New Year, New Happenings

Hello beautiful friends,

I haven't had the chance to greet you and wish you a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR yet!

They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder, and that's so true - the longer I don't post and chat with you, the more I miss blogging and all of you. At the same time, it's harder to go back to the old routine of posting regularly. So for a while at least, there won't be any regularity here. But I do want to share some of my life happenings as well as outfits with you.

No new clothing items here, but you can see a new addition to my tiny Soviet vintage jewelry collection - the silver ring with genuine amber. Judging by the bold design, I think the ring is from the 1970s or even 1960s. It was an eBay find, in a good condition and at the right price.

I also got a couple of pairs of water resistant boots on Winter sales. They are from Naturalizer, great comfortable walking shoes which I wear practically with everything. As you can see, they work both with romantic dresses and elegant wool coats, as well as with sporty outfits such as this forest green/neon green suit by Eloquii. 

Justin and I have a tradition of a day trip around the New Year. It suits us well, since my homeland tradition of the biggest holiday in a calendar year gradually shifted to celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas which is always a joy in our family. This past holiday season, Anya went on her first  trip abroad since she was a little child, and we had a very low key Thanksgiving. But on her return, she amazed us with cooking both Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas lunch - and she is such a talented and accomplished cook already! Anyway, for New Year, we just skipped the feast and hit the road. Other than being fashionable and right on the 1980s trend, the green suit reminds me of a couple of other green suites that I used to wear back in the late 80s/early 90s. It also keeps me warm on a damp penetrating winter day!

We were going up north towards the lovely university town of Bellingham and visited the beautiful Whatcom Falls which were positively roaring that day, and the old stone bridge is always a sight for a sore eye. Since we've visited it in the past and I posted a couple of times, we didn't spend much time on taking photos. To tell the truth, one of the reasons I don't blog more often is that I don't feel the urge to constantly document my life. I really enjoy taking it all in and learning (or re-learning) to enjoy each moment. You can see more photos of the falls and the town in my previous posts: DECEMBER 2014 (we traveled with my parents) and MARCH 2014 (my 2013 birthday celebration).

Oh, and I can't forget to mention this new quilted bag! I hear it's a replica of some famous designer bag, but I am not really knowledgeable in that field, I just enjoy the bag, it's roomy, fun and well made. Well, my post is coming to an end, I haven't even scratched the surface when it comes to life changes... Where to begin? I am quite busy with work and in addition to my contracts with three local libraries, I also have a few students for private Russian language classes. I absolutely love my job! I had to lease an office which is quite expensive and a huge leap of faith. So far, it isn't commercially viable yet, but I believe that I will grow in time. Andrei, as always, made this beautiful art for my Russian Language Center. Justin and I painted and furnished my cozy classroom with art and photos of world famous writers on the walls. I love my space and I miss it and my kids now when I have to stay at home with a cold. Right now, I have students from 3 to 10 y.o., but I am open to any ages and levels, including adults who want to learn Russian. We learn through play and stories, and use contemporary linguistic techniques (email me at inthewriterscloset at gmail dot com if you're interested).

This morning, right for my brother's birthday, we received a wonderful surprise from a fellow blogger Olga (many of you know her well). Other than a talented and unique fashionista, Olga is a coloring enthusiast, and I've always enjoyed her work which she shares on Instagram and YouTube. So I sent her our coloring book along with the fairy tale, for her to enjoy, and she was so kind to record an amazing book review where she also shares her take on Andrei's illustrations! Please watch and share Olga's review and follow her if you love fashion, style from around the world and/or coloring!

OLGA'S BLOG

INSTAGRAM

YOUTUBE

And to round up my life updates, I have to say that these are most probably the last photos from the location so familiar to you. I've been posting my outfit photos taken at my doorstep since the beginning of my blog back in September 2013, for over 6 years now. I am very fond of this location and our living in this old little cottage with a beautiful evergreen overgrown garden and a view of Puget Sound, but... as all things, this chapter of our life has run its course. We are moving! We are literally sitting on suitcases now, and as soon as I get better, I'll continue packing and moving to our new place. What it'll be? Is it another cozy old house? Is it a sleek modern apartment in the middle of a busy city? Is it by the sea, in the mountains, in fields or forest? Will I still have rhododendrons blooming at my doorstep, or a view of the next building right from my window? Do we rent or become homeowners? Feel free to ask me all these and possibly some other questions, so I can write another post when we pass this busy transitional time!

Photos by Justin