Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Holiday Merriment with CKMDP: Katrina Centeno of Calligraphy Katrina Maison du Papier

Katrina Suarez Lariza-Centeno,
Calligraphy Katrina Maison du Papier

Name/Nickname:  Katrina Suarez Lariza-Centeno
Nicknames:  Kat, Katkat                
Company and established date:  Calligraphy Katrina est. 2007 and Maison du Papier est. 2010
Hometown (where are you from and where are you now)?  Manila, Philippines and Pasadena, California
Position and job title:  Owner, Calligrapher and Stationer
Credentials/Mini Bio about yourself:  “This is how I wrote since I was a kid…” That was pretty much how a small nudge, a binder for samples, a stack of pens, and a free e-mail became the tools that made my $10 investment into the brightest idea I could possibly ever conjure up.  For the past 5 years, thanks to the wonderful folks who would give me the opportunity, I have had the pleasure to work with hundreds of brides, private companies, and even television shows alike.  With good ethics and quality intact, we will always strive keep learning and do better every day.
Fam Bam:  Thankful for the having the best family.  Our amazing clan is my soul.  I live for these people.  My grandmother, mom, and my little siblings are backbones.  It’s difficult to have a genetic fiber that consist a high level of intellectual capacity.  But you will never meet the most down-to-earth, generous, and obnoxiously happy and warm folks who love to entertain and eat.  Someday I wish to even be worth being inducted with the family name.  I’ve also been in love with the same amazing dude for 6 years and we share two cats, Sox, and Natsu.


1.       Tell us 7 Random Things about yourself (hidden talents and really RANDOM jazz about yourself)? 
a.       I got accepted to Yale.  I have the “Nerd Bug”
b.       I’m a type A.  I like to color code my lists and production schedules. (I’m in love with my Moleskine)
c.        I would feel naked without my pearl earrings, watch, and at least 2 splashes of perfume (yes, I do count)
d.       I have a very sensitive nose, hence the countless hours of candle and scented oil burning.
e.       I am a classically trained chef and worked as one simultaneously during the first 2 years doing Calligraphy Katrina.
f.         I pray every day and every night.  I've been volunteering at our church since I was 13.
g.       I’ve kept my friends since I was 3.  Even the ones that live more than a thousand miles away.
2.       Favorite Holiday Scent:  Cranberries and Apples.  It’s just not the holidays without it
3.       Favorite Holiday Activity: the cookin’ and the decoratin’
4.       Favorite Holiday Tradition: Christmas Mass, and the endless amount of get-togethers
5.       Favorite Holiday Food:  The ham and desserts
6.       Favorite Holiday Memory:  My childhood in the Philippines was filled with traditions from Night Mass to a variety of street foods.  I wish I could back soon!
7.       Favorite Holiday Present ever received and given:  Received an iPod that I still use.  I gave my boyfriend a star that I named after him and a concert ticket for my mom for the TranSiberian Orchestra.  Most memorable: a gag gift for my sister – PlayDoh! =)
8.       Gift you wish you receive this year?  My sanity, perhaps!? An iPad would be nice.
9.       Favorite Perfume:  That’s hard! Viktor Flowerbomb, Eclat de Arpege by Lanvin, Chanel Mademoiselle, Tocca Colette, and Miss Cherie Dior
10.   What are the flowers, herbs and trees that you can’t live without (Because  we need plants to breath)? 
a.       Flowers: Roses, Lilies, Tulips, Hydrangeas and Ranunculus
b.       Herbs: Rosemary and Lavender
c.        Trees: Oak
11.   What is your secret beauty regiment??  Please do share!  Haha! I’m weird.  I actually do this like a choreographed dance twice a day.  Eucerin on my face, Aquaphor on my lips, Scented lotion on my arms, Vaseline lotion on my legs, and No Crack or L’Occitane on my hands.  (Yes, in this order)
12.   CLOSET RAID!  What types and brands of clothing do you own? Aka, we want to know your fashionista style:
a.       Types: Let’s just say I wish I had a larger walk-in closet.  My tops dominate my shoes.
b.       Brands: JCrew, BCBG, and Madewell.  I can also live in Anthropologie
c.        How do you keep them organized?: I literally have them per type.  Then per color. Is that weird?
13.   Tell us your favorite clothing item (keep it PG please)? I’m a sucker for coats
14.   Home and Kitchen Furnishing:  If I can live in Pottery Barn, Z Gallerie and Restoration Hardware, I would.  I get my kitchen essentials from Sur La Table and Crate and Barrel as well.
15.   Publications in your rack other than the wedding kinds:  Real Simple, Vanity Fair, Vogue, InStyle, W, Marie Claire
16.   Book Collections in your library:  Normal Rockwell, Volumes by Shakespeare and Jane Austen, Wedding and Kitchen books, and so much more
17.   What would you do with $100 million dollars? (No Judgment here!) 
a.       What your conscience would do?:  Put it aside for retirement. 
b.       What you’d probably do?: Go on a major world tour!
18.   Vacay Spot, hit us with good travel ideas, or maybe your tranquil retreat center?  (It’s a stressful working world yah’ know!)  Not to be bias but the Philippines is a gem.  The family loves the white beaches of Boracay.  I loved Australia and New York for sure!  But if you just want a good drive, just do it along the 1 freeway overlooking the ocean.  As long as you’re with good company, does it really matter?
19.   How do you relax?  On a good day, I’d love to go for massages.  But seriously, I’d rather just be out and eat.
20.   Your SPOT ! What is your favorite spot? Any coffee shop? Restaurants? Places of Interest? I love a good stroll at the Huntington Library in Pasadena.  We definitely overuse that membership!  Intelligentsia, Figaro, Honda-ya, Pazzo Gelato, The Cheese Store of BH, Wurstkuche, and Bottega Louie.  I can walk all day in Whole Foods and I’d be pretty much set.
21.   Fill in the blank with a technology item:   I feel naked without my ­________?  Blackberry
22.   What is your rendezvous food and drink?  And what must your pantry/fridge have, can’t live without food/drink item?   I snack with Brie D’Affinoise and olives.  Down that with Rieme Pomegranate lemonade.  That’s at least when I do get to snack!
23.   Music playlist essentials :  I love Jazz, Rnb, really anything mellow from Adele to Sinatra, from Michael Buble to Boyz II Men, from Owl City to Chopin
24.   What songs stuck in your head from this season? Kost 103.5 pretty much got me covered with holiday songs.  Diamonds in the Sky by Rihanna.  I mean, they only play that song at least once per hour!
25.   What’s in your Fave Channel list, DVR or movie collection?  Friends, CNN, American Horror Story, Travel Channel, E! and HGTV
26.   Favorite people and public figure:  My grandparents
27.   Any regrets in life? I wish I had a better first kiss and prom.
28.   What would you change or try to regain about yourself? Regain confidence.  I used to be a talker!


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