I love cooking and baking, but then giving them away...I'm not much of a sweets person at all- except for PIE, my favorite treat in moderation! So, I still bake a lot but try to get rid of them as much as possible. I absolutely love to bake and I love making people happy with little presents of cupcakes and goodies. This week I'm going to be making my first pumpkin pie of the season too, and I will post the recipe when I do that.
Today was a lazy, unproductive day. Hank and I originally had a whole day planned of fun Fall activities, including a visit to the pumpkin patch, carving, etc. We decided to wait until next weekend so our pumpkin wouldn't rot before Halloween! So instead we planned to have a picnic downtown, complete with basket and blanket, and were hoping to spend the afternoon basking in the autumn sunlight, reading and just having fun. But oh no, none of that happened. The wind was so bad today that it knocked down multiple power lines on our street, blew trees into house, cars etc. I did convince Hank to go on a run with me through this horrible weather, and we had fun but our eyes were a mess from all the debris in the air. Even though I'm not much of an outdoor person I still like to be outside as much as possible and today I really, really needed some sun. So our run was nice. But to rewind a bit, we woke up kind of late and I made Hank a breakfast burrito so he could wrap up in a blanket and enjoy Sunday football. I did stuff around the house, relaxed, read, did all that glorious lazy day stuff I love to do. Eventually after our run we went food shopping, cooked dinner, and I baked those goodies.
Tomorrow begins the last week before Fall Break and I am so excited! Hank leaves on a full-US tour in a couple of weeks. They'll be playing The Fest in Florida again this year so they'll be doing all of the US surrounding that weekend. So unfortunately Hank won't be home for this Halloween again, for the third year in a row. It makes me a bit sad because we both absolutely love this holiday, but I'm sure I will still have fun and I know sooner than later we will be able to celebrate it together!
So, off to bed I go. I'm looking forward to this week at work. It's Homecoming, so the entire week is full of funny activities and entertaining stuff. It's fun being a high school teacher most of the time, and during these times it's always very interesting to remember what it was like back when I was in high school!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Good thing I don't usually eat what I bake!
Aline Coraldi, Casa de Bali Tattoo
Casa de Bali Tattoo
Apresentação Aline Coraldi
Vídeo Biossegurança
25 dicas para uma boa participação no diHITT
1º Seminário Brasileiro de Arte Corporal
Magie's Unique Sugar Skull, Inked by Big Ant (1978-2008)
Happy, because I got to meet the awesome Marisa Kakoulas from the fabulous Needles and Sins tattoo blog, along with the equally-cool Brian Grosz, who is also a major creative force behind the site.
And happy because I was in a bright room with art on the walls, created by talented tattooists, and I was surrounded by people with incredible body art.
But therein lies the conundrum: great tattoos, in a hip tattoo setting, are top quality and, despite Tattoosday's success, I am still reluctant to whip out the Polaroid digital camera when, for all I know, the ink around me may have been professionally photographed and featured in glossy tattoo magazines.
So I had resigned myself to leave sans photos, knowing I had a groovy time and was able to meet other tattoo writers, when I noticed a very interesting sugar skull on the back of a young woman's right arm. Voila:

Of course I chatted a long time with Magie before I asked her if I could snap a picture, so I learned a bit about the tattoo before I asked.
Magie Serpica is an artist and tattooist who works at the newly-opened Bound for Glory Tattoo Studio in Staten Island.

The shop was co-founded by Nick Caruso who also tattoos at Flyrite Studio in Brooklyn. One of Nick's tattoos appeared here back in July on Tattoosday.
One of Magie's paintings was hanging on the wall at Tattoo Culture:
We talked at length about tattoos, what she called an under-served market on Staten Island (they are the first full-custom shop) in the borough (no flash on the walls, please) and have a promising future ahead.
We also discussed how difficult it has been in the past to be a female tattoo artist, how frustrating it is not to be taken seriously, and how Kat Von D. and the multitude of tattoo reality shows have helped break down the stereotypes and allowed Magie, as a female artist, to receive more respect as an artist.
Like most tattoo artists, Magie is covered in ink, with no idea how many tattoos she has ("If you can still see skin, it's not enough").
The sugar skull in question was tattooed by Anthony Gregory, aka Big Ant, a Staten Island artist who tragically passed away last year after falling ill in Las Vegas (see the sad news reported here).

She had asked him to give her a sugar skull and she had a general idea about his style, so she gave him total artistic freedom. The end result was fascinating - a unique, almost post-modern interpretation of a classic tattoo design. The angled perspective and the depth to the eyes give this tattoo a greater three-dimensional feel than your standard sugar skull.
I also like how the rose is just as important as the skull, its stem wrapping around it and adding another layer of depth.
I thank the good people at Tattoo Culture for opening their doors and allowing me the opportunity to meet some great people.
A special thanks to Magie for sharing her awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday. Be sure to visit her in the new shop, Bound for Glory, in Staten Island.
Here's hoping we'll see more of their work in the future!
hey Saturday night! ...er, Sunday morning.
So. Hank, Brookie and I just got back from seeing "Whip It," and oh my gosh I absolutely loved it! First of all, Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page are such beauties. Second of all, I loved the ENTIRE thing from start to end. I really felt that the film sent out a good message to girls who may be a little different, that different is okay. It even made me want to go out and try derby. Seriously. I usually shy away from these types of films- almost formulaic indie tortured teen finds an outlet kinda thing- but this is amazing. It made me smile the whole time and I left the theater feeling really awesome. Go see it!
As for now, I am heading to bed. I am so, so tired and I am excited to sleep for a full eight hours. I hope all of you had a beautiful evening!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Tadeu Tattoo, Belo Horizonte
Tadeu Tattoo
Orkut: Tadeu Tattoo
Msn: tadeutattoo@hotmail.com
Celular: 31 9168 1373
Blogs: tadeutattoofazendoarte.blogspot.com
Multiply: tadeutattoo.multiply.com
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/tadeutattoo/
















