I am so in love with all of SaraWen perfume blends … They all smell like sex to me which I think is what perfume should smell like. *laugh*
I asked Sara if she’d make me my very own perfume blend and VOILA!! I’d like to introduce Que Sera Sarah!
Que Sera Sarah has all hallmarks of what is to be a Sarah Kramer woman. One part feminist, a dash of contradiction and smidge of elbow grease. 🙂
This lovely perfume is like a caramel, butterscotch spiced crumbcake with chocolate chips and pinch of fresh ground black pepper for sexy delicious peppery fun.
We did a limited run of Que Sera Sarah so pick one up HERE before they’re all gone.
So Gerry hopped on his bike and rode from LA to San Jose and Princess Sarah hopped a plane and flew .. ha ha.
I arrived at San Jose airport and the hotel we were staying at had a “pick up” service. I didn’t want to use my iphone (and pay for roaming charges) so I had to use this contraption.
It smelled like coffee, cigarettes and desperation.
I got to the hotel, had a little nap, shower and then go ready for the Go-Go’s show that night. I met up with some of my GG’s friends for dinner and we had a nice visit. Sitting beside me (with the beard) is my friend Kelly from Thinking Cap Design. He’s the one who made the logo for the GoVegan! w/Sarah Kramer app and he also did a lot of the graphics for the Victoria Vegan Festival. 🙂
Gerry managed to make it to the show!! He hauled ASS and made it just in time. I’m was so happy!! The show was crazy beautiful. It was held at The Saratoga Mountain Winery. What a venue!!
It’s a beautiful way to see a band – outside under the stars. The sound was great and so were my seats (thank you Jane & Leah). The Psychedelic Furs opened and they were even better the 2nd time around. Maybe it’s because I was closer and so the show felt more intimate? I had a great time.
And the Go-Go’s? I mean … they kick-ass. Every time.
Head Over Heels that night was EPIC! 🙂
After the show I went backstage to say good-bye to Jane and the rest of the ladies and I bumped into my friend Nic. Yay!
I don’t know why – but I never take photos with me and the band. I think it might be because I’m having so much fun being in the moment that it doesn’t dawn on me. I gotta fix that next time. 🙂
It was a great night and really fun being able to spend some time with Kelly.
Gerry and I fell into bed exhausted and woke up bright and early the next day to head to San Francisco for a few days. Since the drive from San Jose to SF was so short – I agreed to ride on the back of the bike. 🙂
We loaded up the bike with all our gear (I’ve never packed so light for a trip in my life) and we headed down the highway to SF.
IT WAS THE WORST!! It was 34* and I didn’t have a face shield so it was like someone had a hot blow-dryer blowing in my face for an hour and a half. I almost started crying. *laugh*
About 20 minutes outside of SF the weather changed and I could feel the cool ocean on my cheeks. Thank goodness cause I felt like I was going to have a panic attack.
We settled into our new condo and had a nap.
The condo we rented was off of Air B&B. It wasn’t as nice as the apartment in LA but we were desperate. There was some kind of geek convention going on in SF and every single hotel room was booked. I’m not joking. Every. Single. Hotel. Same with all the Air B&B’s. This was one of the only ones that got back to us so we jumped on it.
It didn’t have a couch (what?) so the only furniture was in the bedroom (which was a closet that was turned into a bedroom) that contained a single bed.
It was great for napping but not for sleeping. Poor Gerry is 6 foot 3 and he couldn’t bend his legs to get comfortable. 🙁
The kitchen was nice and it had CHAIRS (what a novelty) but the kitchen was dirty and had rotting food in the fridge. I know Air B&B isn’t like a hotel but aren’t they supposed to be clean? 🙁 The condo was kind of a bust but on the plus side – it was a stones throw from all our favourite restaurants.
After our nap we ran down to Gracis Madre and filled our boots. If I ever decide to open a cafe … Gracis Madre is one I will emulate. Great food. Great atmosphere. Fun staff. Love love love.
Gerry and I wandered the streets of SF checking out all our favourite stores and just wandering. We love to wander.
Later that night we met up with our friend Jake at Herbivore and had vegan milkshakes and pie.
We love Jake. I wish we saw him more …
The next morning Gerry and I headed back to Herbivore for breakfast. It was perfection.
It was such a HOT day and we were both so exhausted from all our late nights and Rock N Roll lifestyle that we decided to have a chill day and we went and saw Looper. Have you seen it yet? It’s probably my favourite movie of the year.
Later that night we went for dinner with our friends Adam & Sarah (back to Gracias Madre ha ha). I didn’t take any photos for some reason. I must have been too busy stuffing my face. 🙂
On our last day we met up with my best-buddy Dizzy for lunch at Cha-Ya.
Even being Soy Free I was able to find plenty to eat off their menu. They really know how to make food there. My stomach is rumbling just thinking about how fantastic our dinner was.
We said our good-byes to Diz and I headed to the airport.
It was so unbelievably sad to be flying home without my Gerry. I wasn’t going to be seeing him for another 4-5 days while he rode his motorcycle home. Thank goodness for Face-time. I said a tearful goodbye to my hubby and flew home and grabbed Fergus from Larissa’s house.
Fergus missed me a lot…
Or maybe it was the other way around because from the pictures it looks like he had a pretty good time without us… 🙂
My friend Eric just reminded me that I forgot to talk about the show at The Bowl.
Let’s start with Bow Wow Wow.
Lots of fun. Great energy. I met Annabella briefly at the after party and she gave me a big hug and woudln’t stop talking about my hair. Ha ha.
The Motels. When Martha Davis walked out on stage I thought that a homeless person had wandered out on stage. *laugh* But what she lacked in style – she made up for in voice. That beautiful voice is still perfection. Not a bad note through her entire set.
The Psychedelic Furs. I’ve always loved them but seeing them live just elevated my love. The lead singer is so snarky when he sings live and it changes the way I heard the songs. I REALLY enjoyed their set.
And then The Go-Go’s. Poor Kathy Valentine (bass) had broken her wrist a few days before the tour so they had Abbey Travis fill in. It was REALLY weird seeing them play without Kathy. Abbey did a fantastic job of filling in but the energy is never the same when one of the 5 is missing.
The show was great. The ladies had been out on tour all summer and it showed by the tight set they played.
My only complaint is that they didn’t play Throw Me A Curve. 🙂 It’s my all time favourite GG’s song and they don’t play it anymore. 🙁
It was a perfect collection of bands to see on a perfect summer night. I’ll never forget it. 😉
So I’m leaving town on Wed to go to Toronto to see The Who and I just realized I haven’t blogged about my big adventure to LA yet.
A few months ago I told Gerry that I wanted to go to LA to see The Go-Go’s play at The Hollywood Bowl and he suggested riding his motorcycle down and making it a bit of a road-trip. I said … you go ahead with that. I’ll fly down and meet you. Ha ha.
So Gerry left about 6 days before me and rode his Harley all they way down the coast to LA. I flew. Ha ha. I’m a fairweather rider and it has to be perfect conditions for me to get on the back of the bike. I enjoy riding but it’s only fun for me for about an hour. 🙂
I met Gerry at the condo we rented from Air B&B. It was our first time using Air B&B and it turned out pretty good … the womans condo that we rented had a pool! YAY! And was within walking distance to The Hollywood Bowl.
It’s weird staying at a strangers house. They give you the key and you do your thing … She had very INTERESTING art hanging on the wall. 🙂
The first thing we did was go to The Le Brea Tar Pits. It’s one of those places that Gerry’s always wanted to go … he loves dinosaurs and everything prehistoric so we hit the museum.
The museum was pretty small but interesting. I did think it was sad that the tar pits outside still catch wildlife. Lots of birds/rats/etc still get stuck in the tar. 🙁
Gerry enjoyed himself immensely. 🙂
The second place we went was Real Food Daily. I love that place. 🙂 On this trip I was trying my best to be Soy Free and Gluten Free and unfortunately Real Food Daily is not the place to accomplish that. It was really hard to find ANYTHING for me to eat on the menu. I ended up with steamed vegetables and rice. … 🙁 I was miserable.
This sadly became the theme of our trip to LA. I didn’t realize how Soy-centric LA was but it seemed that every restaurant we went too – soy was the main ingredient. I was becoming really frustrated, miserable and hangry (a combination of hungry and angry).
So we decided to go raw and went to Cru in Silverlake for dinner. It was a beautiful restaurant and the food was lovely but for some reason every single dish we ordered was slathered in cashew creme. It as a VERY rich meal and my tummy wasn’t too happy about it but then the Key Lime Pie arrived and I managed to push through. Ha ha.
By day 3 I was so grumpy and I was whining about the lack of good food on my twitter feed and I got a tweet from a girl who told me to go to Native Food. So we hopped on the bike and rode out to the location on Gayley Ave. I was greeted by a wonderful young lady who took me through the menu and showed me what I could order.
I dig Native Foods mantra …
I ordered a Portobello Mushroom Burger and it was delish. I think the bun was GF… or maybe at that point I had given up hope at finding SF/GF meal and had a wheat bun. Regardless … it was THE BEST MEAL of my trip to LA.
I know asking for SF/GF can be a stretch but I really thought I’d be able to find something to eat at all these vegan restaurants… I guess maybe it’s time for these places to look beyond soy because I know I’m not the only one who has a problem with it.
Oooh. We also ate at Cafe Gratitude and it was AWESOME. So awesome that I forgot to take any photos. ha ha. They had little to no soy on the menu (hooray) and I ended up eating the I AM MAGICAL and Gerry had the I AM AWESOME. It was a stellar meal and the next time I go to LA it’s the first place I’m going to hit up for food.
We also did a lot of walking in LA. I know. I know… nobody walks in LA but we did. We walked from the start of the Hollywood Walk of Fame all the way to the end. We walked through the insanity of Hollywood Blvd and looked at all the stars. All the tourist trap places. It was kind of fun …
And of course I had to stop by my beloved Go-Go’s star and make sure it was being taken care of…Â 🙂
Speaking of the Go-Go’s… the show was AMAZING!! I mean… look at who was on the bill! Outstanding right??
It was a glorious night under the stars at The Bowl. What a great venue to see live music.
I also got to take Gerry to the after-party (thanks Jane and Leah) and show him the madness of all that. It was really great to see old friends and catch up with them at the party.
But LA wasn’t all about food. We also went to a couple of museums – my fav was the Who Shot Rock N Roll exhibit at the Annenberg Space for Photography. The only thing missing from that exhibit is the cover to Beauty and The Beat. How they missed that cover is BEYOND me. I mean … come on. It’s a no brainer.
On a whim we went to Universal Studios. I’ve wanted to see the animatronic Jaws thing since I was a kid. Theme parks are not my Dad’s thing … instead we would take me to a museum, an art gallery or a play instead. At the time I hated it – but as an adult I really appreciate that he did that. My parents are awesome. 🙂
I don’t know what we were thinking going to Universal Studios on a SATURDAY!! The place was packed and so unbelievably noisy. I’ve never been to a theme park before but are they all that noisy? *laugh*
We did the Tram Tour that takes you past the Bates Motel, through the Jaws set (who spit water on me and scared the shit out of me). You also get to see the backlot where they film stuff and go through a tunnel and watch a 3d King Kong fight dinosaurs. Out of everything we did at Universal Studios that was my favourite. I love seeing behind the scenes stuff …
Speaking of behind the scenes I saw Matthew Lillard all dressed up as Shaggy just hanging out talking to a security guard on the backlot. Why do I ALWAYS see Matthew Lillard. I see him everywhere… last time I was in Vancouver I saw him filming in the street. That guy is everywhere.
Gerry also went on the Jurassic Park ride. I can’t do rides because they mess with my equilibrium and I have a neck injury from a car accident so I had to sit that one out … plus who the hell wants to do an 85 foot drop. NOT ME!!
We also went to the Water World show. It was hilarious. So many explosions. So much bad acting. 🙂
Now that I think about it … we had a lot of fun. Not worth the price of admission but if you’re into doing rides then I think it might be worth a visit. Once. I don’t think I’d go back.
Our trip to LA was a short one … it was time to see the Go-Go’s play another show! Yessss!! Gerry hopped on his bike and left early to meet me in San Jose and I hit LAX to catch my flight to San Jose.
This practical and innovative way to beautifully shred, slice and chip most vegetables and fruits will have you melting over gourmet angel hair zucchini noodles, apple chips and carrot ribbons. Learn the ins and out so this fabulous machine and taste some gourmet organic raw food made by Danielle Arsenault.
DATE: Nov 27th – 6:30-8:30pm PRICE: $59 (introductory offer) LOCATION: Sarah’s Place (#106-560 Johnson Street) TICKETS: available HERE
Class space is LIMITED so purchase your ticket today!
Workshop Teacher:Danielle Arsenault, founder of Pachavega Living Foods, is a Raw Food Chef, certified from Raw Foundations in Vancouver, BC. She has also completed the Ann Wigmore Living Foods Lifestyle Total Well-being Education Course in Puerto Rico and is certified as a Raw Food Chef from Raw Foundation in Vancouver, BC. “Pacha†comes from the word “Pachamamaâ€, a native word of the indigenous Quechua peoples from South America. It means “Mother Earthâ€. “Vega†is for my love affair for vegetables. “Pachavega†always prepares fresh organic, vegan, gluten-free food with mindful tenderness and is committed to compassion.
Cancellation Policy: Due to the intimate nature of our classes, no refunds or reschedules are provided for missed classes. However, you may transfer your reserved space to another person on your own accord. A refund will only be provided if classes are cancelled by Danielle Arsenault/Sarah’s Place.
HEY!!!
Are you looking for a 2013 calendar? Look no further!
I have made a calendar using beautiful photos I’ve shot of Fergus (and a few of Dexter). $5 from each calendar will go directly to Hearts on Noses Pig Sanctuary.
Yesterday I tweeted “A woman walked into the store in a leather jacket, feather earrings and a bag covered in cow fur. She said “I’m a recovering vegan…” #gag”
She was wearing leather boots with fur trim. A leather jacket. Feather earrings and had a purse that was covered in cow-hide. “Oh yeah. What happened…?” But instead of answering me she walked around my store and laughed at everything. Made fun of products. Picked stuff up. Put it down and then shook her head. She then asked me what the “BACON HAD A MOM” shirt meant.
I said “The shirt is to gently remind you that the bacon you had for breakfast came from an animal that had a mother…” Awkward pause … “Oh.”
I thought about asking her to leave … but instead I put on my best game-face and decided to re-plant some seeds of veganism. I mean – that’s my goal with the store is to showcase amazing vegan lifestyle products while encouraging my non-customers to go vegan. Perhaps positive reinforcement would encourage her to remember why she went vegan in the first place. Maybe when she sits down to her dead-animal bacon breakfast tomorrow she’ll stop what she’s doing and realize what she’s about to do and hopefully have a change of heart.
But this woman is not what broke my heart yesterday…
After tweeting/facebook my experience a non-vegan friend of mine on facebook responded with “hahaha” and our conversation devolved into a typical Facebook back and forth about misuse of language. She didn’t like that on my private profile page I had described the woman as disgusting. She would have preferred that I called her actions disgusting not her herself. It then disintegrated even more into blah blah blah about this and blah blah blah about that. I shut it down and told her to call me if she wanted to work things out.
But that’s not where my heartbreak comes in either …
What broke my heart is that this friend thought what this X-Vegan woman said was funny. This X-Vegan woman who came into my vegan-centric store wearing the skins/furs of dead animals and walked around making fun of all the beautiful cruelty free products that I sell. My store is an extension of my heart, my beliefs, what I’ve dedicated my life to and my friend can’t get past the choice of words I used when venting about having a hard day? I want friends who lift me up when I am down. Who support me. I understand she was challenging my flippant choice of words but perhaps she should have picked a better venue for it. Or better yet – not kick me when I am down …
I have a lot of non-vegan friends. I try to respect their choices in the hopes that they do mine. I don’t make comments when I see my non-vegan friends wearing feather earrings or when they order meaty-type foods. It’s not easy for me because all I see is death and torture when I see those things but other peoples life choices are none of my business and unless they ask me about veganism directly – I try my best not to be the vegan police. But what I ask for in exchange is that you have my back.
A few hours later I got a message from my friend Jen who went to a work function at The Keg. She knew she wouldn’t find much food there but didn’t want to cause a kerfuffle because the work dinner was a celebration for one of her other co-workers so she happily ate her baked potato and salad but for some reason everyone around her at the table had to say something rude about her lifestyle choices. WTF? I guess yesterday was one of those kinds of days where meat-eaters were feeling particularly guilty about all the death and destruction they leave in their wake and so they decided to throw all that energy over to the vegans who are trying their best to make the world a less bloody torturous mess…
I wish I had a nice little bow to wrap this story up with but instead I’ll quote RuPaul.
“My goal is to always come from a place of love …but sometimes you just have to break it down for a motherfucker!â€
So on Sunday morning I got dressed up in my painting overalls and finished up some paint in the change-rooms at Sarah’s Place (they’re still not finished… ugh).
Rather then change into my street clothes I stayed in my comfy railroad overalls and spent the rest of my day lounging around doing my thing. I actually wasn’t lounging. I had a lot of new stock to input into the computer/web and I needed to do some organizing of the products on the shelves.
I had lots of nice interruptions on Sunday. This lovely furry dude came to visit me and took up a good hour of my time. There was a lot of snuggling, cuddling and of course trying to keep Fergus from freaking out from jealousy. 🙂
The humans for this dog (shoot I’ve forgotten the dogs name – how rude) had stopped by the store to drop off a supply of their Dogi Biscotti that Sarah’s Place is now selling. After they left I started to get things organized to close up. I started cleaning my desk, organizing everything for Kelly (who works Mondays) and just doing general prep when 3 ladies walked into my store and started browsing. I said Hi to them and then went about doing my organizing.
One of them asked me a question and I looked up to answer her and I stared into her eyes and yelled. “HEY! I KNOW YOU!!” Awkward pause… “FRINGE!”
Yes. That’s what I yelled. Hey. I know you. Fringe. ha ha ha. I was competently dumbfounded because standing in front of me was Olivia from Fringe. Actually it was actress Anna Torv. She and her friends were hanging out in Victoria for the weekend and had wandered into my shop.
I actually left my body. I could NOT stop my brain from freaking out so I walked the storage room and took a few deep breaths to compose myself and then I came back out and started to babble like an idiot.
“Hey! We know lots of the same people” I said to Anna. “My friend Jason does makeup on the show. My Dad is an actor and had a scene with you. My friends Peter and Carmen do set design and used my books in the background of your kitchen set when you were the “other” Olivia.”
I tried my best not to be too much of a geek but I couldn’t stop saying idiotic things and making terrible jokes. I hope it wasn’t too noticeable that I was GEEKING OUT! They hung out at my store for a while (So I must not have been acting too crazy) and before they left I asked Anna if I could get a quick photo with her and she very sweetly said yes.
As you can see … I am beyond excited. I can’t even make a normal face. I had no control over my face! 🙂
After they left I kept thinking about all the things I wanted to say to her but didn’t because I was geeking out so here is my open letter to Anna.
Dear Anna, I was so thrilled when you popped into my store Sarah’s Place on Sunday.
Because I was geeking out that you were in my store I didn’t get a chance to tell you how amazing I think you are on Fringe. I love your show. I will admit that I originally started watching it because of Pacey…whoops I mean Joshua Jackson but I quickly fell in love with all the characters and love the chemistry you have created with all of them.
I need to tell you that you did such a FANTASTIC job of playing Leonard Nimoy when he was stuck in your body. I hope you won some kind of an award for that. BTW. I love Leonard Nimoy so much that I have Live Long and Prosper tattoo’d on my feet!
I also wanted to tell you that when you worked with my Dad – he said you were lovely to work with even though you had to repeatedly rip duct-tape off his face.
Most importantly I wanted to tell you that I love your character because she kicks ass and is never dependent on a man to save her. Almost every Sci-Fi woman character is written as “strong” and “independent” but at some point during her storyline she can’t cope and has to be saved by a male character. I think the character you created is so strong! Love her.
My friend Jason said he could maybe get me on set for a visit before you close down production for the end of the series but I don’t think I can do it. If I geek out that much about you being in my store … I might faint if I walk into Walters lab and actually see Walter. 🙂
Thank you so much for Fringe. It’s been a really fun show and I can’t wait to see what you do next. Come and visit Sarah’s Place again and I promise I won’t yell across the room at you with excitement! 🙂 xoxo SARAH
I am so in love with all of SaraWen perfume blends … They all smell like sex to me which I think is what perfume should smell like. *laugh*
