Navigating Life's Big Pivots with Kinda Arzon, Celebrity Photographer

True or False? Often our greatest ideas and selves come from the most questionable and trying of moments.

I’m voting “true” from my own experiences, but also the countless examples throughout history, and even as recently as the pandemic.

Take it from my interview with Kinda Arzon.

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Wait Wait Wait….DRUMROLL PLEASE - it’s the series premier of Smart is the New Sexy and this deserves some BIG EXCITEMENT!!!

In Episode One I sat down with one of my closest and longest of friends (like 30 years long), Kinda Arzon. She's a nationally-recognized celebrity photographer (featured in WSJ, eNews, US weekly, People Magazine, etc), Syrian-American food blogger, mother, wife, friend and so much more.

She's an inspiration to many.

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At age 13, Kinda and her family left everything they knew in Syria, including friends and family, to move to Chicago. They didn't look or sound anything like the people in their new home. (This is when we would meet and become best friends).

But Kinda has always had a way of embracing change and gracefully navigating her life's pivotal moments. While she’s no stranger to feeling nervous (she’s human afterall) she's always remained optimistic and ingenuitive. Perhaps this is what's allowed her to make pools of lemonade from lemons.

With big moves, a nontraditional marriage, new starts and new careers, she continues to shine.

Knowing all of this, it felt slightly selfish to keep her story to all myself. So, a little over a year ago, she agreed to do an interview.

But as life would have it, a pandemic struck, SITNS filming paused and her career as photographer would be put on hold.

Now, back in Chicago, after a decade in California, she’s combined her love of cooking with her knack for capturing moments and became what we now know as the @FalafelDiva.

So while I'm confident her story will inspire you, I'm also sure her Kanefa recipe will

Tune in to watch her story unfold and grab her delicious Kanefa recipe at the end (and below!).

If you know someone in need of an inspiring story during life's big changes, share this interview with them.

And remember, you’re capable of amazing things, even when life gives you lemons.

Follow Kinda at @FalafelDiva & @KindaArzonPhotography

Kenafe - كنافة Recipe

Kenafeh or Kanafeh is a very famous Middle Eastern dessert made with thin noodle-like shredded dough, layered with cheese, and topped with sugar syrup and pistachios.

Here is what you need:

1 box of Kataifi Shredded Dough
15 oz Ricotta Cheese
3/4 cup unsalted butter - melted Crushed Pistachios for garnish
Sugar Syrup (You can find the recipe here)

Lets start:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Open up the box of shredded dough and break it up by hand so they are not sticking together.
Add butter and mix by hand well until all the shredded dough is coated. Butter the baking dish.
Place buttered shredded dough on the bottom of the baking dish and press down to seal it together.
Add Ricotta cheese. Add second Layer of Shredded dough on top of cheese and press down to seal it.
Bake uncovered for 20 mins until top appears golden.
Remove from Oven and pour simple syrup on top so it will soak through.
Garnish with Pistachios.

For more recipes, visit Falafeldiva.com

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Hey! I’m Arsiak.

Hi I’m Arsiak Vartenian and I’m the Founder and Host of ‘Smart is the New Sexy’ an uplifting talk show and online platform that highlights the power of dreaming big through storytelling, connection, community, and heart.

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