Dreamy Visions of Couture

TGIF! Last night I had the pleasure of attending the opening reception of Cathleen Naundorf's exhibition here in New York at the Edwynn Houk Gallery. And wowzers! What an absolutely delightful evening filled with exquisite designer haute couture in fashion photography! Let me tell you more about the artist!

Opening reception with Cathleen Naundorf's photographs at Edwynn Houk Gallery.

Born in the small German town, Weisenfels, in 1968, Cathleen Naundorf began working as a photojournalist in the early 90's and photographed various groups around the world including the Yanomami in Amazonia, the Mongols and Kazakhstanis in the Altai Mountains, and the shamans in Yakutia, Sibiria. Her friendship with photographer Horst P. Horst, quickly grew her to be inspired by fashion photography.

"L'armore, 1", Valentino haute couture 1992 au château de Wideville © Cathleen Naundorf

In 1997 she began photographing backstage at Paris fashion shows for Condé Nast, and in 2000 she began working with her trademark polaroid and large format cameras. Her Polaroid photography resonates with magical, enchanting dream-like fantasies, and Naundorf's distinctive technique is not only inspired by her mentor Horst, but the images are so atmospheric, they present a surrealist world rich with intrigue that suggest a romantic aesthetic of a forgotten age. Paired with instant film's hazy saturation and the actual amount of time and effort that goes into making a couture garment, makes her images extremely fitting and quite unique.

Cathleen Naundorf, Valentino en Rose, Valentino – Haute Couture Winter 2007 - N°59, 2007, Gelatin silver print, 24 x 20 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Photographing the intricate haute-couture designs of fashion houses such as Dior, Elie Saab, Philip Treacy, and Valentino, clearly and continually reference an esteem for the antique and handmade. Plus the ethereal effect from the way Naundorf manipulates the inherent textures and color variations enhance everything in her prints. Just pure elegance, style and quality.

Cathleen Naundorf, An Ordinary Day, Valentino - Haute Couture Summer 2008 - N°20, 2008, Chromogenic print from original polaroid, 24 x 20 inches (60 x 50 cm)

From 2005 to 2011, she did the epic series Un rêve de mode for which the artist gained unprecedented access in the previously mentioned fashion houses. In 2012 Prestel published the series in the limited edition monograph, Haute Couture: The Polaroids of Cathleen Naundorf.

L to R: Gilles Decamps, Suzanne Spiegoski, Cathleen Naundorf, & M. Brendon MacInnis from in the Art world.

In the past five years, Naundorf has worked privately with Mr. Valentino Garavani on several projects including An Italian Story and the photo-documentation of Mr. Garavani’s collaboration with the New York City Ballet. Her work is consistently featured on the pages of Harper’s Bazaar and Condé Nast publications. She currently lives and works in London and Paris.

With the amazingly talented fashion photographer, Cathleen Naundorf at Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York City, NY.

Here are a few of my faves from the exhibition. Selected photographs by Cathleen Naundorf from the Haute Couture series will be exhibited at the Edwynn Houk Gallery from January 14th to February 27th, 2016.

L’arche de Noé XVIII, Dior haute couture summer 2012, 2012 © Cathleen Naundorf

Les liaisons dangereuses - The wedding meal, Dior Joaillerie, 2010 © Cathleen Naundorf

L'arche de Noé VIII, Dior/Philip Treacy, haute couture summer 2012, 2012 © Cathleen Naundorf

Love & xx's,

Matcha Cheesecake

Lower frigid temps had me craving for something sweet and since I've been on this green tea kick, I decided to incorporate it into a modern cheesecake! Some of you may know I'm not a finessed baker, so I'm always in my kitchen trying to hone in on my skills within the baking department. I pulled a recipe from A Cozy Kitchen for my first attempt at a matcha cheesecake.

Matcha Swirl Cheesecake

Matcha Swirl Cheesecake. Recipe from A Cozy Kitchen. All photos by:  © Suzanne Spiegoski

Recipe from A Cozy Kitchen

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Yield: 1 (nine-inch) cheesecake

Serving Size: 8

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups (about 16 cookies) chocolate cookie crumbs
• 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Cheesecake:

• 24 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 ounces (European-style, not Greek) yogurt, room temperature, divided
• 2 tablespoons green Matcha powder
• 1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Swirl (optional)

• 1 ounce (European-Style, not Greek) yogurt
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs, sugar, salt and melted butter. Add the crust mixture into a nine-inch (10-cup) springform pan and press evenly onto the bottom of the pan until packed tightly. Transfer to the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes (unfortunately since the crumbs are so dark you can’t really tell when they’ve toasted so it’s important to pay attention to the clock). Remove from the oven and cool completely before adding the filling. Wrap the bottom of the spring form pan in a few sheets of foil and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the matcha with 1 ounce of yogurt until very smooth—be sure to really get in there to whisk out the lumps of matcha. To the bowl of a stand-up mixer, using a paddle attachment, add the cream cheese and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Next, add in the matcha yogurt mixture, reserved 3 ounces yogurt and sugar; beat until combined. With the machine one, add the eggs, one at a time, waiting until each egg is incorporated before adding the next one. Lastly, mix in the pure vanilla extract and salt.
3. To a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt and powdered sugar until smooth. If it’s thick at all (this will depend on the yogurt you’re using), you may need to add a splash of water. It should be the texture of heavy cream.
4. Pour the matcha and cream cheese filling into the springform pan and smooth out the top with a spatula. Make sure it reaches the edge of the pan. Make little dollops of sweetened yogurt all over the surface of the cream cheese. Take a skewer or popsicle stick and run it through the dollops creating a marbling effect. Make it as messy or neat as you like. Place the springform pan in a roasting pan or another pan that’s as big. Transfer to the rack of the oven and fill up the roasting pan with about 2 inches of water. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until it looks set, yet it’s still a bit wobbly in the center. Place on a cooling rack for 30 minutes and then place it in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours. (I let it set overnight.) Slice it up and serve.

Sinfully decked out in blackberries. I just love a high contrast in colors!

Cheesecake can be slightly difficult to make, being how easy it is to crack the beautiful dessert. But you can still say no to crack if you follow these tips! NEVER open your oven while the cheesecake is baking. The air and change in temperature will ruin it indefinitely. Make sure to wrap your sweetness in aluminum foil. This will trap the heat and prevent the cheesecake from being overcooked. And lastly, make sure it's being 'bathed' in water, as this also preserves the heat from accelerating too fast and therefore burning the crap out of it.

This matcha cheesecake is to die for! I put in a tad extra green tea powder for more vibrancy with the coloring.

I also added some blackberries for aesthetics and added flavor and texture. The fruit brings an acidic pop to the already very rich cheesecake. I always hate it when a dessert is way too sweet, overpowering any other taste but sugar. Blech! Doesn't it look appealing decorated in the center? I love the deep contrast in color!

You want a piece of me?

For the crust, the cookies I used were chocolate Teddy Grahams. They came out very leveled and super tight. Look at the cut on the cheesecake, I'm getting hungry! Perhaps a little side dessert with lunch today? ;-)

Black and green never looked so good together.

What's your favorite kind of cheesecake? I would've made a classic New York-style cheesecake but I wanted to do something a little more innovative - something I've also never tried making before. Let's just say the results were beyond delish! Happy Baking & Happy Hump Day! Stay warm friends. ♥

LOVE & XX'S

FOLLOW MAQ + SUZ

10 Years in New York City - Part 2

Friday's post was about the lessons I've learned from living in New York City from the past decade. Today I'm sharing with you what I did on my 10-year anniversary! First, I wanted to walk the Brooklyn Bridge with my favorite boys and take in the scenic view of my city (and to take some photos of course). It was pretty cold that day but I always find find this bridge especially to be so awe-inspiring. Talk about a landmark! Plus MaQ has never visited the Brooklyn Bridge before! I knew now was a good time as any, and it was such a treat for everyone. I really enjoy sharing as many experiences as I can with MaQ in the city of New York, he is after all a NYC dog!

MaQ & the Brooklyn Bridge. Doesn't he look majestic AF? :)

Brooklyn Bridge, you beaut. <3

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York, January 2016.

It's only about a 40 minute walk from the Brooklyn bridge to our apartment in the East Village so we walked our way back up. That's what makes commuting with a large German Shepherd rather difficult. He can't just take the subway or hop a ride on a bus. Same situation with restaurants (unless there's outdoor seating available if the weather permi). But walking through the streets of New York is also one of my favorite things to do with my furry man. I just love watching the world go by and he loves greeting them. On our walk up we made a couple pit stops to check out some graffiti and street art, something I've been documenting though the years with MaQ. As you can see in the photo below with Danielle Mastrion's incredible portrait, he is a natural born model. I also really love the first photo of this post because some of things I cherish most in life are apparent in it. Art, love, life, even rock music. New York, you are just supremely awesome. I can't believe how lucky I am to live here every day!

My husband surprised me for lunch at Cipriani Downtown. It's one of my favorite restaurants in New York. It's a more casual version of Harry Cipriani, and Downtown offers a slightly less formal menu than its uptown predecessor. Beautifully designed, the restaurant offers outdoor dining when the weather is agreeable, serving lunch and dinner in a party-like atmosphere. Not to mention the hip artwork and gorgeous people surrounding you as you dine. We shared the tuna tartar while downing their well-known Bellinis, a famous staple of Cip's. They're are the absolute best. For our main course, I had their scampi asparagus risotto and the hubby went for some delicious gnocchi. Like I've mentioned before, I'm a foodie and unfortunately foodie addicts like myself will sometimes forget to take photos of all our food that's to be enjoyed. Oops. :X All I have to tell you is it was damn good.

Cipriani Downtown, New York City.

Cheers to the best Bellinis in the world!

Cipriani's Tuna Tartar. One word. Amazing.

I chose where to have dinner. On my very first night in New York, ten years ago, I went out partying like a mad woman until the wee hours of the morning before finally stopping at a 24-hr open Korean restaurant in K-Town. It was a blast. But fast forward ten years later, I wanted Korean again, but I wanted something a bit more upscale. We're talking a big celebration, y'all! I wanted the ultimate dining experience with a fantastic view. Enter: Gaonnuri. A penthouse-level joint (39th floor) in K-Town, this stylish Korean eatery offers panoramic views & tabletop BBQ. The meat was top quality; the service, impeccable. And the views were out of this world. I really want to try their Black Forest Cake on Fire dessert, but I was far too stuffed my first time around. A true gem I discovered in the heart of Koreatown and because of my sweet tooth (and hungry fatty-status), I will definitely be coming back soon! Very soon. :) 

Empire State Building lit up in red and green.

Now, THIS is Korean BBQ. :)

Spectacular views from K-Town!

With all these celebrations I'm left feeling remindful of what's important. Sure I have a tendency to get caught up in my work, but that shouldn't be a reason not to enjoy the little things. For example, I haven't been to a New York museum in a few years (YIKES), I itch a blog post coming up on this very soon... stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by and we wish you a great start to your week! :)

Love & xx's

10 Years in New York City - Part 1

Woah, it's official! This week marks my ten year anniversary living in New York City! I'm incredibly proud to finally be able to call myself a real New Yorker! In the past decade, I've changed careers twice, wrote my first novel, found MaQ, the German Shepherd dog I've always wanted since I was a child, and married the man of my dreams. Phew! But it's true what they say, "If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere." One helluva ride, I've been doing a lot of reflecting over the past decade of my life and how far I've come. It's been a very humbling experience and New York has helped me grow in ways I didn't even know were possible. So, here are 10 things I've learned on my journey as a New Yorker.

Brooklyn Bridge.

1. YOU BETTER WORK!

RuPAUL, you are preaching to the choir! Living in NYC is ridiculously expensive and everyone out here wants their fair-shared bite out of the Big Apple. But in order to party hard, you better work even harder. And I mean you better work like you've never worked in your entire life! I've been working since the age of 12 and nothing ever came easy for me. For many years, I've held down 2 to 3 jobs at once all the while working on other projects like my novel or whipping up some new recipes or coming up with a new photographic series. I've worked my butt off to get to where I am today. And that kind of work ethic is vital to be able to live here. It's not even an option.

2. LOVE WHAT YOU DO.

Words are my life and have always been my gateway to outward expression and my release from the trials and tribulations of life. I had dabbled in creative writing such as short stories and some poetry during my adolescence, even getting a few of my poems published while in college. So, I started writing again after transplanting myself from the Motor City to the island of Manhattan. It was like a lightning bolt had struck me, straight to the core. Immediately I knew I wanted to take my writing more seriously. This could be my way of helping and contributing to society and most importantly, do something I love doing, no matter how long it was going to take to work my way towards becoming an established writer. Here if you want it bad enough you'll do it for free, but my firm belief is never work for money and/or success. Your work should feel significant and meaningful to you. Work for a cause, not for applause. The money will follow. Hard work pays off, for real though!

3. CAN'T READ MY POKER FACE.

Ever hear how New Yorkers aren't the smiling type? It's true. Sort of. We're honest folks, pretty blunt actually in it's truest and rawest form. New Yorkers are not about letting people know too much of their business because most people don't care, they're just curious. Nosey. Nobody's got time for that! They want to see you do good (perhaps), but never better than them - something I will never understand. I'm everyone's cheerleader! Why would you want someone to lose rather than win? Because it's an extremely competitive town and after a few years even, being in the Concrete Jungle, I think a person is only bound to build that "don't mess with me" type of NYC mentality. Plus it wards off the cacklers, trollers, fakes and haters of the world while keeping yourself in check!

4. THE FOOD HERE IS UNLIKE ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.

I may be tiny and petite, but I can eat like a horse. I LOVE FOOD. But my upbringing, in terms of food experience, wasn't very eclectic. I grew up mostly on Korean and American food. As a kid, The Olive Garden and Red Lobster were considered one of the 'nicer' restaurants. But living in NYC where the culinary melting pot is literally right outside your apartment, is one of my greatest pleasures living here. Never have I eaten better or with more wonder and joy than I have in the past ten years. NYC really does have every type of ethnic cuisine you can imagine and I've learned so much about cooking and food in general. Okay, now I need to stop talking about this. My stomach's growling. ;-) But seriously, you haven't had food until you've been to New York!

5. OOEY GOOEY ROMANCE AT IT'S FINEST

When I think of all the sights and sounds of the city, I am filled with so many memories (good and bad, and just downright ugly) of my past relationships. New York City is a great place to be single, but I think it's an even better place to fall in love. Two different types of people with two different types of perspectives, equals countless hours of exploring the city. Different parts of the city. Sure it's great to do some solo-adventuring, but it's the best when shared with someone you deeply love. Some of my favorite memories are nestled in this gorgeous town with the love of my life. My husband and I met in the East Village, he proposed at the Metropolitan Opera and we married in Central Park at Strawberry Fields, right on top of the John Lennon, 'Imagine' memorial. For me, the city brings out your romantic side, at full speed! Unforgettable moments. For reals.

6. NOTHING GOES AS PLANNED.

My dad used to say, "If you want to make God laugh, just tell Him your plans." My five year plan after college was to join the police force. (I know, what?! I'll tell y'all about it another time.) Obviously I changed my mind, ha ha! I'm very thankful for all the experiences that I've gained from the different jobs I've had through the years. I'm constantly evolving as a person, and I think all that personal growth from work has helped mold me into who I am today. When I stopped trying to plan my life down to every single detail, the better life has become. Not to say that you should be some irresponsible hot mess, but unplanned events, both positive or negative, can lead to wonderful things. Don't try so hard because life really does have a funny way of working things out. Letting go can be very powerful. Everything will fall into place whether you like it or not!

New York City Skyline.

7. DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU HOW TO LIVE HERE.

Life in NYC is not at all like the way the TV and big screen depict it. It's the fashion capital of the world, but not everyone is running around like Carrie Bradshaw. People dress the way they want to dress. New Yorkers do what they want to do and they do what they got to do too. This place can eat you alive, so never try to live by someone else's way. Be authentic and be true to yourself, through thick and thin, because the city life can get pretty stressful. Sometimes too much it seems. But don't give up. Be real to yourself. If you are, no matter what difficulties life wants to throw your way, you'll be able to figure it out. Look at how much pressure goes into making a diamond! That's the beauty of New York, you never know what can happen!

8. STAY CONNECTED BUT WATCH YOUR BACK.

It's all about who you know in this town but if that means having to force yourself in dealing with highly toxic people, walk away. You don't have to sacrifice your dignity or integrity for anyone or anything. That's far too important, to me at least, and life's too short. Work with those you can grow and learn from. If they're not bringing anything to the table and it's just negative, time to move on. You deserve better. It's tough being appreciated here, because the city of New York doesn't owe you anything. It's nothing personal and no one's perfect after all, but this shouldn't make you have to short-list what you feel is fair or right for yourself. Networking and staying connected is an imperative tool in New York, but that doesn't mean there's no snakes in the grass.

9. MAKE TIME AND SPACE FOR YOURSELF.

I will forever be a city girl at heart. The idea of living in the middle of nowhere with not much to do is a little nerve-wrecking to me. In my opinion that's too much space! But sometimes the city feels like there's not enough space. Trust me, you know what I'm talking about if you've ever squeezed into a subway car train during rush hour like sardines in a can! There is no sense of personal space in the city. So it's good to take a retreat every once in a while. I always feel rejuvenated and revived after spending some quiet time with nature and being outdoors. It does the body and soul good. :)

10. LIVING IN NYC VS. BEING IN NYC

Ambition means more in this town than talent, but that shouldn't deter you from having some kind of social life. Don't just work, play! There's a million and one things to do in NYC and one of the biggest perks living here is being able to do them. I've been to the Brooklyn Bridge many many times, but I particularly wanted to walk it with my boys on my ten year anniversary living here. It is such an epic landmark and was quite the New York moment to have. Make the most of this city because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

My city, my town. New York City Forever, baby!

Well, New York - I made it. And on my own terms. Feeling pretty groovy and happy to be alive. Keep banging. I will always love you. (But not without my whips and chains, you naughty city you! I need to straighten you out from time to time!) :P

Cheers to the greatest city in the world! Stay tuned for Part 2 of my NYC anniversary extravaganza! ♥

Love & xx's

Happy New Year!

Wishing our readers a very happy and prosperous 2016! May the New Year bring you joy, love and success! We are so thankful to be surrounded by such wonderful, talented people throughout the world. We love you. Many blessings. x.

Best New Year's Party Ever! Self-Portrait, NYC, 2016.

Ready to Pawty!!!

Midnight Kiss. xo. Love. Always.

Happy New Year from MaQ!

Love & xx's,