Monday, November 24, 2014

If You Let It


Anna and I went to see Mary Poppins, the wonderful heart warming musical presented by the Village Theatre in Issaquah (for Seattle folks - their other stage is in Everett). I'll tell a bit more about it in a sec, but first I wanted to say that I tried to wear black and white this past weekend to join Sacramento and Monica and Share-in-Style which is always great fun, I even prepared an outfit (hopefully will be able to wear it tomorrow), but this dress put a spell on me - I just couldn't resist it and wore it again. But Anna saved the day without even realizing it, by putting together this black and white outfit. Do you recognize the dress she has on? That's right, I have a skirt which I showed many times on my blog (last time I wore it for another "Julie Andrews musical", oddly enough - read HERE about my outing to see Sound of Music). When I bought this skirt, Anna liked it so much that I ordered one for her too. I love how she wears it as a dress here - very creative! Her sense of style started blossoming pretty early on. At the age of 9, she was already putting together stylish and truly unique outfits, constantly being praised by grown up fashionistas. 



I, on the other hand, at the age of 30-something took a looooooong vacation from fashion and almost did not think about clothes until just last year. In a way, I consider myself a baby fashionista. :)
Here, I wear my new dress with old beloved pieces - my silk floral blouse (thrifted) and one of my Russian shawls (which was labeled as a "Russian table cloth" at a local antique mall), earrings which remind me of a bunch of berries, found for $4 or so earlier this year. 




We had such a wonderful, memorable day together. Anna is at this age now when at times, I feel that we are becoming true friends. The drive to Issaquah was very pretty (about 50 minutes from our home). It's a charming small town with a long history and one of the fastest growing communities around Seattle. I got a sense that the town heavily invests in arts and education. To most people, it's primarily known as a mountain hiking and hang gliding spot.





The performance was truly amazing! I haven't watched Mary Poppins the movie (though, as a lot of Russian speaking kids of my age, I loved the Russian version of the story, also a musical, but by a popular Russian composer Maksim Dunayevsky). But I watched Saving Mr. Banks, a movie in which Emma Thompson played Pamela Travers, and it was in a way a story about making the famous musical, so I was familiar with many songs. Everything, from the stage and costumes to acting and directing, was superb. The full house speaks for itself. If you are in the area, I highly recommend. Tickets to a professional live theater can be a bit on the high end, but at least from time to time, we splurge. They are really worth every penny, and raising an artistic child, both Justin and I consider it a part of her education.

An old-fashioned gas station... notice the piano - someone actually played it when we walked by later in the evening.


We took a little photo walk during the intermission, and after the show was finished, we had a bite at a Chinese restaurant, and then I took Anna to a frozen yogurt place... where we saw the young actor who played Michael Banks in the show. All the performers work very hard - four shows on weekends, and a few during weekdays. I know a little bit about what goes into one show, what kind of commitment it is, because Anna was on the stage a few times - she had a few small parts in the local production of Oz! the musical, and was a lead in a dance production Petra and the Wolf. I sometimes feel shy about talking to strangers, and I realized that it was a break between two intense performances, but I really wanted to express gratitude which is always much appreciated. I chatted with the little actor's Mom (children's performance is always a commitment for parents as well, of course), it was the first big part for her son, and she was very encouraging about taking classes and just going for your dream - you can land a big role. It is so true, isn't it? Anything can happen if you let it...






Linking up with Share-in-Style
Anna with her black and white outfit, 
I with my black and brown one,
both with big dreams - see you there!

***

14 comments:

  1. How lovely!

    I truly do love that shawl.

    I saw Mary Poppins on Broadway in NYC a couple of years ago and just LOVED it. It was one of my favourites as a kid so I knew all of the songs.


    bisous
    Suzanne
    http://www.suzannecarillo.com

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  2. What a beautifully stylish pair you and Anna make. Her outfit is wonderfully creative, no doubt learned from watching her masterful mum at work.
    The old garage is a treat and I could spent hours gazing into the shop window. xxx

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  3. Anna and you, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh PERFECTION.
    Is she your daughter?
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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  4. Both wonderful you with your clothes ... Anna looks gorgeous and you look very elegant, my dear Natalia. Love the pics of that city, so beautiful. Have a wonderful week!

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  5. You and Anna both look so lovely! Clever girl, wearing the skirt as a dress, it looks wonderful.
    I remember seeing the film of Mary Poppins as a kid and feeling so disappointed that it wasn't like the books; in the PL Travers stories, Mary is really rather grumpy and stern, not like Julie Andrews at all! And don't get me started on Dick van Dyke... But live theatre is always a treat, I'm so glad you enjoyed your night out.
    What's your big dream, Natalia?! xxx

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  6. Again!!!
    In love with the shawl!!!

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  7. Natalia,
    I love you in your stripes and florals and Anna looks so adorable in her very chic anthropolgie look!
    I love that show and am glad you enjoyed it. That budding friendship with your daughter is sure to bloom into the most special joy!
    xx, Elle
    http://mydailycostume.com/

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  8. gorgeous to see you and anna all styled and full of joy!!!
    would like to join you for some theater and fun!
    xxxxxxxxxx

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  9. You and Anna are such a stylish pair, dressed for an enjoyable night out. So interesting to see some of the area. A little trivia, Mary Poppins was written by P.L. Travers,an Australian lady originally from Queensland.

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  10. wouuu, both of you look so gorgeous ladies, love tour striped dress mixed with floral prints, you created a subtle color combo, very elegant and very You!! loving it!! and also loving your stylish companion fabulous outfit!! she's cool!!
    and so great pics of your outing!! glad you enjoy some music and fun! theatre is not so expensive!!!
    besos

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  11. Hello again dear Natalia, please don´t forget to vote tomorrow for your favourite look tomorrow ( Rosy and I are not included in the voting. This is all about you all)
    Tons of kisses
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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  12. Two such gorgeous ladies and Anna growing up right before our eyes! It looks like such a wonderful outing. I want you to adopt me and be my mum and take me on lovely outings and let me wear your clothes. LOL Okay, I will leave all of that joy for Anna.
    XOXO

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  13. I remember seeing cars with my mom and it was life changing, I was a drama geek after that! You too look so sweet together and super stylish! I think no matter whether you are 10 or 50 we can all benefit and feel better when we feel good about how we look. Life's too short to just blend in! Issaquah is where some of my hubby's family lives, I have been twice and thought it was cute.
    Xxxxoooo

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  14. You two look so beautiful and happy to be togehter. It surely was a great day.

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