Friday Focus: Kat Von D!

I love Kat Von D! 

I liked her when she first made her appearance on Miami Ink, and I love watching her show LA Ink.

I think she is beautiful!  Tattoos and all.

Confession:  If I had never gotten married, I would totally have lots of tattoos, super funky hair, and extreme make-up.  I think that's my alter-ego talking! 

Last night, my sister-in-law Norma and I went to her book signing at Barnes & Noble at Desert Ridge.  We were numbers 287 & 288 out of 1000.  It only took about an hour to get to us.  I was nervous to actually meet her...what would I say?  Well, she was so sweet, humble, and so sincerely thankful for all of her fans. She was blown away that so many people showed up.  She thanked us profusely for waiting in line and for buying her book.  She was super tall, I'm sure her SUPER HIGH HEELS had nothing to do with it ;).  She smelled really good and she was so waif-ishly thin that I thought I would break her when we were taking our pictures! 



Kat Von D & Me!!

Kat Von D  & Norma!!

Rooftop and Jeffree Star were there too, and they graciously signed our books and took pictures with us. 

FAIL!  Eyes closed :(

Norma with Jeffree Star and Rooftop!

Her book, The Tattoo Chronicles, is an amazing piece of artwork.  It's her diary with sketches and photos.  They layout is simply amazing with all types of different fonts.  The cover is super thick with letterpress work...so awesome!  



Kat Von D has two perfumes out called Sinner and Saint.  She did a photo shoot promoting both scents, and they airbrushed all of her tattoos off and did subtle make-up and she is so pretty that way too! 



Saint/Sinner



Her tattoos are amazing!

So, I'm off to go get sleeves done.  Just kidding!  

Maybe not ;)

Trusting My Gut & Following My Heart

Let me start this post off by sharing my most favorite quote of all time:

Your time is limited; don't waste it living someone else's life.  Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people's thinking.  Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice.  Most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary.

-Steve Jobs

That quote just hits it home for me.  I have it printed out and hung up in my cube.  It inspires me every time I read it. 

I'm working towards something.  Something that my heart truly desires and all the parts are falling into place.  It leads me to believe I am finally on my way to following the destiny that has been set for me, but that I've been too stubborn or too scared to surrender to.  What I'm working on feels right, I don't feel like I'm trying to stuff myself into some mold that just does not fit me.  I promise once I'm closer I'll share the details. 

For the last 8 years I have thought I wanted to be a photographer.  I started out with a film SLR, taught myself everything I know about photography, including shooting manual.  Which is the only way I shoot...it's the only way that makes sense to me.  Taught myself photoshop, networked with professional photographers and procured mentoring sessions with some, invested heavily into gear and business stuff to get myself going.  To be a professional photographer. Invested a lot of time and energy.  But something was always missing.  I loved taking photos, and I really like editing them, but actually going out and getting the work always stalled me.  Even when people would approach me to take their pictures after seeing my work someplace else, I would almost panic.  Dread would set in.  But, I just chalked it up to nerves.  Chalked it up to insecurity, chalked it up to my own issues.  In retrospect, it wasn't any of these things.  I always knew in the pit of my stomach...in the deepest crevices of my heart what it was.  I was just too scared to verbalize it.  I had invested a lot of money, and I was afraid I would disappoint my husband.  He had all the faith in me, but I would always find a reason to not take the leap.

In this last year I came clean with myself and with my husband:  I don't like taking pictures of people(that I don't share DNA with).  No kids, no families, no head shots, no weddings, no birthday parties, no engagements, nothing. It's not for me, but it took me a long time to accept that.  I guess I felt like a failure.  But taking people photographs makes me never want to pick up my camera.  My favorite photography subjects are storm drains on a street, hidden messages among the urban grit, complete randomness. Marveling in the ordinary.  So, that chapter in my photographic story has ended.  No people photography.  Which in turn means no business.  But, I'm okay with that.  I just want to love my camera again.  Which I do.  She's a beauty.  She's old and beat up, but I love her.  I love taking a picture of something most people don't get.  But, if just one person "gets" it, my heart wants to leap out of my chest.  And that is more important to me than anything. 

So, here's to Friday, and here's to trusting your gut and following your dreams.

Friday Focus: Pink Hearts

Do you have a comfort food that when you eat it, smell it, or think about it, it takes you right back to childhood? Isn’t it amazing how that happens? I love comfort food. I love how comfort food can be a dessert, a special soup, a casserole, or just on old family favorite that has been passed down through the generations.

When I was a kid, and even up until I left Washington at the ripe old age of 21, my Aunt would make us Valentine’s Day goodies and every year she would make something new, but her Pink Hearts were always a staple in our little goody box. My brother and I would fight over the Pink Hearts and I’m pretty sure he would scour the box and devour most of them before letting me “find” 3 or 4 hidden in there. Turd.

These cuties are supposed to be made small. I’m sure you could use any type of cookie cutter, but I’ve only ever done hearts. The cookie is almost like a pie crust in it’s very subtle sweetness and buttery flakiness. The sweetness comes from the perfect buttercream (read: NO CANNED FROSTING…EVER! GAG!!!) piped into the middle and dusting of sugar on the outside. These dainty pink hearts are fragile…you can take two bites, but it’s better to pop the whole thing in your mouth at once! I want to stress that these are not your typical “sugar cookie” recipe. But they are so yummy! I suggest working in small batches when you roll out the dough because with the high butter content the dough gets soft fast and is hard to get off your rolling surface. Don’t be afraid to flour your surface and pin often.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Pink Hearts

1 cup soft butter
1/3 cup whipping cream

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar for sanding (approximately)

• Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
• Chill one hour.
• Heat oven to 350°. Roll dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into what ever shape you want. (They should be fairly small though.)
• Transfer to large shallow dish that has sugar in it. Make sure each cookie has sugar all over it on both sides.
• Place on an ungreased cookie sheet (I always use parchment or a silpat). Prick on one side only with a fork, two times. Bake 7 – 9 minutes or until slightly puffy.
• Let cool and fill with your favorite buttercream frosting.

Bon Appetit!

Friday Focus

So, I thought it might be fun to do a weekly “focus” on something that I find interesting, completely love, maybe even hate, and share it on here. I’ve learned SO MUCH this way…stalking other blogs, etc. and a lot of people do this, so I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon.

For the inaugural Friday Focus, I’d thought I would do a photography related post. Surprise, surprise.

My favorite kind of photography is what I like to call Urban Grit. It’s completely random, completely ordinary, but completely spectacular all at the same time. Some people might not even realize the marvel of it, or “get it” and I’m completely okay with that. After all, the old adage goes, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” And for me, that is the pinnacle of truth when it comes to street photography. This type of photography can actually make me hyperventilate. I’m not kidding. If I see something and I can’t stop right there, I make a mental note and go back to capture it later.

When it comes to street photography, my mind literally works like a shutter. I might just be driving, and look at something that I want to photograph, and it’s like my mind actually clicks and I can see what a picture would look like.

Street photography…random snapshots of a continually changing world is the reason I fell in love with photography many years ago.

The following commentary is just opinion. Just what I see and what I think of when I look at these pictures.

The following 3 are from Henri Cartier-Bresson…the Godfather of Photojournalism and one of the most influential photographers of our time.

Love the simplicity of the man and a cat. Is the man homeless? Is the cat his or just wandering? I love how it seems so desolate…the compression from the tall buildings. You can tell from Henri’s perspective he just happened upon this picture.

I think of the promise of new beginnings when I look at this picture. The gorgeous city and all the wonder and opportunity it holds if you can just get to the other side.

My favorite kind of photo op…looks like nothing but fields but then you happen upon this grove of trees. Love the leading lines in the picture.

These are from Hula Seventy’s site...her etsy shop is here.

Love the color and composition on these...love the throwback processing too.  So much fun!

These are mine…just randomness on the streets.

My absolute favorite.  Just in an alley off a side street.  Who was it meant for?  Do they even know this exists? 

Love this.

Another favorite.  This was etched into the sidewalk.  I just happened to look down.

To take photographs means to recognize - simultaneously and within a fraction of a second - both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning. It is putting one's head, one's eye and one's heart on the same axis.

~Henri Cartier-Bresson