Oh Summer!

Oh Summer! 

Days are endless, nights short, sunsets and sunrises - amazing. 

No school, no tests, no uniforms. Cooking. Grilling. Farmer's markets (we've just been to the one that recently opened in our neighborhood). Red wine. And white wine too. Sun. Hot sand. I want to soak in as much sun and warmth as possible. But I also want to work, more than ever. These Summer days, I received an unexpected offer to publish a book. After being shortly in a state of disbelief and doubts, I reminded myself that life is what we make out of it. I can sit here in my room worrying that my writing is not good enough, not mature enough yet and decline the offer... or I can just dive in, do the best I can and see what happens. Guess what I am choosing. 

On the sartorial front, I'm still figuring out my Summer style - hot weather is not my favorite fashion season, but I've decided that this Summer will be different and it will be fun. For a starter, I took a bunch of maxi skirts that I collected over the last couple of years and a bunch of shirts that are more or less suitable for hot days. With 5 skirts and 7 shirts, I tried all the possible combinations and was surprised to see that they all work. And my little fedora tops them off beautifully. That reinforced my earlier insight that in decorating, all you need to do is to collect what you love, and it all will make sense together in the end. Decorating our bodies is not that different than decorating our rooms. Now, if I to take a similar organic approach to my book as well, the whole process will be just wonderful. I don't need to drive myself crazy about what to include and what not to include. I just need to follow my nose. Does it still touch me when I read my old piece? Then include it. And if it does not, then don't. All that I wrote in the past few years can create a meaningful collection of stories, both fiction and non-fiction, in both Russian and English. I'm an organic kind of person, and organic kind of writer, and I think it is the best approach for my very first book.  

As much as I enjoy Summer days, I am so thankful for living in this gentle, mild climate (after living in humid continental climate zones for the most of my life where Summers get uncomfortably hot and humid, and winters are equally uncomfortably cold). Summer here is wonderful! Temperature for the most part is in the 70s, from time to time gets into 80s (mostly in the valley though). Only once in my 8 years living here did it get over 100 F (at which point it's hard to function for me). 

So really, my maxi dresses and long cardigans/dusters, such as what you see in this post, are quite wearable during our Summer, especially in mild evenings when I get a chance to go on a date with Justin. For days spent running errands or going to parks and beaches, my outfits are much simpler, but still very colorful though! I'll throw in a few pics just for an example... have fun! 

100% silk skirt - Goodwill, $3.99... such a floaty, lightweight piece, perfect to wear on a hot day.

Some people compliment me on being so colorful and add something like this, "I wish I could pull off bright colors!" Well, the truth is... YOU CAN. You absolutely can pull it off - everyone can! Two or three years ago, before I started this blog, I read so much nonsense about all that (what we people can and cannot wear) - I almost donated all my colorful patterned dresses (the few that I had back then). Not sure what changed my mind, but how happy I am now that I did not get rid of colors! Life without colors just wouldn't be much fun. As for patterns, I say - the more the merrier, so bring them on!

The orange skirt - consignment shop (last Summer), cardi/jacket thingy - Goodwill.

You won't need a jacket when you spend a hot day on a beach, but if you stay there until the evening, better have it. Jackets and cardigans are quite useful in the PNW.

A fabric purse from a small local Indonesian shop 

(unfortunately, closed since I bought it a few years ago).

I hope you all enjoy your season, whatever it is in your part of the world. It's a good thing that we have seasons, isn't it? It kind of gives us a hint that there is time for being active and time for rest, and that we need both, and that there is beauty in both. 

Have a happy season everyone! 

I will be visiting your blogs and talk to you soon! 

And a quick reminder that WRITE AND LINK will come alive on June 26. 

Write and share your stories! The phrase for inspiration in June is 

"...when suddenly I saw..." 

So many possibilities! ;)

My outfit:

Dress and cocoon sweater - Chico's

Shoes - Tsubo (last year)

Clutch - Urban Expressions (old)

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