A Little More

How it all began:
In the summer of 2009, in celebration of my Mom becoming vegetarian, we decided to take a vegan vacation.  Where does a vegan go on vacation with her vegetarian Mom?  Portland, Oregon!  While researching the area and planning our trip, I became acquainted with some wonderful vegan blogs that helped me to best determine where we should eat visit.  I found these personal blogs to be an invaluable resource to my itinerary and then became hooked because they were so entertaining and informative. 

One day while discussing food (what else?) with Blythe she suggested that I should try my hand at writing a blog of my own.  I didn't know what I could possibly add to the blogosphere, but I decided to give it a go. I wrote a few posts for SuperVegan and then started A (soy) Bean shortly thereafter- mostly so that my pieces could maintain my full voice instead of being heavily edited. In my mind, the best case scenario would be for my blog to be for others looking to visit the east coast, what the west coast blogs were for me.

What it's all about:
I write about what I do, what I know; I don't write for personal gain or vendetta.  If something is good, I'll say it.  If it's bad, well, I'll say that too.  Being nice goes an extremely long way in my book, so if I visit a restaurant and someone is nasty, I'm gonna call them on it!  If you're nice, I'm gonna come back again and again.

What it's not about:
First and foremost, I am not a kiss-ass; there is no lying in my blog.  I don't sugarcoat stuff to stay in a company's good graces or shamelessly plug something for publicity and/or to solicit popularity or samples.  If I haven't paid for something (prize, gratis, sample) I'll always say it; otherwise know that I bought it just like anyone else.  Either way, I'll give you my honest opinion.

Courtesy:
I welcome comments and encourage you to share posts with friends, but I do ask that you cite me if quoting.  Also, please don't steal my photos.  I'm certainly no photographer, but every once in a while I get a cool shot; don't take the good out of it by swiping it!  Simply drop me a line and tell me you'd like to use it for non-profit purposes; I'll be happy to comply as long as you promise to cite the blog.