Happy Birthday... to me!

I am 28 today. I am happy to be turning 28, and I cannot be more excited for my 29th year. After about two weeks of agonizing which restaurant to pick, how many people I am inviting to celebrate with me, what should I wear, should I cut my hair short, etc. - after a careful consideration how I want to enter a new year of my dream life, I decided to spend the day with my son making a big mess in the kitchen, since we are going to be baking éclairs, and reading Anna Karenina in the afternoon while watching Max play in the park - ahh, perfect day! 

I would like to thank my mom for giving me such incredible experience! Thank you, mom, for this beautiful day! {smile}

Kisses to all of you!

Version of yourself

Do you ever feel when your children just aren't cooperating no matter what you do or how you reason with them it keeps getting worse and worse? And by the end of the day, when you hope going-to-bed time is going to be nice and relaxing for everyone, them not paying attention to your words takes on a whole another level of intensity - they are yapping, talking over you, for every word you say they have a come-back ready - and you just lose your {...} it. Well, if you don't know what I am talking about, I envy you.

Getting attitude doesn't fly with me very well, not with adults, and definitely not with 4-year-olds. I am learning how to handle situations better and be a bit more patient (counting to 10 wasn't helping, so I now practice counting to 25), with myself and people around me, including my son, as I find he tests my patience to the limit, which I prefer he didn't do. I set the discipline boundaries and enforce them whenever is necessary, but there are days like today, when certain someone just doesn't want to get along, and you have no choice but to bring in the heavy artillery. 

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I comfort...

I love comfort, and especially when it comes to footwear. No, no, no, I don't mean I wear ugly shoes. I love shoes, all kinds. My feet cannot handle heels for long periods of time. They start hurting like impossible, and I am probably the only woman who cannot deal with foot pain. I mean, there are girls who can wear heels for eight hours straight? Not me! Two hours tops, and I am ready to trade in for a pair of flats. I have worn heels to crazy places one should never wear heels to. O.K., you better be sitting down for this, ready? A few years ago, I went to the tombs - Garden of the Gods in Cyprus - sightseeing involving ruins, dirt and rocks, and I thought it would be the most appropriate to wear peep-toe four-inch shoe. A man who accompanied me on this trip probably thought I was... obsessed with heels. I had blisters all over and could barely walk the next day. What was I thinking? My guess, I wanted to impress the man. Pfff...

Converse chucks are the most comfortable shoe for me. And they are the coolest footwear ever invented. No, really, if I could wear AllStar to work, I'd do it in a New York minute. It's the perfect mix of comfort, edge, style and taste. In fact, my office should adopt a policy to allow everyone (whole 11 people), who wants to wear chucks to work, be able to do it. How about that for a change?

Kisses! 

City of my dreams

I grew up in an industrial town in Russia. There is really nothing special or uber memorable about Togliatti. Ever since I was little, I remember the feeling of wanting to be somewhere else, particularly - it is almost every person's desire in Russia - Moscow. There are a few other great cities that are on par with Moscow; however, I had my mind set. Until, during my high school years I took a trip to St. Petersburg and fell in love. I fell in love with its rains, with its grayness and almost darkness, with its architecture and mysterious back streets, with its bridges and water and the vividness of its cultural appeal. It felt as if I were in the novel of Oscar Wilde who so brilliantly descried the streets of London; but instead of London, it felt as if he were speaking about St. Petersburg. I was charmed.

Many people ask me if I have plans to go back. It is possible (in far-away future when I am too old to be bothered by the never-ending bureaucratic ways drowning the country in maze-like policies). And if I do, I dearly hope it will be St. Petersburg. Still, I have so many places to live in and explore before I conclude my journey and make it a full circle or two around the world. 

Kisses!

Chronicles of Starbucks, Part II

"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people who have no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee: short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low fat, non-fat, etc. So, people who don't know what the hell they are doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but absolutely defining sense of self. Tall, decaf cappuccino!"

Joe Fox (F-O-X), You've Got Mail

Ahh, it's my favorite movie.

Happy Monday!

Kisses.

Mother's Day is about...

Expectations, and, by no means, I am being cynical. Sadly, it is true for many women. I celebrated my first Mother's Day (more like Mother-to-be Day) in 2007. I was five months pregnant. I think, we had sandwiches for lunch in the park, there was also a bouquet of flowers and a card. Simple. Relaxing. Pfff, no big deal. 

When I read the article by Penelope Trunk (link above), at first I thought, "That couldn't be, could it?" But then I realized whether single parent or not, divorced or married, Mother's Day, or any other day in a life of a mother is about appreciation. It doesn't have to be anything extravagant, all it has to be is genuine appreciation for where we devote out time and energy. Every. Single. Day.

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The Chronicles of Hermès, Part II

I left Hermès feeling great. The associates were friendly, gifted me with four generous samples - Hermèssence collection has its own exclusively designed range of samples - this alone is a good enough reason to visit Hermès boutique, and they will last you long enough to know if you're head over heels about a perfume or the search for the coveted scent must go on.  

As I explored the world of the new scents surprising myself how much my taste and perception of smell has changed (as they say, it happends to many women after giving birth), I found myself at Hermès boutique again. This time, I was with my friend Melissa sharing our thoughts on what our favorite Hermès fragrance is, exploring new ones and discussing our mutual love for creations of Jean-Claude Ellena - the nose of La Maison d'Hermès. More samples found their way into my, by now, sample collection (as between two trips to Hermès I visited Neiman Marcus a few times). 

If you are at Hermès boutique, it's almost an innate desire to look and feel their scarves. They are sublime to the touch and are so chic. And for a scarf lover as big as I am, I couldn't help but step in the direction of another chest-like display with a glass top and flat draws where perfectly folded Hermès scarves resided. I made a sales associate promise me she wouldn't let me buy anything, not that I could at the moment, but I still made her promise. One of the One Hundred essentials every woman must have according to Nina Garcia. I concur! I have a feeling I will soon be back, but first - perfume. 

I found what I was looking for. My third visit to Hermès was with my son, who promised me not to touch anything while we're there. He kept the promise. It was not a perfume from the Hermèssence collection the desire to experience inspired me to wonder into Hermès boutique. It was one of the earlier creations by Mr. Ellena - Voyage d'Hermès, which happens to be a unisex fragrance, and which I absolutely adore. Every note and accord of that scent speaks Victoria, and my son told me he liked it too - between smelling Tom Ford and Hermès, he pointed at Hermès.

Have a great weekend, and may be you too will discover something new at a place you were intimidated to go. As they say, always try new things. 

Целую!