Russian/Русский

I was hesitant to write this post because in my head 2016 was kind of a tough year.  Nonetheless, I decided to give it a try and look back at moments month by month. I discovered that 2016 was actually full of great things! It once again proves that your experience depends on your attitude, and while I did have some really emotionally difficult times this past year, I can honestly say that I made them seem worse than they should have been. Too much anxiety, too much self-doubt and negativity. It is painful to admit and it’s not all black and white but it is up to us how to live our lives and what to choose to focus on. For this post I chose to review the best memories and meaningful moments from 2016. It’s going to be a very long post.

Read More 2016 Year in Review

Mine

Russian/Русский

So far, this fall has been incredibly warm. At first, I was grumpily mumbling that it’s about time for sweater weather, but now I have fully embraced it and have been soaking up every bit of sunshine we get. Last weekend, after all the morning chores and laundry, instead of our regular neighborhood walk we decided to take the train to the beach and arrived just in time for golden hour. It was such a lovely evening! From watching the bright red disc sink in the horizon to catching Alaric right before the waves got too close again and again, it was so much fun! He kept running into the water with no hesitation, so fearless! The water by the way felt pretty nice and some people were even swimming. There was also someone surfing and oh boy, surfing at sunset must be even more magical, the golden light was so gorgeous!

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Read More Stay Golden

Mine

Russian/Русский

Ever since the days started getting shorter and the pumpkin spice lattes appeared at Starbucks, I have been excitedly awaiting the opening of the pumpkin patches. We had so much fun last year that now it’s one of my favorite family traditions. Before moving to California, I didn’t really like fall, but now that I’m here my mind has changed. That’s probably because the weather is perfect here. It’s still warm and dry and the sunsets get more dramatic and vibrant, and, even though it’s too hot for a sweater, it makes everything so cozy.

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This year we went to the same pumpkin patch as last year, Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch! I’ve seen a few pumpkin patches around town and this one is still my favorite! It’s pretty big yet off the beaten path. You get into the fall spirit and totally forget that you’re surrounded by the city.

Read More 3 Tips for a Great Pumpkin Patch Experience

All Things LA Mine

Mine

Russian/Русский

Earlier this week I celebrated my birthday! Nothing really feels different so far.  It’s funny how on your birthday you get to find out what impression you have on people based on their messages and comments. In Russian that is, in English most people rarely say much more than just a Happy Birthday (which is still appreciated) but in Russian it is common to wish a ton seasoned with couple of compliments. I noticed that most of the time, the things people wish have a lot to do with something they actually want for themselves.

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I’ve got many really sweet messages, but it made me think once again how different is the way people see you and your life (these days with following culture being so present, it makes you think you know how everyone is living their life) from how you see it yourself. And I am not saying it is necessarily the opposite but of course people only see what we show them and while it still could be true, it’s definitely not all there is.

Read More Birthday Girl Confessions

Mine

Russian/Русский

In my previous post I shared 6 tips that really helped me to finally start working out. Here I share how these tips apply to my workout routine in details.

I have always been an active person, I love sports, I love walking, and biking, and hiking, and swimming, and snowboarding any many other fun physical activities that have kept me somewhat in shape for the last 20 something years, but I have never been able to stick to a workout routine. The only thing that I enjoy and challenge myself to push harder is yoga, I love how it feels throughout the process and the thought of the Savasana keeps me going. However, yoga sessions are usually at least an hour long and in my current schedule I would not get the results I want in the time I have available for exercise hence I started to think about trying to actually work out.

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Following my tip #1, I picked a program. I’ve been eye balling this program for over a year obsessing over transformations people shared and when I decided that I’m gonna start working out this was my first choice. This is not a sponsored post, I just really am happy it worked for me so I would like to give you some details about the program I am doing.

Read More My Workout Story + Bikini Body Guide Review

Mine

Russian/Русский

Now that the Summer is in the full swing many of us are in a big hurry to get in shape. For someone who’s never worked out consistently the idea of finally starting working out could be as overwhelming as it is exciting. I think all of us have been in a situation when you say: “Next Monday for sure!”, and then Monday rolls around and you are not feeling it and then you miss it and it feels like you already failed. Trust me, I’ve been there.

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About 3 months ago I decided that enough is enough and it’s time for a change.  I have started working out and going strong to this day, consistently working out 3 times a week.

Below I share a few tips that really helped me to start working out and to stick with it.

Read More How to Finally Start Working Out

Mine

Russian/Русский

Every Spring California explodes with clouds of flowers. Fences, houses, sidewalks are taken over by the beautiful bougainvilleas, hydrangeas and other flowers. Right now it is a jacaranda time on our street and it’s gorgeous! I only found out the name of this tree from some person on the street passing by. We couldn’t miss such a great backdrop and did a quick shoot coincidentally on a Mother’s Day.

Alaric was too busy eating the flowers and didn’t want to cooperate at all, he also just learned a new trick of throwing his hands up and pretty much sliding out of the arms so it was pretty difficult to hold him. So today we mostly have some candid shots taken between the moments of baby juggling.

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Read More Jacaranda

Mine