Vegan Fashion Blog is gaining recognition by mainstream fashion blogs. This is very exciting. There was a great write up on Vegan Fashion Blog by Are You a Beauty? entitled Beauty Blog Hunt: Looks That Don’t Kill. This is very exciting because it is highlighting that fashion doesn’t have to include torture and death. If I could get just one person to turn away from leather jackets and fur linings while showing them that they can still be fashionable, then the whole blog is worth it for sure.

Check out this great article on SPEAK, on organization seeking to stop the building of Oxford University’s new animal experimentation lab. FYI, this company has already put a stop to the construction of a similar lab in Cambridge. Go SPEAK.

I came across a great service for any interested in animal activism. Be forewarned, some of what you read will bring you to tears and may invoke the urge to scream (or more). But these are all calls to action to contact local representatives to right injustices. Check out IDA eNews.

Okay, one last great article that is of interest to all us vegans, entitled Cruelty-Free Living. It gives a great definition of vegan, as well as a long list of reasons to become vegan. It is a great read and much less distressing than the previous link.

I have a great reason of my own for going vegan, besides the obvious one of not wanting to perpetrate harm on animals. Lately, I have been eating pretty poorly. By that, I mean I have been eating more starchy foods and more snacks. The good news, because the food is vegan and therefore very difficult to make truly bad, I have not gained a pound as a result. I may not have lost weight (which is my overall goal), but I did not gain any either. Pretty good for someone who hasn’t exercised this week due to being sick and eaten without much abandon. I am feeling better now, though the cough has become a bit annoying.

Last night I made my famous (at least in our family famous) cream of potato soup, except instead of putting in celery I used orange bellpepper from my garden. This is one of my favorite recipes. It screams fall and is so comforting. Cooking has been a bit simple lately. I need to use up the last of my zucchini, though I am getting a bit burned out on it. I should be able to cook up some artichokes from the garden next week, which makes me very, very happy because I love artichokes. I already have two that are pretty much full grown and one more that is on it’s way. Happy eating this week.