I’ve always loved bling, glitter, volume and color of the retina-blinding variety, but recently, I’ve begun to appreciate a simple, streamlined and almost-bare aesthetic. Chalk it up to my pared-down SoCal lifestyle or a new curiosity about photography and graphic design, but I’m glad I did because it’s helped me discover pretty talented people, like Tana Gandhi, an Orange County-based photographer who has an amazing knack for making simple images pop off the screen. Her pictures are crisp, clever and a great reminder that less is more.
Today Tana shares the rituals that motivate her — everything from her Breaking Bad habit to the impressive list of things she does before going to work. Check it out:
I’m a little embarrassed to say that I hadn’t really spray painted until very recently. (You may remember that I coated a bunch of stuff in my desk space with a small can of gold spray paint.) But once I lost that V-card, I heard someone caution that once you spray paint, you will find the intense desire to spray-paint things you had no intention of changing.
And that’s where I find myself now. I just finished giving a thrift store frame a gilded update and now I have a whole can at my disposal. (If you can’t already tell, I’m kind of obsessed with gold.) I wanted to share a round-up of ideas I’ve been kicking around — ideas that are a beautiful, easy and a little out-of-the-ordinary. Like using-plastic-animal-figurines out of the ordinary.
In exactly three weeks, I’ll be forcing Eaman out of bed at 4 a.m. to take me to the airport — because I’ll be going to India! I’m headed to Bangalore for 6 days and Singapore for 2.5 days with my parents, and we’ll be eating, visiting family, eating, shopping, eating and eating. Get the idea? (Why Sing Sing? My parents lived in Singapore right after they got married and are using this visit to see some old friends.)
I was in India in September of last year as part of our ’round-the-world trip, but this visit will be a bit different for a few reasons. 1.) I don’t need any new Indian outfits and that will save a significant amount of time, 2.) I’m much more keen to buy some home goods (a sign I’m getting old?) so I can dedicate the aforementioned saved time to this, and 3.) I will probably get a stomach bug because last year when I went I had an iron gut thanks to a year of traveling on my side. (Hopefully I’m wrong on that last one, but knowing me…)
Anyway, since this past weekend was Diwali (Indian new year) and with my trip coming up, here are some visuals I’ve got on my mind:
I admit I didn’t turn on my video setting all that much in October, but I did get the most important stuff: a beautiful hike in Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve, my dad’s recent visit, a fun fall-themed cooking class, the gorgeous Pacific as viewed from La Jolla, the pumpkin patch and a touch of Halloween. And tacos! Always tacos.
If you notice closely, when we offer Teddy a pumpkin of his own back home, he very gingerly takes it in his mouth, looks back to see if I’ll tell him to “LEAVE IT!” and then seeks sanctuary in his bed. When I bought that bed, I was afraid he’d prefer the cold tile floor and never touch the bed. As it turns out, he takes his most prized possessions — frozen blueberries, carrots, new toys — there to investigate further.
