vegan for health reasons. Yes, the health benefits are a perk, but ultimately I feel like I can't treat this as a diet like I might've in the past. Focusing on the "activism" side to veganism is what will ultimately make it last.

So far I think I made the right choice. I'm constantly tuning into documentaries and research supporting veganism, and every video I watch/article I read leaves eating meat & dairy far in the past. The only thing that has been a bit of a struggle is eating out (something I looove to do). I went to my favorite Italian restaurant the other day and was only able to have a salad. I thought I would be able to have a pizza without cheese but unfortunately they add yogurt to their pizza dough to keep it moist (bummer). Also, the waiters and chef weren't really keen to accommodate my needs even though I was extra polite and clear. That said, giving up my favorite restaurant is a compromise that I'm willing to make.

The major upside is that I've been very into cooking new meals and getting creative in the kitchen. I've been eating some really good stuff: lentil stew, polenta, homemade veggie burgers, stir frys, Asian noodle dishes, incredible stuffed "ricotta" pasta shells - you name it. This brownie recipe is the best I've ever used, vegan or not.

Perfecting my stir fry skills!

Now I know this kind of looks like pet food but trust me when I say this is the best dish I've cooked so far. Lentils, carrots, bell pepper and kale in the most delicious peanut sauce. SO GOOD

All in all, it's going to take some more getting used to, and my family & friends are going to have to adapt as well. But if they care about me & my life choices, they will come to support me.

Award Show Season Thoughts

Seeing as I have plenty of time on my hands this year, one thing I really wanted to do is start watching more movies. I hate the feeling of watching the Oscars every year and not recognizing any of the titles - I guess it's like some weird kind of FOMO, like I'm not "in the know" about all these stellar movies that I should be seeing. As I've watched some movies from the list of predicted Oscar contenders, I can't help but think I'm not actually missing out at all. Let me explain.

So far, I've seen Spotlight, Steve Jobs, and The Big Short, all of which are meant to be taking home the Oscar in top categories. I've read reviews on each of them, and none of the critiques point out their major flaws: these movies cast no actors of color whatsoever AND they each fail the Bechdel test miserably. The lack of POC and women in these films seriously prohibit me from connecting with them on any kind of meaningful level, so how can I ever agree that they should win best picture of the year? Sure, they each have other merits, but how can I be expected to get over this glaring oversight? Or maybe not a glaring oversight, but rather deliberate exclusion.

The cast of "Spotlight"

You can surely argue that the three movies I mentioned above are based on true stories, for which no POC or women play active roles in the real-life version of the narrative. Even so, film writers, producers, and directors take creative liberties all the time - would it seriously hinder the story if a main character was written as black or Latino or Asian & not white? Female, not male? I don't think so. In fact, I think it would enhance not only the storyline, but rather the perception of minorities in public consciousness in general. It would open the story up to a broader range of audiences.

A still from "The Big Short"

I feel like, in this respect, the film industry is really lagging behind television. With critically-renown TV shows like How to Get Away With Murder, Scandal, Orange is the New Black, more women from diverse walks of life are getting the screen-time they deserve. And they frickin' own it. The actresses playing these roles compelling, talented, and awesomely qualified. Why is it so hard for the film industry to follow suit?

As Viola Davis said in her Emmy acceptance speech last year, "You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there" - same applies to Oscars. She means that if complex roles for women aren't written into the script, they won't be nominated. Conversely I would argue that if TV shows/films with great, intriguing female characters aren't awarded, they won't be written. It's pretty symbiotic. And of course with this thought comes the obvious follow-up argument that women and POC need to play active roles in all aspects of the industry, not just in terms of acting. I mean in writing, producing, directing, and even holding spots on the Academy board.

That said, I know I have lots of work to do in terms of what's left to watch. I definitely want to watch Carol, Creed, Joy, Mad Max, and a couple more, so hopefully those will make me change my mind a little.

New Year's Resolutions 2016

Happy new year everyone! Personally, I'm a big fan of a good list of new year resolutions. Having general, reasonably attainable goals for the new year has proven to be really positive in my life. In the past I've accomplished a fair few resolutions myself - like experimenting with hair color, losing weight, and getting better grades. So here are my goals for 2016!

Cheers to 2016!

First and foremost, "lose weight" has to make an appearance on this list. Let's just say 2015 was not my year in terms of health. In 2014 I actually went to the gym on a consistent basis for the entire year, but somehow that stopped in 2015... I think I'm going to try exercising at home, since I'm graduated from university now and will have lots of time off. With YouTube nowadays it shouldn't be hard to find lots of good cardio workouts. I even bought a yoga mat that remains unused (oops lol), so I could probably squeeze some yoga time in there.

Next, I would like to achieve my business goals. As you may or may not know, in 2015 I started my own business selling planner stickers on Etsy. I have a separate list of business goals that I would like to achieve, which includes things like keeping track of my expenses more diligently, and achieve 1000 sales. Wish me luck!

I would also like to get back on that 52 week savings plan! If you don't know about the 52 week savings plan, essentially you deposit money into a savings account every week of the year, and every week you add $1 more to the amount. So for the first week of January you deposit $1, the second week $2, then $3, etc. You won't ever have to deposit more than $52 per week (totally doable) and by the end of the year you will have saved over $1000! Last year I only made it to $450, but I'm going to try again this year.

Seeing as I will have more time on my hands this year, I do want to make the effort to blog more. I know I'm like a broken record and I say this nearly every post, but this time I mean it! For some reason I guess I wasn't inspired to blog last year, but I'm already feeling more up to it this year. I think the key will be low-maintenance blogging - i.e. not worrying about word counts or quality images, and keeping expectations on the lower side.

Another thing I want to make an effort to do this year is to leave the house at least every second day. I know this may seem ridiculous to some, but since I'll be working from home this year, I so easily see myself forgetting to leave the house for days on-end. Even if it's just grabbing coffee at Starbucks in the morning instead of making my coffee at home, I really feel the need to stick to this one.

The last thing I want to accomplish in 2016 is to Instagram more! It may seem insignificant but I didn't post nearly enough photos in 2015. I love looking back on my Instagrams at the end of the year and I was thoroughly disappointed by my lack of posts this time around. That has to change!

All in all, I wish you a good 2016, and I hope you accomplish all the goals you set out to achieve :) Best of luck!