I've Come Out of the Closet!

Hello friends, 

Long time no see! I've just realized that I haven't posted in this blog since May. I missed sharing my outfits! So please feel free to praise or critique me - from you, my loves, I accept it all. I missed you and this form of creativity and connection with like-minded people a lot! I can only hope that some of you have missed me too. :)

Happy Belated Mother's Day and Thank You for Your Help!

Hello dear friends,

Happy belated Mother's Day to all Moms and Grandmas! I hope you had a beautiful day. I spent it with my family in a gorgeous Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden which is home to the largest collection of rhody species in the world! If you're happen to be in the Seattle area, I highly recommend visiting it in May or early June (bonus: free bonsai museum).

I thought I'd give you a quick update on my friend Irina's fundraiser 

HELP UKRAINIAN REFUGEES.

After successfully raising $10,000, Irina continued with a new goal of $20,000 and as of now is at $16,650. She reports that the money goes directly to the families helping refugees with their rent and food, as well as directly to hospitals and purchasing medication kits. And the exciting news is that Irina and her family are going to fly from the US to Poland to help refugees personally!

Thank you to all and each of you who are able to help in any possible way to save lives and wellbeing of families and children who are in the most heart-wrenching situation since February 24.

And despite popular opinion, my heart also goes to the Russian citizens who are against this horrible unjust regime, but cannot leave the country. Some of them still protest risking their life and freedom. All of them live in great grief and fear over the two tragedies: war with Ukraine and destroying our own beloved country. Some fled the country and now are considered enemies by Russian government. And the actions of the most of the world are against them. Somehow, to most of the world, they aren't victims like Ukrainians, but supporters of the criminal regime which is a horrible misjudgment. Just like not all Germans supported Nazi and not every Nazi was German, not every Russian supports Putin. Do not believe that 80% of population support him - the officials in Russia are professionals liars! I doubt there is even 30% of those who actually believe in Putin. 

I don't know whether I will be back regularly blogging any time soon, but f you'd like to stay in touch, you can always find me at Facebook or Instagram. I will be happy if you do so.

Слава Украине!

Жыве Беларусь!

Россия будет счастливой!

Sincerely,

Natalia

Help Ukrainian Refugees

Dear friends and readers,

I am grateful to each of you who read and reached out to me with comments and messages, sharing your feelings, thoughts and stories regarding my last post STOP THE WAR IN UKRAINE. I know that wrapping one's head around politics isn't everyone's cup of tea at the best times, not to mention the times of darkness and true tragedies, when unthinkable things happen, such as now. I understand the desire to look the other way, but the naked truth is that whether we look at this horrible wound done to Ukraine and humanity by greedy, bloodthirsty politicians of Russia, or not, the wound is still there. 

Stop the War in Ukraine: How We Can Help Ukrainians and Things to Know about Russians

 

Hello my dear friends and readers,

Never in my life could I imagine that the reason and circumstances I write in my peaceful creative blog will be WAR. Not war in the past (in which many of the older generation of my own family members fought, were wounded or killed), but the war here and now. Let alone, the war my beloved home country started against our brothers and sisters (we were raised to think of each other as brotherly people) in Ukraine. And the first thing that I want to say on my blog is:

STOP WAR IN UKRAINE! 

НЕТ ВОЙНЕ!

My Personal Message to All Friends: Help Ukrainian refuges and stop the war in Ukraine!

Dear friends,

You've known me for many years. I've always been the one to support and inspire you in different ways - to be creative, to live in harmony, to wear what you like, to be accepting. Today, I ask for your help - for the first time in all these years. Please be aware what a horrible regime Putin set in Russia, my beloved home country. People do not have any freedom to express their opinions any longer. A lot of us are against this criminal regime and war in Ukraine! Millions are suffering right now. Please help Ukrainian refugees and please help to stop the war in Ukraine. Join me on Facebook (link above)! I regularly post about the ways to help financially, by signing petitions and other ways too.

Love and Peace,

Natalia

Beauty of Gray and Vintage

Why not post the most recent outfit and tell you a vintage story. So, Justin and I took these pictures last weekend, and it was quite freezing outside! It would really be wiser to wear one of my parkas on a day like this, but I wanted to show off my elegant all-gray attire before I show off my coats and parkas. 

Boho Military Chic in September

 

Hello my style tribe,

There are four photo shoots from late September through October which I haven't shared with you yet. A bit out of season, but I figured that better late then never! So I'll pick up just where I left, when late Summer barely started transforming into early Fall, and I was eager to wear this fabulous trench coat by Altuzarra for Target. 

Taking the Next Step

Hello friends,

It's always a bit difficult to restart a conversation after a pause, isn't it? So let me jump right in, without a long introduction. We're old friends, after all. Thanks to blogging, you've known me for the past eight years. You've literally witnessed my little kid growing up. She was still in elementary school back in 2013 when I started this blog. This year, she graduated from school and started college. I'm often asked what she chose to study. Well, there is no simple answer to it. College education is very different here compared to mine back home in Russia in the 1990s. We had to choose our professional direction right away, and pretty much from day one, we knew what general field in which we'd be working once we graduate. Back then, I only wanted to study literature, so I chose philology. Pretty much all of my classes were related to this field, with some extras like Philosophy, Sociology, History and Economics. The rest was history of the Russian and world literature (mostly Western), modern European languages (German and Czech in my case), everything about modern Russian language and literature in depth, and ancient languages like Latin, old Russian and Old Slavic. Anya's classes at this point are pretty broad, some related to Arts and others to Science, and she doesn't have to choose her vocation till couple years later. Which is smart and generous for those who have many interests and not sure what to choose at 18. Which is, I believe, the majority.

Ms. Moon, Mr. Lamp and Other Stories

It is cool and drizzly out as I'm writing this now, but just recently we had a stretch of glorious sunny days which felt like Summer. To celebrate it, Justin and I went out a few times and even ate at a restaurant, on a patio to enjoy sunshine and be safe. With gorgeous weather and opened restaurants, it felt as if there was no pandemic, even though we all still wear masks. It's hard to explain, but driving down a busy highway, coming home after a day of adventure, I caught myself thinking that for brief moments life seemed just as it was before, as if there was no long weird year of isolation and anxiety... Have you had such a feeling lately or is it just me?

Spring Epitome & Vintage Desk

Every Spring, with no exception, the world of fashion explodes with floral dresses - mostly in soft pastel colors. I confess, I am tempted to join the fun, but pastel tones don't work that well with my pale freckled skin. I am more of a jewel tone and warm earthy color girl who blossoms in bold pattern and strong color dresses. But this frock, I thought, offered a beautiful balance of fresh soft pastels and strong bold colors on a dark background reminiscent of the bareness of early Spring. I appreciate the comfy style of it while also being so striking. So you understand - it had to be done!

The Way We Vintage

 

Earlier in March, we hopped in the car and drove to the new location of our favorite antique mall. Some of you might remember that some time ago, the mall which was located in one spot for 26 or 27 years, had to find a new home. Well, they have finally re-opened, and the visit became the sort of event I've been missing, the one that inspired me to dress up a little.

Darkest Before the Dawn

Dressing up to me, perhaps unlike many of my lovely blogging friends, is 100% a social thing. I simply don't feel the need or craving to dress up when I am at home - I find many other things that bring me joy and occupy my time. I am a bit surprised when someone tries to change my mind about it. Is there really one right way to live our lives, and everything else is wrong? I don't sign up for that philosophy. Everyone is different, so whatever works. During the pandemic (and we're in the second year by today, as it started earlier in the Washington State compared to the rest of the country, as well as many other countries), so during the pandemic there was practically no reason for me to dress up. As a large part introvert, I initially didn't suffer from the lack of social life at all. Even though I lost some of my work contracts due to closures of our libraries, I still had my students and enjoyed figuring out the new ways of teaching. But by the arrival of Winter, I started missing our family outings and cultural events which used to inspire my creating of outfits and having photo shoots with Justin. 

Meet Me at Twilight

 

Sometimes, to get unstuck, all we need is to break loose from the tension of the old patterns. That will allow us to see a new possibility, a new opening that most probably was always there, dismissed as unsuitable, as "not good enough"...

Happy New Year!

To all my friends and readers, a very Happy New Year! 

May it be kind and healthy to you and yours! 

I Voted!

So it happened, my friends - I voted! Justin and I received our ballots in the mail, filled them out and dropped them at the official voter's drop box this very evening. (Anya is not old enough to vote just yet, but she will be very soon, just in a couple of months, ready for the next election.) 

Two Autumns, Two Ways to Live

"Have you ever dreamt that you'd be living in such a beautiful place?" asked Justin on our last forest walk. And here is my honest answer.

Family in Fall, Sauerkraut Recipe and New Home

In my last post, I wrote about traditional Fall celebrations in the US which my family and I love, but this time of year is even more precious and beautiful to me for many personal reasons. You might notice it too, life usually brings us things in clusters. One such "cluster" is birthdays in my family. Of course, whenever a few people gather, some of them most probably were born reasonably close to each other, and it's especially true when we talk about a large family. I mean, there are only 12 months in the year, aren't there? But some such coincidences seem more like serendipity or kismet, if you will.

Autumn in America

I wouldn't be at all surprised if an all-American survey showed that majority of the population considers Fall their favorite season. Autumn in America is nothing short of amazing. September still feels like Summer, and in many states most of October too. Besides sunny warm days, it bursts into all shades of yellow, orange, red and purple. November brings one of the most beloved holidays, Thanksgiving, and preparation for the winter celebration extravaganza. And of course, we can't overlook Halloween which children and adults alike simply adore for its unique spooky spirit: costumes, candies, party fun and home décor. Speaking of which, I gave all the rights to decorate our home for Halloween to my daughter and husband since they absolutely love it. But one of the things that makes Autumn and October in particular really fun for everyone is visiting a pumpkin patch. Many farms open their imaginary doors to the public during the whole month, offering hey rides, corn mazes, petting zoos and of course pumpkins of all sorts, shapes and sizes. I would say that other than football and Halloween party games, America's favorite Fall game is playing farmers!

Red and White

 

In solidarity with people of Belarus fighting for their freedom.

Жыве Беларусь!

Transition Made Easy: 7 Outfits for 7th Blogiversary

SEPTEMBER 2013

It's hard to believe at times that I've been writing this blog for almost exactly 7 years (the actual anniversary is in early September). When I look back to these 7 years, I remember them with a fond heart, and I feel a little sad that I don't seem to find time for blogging these days. I certainly didn't loose interest in dressing up, and hopefully I'll continue taking pictures of my future outfits and posting them on a regular basis some day. But before I can do that, I'm in a transitional period - I'm not where I used to be any more, and not where I want to arrive yet. Which is an interesting place to be! Today, in honor of my upcoming 7 year Blogiversary, I went through my blog to find some of my favorite transitional outfits which I'm happy to share with you just as a reminder to myself and my readers that transitions don't have to be hard or boring. Let's see how we can play with them!