Tattoo Tuesday V.55

This week I'm featuring one of my favorite ladies on Tumblr, Rachel. Her tattoos are just gorgeous and I'm totally excited to have her on Sometimes Sweet today! Be advised that there is one photo below that shows off R.'s beautiful side piece, and it may be considered NSFW.  I thought I should include that juuust in case. But anyway, thank you sweet Rachel for being a part of this feature!  And readers, be sure to swing by her blog and check out her artwork!

 

Name and blog name:  Rachel Taren- http://racheltaren.tumblr.com/

Age:  26

Occupation:  Manager, Artist

Age of first tattoo:  I was 18, I got a tiny black heart outline on my hip that I will probably cover up soon.

Favorite tattoo:  My diamond encrusted roses on my left arm.

Featured tattoo/location: My 715 derringer pistol on my right lower arm.

Artist/shop/location of feature tattoo:  Done by Matt Duffenbach at Studio City Tattoos in Studio City, California.

1) Tell us about your featured tattoo- is there a background story or special meaning? Why did you choose this particular piece of art?

Matt is not only one of my favorite tattoo artists, he is also my significant other.  We recently moved from our home state of Wisconsin to LA.  Once we moved here, I was a little homesick, so I got this little pistol with "715" in the banner.  715 is the telephone area code for Northcentral Wisconsin.  Represent!

2) Do you have any other tattoos?  If so, what do you have and where?

I have pink lilies on my left ribs.  Autumn leaves on my right ribs.  Both done by Matt Duffenbach.

My left sleeve is by Dennis Pase of Acme Tattoo in Louiseville, KY.  There's a woman hugging a skeleton on my lower arm.  I have a woman's face with a peacock feather on the inside of my arm. And then there's the diamond encrusted roses on my shoulder. Matt Duffenbach did the top of my right sleeve-the sea horse, the peony, the koi, along with the high heel and rose and the derringer.  Then Norm did the spider web background, along with the panther head on my wrist and black widow spider. On my legs:  Noodles of Chicago did the topless woman on my right hip.  Matt Duffenbach did the tiger that's in progress still on the back of my leg; along with the flower on my knee.

 

3) Do you plan on getting more? 

Well, I have to make Dennis finish my left sleeve.  And my right sleeve needs some more love to be considered "done".  I will probably end up doing my tummy with a big snake.  And I'd like to fill in my entire right leg with traditional stuff.  Then after all that, I want a pair of Japanese "shorts" for my butt. So I'll be busy for the next ten years or so....

4) How do your family and friends feel about your tattoo(s)?  Have you run into any adversity or negativity because of them? Do you have a significant other? Does he/she have tattoos?

My mom cried the first time she saw my tattoo.  She is still not a fan on my body art and I doubt she ever will be.  My dad, who is usually very conservative, actually doesn't mind them.  I think he'd like to get some but he's scared of the pain.   My boyfriend, Matt, is the person who really got me interested in tattoos. He's an extremely talented artist.  He has been tattooed by some amazing artists. Being a heavily-tattooed woman is often a very strange experience.  Strangers will approach you and touch your tattoos without asking.  People stare a lot, say rude things occasionally.  Mostly, I just get a lot of compliments.

5) Any advice for those interested in getting tattooed but haven't gotten one yet? 

-Find a really good artist.  Try and get your hands on a Tattoo Artist Magazine so you can see what a real quality tattoo should look like. 

-Remember:  Cheap tattoos are not good tattoos and good tattoos are not cheap.  If you are a poor person like me; save up a couple hundred and get a nice outline.  Then save more $, come back and get the color.  

-People are always asking me "Did it hurt?"  Yes, it hurts.  Focus on relaxing your muscles and focus on your breathing--I try to fall asleep.  Bring your ipod.  Eat beforehand! 

driving home

If you've never been to Arizona, you should definitely make a point to get here one day. It's a beautiful, beautiful place with gorgeous mountains, desert, forest, and sky. We live in Northern Arizona, which has more of the forest than desert variety, but it's amazing that you can drive an hour or two and be in a completely different environment. Desert to snow in a matter of sixty minutes. This morning I made the two-hour drive home from my parents, and it was a stunning day; huge clouds in the sky and a bit of darkness due to the impending storm. I love driving long distances, and I think this stems from going away to college and making the drive home often, and then spending the first year of Hank and my relationship living hours apart. Sometimes there is nothing better than putting on a favorite album and just losing yourself on the open road- it clears my head in the best possible way.

Here are some photos from this morning:

...and a little "driving" playlist for you, too! Today's music consisted of mostly Lucero- it was just one of those days.

Wonderful weekend

I had such a great, great weekend that was jam-packed with plans, people, and fun.  Saturday I had a sweet girl date with my friend Anita and had the best time.  We left both of our babies at home with their grandparents, and it was basically the first time I'd really done that. It was nerve-wracking but also fun to be able to go do something on my own outside of a quick run to the gym or the store. It was a great night- so much girl talk, so much good food...and cupcakes too!  We ate at Joe's Farm Grill- I got a chicken sandwich and fries, delicious- and followed it up with sweets from the bakery next door. I adore Anita and it was immeasurably fun to actually spend time with her. I can't wait to do it again!

When I got home Henry and I fell asleep around 8:30pm and slept the night away. He woke up once but for the most part sleep really well and I felt great on Sunday morning. I had a full day planned today so I was really grateful he didn't pick last night to end his amazing sleeping streak. We're at my parents, so I thought it could happen being in a different environment, but nope! Thank you sweet Henry! So we got up this morning, got ready, and I headed over to Shirley and Nate's for a girl's/bridesmaids brunch, followed by shopping. My parents graciously agreed to watch H. so of course I was excited to go spend the afternoon with my ladies. These girls are some of my oldest and dearest friends, and it's always always a good time, filled with laughter and silliness.

So we brunched and chatted for awhile, and then we all headed to Chandler Mall to check out some of the shops in the hopes of finding black bridesmaids dresses. The last time I went to the mall with five other girls I think I was 16, so I had to stop and kind of smile to myself as I watched all of us walk into Nordstrom together. So funny. We walked around and visited different stores (hello J. Crew, I adore you and so wish we had one closer), and then Emily suggested we look in White House Black Market.  Lo and behold, we found the dress!  It's the perfect black dress- it has a classic, vintage look to it and we will absolutely we able to wear it again. Pretty awesome as far as a dress goes, and really, really awesome that we get to wear it as a bridesmaids dress. We all purchased it right then and there and it's nice to have this detail out of the way. Now, onto finding Shirley's dress!

So yes, the afternoon was really lovely. I've said it before and I say it again- I feel incredibly lucky to have so many wonderful, positive girlfriends in my life. My heart is incredibly happy today, from my dinner with Anita to today's festivities. I'm looking forward to all that is to come in the next few months, and especially for my sister's wedding, which is on March 12th- so soon! Her bachelorette party is next weekend too, and although I am forgoing the barhopping, I am joining the ladies for dinner. I can't wait. It's funny because while I was pregnant we laid so low- even this blog reflected that. Lots of quiet weekends at home, not much hanging out...but now I feel like we're back into the swing of things and I'm having just so much fun. I think Henry has been enjoying meeting so many people too, and I love that he is such an easy baby in terms of traveling and being in new environments. He never ceases to amaze me, that boy.

I need to get to sleep now in sweet anticipation of going home to Hank tomorrow (he had class all day Saturday) but I'll leave you with some photos from the weekend. Happy, happy Monday and have a wonderful start to your week!

in my sister's old bedroom, getting ready to head out to dinner- don't know why this photo is so red-tinted!

Anita and me

birthday cake cupcake. This was so.good.

Anita!

Sunday morning, getting ready for brunch

H for my Henrys :)

the bride-to-be/hostess with the mostess. Love Shirley so, so much.

Shirl's sister Erica and Autumn!

yummy apple spice muffins Emily made...I wish I had one right now.

quiche, fruit salad, muffins, mimosas, and coffee.

Em and me- and Maxon in her belly! Cutest pregnant gal ever.

the bride and her bridesmaids, minus two!

the dress

Design Naga Body Painting

Lauren and Abe's engagement photos

This morning I snapped a few photos of my little sister Lauren and her fiancé Abe. They'll be married next month and I am so incredibly excited for their big day! I've talked about it before, but they've been best friends since middle school, and only started getting romantic during college, while he was over in Afghanistan with the Army. Talk about a love story! This was my first time attempting to take photos like this, but I had a lot of fun with the two of them and I think my sister will be happy with the finished products. So I thought I'd share a few (of the hundreds) here! Have a great Saturday. xoxo