Patricia Karina

My mother derived it from a russian novel by Leo Tolstoy. Something about the main character’s name, Anna Karenina, appealed to my mom so much that she decided to name her first born daughter after her . Ok, so at some point she evidently decided to customize it a bit. She replaced Anna with her own name (Patricia) and took the “en” out of Karenina and shortened it to Karina. Now, anyone who knows my mom will tell you that she is one of the most noble, virtuous, and trustworthy women you’ll ever meet. Therefore, all my life I just always assumed that this character, from whom my mother drew her inspiration for my name, must have been equally as great as, well, my mom. Right? Nope, not even close. Being that Russian literature hasn’t exactly been my prowess, I never realized till recently that Anna Karenina was actually an unhappy and adulteress woman, who left her husband and son to live with her lover, and eventually committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. Really mom? Really? Couldn’t we have gone with Mother Theresa or maybe a nice relative? 

Actually, I love my name . It’s who I am. It’s what my family has called me all my life and still does. It’s how I initial the bottom of my love notes to Mark and it’s what he calls me when he leaves me sweet loving voicemails. So with that said, I’m excited to announce that my identity crisis is over! For months now, I’ve been contemplating giving my brand a complete facelift and flirting with the idea of using my middle name instead of my last name. I wanted my logo and brand name to represent my past, my present, and my future. Although Patricia Hildebrand falls into two of the three categories, Patricia Karina encompasses all three. It’s been an exciting yet long and complicated process but after doing some soul searching and gaining the feedback of my closest friends and family, especially Mark, I’m thrilled to debut my new logo and brand! Drum Roll Please………….

There you have it! Simple, clean, and modern! I’m thrilled! I’m also glad to announce that with the change in brand comes a new email, blog, and website. Stay tuned as these things will also debut in the coming months!

So thanks to my remarkable mother who, with a bit of customization, came up with my name and thus my brand. I’m glad to say that I haven’t lived up to the name Karina……but I surely hope to be half the Patricia my mother is.

Overflowing……

My fondest childhood memories are of packing up for the weekend, leaving Miami, and driving 3 plus hours to the beautiful beaches on the west coast of Florida. On our way up, we would drive through Alligator Alley which became a battle ground for my cousin Olga and I as we would viciously compete to see who could spot the most alligators. To this day, I’m 100% convinced she cheated every time. She was infamous for pointing out lilly pads and other random objects in the canal and somehow convince everyone it was a gator’s head. Oh look, a twig!….one point for Olga. Oh look, a ripple in the water!….another point for Olga. Olga 231, Patty 4. I’m not bitter, really, I’m not. Regardless of Olga’s cheating winning streak or whether it was Naples, Marco Island or Ft.Myers, one thing was always the same, I was with my parents, cousins, aunts, and uncles……..and I felt loved.

As I drove to Lynchburg this past weekend, my heart could hardly deal with the excitement. Waiting for me in Lynchburg were the best friends a girl could ask for, a cousin who, despite her lack of integrity as a child, I hadn’t seen in a long time, and a precious baby boy named Eli who I could NOT wait to meet for the first time!! This weekend turned out to be a serious amount of soul food for me in the form of fun, great conversations, and amazing and much needed fellowship. As much as we love our spouses, and I L-O-V-E mine, there’s no doubt that a girl needs her girl “friendship love tank” filled occasionally.

The love tank filling fest began with meeting Eli. You may remember Tricia & Ian’s pregnancy pictures back in October. Well Eli arrived about 3 months ago and I met him for the first time this past Friday. It was love at first sight. Although Tricia probably didn’t notice, seeing the little guy for the first time put a knot the size of Texas in my throat. That’s a big knot folks. I was completely humbled thinking back at everything my best friend went through to finally have this precious little guy. It was totally worth it all. My cousin Olga came in later that day and it was so great seeing her! I love seeing people from different spectrums of my life come together and totally mesh. That’s my cousin Olga. She embraces my friends as her own and my friends just can’t help but do the same to her. Love tank status: Half way full.

Our entourage got bigger when Natalie’s sister Michelle came in later that night for the main event! For weeks now, Michelle, Nikki, and I, otherwise known as the shower planning committee, had been trading phone calls and emails in attempts to plan a phenomenal bridal shower for a phenomenal girl. Seeing Natalie at her shower in a state of complete amazement, happiness, and appreciation was worth it all. Love tank status: 3/4 full. The venue was outstanding at Boonsboro Country Club and the main attraction, other than Natti, was the stunning and succulent Victoria’s Secret cake. If you’re in the lynchburg area and need a spectacular cake, you’ve got to check out the uber talented Wendy Coffey. Her creations are amazing and it was a complete pleasure working with her.

Finally, Saturday night rolled around and I found myself surrounded by best friends, great food, and lots of laughter. Love tank status: Overflowing!!!! So whether I was loving on Eli, having a slumber party at Natti’s, running wild all over Lynchburg looking for flowers for the shower, or just sitting around talking and laughing with my best friends, one thing remained the same…….I felt loved.

February 28, 2009: Matthew & Brandy

When Brandy contacted me over the phone a few months ago her goodness and sincerity filtered through my iPhone into an application that evaluates and determines whether the person would be good to work with. Ok, not really, but I wouldn’t put past Apple to come up with such an application. But all cheesy joking aside, I truly did sense that this was a special girl in a special relationship and what more could a wedding photographer ask for in a subject? Their day consisted of a warm and charming bed & breakfast downtown Indianapolis in addition to the love and support of their 20 closest friends and family. The setting made for great fellowship and intimacy, which I loved because it gave me greater insight into this special couple. What I discovered was that this thing Matt and Brandy share is, well, it’s the real deal. I wish you both God’s best in your journey together and will always be thankful you gave me the opportunity to document your “real deal”.

 

They’re coming……

Major changes that is!!! Stay tuned!