Going Back and Forth in Time, Gifts from Bosnia and Herzegovina & Gloriously Overgrown Garden

Do you like when I share with you combinations with my old clothes? New purchases are exciting, and I do enjoy my new clothes very much, but at the same time I love wearing something I bought last year, and two years ago, and four or five years ago, and on some occasions even much earlier. My goal as a fashionista is to have a closet full of stuff that I love and collect over the years. I do make some mistakes (I call them experiments), but it's gradually getting there. So here I'm wearing another mix of old and new from my closet. I wore it yesterday, on a cool and drizzly day, cool enough for a thin sweater. But I will get to it later in the post, because at first I wanted to talk about...

...I wanted to talk about what happened in May. By now, our garden (wild and overgrown, but really beautifully and skillfully planted decades ago, long before us) is almost done blooming. Only some purple rhododendrons are still blossoming. But in May, it was an explosion of colors and shapes, which starts every year with this gorgeous red rhododendron.

Blue bells (and also some white and lilac ones) were all over the front and back yards, and camellia which usually starts blooming as early as February (sometimes even earlier) was still giving away her beautiful last blossoms. 

May also brought me some unexpected gifts from overseas! Long story short, a couple of years ago amazing IVANA, blogger based in Bosnia and Herzegovina, sent me her painting of me (you can see it HERE), and as a sign of appreciation, I wanted to give her something in return. I sent her a parcel with some hand-carved birch bark souvenirs from my homeland Siberia, as well as art supplies to play with (Ivana is a hobby artist). I honestly did not expect anything in return, but Ivana sent me a package with souvenirs from her town Mostar, cute costume jewelry (Anya loved these earrings, necklace and bracelet), and a few new paintings inspired by my outfit photos! I wrote about Ivana's watercolor paintings HERE, but there was even more in the package - this colorful acrylic painting! You can read more about it in Ivana's post HERE.

Isn't it such a fun painting? I love the colors and love seeing two Natashas together! It will take an honorable place in my mini art-gallery on the right side panel of my blog. You might remember my outfits that inspired Ivana - the red pants attending Deepak Chopra's lesson HERE; the plaid skirt visiting Chinese Garden HERE. Back to today...not only was it cool enough for a sweater, but at 56 F it was also cool enough for a faux leather jacket! It seems we are going to have a wet weekend here. But I'm not complaining at all - I'm even glad because it's like another season within a season, and I do have a lot of sartorial options to choose from! Now hold that thought, because we are going back in time again, just for a moment...

...So let me take you a few weeks back, to the mid to late May, when we just came back from Washington DC, and the first thing in the morning I took a camera and went out to our garden to take pictures of all these flowers in their prime...

There are different points of attractions throughout our garden year-round, 

but May is always and undeniably the most beautiful month here...

And now I will tell you all you wanted to know about my outfit. New here are only two things: the turtleneck and umbrella. The turtleneck sweater is by Melissa McCarthy, bought new with tags, at an online thrift shop ThreadUp. I loved Melissa's designs and I miss them already (still don't know what happened to her brand). This sweater has a hi-low hem and an updated feel to it, despite the classic design. And I was sold on the color - you know that I developed a new appreciation for blue just recently. The umbrella was bought in Nordstrom Rack while browsing for shoes. You know that I love incorporating umbrellas into my daily outfits. My local Rack usually displays their brolly selection by the entrance and has at least one or two to my liking, and this one with colorful floral in pastel palette was different from everything I had. It felt perfect with my stripy outfit today. 

  

Everything else in this combo is what I bought at least a year or two ago, the skirt, Converse and clutch probably 3-4 years ago. Both the skirt and jacket are by Lane Bryant, different years. You can see how I wore this skirt in AUGUST 2017, JUNE 2016, JULY 2015, JUNE 2015. Have I ever mentioned to you that they also offered this skirt in black and white, but I did not buy it then? I kinda wish I did! The combinations would be endless! Same with this faux leather jacket (that I bought on clearance for no more than $30) - I wish I also had it in aqua... Well, you can't win 'em all, right? I am happy that I got these things in my favorite color - orange! The jacket I styled just recently in MAY 2018 and MARCH 2018, as well as back in APRIL 2017. With this outfit, I was sort of aiming for as close to total orange as I could, but I also wanted some contrast, that's how I picked blue. I really enjoy stripes, and I'm loving the outcome! No rainy weather blues in this outfit!

Linking up with Tina's Pink Friday and Patti's Visible Monday

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