Each Day is Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends and readers!

It is my favorite holiday (I wrote more about it in one of my early posts back in 2013, called PILGRIM). Although, I didn't come to America in pursuit of religious freedom, I can definitely relate to early Americans. Even today, in the age of airplanes and the Internet and all possible ways to connect with my family and friends back home, coming to America was and is still a huge leap of faith. As a newcomer, I do and probably always will feel like a pilgrim of happiness. 

I found my happiness here, in my new land, meeting my one true love, and raising the most wonderful kid with him. And for that, I am forever grateful. I am forever grateful for my amazing family and my good old friends, and yes, for the Internet and all the mind-blowing new technology that gives us this unique opportunity to stay connected despite the fact that in my pursuit of happiness I had to leave not only the town, but the country and continent I grew up in. I also want to express my gratitude to you, my newly found online community, for giving me so much, for supporting and nourishing and encouraging me in my creativity. Please know that you are one of the best things that ever happened to me, so thank you, guys! But my pursuit of happiness does not stop at that. Now I am on a new quest, which I am focused on more than ever these days, and that is my inner happiness. Not the kind that comes and goes as a flickering candle-light in the wind, but the one that stays, no matter how hard the wind blows. Healing does not happen in one step, just by a click of the fingers. It's a process, and it takes time and patience, and I am learning how to get better at it, day after day. This inner journey of mine has been one of the most miraculous ones, and I am infinitely grateful.

I am so happy with this outfit, I just had to share it on such a special day. Maybe it gives you an inspiration for the holidays, as it is really very easy to wear and comfortable, leaving lots of room for a nice feast and stretching out in a cozy armchair or sofa, surrounded by your favorite people. It is a mix of old and new stuff. The polka dot cotton trench coat was shown previously in MARCH 2016 and FEBRUARY 2016, but only now I feel like I really struck a balanced look, combining this amazing jacquard sweater with gathered sleeves (such a beautiful ode to the 1980s!) and these massive faux pearls! Only now I feel that it is really worth having this trench in my closet, the whole ensemble sings! The sweater is again from Target - check out the Who What Wear collection online, lots of fun and affordable pieces. I wear it with a faux leather pleated skirt by Melissa McCarthy, bought long ago for a fraction of its price. The fabric is light and stretchy, and feels very nice. This kind of pearl necklace was my dream for such a long time! I hit the jackpot at TJ MAXX just recently, and twice - the green purse won my heart for the color, but when I looked closely, it is made wonderfully, from saffiano leather, by a famous designer Karl Lagerfeld. You know that I don't know much about fashion, right? But even such a far-away-from-fashion person like myself knows this name. Anyway, I loved everything about this bag - the color, the shape, the size, the details... and the price, with the 2/3 of the original price tag off, was not completely prohibitive. I know it will be a favorite for many years to come!

I would love to elevate this outfit (as well as many others) with my cool velvety boots, but we got so much rain here that I am mostly wearing my leather boots or this pair of waterproof suede boots these days. And, of course, a fun umbrella - one of most relevant accessories in our climate.

If you celebrate, I wish you a wonderful holiday! 

And to all of us, I wish to love and enjoy our life!

There are so many reasons each of us can be grateful that every day can be a Thanksgiving Day!

Sweater - Who What Wear x Target (now on sale for $25, up to size 4X)

Faux leather skirt - Melissa McCarthy (old)

Trench coat - Ralph Lauren (old)

Boots - Aquatalia (old)

Pearl earrings and mother-of-pearl ring - Justin's gifts

Faux pearl necklace - TJ MAXX

Purse - Karl Lagerfeld via TJ MAXX

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SUPERSEAL, our new bilingual book, is coming in 2017!

Illustration by Andrei Lialin

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