vegan chai

liz lovely snickerdudes

okay, you guys, i have been a fan of liz lovely cookies since the minute i first tried one, and the peanut butter classics are my favorite. awesome peanut butter cookies with chocolate coating on the back and chocolate drizzle on top, they are organic and gigantic and fantastic. i've actually had to restrain myself on several occasions because i always want to eat both giant cookies in one go. if you haven't tried them, you really should. 

yesterday, i was doing some regular ol' grocery shopping and i took a peek at the liz lovely display, half-expecting to see some peanut butter classics, which would then lead to an internal debate of whether i really "needed" them in the house, blah blah, you know how that goes. instead, i was greeted with a pile of different flavors that i hadn't ever seen before, including the snickerdudes, which is their take on the snickerdoodle. i absolutely love cinnamon, and snickerdoodles, and these proudly proclaimed that they were "awesomely soft" right there on the package. i gave them a slight squeeze, and sure enough, they seemed really nice 'n squishy. it took me approximately 2 seconds to make my decision and lovingly place them in my shopping cart.

i ate one last night for dessert, and it was beyond. i think it's the softest packaged cookie i have ever had, by a mile, and the cinnamon and sugar are perfect. i'm glad that my husband only put one on my plate, otherwise i would have surely devoured them both. instead, i get to have another one today, and i'm pretty stoked. if you're a snickerdoodle fan, do yourself a favor and get your hands on these snickerdudes!

while i'm yammering on about liz lovely, i should also mention that they've apparently introduced three gluten-free variations, which is making some people pretty darn excited, i'd expect. oh, AND they have started offering other types of chocolate confections, which look delicious in their own right. i love that they use fair trade chocolate, and i love that i'm starting to see them in more and more stores. hooray for liz lovely!

sam the koala

there's always so much sad news to report, i get extra-happy (and extra-sappy) when something awesome happens. today i wanted to share sam the koala with you, in case you hadn't heard her story yet. sam survived the horrible fires in australia, and was found by a firefighter, totally dehydrated and wandering. he approached her relatively easily, and offered her some water, which she took right away. she even put out her little hand to hold his hand while drinking. i could die of cute, seriously. my sister emailed this link to me yesterday morning, and then a pal on VRF posted this link today, and i just watched the video on the second link and nearly started crying. when people stop and care for animals in need, it really makes me happy. thank you, david tree!

updated to add a third article (with a few more details on her recovery) that my mom just forwarded to me, found here.