Portfolio

I made a little portfolio book, it turned out pretty nice, if you'd like me to send you one email me: catchatori@gmail.com

Wedding Book Design

FedEx just dropped off my latest book and I'm pretty impressed with how it turned out! Blurb.com had contacted me a few weeks ago about a beta test they are doing specifically for graphic designers. They asked me to custom design a book using InDesign and then output a pdf to them (instead of using their online pre-made templates), in return I get a free book. What better way to use the 400+ images I have from our wedding?

I just submitted another book design to a printshop in Seattle today, they do old-school hand-binding, so I'm really excited to see how that one will turn out. Stay tuned!

I created another book a couple months ago using Blurb, that time I chose the softcover, I was a little disappointed in the quality so this time I chose the hardcover image-wrap and it has a much better feel.

Leftover tortillas = baked tortilla chips

I'm not sure why I haven't thought to do this before, it's so easy to make tortilla chips at home. If you're anything like me you have tortillas on the counter or in the fridge all the time. Yesterday I noticed I had 2 cilantro-jalapeno tortillas, a couple regular and a few wheat tortillas hanging around. So I cut them up into little pizza-like slices, brushed olive oil on both sides and sprinkled salt on them. I stuck them on a cookie sheet in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for five minutes on each side and there you go, homemade tortilla chips! 

Vintage Octochair - Rehabilitated

I found this chair at an antique store in CenPho. As you can see it had a pretty hideous covering on it when I got it, but I loved the lines and the octagonal shape. After some serious sanding, a couple coats of stain, and then searching high and low for the perfect fabric, I ended up with a beautiful little accent chair. 

My Pattern Obsession

Since I've started my new hobby, refurbishing furniture, I've become even more obsessed with patterns, I love patterns. I went on a pattern hunt the other day, literally, went to 3 different stores to find the right one. It is a little overwhelming, I think Joann Fabric has about 100 thousand sample fabrics to choose from, but, I've managed to narrowed it down to three. The new chair I'm working on is a retro 60's octagonal-shaped chair, so I think it's important to have a retro geometric pattern to keep the feel, but not too overwhelming. I'll post it up when it's finished, but until then, here are some fun swatches to check out...

OVO Party

I was invited to OVO's anniversary party last week. They do really nice work, thanks for the portfolio book guys, it turned out very nice.

Redesigning Christmas

I was listening to archives of one of my favorite NPR shows this morning, Studio 360. One of the topics (since the show was from Dec. 5, 08) was to redesign Christmas. Kurt Andersen (host) asked the design firm Pentagram to re-brand the holiday. One of the first things Michael Bierut at Pentagram suggested is to get rid of green and red, yes! The official color of Christmas will be white, and shades of white. That's what I usually try to stick to when doing Christmas-related design, and am happy to have some backup!















Here is the podcast, it's a fun listen, whether or not you agree.

Sneak Peek Wedding Pics

Diana sent me some of the wedding pics, they are looking gorgeous. Here is a little sneak peek, the rest should be posted by tomorrow, I'll send a link out!

PAPERSHAPERS

Did anyone catch the PAPERSHAPERS exhibit in LA that just ended? Well, it was put on by Scion and GiantRobot. It looked really cool, here are some of the submissions I found that I thought were inspirational.

Layers of intricate xacto-knifing, Hunter Stabler has some pretty amazing paper work.






















There is a special place in my heart for these little miniature buildings by Ana Serrano. My college roomate was an artist who made miniature ceramic buildings and furniture, we always had them around the house. I love the satellite dish, nice touch.

My favorite new cookbook

I was at Barnes and Nobel the other day looking for a baking book and while searching through the aisles of cookbooks, this one caught my attention. I picked it up, loved the feel of it, it is a lot lighter than you would think. The cover is a creamy linen, so it makes it feel really down home. I love the layout, styling and the way it's organized by seasons. The content it really nice as well, he not only gives you recipes, but explains how to grow some of the ingredients. The wood-cut graphics add to the organic feel of the book and the photography fits in perfectly.

By the way, the book was $40 at BnN, but I found it on Amazon for 15 bucks.

1954 Vintage Chair - Rehabilitated

I like to take old ordinary things and give them new life.

I found this old chair at an antique shop in downtown Phoenix, originally built in 1954, it's obviously been very used. It took quite a few hours to complete this guy, mostly sanding all the previous paint and crud off. I stained it with an ebony stain, replaced the cushion fabric and spray painted the metal plates on the feet, that were gold, silver.

I reupholstered a chair like ten years ago, all I had then was a staple gun, I have since acquired a few more tools and skillz. Here are some of the tools I had for this project...

Yummy Low-Fat & High-Protien Turkey Chili

This chili is savory, flavorful, low-fat and healthy, but you can't really
tell how good it is for you. If you're not concerned about those types
of things, you could garnish with cheese, sour cream and top with
tortilla chips (I recommend Tostidos multigrain chips).


















Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion - chopped
4 garlic cloves - thinly sliced
1 can mixed beans (kidney, pinto, black beans) drained
1 can diced roasted tomatoes
1 lb ground turkey
1 adobo chili - chopped
1 c chicken stock
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil for a minute or two add the onion and garlic and "sweat" for a few minutes. Then add chipotle chilis after a few minutes to add heat and smokiness (use more or less depending on what you like, can eliminate it completely if you want). When the onions and garlic are looking translucent add the ground turkey and cook through, using the back of a large mixing spoon to ground the turkey into small pieces, to cook faster.

When the turkey is looking about done, add cinnamon, cumin, salt n' pepper. Add chicken stock, to your liking, I kept it at about a cup to a cup and a half to keep it from being too watery. Add drained tomatoes and drained beans, toss in a bay leaf and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Finished!

Garnishing options:
Cilantro
Cheese
Sour Cream
Tortilla Chips

Fresh Little Black Bean Chicken Cilantro Salad

So fresh and so green.



















Ingredients:

1 grilled chicken breast
1 15 oz can of black beans (drained)
1 8 oz can of yellow corn (drained)
1/8 c chopped up red onions
1 small chipotle chile
1/4 c cilantro chopped up
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 dashes of red wine vinegar also to taste

This is so easy, do I even need to explain? Okay, well put some sort of dry rub on the chicken breast, at the least, salt, pepper and some ground cumin, pound out the chicken breast and grill. Let cool and cut into little chunks. Combine the first 7 ingredients together (everything but salt, pepper, red wine vinegar), then add salt, pepper and red wine vinegar to taste.

Eat this little salad solo, or stick it in a tortilla with cheese, salsa and sour cream.

Makes 2 servings.

Homemade Strawberry Lemonade

Could the weather be any more perfect for strawberry lemonade? Strawberries and lemons are in season, and are super cheap, the only other ingredients you need are sugar aaaand club soda, for some fizz!

What you need:
1 c fresh squeezed lemon juice (4-5 lemons depending on the size)
2 c quartered strawberries (cut out the white middle too)
1 c sugar
2 c water
1 tbsp lemon shavings
1 can club soda
1 shot of citrus vodka (optional)

Start by boiling the water, add all of the sugar, then reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar is totally dissolved, then add the lemon juice (strained) and lemon shavings. Remove from heat and let cool.

Cut up the strawberries, blender them until smooth. Also stick in the fridge to cool.

Once everything is cooled down, combine the strawberry puree and the lemon juice concoction together in a pitcher, and add your can of club soda. Pour over ice in a glass, garnish with strawberries or lemon wheels and enjoy!

This recipe also makes a great cocktail, I suggest citrus vodka.

Super Easy And Scrumptious Chicken Chipotle Salad

What you'll need...

Salad:
1 chicken breast (grilled and cubed)
4 c. of butter or bibb lettuce (you can also use romaine)
1 c. cherry tomatoes - halved
9 oz can of corn - drained
15 oz can of black beans - drained
1/3 c. chopped up red onion
1 avocado diced
ground pepper to taste
salt to taste

Dressing:
2/3 c. light sour cream
1/3 c. chopped cilantro
4 tbsp. lime juice
1 chipotle pepper - chopped up
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
pinch of salt

Okay, so mix all the salad stuff together. Mix the dressing stuff together.
Mix the dressing into the salad. Serve.

See, easy.

P.S. The dressing makes a lot, so add it a little at a time until it's to your desired dressingness.