Moments of January 2014

Upper row: 1. Holiday Break. 2. 2014.  3. Shirt Dress in Winter?

Middle row: 1. Color Cravings. 2. Little Birdie. 3. Bold.

Lower row: 1. Spring Spirit. 2. As Bright As The Sun. 3. How I Wear My Coat

Not so many outfits this month - January was a very reflective, inward focused time for me. I might write about it a little later. Let's see what I learned in my style self-discovery during this period. I continue with bright vivid colors, and I am definitely drawn to simple shapes, and in general, simpler, more relaxed look. It might be just for the time being - we'll see where the journey takes me. :) I had a few wonderful purchases this month - colored jeans and sweaters are my absolute favorites. I feel like I can combine them together in endless ways and never get bored. For the first time in my life, I bought a statement necklace - love it, love it! Its vibrant hues go with every sweater I bought - sometimes I am thankful to the mass market which makes it so easy to pair things these days (though, it might always be this way in Western world - what do I know, I grew up in a completely different culture where everything was in deficit and we had to get really creative to look stylish). Don't know what else to add. Feeling pretty content with what I've got these days. Content and inward-oriented. :) Oh, I did have one small disappointment at the very end of the month though. I found a sweater I really liked, which was out of stock. I paid pretty good money for it on ebay (well, compared to all my on-sale items I mean). And the parcel was lost. It never did make it here. We live in a nice cozy neighborhood, and none of our packages were stolen before. So it is more of a surprise really than frustration. Don't know why, but I'm just fine with all of it. Things happen. :)

As Bright As The Sun

I have been watching this sweater by Lane Bryant for a little while. And when I ran into $14.99 sweater sale at the store, I got four in different colors - all rich and vibrant, just as I like. You can get this deal at your local LB store - practically, you get four sweaters for the price of one (regular prices $50 or $60 depending on design). So when the sun is out, you are also out and as bright as the sun. :)

Spring Spirit

Spring is usually in the air by the end of January where I live. Garden stores start offering spring flowers - it's always primrose first, - camellia bush begins to blossom by my kitchen window, and I go through my wardrobe in search for spring spirit. 

Bold

Fashion bloggers are one of my most favorite sources of style inspiration. Ideas flow from a computer screen into a room of my modest little cottage as soon as I enter a password and open my blogroll. Some ideas fly in and then away, but rare ones simply don't have a chance, because I open my closet and start playing with the pieces I own in a new way. That is what happened today.

Little Birdie

I found this lovely sweater on the Old Navy web site a few days ago (I admit it - I was inspired by bloggers! again!). I fell in love with the design. It seemed so fun yet delicate at the same time... The sweater was on clearance, and the only size left was... mine! I took it as a sign and immediately paid the whole ten bucks for it! :) I am glad that I did because the item disappeared from the site soon after that. But of course, I wasn't sure whether the sweater would be as nice in reality as it seemed in the picture, and whether it actually would fit me. I couldn't wait for the package to arrive. When my daughter finally brought the parcel home today, I said out loud, "I hope I really like it!"

Color Cravings

In one of my earlier posts, Reflections, I was admitting to myself (and to my readers) that I haven't discovered how to express the fun, artistic side of me just yet. Well, I guess such things come in layers, or your understanding of such things comes in a spiral, when you more or less slowly discover many levels of the same quest. I wanted to explore color - and I've done it a lot! I mean, for me, it is definitely a lot. I was much more modest with my colors before starting blogging, and even before December when I finally put all these thoughts into words. 

Shirt Dress in Winter?

So let's see what happened lately, in a couple of weeks when I wasn't posting any new outfits. Hmm... As my holiday gifts, I received a few parcels from a few different companies, and it was easy enough to decide what to keep and what not to keep, so I returned a few dresses and one pair of pants and kept a couple of things which I plan to show some time soon in the blog. I cut my hair almost two weeks ago - and it is how it looks now, amazing how leisurely my hair grows. :) I started taking yoga classes, and not just yoga, but hot yoga, which makes sense to me, being Russian who adores banya (Russian version of sauna). And finally, as a family, we celebrated our daughter's 11th birthday (her party for friends is tomorrow).

Siberian Winter

This winter is not very typical for Siberia. (And yes, Siberia is an enormous area - so there are a lot of variations in the climate.) Typically, we would get a lot of snow in the winter time. But not this year. There is not so much snow, and my parents worry that their vegetable garden will not survive the winter very well. Here is the hope that snow is on the way, and all the trees and bushes will be nice and warm under a snow cozy blanket (well, it is cozy to them!).

Online Style Party: How I Wear My... Coat

Jill of Everything Just So and Adrienne of The Rich Life on a Budget will co-host another monthly "online party" tomorrow, and I am participating again! I can't wait to see all the gorgeous women and all their gorgeous coats. Make sure that you don't miss it too - check out both blogs tomorrow!

Holiday Break

When I lived in Russia, New Year was the biggest and most beloved holiday for me - as it was and still is for the majority of Russians. The way we celebrated it was very similar to the way Americans celebrate Christmas. We decorated Christmas trees inside of our apartments or houses, and there was also a huuuuuge tree outside - in every town, every city neighborhood. Those outdoor trees would be decorated with lights and hand made decorations (made by children in public schools). I lived in Siberia, and along with the tall decorated Christmas tree, we would have beautiful ice towns with fortresses, slides and figures of fairy tale characters. The whole family would gather around a beautifully arranged dinner table with tons of tasty Russian foods, we would open a bottle of champagne and welcome and greet the New Year with all our big open hearts as soon as the clock  strikes 12... This would repeat every December 31st, over and over again, year after year, with very little variations - and yes, I just absolutely loved it! When you change continents, you take a few things with you and leave many things behind. And it goes for some traditions too.

2014

I am not big on New Year's resolutions. I honestly think that I have never made any resolutions for an upcoming year. Dreams - yes, many. Resolutions or plans - no. But this year I've decided to make a resolution for myself. Just one - but a huge one.

Moments of December 2013

Upper Row: 1. Winter Teal. 2. My "Uzbek" Dress: Part 1. 3. Not Your Common Peacoat and Colorful Life. 4. My "Uzbek" Dress: Part 2.

Middle Row: 1. Sparkly. 2. Bold Colors and Black Ruana. 3. Camel and Teal. 4. Let It Snow: Part 1.

Lower Row: 1. Let It Snow: Part 2. 2. Purple for Happy Days. 3. Reversible. 4. Sunset Colors at the Grandview Trail.

A quick glance back on my December outfits before I begin the New Year here in the blog. :)

I only picked 12 outfits for this collage. There were some more, but they were either very similar or I just did not like them that much. Seeing myself regularly on pictures helps me to understand better what I like and what I don't. Being the one who had been taking photos of people on a weekly and sometimes even daily basis non-stop for over three years in a row (and it was only a very tiny part of what I had been doing during those years), I realized at some point that I almost have no photographs of myself in these years. I had some, but very little compared to thousands of pictures of others which I took. I practically forgot what I looked like! So now, it is such an indulgence to see myself in photographs and get to know myself almost like someone new. This blog helped me to understand that I like simpler fitted shapes on me, but vibrant colors - they make me feel happy! The last month was all about this realization, I think.