Usually being ill prepared is a bad thing, but if I had actually had the smarts to eat lunch or bring something before Brian and I went to a (not vegan) cake and punch birthday party, I wouldn’t have discovered Donnie’s Homespun in Decatur, IL. Decatur is a medium-sized town in central Illinois that is mostly known for smelling funny because of the soybean factory.  They also have a  university, which is usually the reason one finds vegan/vegetarian friendly establishments in places you probably wouldn’t expect.

Brian and I pulled over in a parking lot and soaked up some free wifi to check Happy Cow, and Veg Illinois to see if there was anything for me besides Subway.  Nothing!  Luckily, we went to Yelp and we found one review for Donnie’s that mentioned vegan options.  I was a little nervous because, I have been burned so many times by people saying some place has vegan stuff, and then I get there and they’re like, “Oh, we never sold any of that so we stopped making it!”

So imagine my delightful surprise when I opened the menu and saw the word ‘vegan’ staring me in the face! Specifically, a vegan antipasto platter and a vegan sweet potato wrap.  I decided to get the wrap, Brian had a pizza that he was excited about because one of the topping options was black beans!  My wrap had chickpeas , sweet potato, spinach, tomato, and onions in a coconut curry sauce with a side of hummus, all on pita bread.  Not only was it interesting, but it was really delicious.

I emailed Donnie’s to ask if anything else was vegan, like if you get a cheeseless pizza, and this is what I got back:

“Katie, our pizza dough and tomato sauce are vegan.  Other vegan dishes include falafel, vegan antipasto, sweet potato wrap, and hummus dip.”

So there you go!

One of the things I love about the internet is that it’s so easy to connect with people who have the same interests as you.  In real life, almost every hobby or interest i’ve picked up in the last few years, someone has told me it’s stupid.  Hula hooping is stupid, blogging is stupid, twitter is stupid, where I like to shop is stupid.  I don’t know why people concern themselves so much with how other people spend their free time.  I’m saying this because my new hobby is completely frivolous and i’m sure, is “stupid”.

I think it started when I got my new computer.  My laptop had been an asshole since I got it, so I wasn’t surprised when it started its death rattle a few months ago (and funnily enough, the laptop it was supposed to replace still works, but runs at about 500 degrees).  I decided I was sick of laptops, I wanted more space and to be able to play real computer games.  I made a budget to save from each paycheck, cashed in almost $200 worth of loose change, and five weeks later…

So since i’m no longer using a laptop all the time, I need something to do while I watch tv.  This is 2011, who single tasks?  And then I started creeping on the nail polish thread on the ppk.  I haven’t painted my nails at all in years, my toenails get the occasional shot of blue in the summer.  I was under the impression that most nail polish isn’t vegan, but the exact opposite is true!  Sally Hansen and some other companies test, and some put carmine in their reds, but other than that it’s just a big slushie of chemicals (some worse than others).  I tried a few Wet n’ Wild shades, but the smell and the quality quickly drove me into the arms of other brands.  Especially when Walgreens had a week where Sinful Colors was on sale for $1.

AND THEN I stupidly decided that it was okay to go to Ulta, to look at ORLY polishes.  I couldn’t remember why I wanted to look at them, but I did.  And then I saw a polish to end all nail polishes.  It is so awesome that when I found out that it was $3 more than the rest of the ORLY polishes because it’s a special collection, I didn’t care.  I want to be buried in this nail polish.  I am not kidding, if I go to my grave without Space Cadet on my nails, I will haunt the shit out of everyone I know.

(This picture is from Let Them Have Polish because my attempts to capture it were weak at best.)

So there you go, that is the stupid thing I do now while watching my stupid tv shows that I find stupidly calming.  The only downside is that now i’m concerned about the state of my nails, instead of just cutting them really short every two weeks.

Up front, this is just an attempt to show people some of my favorites from the possible prizes in the raffle, to get more people to enter.  I would also like to point out, you don’t have to be vegan to win and enjoy these prizes!  Not everything has ‘vegan’ slapped across it.  So let’s look at some possibilities!

When I went to the Herbivore website to steal pictures, the first thing I saw was this brand new belt.  Who doesn’t love kale?  Okay, I don’t really love kale, but it’s good for me and i’ve been eating more of it with the help of a heap of pineapple salsa.

Herbivore also carries Sock It To Me Socks, which are awesome.  It’s about that time to start wearing socks again which I resent deeply, so they might as well be cute!

Obviously there are plenty of books available, and while with the $15 gift certificate you couldn’t get a whole lot of books, there are still a handful.

My favorite t-shirt that I do NOT have is the Deathless v-neck.  I like that the design is on the back, so I can wear it with a cardigan to work and thanks to the simple cross design on the front, it is work appropriate.

I have been meaning to get a new wallet for oh, two years?  I really want one that isn’t plain black so it’s easier to find in my purse.  Or when it falls out of my purse and gets crammed into a seat at the movie theater and I almost have a panic attack and it takes over a day for the movie theater employees to find it.  I wouldn’t have that problem if my wallet was bright blue with a PONY on it!  There are also classier designs and dude wallets if you have something against ponies and awesomeness.

So that was pretty much a ‘what I want for my birthday from Herbivore’ list, here’s stuff from the other prize donors!

I don’t know if I could pick just two prints from Amanda.  If I wanted a matching set I would go for these Edgar Allen Poe pieces:

For singles, it would be a huge tie.  I mean, I love Buffy AND Dr. Horrible AND boobs AND Melisser-inspired baking art!  How would I choose?

My favorite buttons from Kelly, of which I have several:

Part two (the one with the food stuffs) will come shortly!