Restaurant Review: Fresh Brothers in Newport Beach, CA

Vegan Sausage and Cheese Pizza from Fresh Brothers

Fresh Brothers is a small chain of pizza restaurants with locations all over SoCal, though mostly centered in and around LA. I was excited that they recently opened their first Orange County location in Newport Beach (near Roger's Gardens and Fashion Island). Pizza is my lifeblood, so I was stoked to hear they had vegan options and couldn't wait to check them out! In fact, they have a special vegan section on their menu that includes a couple different kinds of pizza, plus Gardein chick'n tenders, salads, fries, and even special vegan dressings!

It's Nearly Time to Celebrate Creepmas Again!

It's almost time to celebrate the 13 days of Creepmas and inject some much needed spookiness into the Christmas season! I've participated in the Creepmas blogging event since its inception back in 2011 (browse past posts here!), and I'm excited to participate again this year, along with some other fantastic bloggers!

Photo Post: Halloween Leftovers

I know Halloween is over (but not really, not when it is everyday for some of us), but I wanted to share some leftover Halloweenie pics I never got around to posting before October 31st. For those that follow me on Instagram, some of these might be familiar, but there are a few new ones I haven't posted anywhere before.

Besides the 31 Days of Halloween countdown, here is what I was up to this Halloween season:

 I frolicked in pumpkin patches with lost ghosts.

Next Year's Halloween Bucket List

I still have the Halloween blues, so I decided to start dreaming of next year's events, and write down stuff I missed out on that I want to try for next year!

Though I felt like I did a lot of activities this Halloween season, I barely made a dent in all the events that Southern California has to offer in September and October (and some November). I figure that I should start a new tradition of writing down what I want to tackle next year, so I can start my plan of attack early!

I know there is no way that I could do it all (unless perhaps I took the whole month off and went completely broke), but I want to add these bucket list items on here as a placeholder/reminder for events/haunts/activities that I want to do next year in and around SoCal!

Food Review: Eat Nākd Bars

Written by Sarah E. Jahier

I have been drooling over Natural Balance Foods' Eat Nākd bars ever since my UK friends started snacking on these yummy raw fruit and nut bars! So far they have been out of reach as they weren't previously available in the US, but that is about to change! Right now, US residents can order Eat Nākd bars online and in 2015 the delectable bars should start popping up in stores here in the USA! We will finally be able to get our hands on these all-natural, raw, vegan, gluten- and wheat-free bars!

31 Days of Halloween: Happy Halloween and My Autumn Bucket List Completion

Happy Halloween, fiends!! Thanks for joining me on the 31 Days of Halloween countdown! I hope you had as much fun as I did. I cannot believe it is already over and that it is Halloween, the best day of the year! I want the season to start all over again and it's bittersweet that another Halloween season is nearly over.

I wanted to take a look back to appreciate all the bucket list items I completed this month. Let's take a look at my original bucket list and see what items I completed and can cross off, shall we?

31 Days of Halloween: Chocolate Pumpkin Mini Cakes

I am pretty obsessed with the Marbled Banana Bread from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's cookbook Isa Does It, cuz who wouldn't be in love with that banana and chocolate combo?!

Out of curiosity and for my love of all things pumpkin, I did a search on Isa's Post-Punk Kitchen site to see if she might have a similar recipe with pumpkin-y, autumn flavors. I ended up hitting the jackpot and found her recipe for a Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf, which I transformed into jack-o-lantern mini cakes!

31 Days of Halloween: Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch 2014

One of my annual Halloween traditions is hitting up the pumpkin patch, and my most favorite one I've been to in Orange County is located just about 10 minutes from me in Irvine! If you've followed me for a while, you probably will recognize the Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch as one of my most favorite places to be.

I visited the pumpkin patch about a month ago (on opening day back in September), but still wanted to share some photos with you of this gorgeous gourd garden! I wish I could visit in the middle of the night on Halloween (I still can't believe it is only two days away!) and wait for the Great Pumpkin!

31 Days of Halloween: The Art of Naisa Gómez Plúguez

I discovered the art of Naisa Gómez Plúguez just a few months ago on Instagram, but since then I have been absolutely enthralled by her artwork. Naisa draws spooky little characters that are so imaginative and express so much emotion. Her art is very much like pop surrealism, and kind of reminds me of some of Mark Ryden's work with a touch of Camille Rose Garcia, but completely unique in its own right!

31 Days of Halloween: Anaheim Halloween Parade 2014

The Anaheim Halloween Parade celebrated its 90th year Saturday night in the downtown district. For all my years living in Orange County, this year was the first time I had ever heard about this parade! What really interested me in the parade were the vintage floats, displays and decorations they still use as well as the rich history of the parade (which you can read all about here). I have been following the float-building progress on their Facebook page and just couldn't wait to attend!