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.

Modish Matrons #38: MM do Africa

When it comes to Modish Matrons themes, I try not to get ahead of myself - I only look at the list of themes (which my friends and I prepared a year in advance) about a week before it's time to post. That way, there is a good chance that I forget what theme is coming next and look at it with fresh eyes, to engage my playful side. Still, often I remember vaguely what themes are coming. But not this time! This month, I actually really did completely forget that Tina offered to take us on a style journey to Africa!

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...

Forty Five and Full of Drive

We are back in Washington State, returned from Washington, DC! To most non-Americans it probably sounds like it's not a biggie - wouldn't these two Washingtons be close to one another? In fact, everybody knows about Washington the capital of the US, but not as many know about Washington the state. But to those who know, it's obvious just how different these two Washingtons are - different in nature, climate, history, subculture, spirit, vibe, style and definitely very different location, as the capital city of the US almost could not be further from our state. We are 2,763 miles or 4.446 km apart, which is more than the distance between my Russian hometown Krasnoyarsk and the capital of Russia, Moscow (4,150 km)! And would you believe that before our trip I did not know that? I honestly thought that it would take three or four hours by plane to get there!

Love of Sea and New Book

Who can tell how inspiration works? Some think that things, people or events inspire them. Others say that it comes from art and stories. Some find inspiration in memories of the past, while others in fantasies about the future. Like many artists, I find that very often inspiration comes during the process of work (as they say in Russia, appetite grows with eating) - I start dressing up and new ideas come, or I start writing and the more I write, the more inspired I feel...

Best Style Tip

I love adding new clothes to my ever-growing collection and wearing brand new outfits, and I also love finding ways to incorporate new items into my existing wardrobe. I have a feeling this scarlet sail shirt will become a staple and make good friends with many of my old friends, and this chevron skirt is one of them (previously worn HERE in 2016, HERE and HERE in 2015).

Winter Boho

What is there to say about my outfit? I was charmed with this bohemian dress - its gentle floral pattern and lace make it stand out. The reversible wool poncho with a tribal pattern and fringe has been a favorite for some time (shown HERE, HERE and HERE; more ponchos, wraps and ruanas HERE). I also love the juxtaposition of the two garments. I called this outfit Winter Boho, but of course it's perfect for Fall and early Spring as well. And I just know that this dress will be in heavy rotation year round, with the exception of hot Summer days.

Gypsy, or Channeling My Inner Vix

 

Ideas for an outfit come from all sorts of places. Sometimes, a certain piece of clothing inspires to create the whole look around it. Sometimes, a piece of jewelry demands the whole ensemble to be dedicated to it. Sometimes, it's a place that I'm going to, or a particular event. And sometimes, it's my dear fellow bloggers. 

Cottage by the Sea & Gifts from Elle

It may seem that I planned this photo session carefully, but I didn't - and I love when it all comes together spontaneously, as it did today. Anya and I had errands in town, and after all I wanted to go to a park and asked what was her pick. Out of three beach parks near our home, she picked Browns Point Lighthouse Park. At first, I thought we'd just take photos by the Sound, but then I realized that this charming cottage garden by the lighthouse keeper's house is an absolute dream and perfection as a backdrop for my outfit today. 

Barefoot from 90 to 60

Have you put away those jackets and cardigans yet? Well, if you live in the PNW, hopefully, you put them not too far away. After a few hot days, the temperature dropped significantly, which suggests outfit adjustments. In this post, I'll show not one, but two outfits from this week - I wore both of them while hanging out in my neighborhood.

Roller Coaster

We are in the midst of reorganizing our house - a huge project, which was oh so long due. Even though I'm feeling overwhelmed, I am also excited and looking forward to see all the newly organized corners. So far, we redecorated Anya's room, which was a priority, because you know - she's just not a kid any more, she is a teenager, and her space reflects it now. Besides, her friend is staying with us till the rest of the school year, because her family had to move a month before the school ended. So we wanted to make sure the girls are comfortable. We also converted our spare room into a study for me (I just call it "my room"), more on that later because right now it is still full of stuff which has to find its place either in our house, or in a new home. But the point is, we of course find things that were misplaced or just forgotten, including some items of clothing. Like this skirt.

Take Them Into Fall

Speaking of clothes that do not have any chance to get into a donation bag, I think you will be pleased to know that these two beauties (you could see them in the posts Magic and Dream Dress & Dinner Theater) fall into my "definitely keeping" category. Both made from the same fabric (100% cotton), with a cotton voile full lining, they are radically different styles (1950s and 1970s), but both very much loved. They were gifts from the unique women's clothing company eShakti, and I wrote about them on a couple of occasions HERE and HERE. Today, I received an early bird special offer from eShakti which I am happy to share with you, my friends and readers. 

WRITERSCLOSETFALL15

The coupon code is valid through August 31, 2015 and allows you to enjoy 15% off the new Fall arrivals which, as always with eShakti, you can customize in both style and size! Do check them out - I know that a couple of dresses stole my heart.

The Talking Dress

It was a beautiful Summer evening. He came back from work at the usual time.

"Are you hungry?" said she. 

"I am," said he.

"How about I warm up dinner for you, and then we go for a nice stroll?" said she.

They loved going for a walk along the shores of the Sound, overlooking the hill where they lived.

"OK. Let's go for a walk first then," said he.

She went to their bedroom to change, as he waited for her in the living room.

"Are you ready for a walk?" said she as she came out.

"Would you like to take me out to dinner?" said the dress.

"WOW! Yes, yes, I would love to take you out to dinner!" said he.

"Let's go for a walk then?" said she.

"Yes, yes! I just must take you out to dinner!" said he.

The dress talked for her, and she let it.

:)

~The End~

Magic

Doesn't this fabric look familiar? No, it's not déjà vu or a magic trick - I do have a dress made of this same material (which you might have seen in this post). I loved that dress so much that when eShakti generously offered me a gift card in return for writing about their new web-site, I used that card toward purchasing this gorgeous maxi dress, made from the same beautiful shiny cotton. Similarly to my first eShakti dress, it also is fully lined, has pockets, and is made specifically to my measurements (custom sizing is the best!). I did not choose options to change details or the length because I love this dress just the way it is. It fits me like a glove, saves me in the heat of Summer when I want to be dressed up (and many of my fancy dresses are made of polyester), and I receive a lot of compliments on it. 

Stripes, Meet Stripes

Once upon a time, there was a stripy shirt living in a closet. She had an adventure or two - you might have read about them here. But most of the time, she led a pretty quiet life, thinking every now and then that maybe there is a more exciting closet for her to live in. She'd think that, sigh quietly and just continue to hang in there, I mean, literally. And then one sunny day a stripy skirt moved in the closet. 

Hello, Ocean

 

I am fond of Summer - but not fond of heat. When the local weather guys issued the hot weather warning (which in this part of the world means the temperature will be close to 90 F), I knew I wanted to escape the hot house, and I heard the ocean call. The temperature in the valley was indeed pretty high - the highest our car thermometer showed as we were moving towards the ocean, was 97 F. (It's always cooler by the sea where we live.) On the shores of the Pacific, which is only a couple of hours South-West from our home, it was sunny and mild, in the 70s, and not too crowded - a perfect little get away.

The Best

You guys! Thank you for your such wonderful, heartfelt comments on my book publishing news. You guys are simply the best! Of course, I am very thrilled, and as you can imagine, my mind is quite preoccupied these days. I left the "book thoughts" only for a little while to enjoy the Father's Day weekend with Justin, the World Greatest Dad ("and Husband", added Anya), and we had such a wonderful, relaxing weekend. Other than that and Anya starting a month long theater camp (read: I started a month long driving there and back, twice a day camp), I am focused on my writing. I tend to be extremely focused when I work on something that matters to me a lot, so no wonder, blogging takes a back seat for a while. I don't know how frequently I will be able to comment, please do not take it personally - and know that I treasure you VERY MUCH. :)

Oh Summer!

Oh Summer! 

Days are endless, nights short, sunsets and sunrises - amazing. 

No school, no tests, no uniforms. Cooking. Grilling. Farmer's markets (we've just been to the one that recently opened in our neighborhood). Red wine. And white wine too. Sun. Hot sand. I want to soak in as much sun and warmth as possible. But I also want to work, more than ever. These Summer days, I received an unexpected offer to publish a book. After being shortly in a state of disbelief and doubts, I reminded myself that life is what we make out of it. I can sit here in my room worrying that my writing is not good enough, not mature enough yet and decline the offer... or I can just dive in, do the best I can and see what happens. Guess what I am choosing. 

Riverwalk

It seems, this hat wants to go with pretty much every one of my outfits. 

And it seems, I let her!

Wabisabi, and Writer's Link Up Details

I'm in the zone with blogging now - it's that feeling you get when whatever you do brings you enormous joy and feels very rewarding. 

I want to thank fabulous Dana of Dana Loves Fashion and Music for inviting me to participate in her beautiful project called Wabisabi - you can read about the project and why it has such an unusual name, and also see my feature HERE. It's such a wonderful chance to be introduced to a wider circle of bloggers and readers and make new friends. Dana is very kind, and makes everyone feel welcomed and appreciated. I learned about many wonderful new-to-me bloggers through Wabisabi, as well as enjoyed my dear blogging friends warmhearted features. Wabisabi is easy to join at any time, please visit Dana - she is looking for you!