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Friday, December 14, 2012

Linky Dinks

What's new, friends?

The weather in beautiful Tampa Bay, Florida, has been much warmer than I would expect for this time of year. I'm not asking for "winter" (HELL NO), but I want cardigan weather, dammit!



I'll always rather be hot than cold, though. Always.

I don't do much celebrating for Christmas, but you know what warms my heart? Palm trees decorated in holiday lights. Gets me every time.

"The first vegan wedding in India" - Congrats to the compassionate couple!

Wow! Nomadic Matt shares this profile of a 22-year-old who saved $18k to travel the world! Color me inspired.
"I remember when you said one of the most brilliant things ever: “Everyone says I’m running away.” If only they knew, right? Yeah, you’re running away from fear and absurdity, but unlike the people who tell you this, you’re the one embracing your life."

BIG CONGRATS to Jasmin and Marianne of Our Hen House on expanding into a FULL ONLINE MAGAZINE! It looks amazing!

Whether you're a fancy pants photographer or you just like goofing around with a camera or your iPhone, check out Photojojo. They have really fun camera gear, plus they share really cool photo project ideas.

Speaking of photography, check out the "Metropolis" project by Martin Roemers.
“I am taking photographs of crowded places where you notice not only the city’s dynamic character but also the individual making his way in the big city. Specifically, I’m looking at the small stories of the street vendor, the commuter, the passer-by, the market stallholder and other pedestrians who populate the street or are a part of the traffic. I present this by photographing busy locations from above,” Roemers wrote in his article for the New York Times back in May.

Speaking again of photography, do you have a stellar shot from your travels? Contiki Vacations is looking for fabulous photos for their brochures. If you have a pic worth $500, enter their One Life. One Shot! Contest.

This man be cray-cray:
In what is probably the longest, most arduous piece of reportage ever undertaken, Paul Salopek, an experienced writer for the Chicago Tribune and National Geographic, is embarking on the astonishing task of retracing the journey taken by early man tens of thousands of years ago.

Beginning in the exotic surroundings of the Great Rift Valley in Ethiopia, Salopek will take an estimated 30 million steps, reaching his destination seven years later, three continents away at the most southerly point of South America.


19 Ways to Reduce Homesickness Abroad, via Go Overseas

And finally, check out this easy no-peasy video from my blogger buddy, Jaime, of Save the Kales! She whipped up some almost-raw vegan pizza dip for Veg News TV.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Desperately Seeking Sushi

Over the summer, my pal, Lisa and I were determined to get ourselves to a legit sushi joint. Somehow, I had never gotten proper sushi since moving to Tampa Bay. I'd only picked up sub-par rolls last minute from Whole Foods, Publix, or Greenwise. Their sushi is decent, but nothing to write home (or blog) about.

I set to the Googles and did an exhausting search of veggie-tastic sushi menus in our neck of Tampa. I finally settled on Samurai Blue in Ybor City. Let's go!

Lisa started out with a cup of miso soup.

And we split a large salad. (This was just my portion!) The ginger salad dressing was fab!

And now the rolls. I ordered avocado, shitake mushroom, and the veggie roll, which contained asparagus, avocado, cucumber, carrot & shitake mushroom.


veggie roll

The veggie roll wasn't as flavorful as I was expecting from so many vegetables packed into one little space. Lisa and I ended up splitting another avocado and shitake roll.

The atmosphere in Samurai Blue is small and trendy but comfy. High ceilings, brick walls. They were playing some pretty great music (in my opinion - alt-rock and some indie) and the service was great. Our server was very friendly and helpful with answering some questions we had about the menu.

***

About a month later, a gaggle of us went to Soho Sushi after a long, sweaty day at Tampa Bay Veg Fest. I didn't take any pictures (it was a long, long day), but the sushi was great! The restaurant is much larger than Samurai Blue. Soho also offers habachi fun. I can't remember what rolls we ordered, but everything was really good and fresh. I would definitely return to Soho Sushi!