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Gosh. After coming out of the cancer closet yesterday I knew there would be some nice comments from you guys but I didn’t expect it to be an avalanche of love. 😉

I’m so grateful to each and every one of your comments, emails, messages. Gerry and I have been looking at each and every message and today we both got out of bed with a spring in our step and smiles on our faces and that is because of you.

The biggest shock to me was all the love I got on Instagram. One of my instagrammy friends @bizzylittleb posted a photo of her checking her breast because of what she read on my blog and she added the hashtag #feelyourselfupforsarah

What has happened since is amazing. Everyone is adding their own photo of themselves checking their breasts (both men and woman) and leaving me a little message of support with the tag: #feelyourselfupforsarah

All I ever wanted from my blog post about my diagnosis is that you guys get serious about your breast health. In the last 24 hours I’ve heard over and over that you’re making doctors appointments or that you’re hopping in the shower to check yourself. Men. Don’t forget – you have breast tissue too and can also get breast cancer!! Check yourself!

It all makes me very happy.

Lots of you have been saying you don’t know how to do an exam – I suggest you ask your GP to show you or go to your local clinic and ask.

There are lots of videos on youtube as well. Most of them weird and cheezy but this one isn’t so bad. 🙂

I took the day off today to putter around the house and clean. My house is a bit of a nightmare (I’ve been preoccupied) but cleaning always makes me feel better. Cleaning/organizing has always been a stress reliever for me. Seriously. Can I also come clean your house? 🙂

At Sarah’s Place today is Holly. She just started working for me and she’s awesome. If you’re in town – please go in and say hello. Keep her busy. Buy something. 🙂

I’m back at the store on Saturday. We are having a big March Bake Sale to raise funds for the local Victoria chapter of Friends of Animals. We still need bakers so if you can make something please bring it down to the store before 12noon on Saturday

We also have prizes for people who donate baking to the bakesale. Dandies Marshmallows sent us some fantastic prizes so bring down some treats and you might win a prize.  🙂

Also don’t forget that Vesanto Melina is coming to Sarah’s Place on March 25/26th to talk about Veg Nutrition and Raw Food. The class sizes are limited but I still have a few tickets left so grab them HERE.

Thank you all again for the well wishes. Seriously. I’m the luckiest woman in the world. I won’t ever be able to express how good you’ve made me feel. #loveyou

Hi Everyone
A little update for you … actually it’s not little. It’s a big update. I have bad news.

I have been diagnosed with Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma (a form of breast cancer).

Fuck.

In mid-January I was sitting on the sofa watching a movie with Gerry when I suddenly felt like someone stabbed me in the right boob with a knife.

I sat up and grabbed my breast “what the???”

I felt my breast in the area where the pain was coming from and there was a giant weird square-ish lump under the skin and a good sized dimple that wasn’t there before.

This is what the dimple looks like.

A little back-story. I have thick/dense breasts (yeah I do…). They have always been lumpy and thick and that’s why I’m religious about checking my breasts after my period as well as going for regular mammograms.

This pain/lump happened during the week of my period so I decided to wait a week before going to the doctor. After a week the lump didn’t go away so I made an appointment to see my GP. He felt the lump and he felt my other breast and didn’t think it felt like anything other than an inflammation in that area from my period but he scheduled me for a mammogram and a ultrasound just in case.

Gerry and I went to the UK. We had a blast and I came home and did the mammogram/ultrasound.

During the mammogram the technician commented on how dense my breasts are. Yes. I know.  🙂

During the ultrasound the technician commented on how dense my breasts are. Yes I know.  🙂

Then she said “I found a hazy spot in this swollen area but your breasts are so dense I’m going to call the doctor in.”

He did a quick exam with his hands and the ultrasound “Wow. You have dense breasts” Yes. I know. 🙂

He then said “There IS something. I can’t see it in the ultrasound but I can feel it. We need to do a needle biopsy.” and started to get everything ready. Oh. Now?? Oh wow … ok … wasn’t expecting this to happen so quickly.

He did the needle biopsy. He froze my breast with lidocaine and took two core samples. He was great. He showed me how the machine that takes the biopsy works before he even touched my breast. It looks like a giant ear piercing gun and makes that same snap sound when it takes a sample.

I didn’t feel a thing (other than anxiety) and he talked me through the whole thing. “Now I’m doing this. Now I’m doing that.” It went great …

Once he was done he grabbed my hand and held it while he explained things “The sample will go to the lab. It should take about 5 days. Your doctor will call you with the results. It was really nice to meet you and I wish you lots of luck with this.”

As he was talking to me all I could think is “Fuck. Why is he holding my hand for so long …This seems a little intimate.”

I had to wear a bandage for 2 days and I was a little sore but nothing major. When I pulled the band-aid off I was worried there would be a giant hole in my breast but it was a tiny little spot but a GIANT bruise.

I got a call from the doctor about 2 days later. I was happy to hear the results came in so quickly and in my naivety I figured they just got the results sooner then they expected. I think that’s called denial. Ha ha.

Gerry and I went together to the doctors office. After some idle chit-chat with the Doctor he said “There is a very good chance it’s cancer…”

It was so weird to hear him say that. I kind of feel like I’ve been waiting for the cancer hammer to drop my whole life. My Mum passed away suddenly from Ovarian cancer at 39 and losing her at such a young age I have always felt like the same fate was going to happen to me … it was just a matter of when. So I’ve thought a lot about this moment.

But in 2008 when I turned 40 and passed her in age I felt like a weight had been lifted. I lived past her death age. Wahooo!  I felt like now I had a “get out of cancer” free card.

When the doctor said “it’s cancer” … all I could think was “Of course it fucking is…”

It was just like in the movies actually. My doctors voice turned all muffled like the Charlie Brown teacher and I felt like I was out of my body and watching everything from up above. My bra got really tight and all I wanted to do was get out of that stuffy room and go home and take off all my clothes and climb into bed.

Thank goodness Gerry (my beloved wonderful husband) was there with me because I was only able to grasp about 1/2 of what my doctor was saying. What I was able to grasp was that my doctor didn’t have the pathology report yet. This indicates what kind of cancer I have, etc but that wouldn’t be available for a few more days. Gerry and I went home stunned.

We told our family and a few close friends and all of them said “is it or isn’t it”. It was kind of confusing. The way the doctor told us didn’t seem to actually confirm yes or no. I started to get mad. “Why the fuck would he call me in if he didn’t have any conclusive information?”

It was a very long 5 days of sleepless nights but all this rage I had building up towards my doctor kept me going. I was pissed off at him and was going to tell him how pissed I was that he called me in to the office when he had no real info.

Early Monday morning I called the clinic and asked if my pathology report had arrive. It had but they couldn’t give me an appointment with him until 3:45pm.

No. Sorry. That’s not acceptable. I needed to know everything immediately so I asked if I could come and just find out through the walk-in clinic doctor (that’s attached to my doctors office).

BTW. This doctor who broke the news to me is not my usual doctor. Mine is on holiday so I’ve really only seen him twice. It’s not like I have a relationship with him … I told them I was coming in to the clinic and I didn’t care who gave me the report.

We arrived at about 11am and sat in the clinic for about an hour before they called my name and we walked into the office to find the doctor we saw last time. I guess maybe they called him in? Who knows… but I was actually glad to see him so I could give him a piece of my mind for making us so upset all week.

We sat down and he said “It’s Infiltrating Ductual Carcinoma. It’s a type of breast cancer.” … and then we started to talk about what happens next.

What I realized during this conversation was that he had done me a favour telling me to be prepared for cancer. Even though he didn’t have all the information at our last appointment it gave me time to absorb what was happening. So when he gave me the “official” diagnosis I was actually able to take it in and have a normal conversation about what happens next.

So I have cancer. It’s official.

My next appointment is March 20th where I go talk to a surgeon about the pathology report and this is the appointment where I will find what we’re dealing with.

We’re doing ok. I mean. There’s been a few tears but mostly Gerry and I are holding on to each other and hoping that the surgeon on the 20th has positive news like “take this magic unicorn and have him live in your bra and then you’re cured.”

I broke the news to my family and a few close friends but I have so many friends (like you) in my network that live far and wide and on the internet and it’s difficult for me to reach individually to everyone and write a personal note. So I am using my blog to reach out.

It’s not the ideal way to communicate something so serious but it affords me the ability to say what’s going on and all of you can keep up on your own time.

I plan on blogging about this. Why? Because I want you to get serious about your breast health. I go for regular mammograms and I do self-breast exams after my period every month. If it wasn’t for the regular montly self-exams I wouldn’t know how lumpy my thick breasts normally felt and that this particular lump felt different then the rest.

So do me a favour and go into the bathroom and feel yourself up. Get to know your breasts because the better you know them – the sooner you can recognize if something is different and set a timer on your phone to remind you to do a monthly self-exam.

If you don’t know how to do a breast exam properly then ask your GP or a local clinic and they will show you how. You know what?? Get on the phone right now and make an appointment to do that today. Will you do that for me?

This news sucks and all this not knowing and waiting for results is horrible torture.

But what I do know is that I am surrounded by a loving family. I have an amazing network of friends who are like family. I also have all of you out there in internet-land who have been with me through everything I write about in my blog.

So no matter what happens … I know you all have my back and that makes me the luckiest woman in the world. I wish everyone could have this much love and support.

A friend recently asked me if I was going to continue to blog/tweet/facebook and be public or keep this quiet and to myself. Her question kind of threw me. I didn’t even dawn on me not to blog about it.

Maya Angelou says “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” and this is my way of unburdening myself and connecting with all of you.

As for what’s going to happen with the store? I don’t know yet. I’ll know more on the 20th and we’ll make a plan based on that news. But in the meantime the store (retail and online) is still open! I’m at the store everyday hanging out and selling vegan stuff. I feel fine. I don’t feel sick. Please don’t feel weird about coming in. Just come in and give me a hug and buy some stuff. Ok?  🙂

I have pulled out of a few commitments I had this year. The big one is that I have decided not to do the Victoria Vegan Festival so I can focus on me. The rest of the organizers had a meeting last night and decided that they are moving forward and I wish them well.  😉

Now where are my punk rock boots so I can kick some cancer ass?
Love you guys.
xoxo
SARAH

I’m a big fan of the Teal Cat project and the work that they do.

I just got word that a new batch of Teal Cats will be available this Sunday, March 10th, 12pm CST.

AND to make things even more exciting – Canadians can now support the project by purchasing a Teal Cat. Wahooo!

This spring they’re helping out Chi-town. That proceeds from this campaign will go to Treehouse Humane Society! Treehouse does it all: adoption, veterinary care, TNR…they work tirelessly for the felines. And they specialize in in the rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured stray cats. So they really help the kitties that need it most, all with their no-kill policy.

So visit Teal Cat this Sunday 12pm CST and be the first to claim your Teal Cats!

A few years back I donated cookbooks to the kitchens at Sea Shepherd.

My buddy Tommy Knowles and the Sea Shepherd crew took this awesome photo of them hanging out with my cookbooks (and an iceburg)!! 🙂

Had a bad sleep. Why? Cause I stopped taking sleeping pills and was relying on my normal sleep function to take over. FAIL! Woke up feeling exhausted and shitty and weepy and grumpy and all kinds of 🙁

We decided to have a mellow morning and take our time getting ready. For breakfast I had granola/bananas and CoYo yogurt. I’m SO IN LOVE WITH IT!! It’s thick and dreamy and all kinds of yummy. I wish we could get it in Canada.

I may (or may not) have also eaten a Cat & The Cream cupcake for breakfast.  🙂

Despite the delicious yoghurt I was still grumpy. We walked through Victoria Station and I saw a poodle that looked nothing like Fergus except that he was white and I started weeping.

Everything was making me weepy. I saw a pigeon eating puke on the sidewalk and I teared up. I was so SICK AND TIRED of being bumped into by people on the streets and the noise of the cars, the tube, buses. All the hustle and bustle of the city was getting to me…

One thing made me happy … this poster.

Doesn’t he look like Jimmy Fallon?? I don’t know why but these posters made me laugh every time I saw them.

We decided to head over to Kings Road and walk around. I wanted to go to World’s End – Vivienne Westwood’s shop and reminisce about the last time I walked down this street in 1986. Wow. is it ever different. ha ha. No punk rockers anywhere … just high end stores and lots of fur-hags in their ugly fur coats. Booo.

In 1986 I was traveling with my Dad and he let me have ONE hour to go shopping in the “cool part” of town. So we walked up and down Kings Road as I sprinted through boutiques trying to find cool things to bring home with me. I actually still have a pair of boots I bought on Kings Road. I wear them once in a blue moon but they’re leather so I feel like The Vegan Police are going to bust me for wearing boots I bought in 1986.  🙂

The most exciting part of that ’86 shopping spree was when I saw lead singer from The Alarm. I was SO excited to see him and then my Dad said “He’s just walking down Kings Road so people see him. He’s a poser.” Ha ha. Harsh Dad!!! 🙂

I really wanted to go to World’s End partly because I love Westwood’s designs but also because that location is the original location of Let It Rock  aka SEX Boutique and of course there’s all the history of the shop that is connected to The Sex Pistols.

The store has had many incarnations but right now it looks like the inside of a pirate ship. It’s SO weird when you go inside because the floor is slanted and you feel like you’re in a boat. It’s the craziest feeling …

There was a dress I wanted to try on but I knew if I did it would probably fit me perfectly and I would HAVE to buy it. Thankfully I had better sense then to try on a dress that is priced at 250pounds. Eeek!

But I did splurge on a ring…  🙂

We were very hungry so we walked to a restaurant everyone kept telling us we had to try. In hindsight we should have cabbed it or taken the tube but I really love to walk from one neighbourhood to the next.

The restaurant was a little farther away than we anticipated and I was really exhausted by the time we arrived. I couldn’t wait to sit-down and order something delicious. When we finally found the restaurant … guess what … it was a f-ing “buffet style” place. Ugh. The food was all dried up and looked like it had been sitting there for hours. WHY??

In tears I told Gerry I couldn’t eat there. Maybe I’m a food diva but I like freshly prepared food … so we found a cab and went directly to SAF so I could have a proper sit-down freshly made meal. We kind of went a little crazy and ate almost everything …I was so happy to have a real meal.

On the way home we unfortunately hit rush-hour so the subway was FILLED to capacity with people. It took everything out of me not to have a panic attack. Gerry and I waited for 3 trains before we found one that we could squish into.

We got home exhausted but as we walked down our street to the flat I got to see a really lovely sunset so not all was lost.

We packed up our suitcases … tomorrow we were heading to Brighton for the tattoo convention. I was sad to say good-bye to our little pied-à–terre but ready to get the fuck out of London.

Around 8pm we decided to empty the fridge (and our bottle of wine) and we finished off our Jeeziini Vegan Cheese slices and Vegan Sausage that we got from VX.

Then things got weird… I went from being a weepy grumpy mess to someone who couldn’t stop laughing.

We took a photo of our hands on the kitchen table and it looks like I have a baby hand. This photo ruined me. I could NOT stop laughing. I had officially lost my mind.

I blame the whole day on Jet-Lag … Tomorrow will be better.

I forgot to mention that I bought these Pastinos when I was at VX.

They are like chips. But they’re pasta. Wait. What? Yes. They’re like a bag of crisps. But pasta. PASTA!

Oh god … I’m sad I didn’t bring more home with me.

Got up bright and early … today was my book signing at VX and we wanted to do some sight seeing before we headed to my event.

We walked by Buckingham Palace on our way to Trafalgar Square and we were suddenly swarmed by a crowd of people. OH MY GOD IS THIS A FLASH MOB??

I couldn’t see a damn thing (me and my shortness) so I made Gerry look for me and we realized it was actually the Changing of The Guard. Since I couldn’t see anything but armpits and shoulder blades we decided to bail and made our way to Trafalgar Square.

It’s funny how in your childhood memories everything is so much bigger. I remember Trafalgar Square being a massive expanse of cement and full of pigeons. My Dad bought me a cup of seed and I stood in square and fed them.

Well … there wasn’t a single pigeon. The lions must have got them. And the square was just a square. Ha ha. It wasn’t as big as I remember. 🙂

After a quick poke around we headed towards Covent Garden.

It reminded me a lot of Market Square (where my store is located). Lots of little funny boutiques all connected by a open-air courtyard.

Next to Covent Garden is a beautiful Apple store. We poked around mostly because of the architecture.

The lucite stairs were amazing …

Feeling peckish we headed towards Chinatown/Soho in search for something to eat.

We didn’t find much in the way of food. We went to a vegan restaurant that was recommended by a bunch of people. It was “buffet” style. In fact almost every vegan place we went for food was “buffet” style. What’s with all the buffets London?? 🙂

The food at this place wasn’t great so I won’t mention the name but we left very hungry and grumpy.

Eeeep! Look at the time … we had to hustle if we were going to get to VX in time for my book signing. Did I mention how cold it was. It was FREEZING COLD! Like -3 and windy. We were not dressed for this weather. 🙁

We got to VX with a few minutes to spare.  🙂

When I told Rudee how hungry I was – he promptly filled me up with cupcakes! 🙂 But not any old cupcake. These are Cat & The Cream Vegan cupcakes.

I’m not really a fan of sweets. I’d choose a pickle over a cupcake any-day … but these cupcakes were AMAZING! Cat & The Cream uses real fresh ingredients and best of all is that they are also Wheat Free and Soy Free. Yessss!

The first cupcake I had was a Lemon Lime & Coconut – It had fresh lemon/lime and it had a Ruby Grapefrut curd center with citrus icing. OH MY GOD! This is what cupcakes are supposed to taste like. Not too sweet. The lemon tasted like lemon and not extract. I was in heaven! 🙂

High on sweets I went upstairs and said hi to everyone who came to VX for the book-signing. I have the best supportive fans. So many people came from far and wide to come say hi to me. It was lovely to hangout … This lovely couple traveled all the way from Wales to come see me. 🙂

These ladies posted a bunch of Instagram pictures to me of themselves on the train coming to VX to see me so by the time they walked in the store I felt like I was meeting up with old friends.  🙂

These ladies came with copies of the UK edition of How It All Vegan. I’m not allowed to talk about how much I don’t like to cover the UK company decided to go with but I think my face says it all… 😉

 

Plus I got to see people that I met the last time I was at VX.

Forgive my jacket/scarf. It was SO COLD in the store that there was no way I was going to disrobe.  🙂

As the afternoon closed Rudee presented me with my very own SSOV membership card. You can get one for yourself HERE. It gives you 10% off all your purchases.

We closed up the shop and a group of us headed to Tibits for a bite to eat. It’s a really beautiful restaurant near Piccadilly Circus. And guess what?? It’s buffet style. ha ha.

We had a great meal and some delicious drinks but more importantly I got to play catch-up with my friends that I only get to see every few years. It was a really nice night.

Big THANK YOU to VX for organizing the event and to everyone who braved the cold and came out to see me. I love you guys.  😉

Woke up at 9am. Wait. What? We went to bed at 9pm. 12 hours!! We slept for 12 hours!!

Full of vim and vigor Gerry and I had a quick breakfast in our little mini-kitchen and then headed out to the tube to grab to the train to Portobello Road and wander…

For some reason I didn’t take many photos but I really enjoyed the area. It was a little touristy but there were some cool stores.

Playing dress-up with Gerry at the surplus store was fun…

I love that people bring all their products out onto the street. I think I might do that more at Sarah’s Place…

My favourite store was the costume jewelry store. I almost died at all the shiny … Every inch of the store was packed with jewelry and it was so overwhelming that I didn’t buy anything. That’s so unlike me. Maybe because there was a guy “creeping me” the whole time … 🙂

Starving we tried to find some food … we went into a few vegan friendly places in the area but the options weren’t spectacular (a running theme in London) so we stopped by this Falafel vendor. Their sign said “please be kind to and merciful to all animals” and it smelled AMAZING!

The Falafels were so good that I forgot to take a photo of them because they ended up in my stomach almost immediately. Probably the best food I had when we were in London. I wish I had ordered more then one.

The day got away from us and we scrambled to the closest tube station to head out to my Aunt & Uncles house for a visit.

Something else we noticed in London. Nobody smiles. Nobody. Everyone looks miserable. Maybe smiling is a Canadian thing …

We got to Jean & Geoff’s and spent the afternoon drinking tea and visiting. My Mum’s side of the family has never met Gerry and thank goodness they loved him right away. I guess I’ll keep him. 😉

Jean & Geoff are in their 80’s but they have the energy people half their age. They both keep very busy with their hobbies and I hope I am as energized and excited about life like they are when I’m in my 80’s.  🙂

My favourite part about their house is their garden. It’s a paradise.

Most of their neighbours have paved over their backyards in favour of parking spots so their backyard is a safe haven for every single bird, bug and creature in the area. Love it.

After tea we headed to my Cousin Karen’s house for dinner. We had a lovely dinner with her husband and son and sat around playing “catch up”. I can’t believe it’s been 2 years since I was last in London.

It was really cool to introduce my hubby to them. It was really special. On the walk back home Gerry said “Your family is so great. I can imagine what your Mum must have been like and I think I would have loved her.”

TEARS! I burst into tears. What a lovely thing for him to say. Made my heart hurt with missing her. I wish she was still here. 🙁

We stayed up LATE with my family and then we realized we had to run to catch the last train back to our flat. I was so surprised to find out that the tube stops running after 12:30pm. I would have thought in a big city it would run all night …

We were a little punchy on the ride home.  🙂

It was a wonderful night and we fell into bed at 12:30 and crashed hard.

Our trip to the UK started off rocky. First I threw my back out lifting something at work so my back was all “muscle spasm – muscle spasm”.

Then I woke up the day of the flight to find that I got my period 7 days early. WTF!! Grrr. So I loaded myself up with a heating pad and pills and we dropped of Fergus at the doggie-sitter and headed to the airport.

My parents were in town to see an opera so they gave us a ride to the airport. It was so nice to see them before we left. I don’t see them enough. I need to remedy that.

Gerry and I arrived at Vancouver airport to catch our connecting flight to the UK (we couldn’t find a direct flight) and we had a few hours to kill so we headed to the airport Milestones for a quick dinner. I don’t think they have the same quality control at the airport restaurant as they do at their other restaurants. I’ve had this dish 100’s of times and it has never been so bad. 🙁

We got on the plane and I started to do my “trying to get comfortable” ritual. I like where flying takes me but I am SO uncomfortable the entire flight. I’m 5 foot 1 and my
feet never touch the ground so when I sit in a plane so I have devised all kinds of ways to travel in comfort. One is by using my carry on bag as a foot rest so my legs don’t fall asleep.

The flight was uneventful. Gerry’s not a great flyer but I think he did remarkably well. Maybe because we got to sit beside each other and snuggle.

Or maybe it was the sleeping pills we got from my doctor. Ha ha.

Not only did the sleeping pills curb Gerry’s travel anxiety but they knocked me completely out. The flight over to the UK was so easy and we arrived at 12noon (UK time) feeling rested and ready to rock!

What I’ve realized from taking the sleeping pills during my trip is that in my normal (non-drug induced life) I don’t sleep well. The days I took sleeping pills I woke up full of happy energy feeling amazing. I normally wake up feeling shitty and tired. So that’s something I need to look into. ;(

My wonderful Aunt & Uncle (my Mum’s Sister) came to meet us at Heathrow and we all took the train back into the city.

It was nice to see them and we made plans to see each other the next day.

Gerry and I got off at Victoria Station and made the 5 minute walk to the condo we rented
through Air B&B. The first thing we noticed about London (besides all the cars being on the other side of the road) is that sidewalks are wonky as hell. Imagine pushing your suitcases over these sidewalks for 5 blocks. It was hell. Ha ha.

We got to our condo and it was wonderful. Our host Alessandro was a sweetheart and gave
us a quick rundown about what to do in London and then gave us the key to our place.

Alessandro had many suites to choose from in the building but I chose this one because it was 2 levels and had a balcony. If you need a place to stay in London we highly recommend this place.

The stairs were WAY steeper in person then they looked in the photos. It was like
climbing a ladder. Ha ha.

After we freshened up we decided to try and stay awake until bedtime (despite the time difference) so we went out for a cup of coffee and wander around London a little before we got groceries. My friend recommended we go to Caffee Nero for a good cup of coffee and it was just around the corner from our condo. This is when we realized that you can’t get
drip coffee in London.

It’s either instant coffee or press coffee. No drip. I won’t go into details but Gerry was
miserable about it the entire trip. ha ha.

We decided to wander in the direction of Whole Foods (so we could grab food supplies and
have dinner at Saf Restaurant). On the way to Whole Foods we bumped into this place!!

Buckingham Palace sure is big.

Our favourite thing to do when we travel is to walk. Walk walk and more walking. You end up stumbling onto things that you don’t expect. As we wandered through Hyde Park we bumped into Royal Albert Hall. Hi Albert!

Here’s something else we noticed. Not a lot of garbage cans in London. Like none. Also … bathrooms. Not a lot of places to pee. Gerry may (or may not) have whizzed in Hyde Park. Whoops.

Got to Saf and had a great meal. Delicious soup to warm the soul after all that walking hit
the spot.

I could have camped out there all night but we were starting to feel a little woozy (jetlag) so we hopped on the tube and headed back to our flat.  🙂

If you go to London – make sure you buy the LONDON TUBE app. It’s only .99 and it is fantastic! You don’t need wi-fi/internet to find the route you want to take. As long as you know which tube station you want to get to – it’s really easy to navigate what trains to take. We used it to get ALL around London and only got lost once.  🙂

We got back to our flat and crashed. Good night!!

Just go some advance copies of Vegan Secret Supper by Merida Anderson!

Vegan Secret Supper is a collection of imaginative, delectable, animal-free recipes by chef Mérida Anderson of VSS (Vegan Secret Supper), a dining club that she has run in Vancouver, Montreal, and New York. At VSS, Mérida creates amazing vegan dishes that prove that sophisticated, spectacular dinner parties do not require the use of animal products. With her focus on menu-planning and simple, seasonal ingredients, she offers readers all the tools they need to create healthy, sumptuous meals, whether it’s a dish for a potluck, a romantic dinner for two, or a celebration for twenty.

Full-colour throughout, the book’s recipes include Split Pea Bisque with Minted Cream; Smoke-Blanched Cauliflower on Red Quinoa Tabouli; Walnut and Roasted Yam Croquettes with Ancho Balsamic Beet Reduction; and Dark Chocolate Cake with Avocado Mint Ice Cream. Merida’s culinary perspective and delectable menu ideas will inspire you to create your own vegan secret supper club at home.

Buy a copy HERE.