5 Things I Love

1. Holga 35mm Camera from Urban Outfitters

100 speed film
400 speed film
800 speed film

Last Saturday night Heather took the family out to The Matador. We stopped at Urban Outfitters afterwards where Heather bought a new record player and I got this sweet baby! I've started playing with it a little and I'm so excited! I can't wait to get my film developed! This camera is going to be great at helping me get a little more creative with my photography.

2. New Old Vinyl

While Heather bought a couple newer records when she got her record player, we stopped at the thrift store just to see if they had any goodies. We found these and it turned out everything was half off! We're slowly collecting some fun records. Our dad had a HUGE record collection from his days as a deejay, but sadly he sold EVERYTHING when we were in college. Half of the records we have right now are some that he use to have. Needless to say, we're pretty sad about it.

3. Fake Glasses

I took a page out of Miss Sydney's book and got some cute faux glasses. I love them so much. I had a girl ask me where I got my glasses from and I very quietly said, "The Icing." Haha.

4. Kat Von D True Romance Eyeshadow Palette - True Love from Sephora

If you can imagine, I've never owned an eyeshadow palette before. I was in Sephora with Heather restocking some of my Urban Decay necessities. We wandered over to the Kat Von D area and fell in love with this palette. I've had so much fun playing with it in the last two weeks!

5. Rings

So who doesn't know I love rings? They're my favorite accessory by far! These are some of my newer ones. The plain silver, magnolia flower and the spotted gold are all from Premier Jewelry. The black and silver ring is from the Forever21 giveaway I won. The two seashell rings were gifts for Heather and me from Jenny's Spring Break in Hilton Head.

Brandice's Family Ink

I met Brandice in Penn Station back in August, as she sat on the stairs by the New Jersey transit terminal. She shared her half-sleeve-in-progress on her right arm.

This is the inside of the arm:

Brandice explained that her work is a tribute to her family. The Confederate Flag is a nod to her family from the South, most of whom come from Virginia.

I had to ask if she had any reservations about inking the flag on her arm, since some people see such a symbol in a negative light. She acknowledged that she took this into consideration, but decided that it is part of her family history, and that when she explains this to people, they understand. She does not wear it to make a statement but, rather, to honor where her family is from.

The "Daddy" is a memorial nod to her father who passed away and the phrase "Family Tradition" reinforces the central theme of the tattoo, and further acknowledges her Southern heritage.This is an allusion to Hank Williams, Jr. and his song (and album) "Family Tradition".

On the second part of the tattoo, the design is filled with additional meaning, with her cousin represented by the skull,

and the skull with the bow represents herself. The banner bearing the initials MLC is a nod to her grandmother. She has used symbols to represent the living and names for those who have passed.

The dogwood flowers in the tattoo have religious meaning as well, in addition to being the state flower and state tree of Virgina. The magnolias are also shout-outs to her southern family heritage.

Brandice has about eight hours of this tattoo done so far, all by Dan Paone at White Lotus Tattoo and Art Gallery in Tom's River in New Jersey.

Thanks to Brandice for sharing her tattoo steeped in family traditions with us here at Tattoosday!