Lighthearted

I would love to finish this month on a lighthearted note. After all, it is the last full Winter month (and the last Winter month for Russians - we believe that the 1st of March is the official beginning of Spring!). I also would love to thank you all for such a wonderful feedback to my blog. It is a joy and honor to be able to connect with you all - beautiful, generous, talented and extremely supportive and positive women who are doing some amazing stuff with their lives! It is both encouraging, empowering and humbling in the best possible way. Thank you! :)

Shaman

Sometimes in the middle of Summer I start terribly missing Fall. I look at Fall pictures, I write and read something Autumn-ish, and I notice that very often we get cool days right after my innocent little "shamanism"... And now I miss Spring. I notice that days are getting longer - it's not dark yet at 6 PM these days, and not so long ago it was dark right after 4 PM. I notice that birds sing more cheerfully and first flowers bloom on bushes, in pots and in the ground...

We did this photo shoot almost a year ago, in April of 2013. For the first time in my life, I posted my outfit photos in an online style community.

Warm Neutrals

I plead guilty! 

I am utterly in love with warmth - with warm colors, warm textures or materials. I will most probably pick wood and fabric over glass and metal. Just as I will pick brass and gold over silver and platinum. And when it comes to neutral colors, I prefer warm browns and beige to black and gray. I love warm interiors. I love warmth in art. And I absolutely love and treasure warmth in people and relationships.

Guilty I am!

Exposed

I was debating with myself about what to wear with this happy orange stripy turtleneck which I have had for ages, it seems, and suddenly remembered this skirt I bough last Spring because I really loved the color. I started paying attention to Lane Bryant back then. I think before last Spring, I might have bought a thing or two from them (in case you don't know - it is one of a few American brands which designs clothes for women specifically in plus sizes, 14 and up). That in itself is a curious subject. As a gal who was on both sides, a regular 6-8 US, and gradually over the last few years grew into 16-18 US, I know a little too well how difficult this transition can be.

Asian

I always liked Asian inspired clothing and used to have a few tops either made of vibrantly colored silk or of intricately embroidered linen, with delicate Asian lines such as the traditional collar and splits on the sides, usually mid-hip length, with or without sleeves. That was years ago though, and because my body changed a lot in the last few years, I did not keep most of my clothing. 

Flirty Filosopher

Happy Valentine's Day! (a bit belated one :)

When it comes to celebration, I am in! When it comes to celebrations of love, I am in all the ways! All sorts of love deserve to be celebrated - romantic love is just one form of it (feels wonderful though), and what about love to your kids, parents, siblings, friends? And how about love to the place you live in, to the ocean, to the mountains? And don't forget about love to your pets! And all your little beloved цацки? (Collectors will understand!) Love of writing? Love of being free? Love of life, for pity's sake!

Quirky

I came across these pair of shoes last Spring at Nordstrom Rack. They are by Jeffrey Campbell, quite an edgy Californian brand of shoes, and they are nothing like I've had before - or even like I've seen before. Quite cosmic. Quite edgy. Quite quirky. I had no idea how I would wear them, but I felt instantly in love, almost like with an art object. I love everything about them! There is not one single detail I don't enjoy. They are partly vintage, partly hippy, and partly Japan to me.

Genius

No worries, the snow melted long ago - it covered the ground just for one night and a few hours of last Sunday, and now we are experiencing lots of rain in Seattle (we are good at it, you probably heard the rumor). Justin was really surprised to see me walking in these open shoes in snow, but hey - it was pretty nice outside, and I couldn't resist anyway. This outfit was on my mind for a while, but it wasn't completed - I just couldn't decide what shoes to wear with it. Then I remembered my beloved, my sweet, my intricate and oh so comfortable Pikolinos from probably 8 or 9 years back. Aha! Now the picture was complete!

Magical

There is a somewhat 60s feel to my orange coat, and I love it! In fact, I love this coat more and more every time I wear it. It probably shows too, because I get compliments all the time. Someone named it "fantastic" today. Somebody else asked where I got it. Many people comment how hard it is to find an orange colored item like this. A conversational piece. If I had to vote for the best clothing purchase of my personal decade, this would be it!

And the Winner Is...

Purple and green together is one of my very favorite color combinations - it reminds me of pretty flowers and spring time. I added my newly found statement necklace to this sweater and skirt outfit, and the winner was...

Seventies Vibe

I wanted to showcase this long cardigan, and picked an all black background for it. I have to admit also that I wanted to bring out the 1970s vibe which I sensed from this item. I remember the endless knitting magazines from that era which belonged to my aunt Vera, one of Mom's five sisters, who was a vigorous knitter. I learned the craft from her. Oh the precious pink sweater - the very first little item I knitted for my darling doll named Anyutka! Aunt Vera sewed a little zipper in that clunky sweater of mine and crocheted its neckline, which immediately made it in my 9 or 10 year old eyes a "real thing". Twenty years later, I would have dressed not a doll, but my little daughter in precious little clothes - and, oddly enough, I named my daughter Anyutka.

Go Sleeveless!

I am nuts about rich colors and all things sleeveless these days. Autumn palette is my old time favorite, and I wear it quite often and practically all year long. We had a very nice, mild weekend here, and while I was looking for an upper layer for my day out, I remembered the long sleeveless cardigan (or what would you rather call it? jacket? jumper? sweater? vest?) in rich earthy tones with lots of purple. I wasn't sure whether I still had it or donated it a while ago (which would be a bummer as I really set my heart on it at that point), and I was one happy girl when I dug it out of my closet. I thought that this old cozy item made good friends with my new colored sweater and jeans.