Custom White Persian Cat Portrait Mug

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Last December, I had the pleasure of drawing Charlotte the White Persian cat. When asked about her personality, her mama's friend Sarah called her a very regal and prissy cat who loves long naps. Sounds good to me, I need a long nap.

Sarah also revealed that Charlotte has quite the brush collection. She has four brushes and chooses which brush she wants to be brushed with!

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Have your kitty's portrait made on a mug or plate at my Etsy store.

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Behind the scenes (please ignore my holiday crafting mess):

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Why yes, those are penguins putting up a Christmas tree pajama pants.

Photos by Tina Phan

NACUFS 2011 Sketchnotes: Howard Putnam on Leadership

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Behold my notes from Southwest Airlines' former CEO, Howard Putnam's General Session - Leadership: Successful Strategies Through Transformation.

Howard's speech left me so inspired. Here are some of my favorite ideas, typed up like a normal person:

  • "Hire attitudes, develop the skills"
  • "MLK never said I have a strategic plan. He said, 'I have a dream.'"
  • "Turbulence is inevitable, but misery is optional."
    I misdrew this one in the sketchnotes. It totally makes more sense this way.
  • "Treat employees as number one."
  • "Let people make the decisions."
  • "When the time to perform arrives, the time to prepare has passed."
  • The power of a handwritten note.
    I completely and wholeheartedly believe in this one. In this tech-dependent world full of texts, tweets, emails, Facebook, and blogs (ahem...www.kathyphantastic.com), a handwritten note is magical. One on really gorgeous stationery? Doublestuf that dose of magic.

I usually love keynote speakers. When they're good, what you learn is applicable to life, regardless of your current job.

If you read the title of this post, first of all, thanks for reading. Second, you're probably wondering what is NACUFS? I suppose the university food service industry is not as glam and popular as it thinks it is. NACUFS is the National Association of College and University Food Services and they have a national conference each year.

This year, it was (semi-)conveniently held at the Gaylord Texan in Dallas, Texas. And of course, the year I'm selected to represent The University of Texas at Austin, the conference is in a city I already visit a few times a year. By the way, the Gaylord Texan is like a whole 'nother country in a whole 'nother country.

Find out what others were saying at #NACUFS2011.

And if you feel like it, take a peak at some of my other kathyphantastic sketchnotes. I'll be adding more from NACUFS 2011 and SXSW 2011.

SXSWi 2011 Sketchnotes - So I Started a Food Blog

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via kathyphantastic on flickr.com

Panel: So I Started a Food Blog

Presenter: Molly Wizenberg of Orangette 
Moderator: Emily Farris of Casserole Crazy

Orangette always makes me smile. Orangette was the first food blog I started following years ago. This Monday, I had the opportunity to see her speak at SXSWi.

Molly is not only a blogger, but also a freelance food writer, author of A Homemade Life, and owner of Delancey restaurant in Seattle. The lessons from Molly's talk contrasted with TECHmunch, a food blogger conference which I also attended for work and life. More on TECHmunch in a later post...

Molly focused on why we blog and the story behind the food. I hope my notes help you understand the feel of her talk.

Just in case you're wondering, here's my favorite recipe from Orangette's blog: Chickpea Salad with and Lemon Parmesan. It's super simple, just make sure you buy the best ingredients.