Russian/Русский

Visiting Portland was on my list for a while.  It has always been “would-be-cool-to-do” thing though and not really a goal. I have a friend there who’s been inviting me to visit for the last 3 years and after one of our chats I was like what the heck, the time has come.  Not the best season (November) but the best moment because it’s now! We booked our tickets from LA to Portland, and because it was a random weekend the prices were great! One of those things when you finally do it and then wonder why did you wait so long?!

Read More New State Unlocked: Visiting Portland, Oregon

Travels

Russian/Русский

One of the most popular posts on my blog is the post about our trip to Disneyland with a baby. My Disneyland and California Adventure Silver Pass was set to expire in April and we wanted to sneak in one last trip before then.  It was good timing because my mom and 11-year-old brother were visiting. This time we decided to start with the California Adventure since none of us have been there and because my brother and now a toddler son are really into cars and California Adventure is where the Cars Land is.

Read More California Adventure: “The Other Disneyland”

All Things LA Travels

Russian/Русский

Seeing the snow in California was on my unofficial wish list for a while. California is a huge state and there are plenty of opportunities to see snow if you live up north. But for a SoCal resident like me it was never a priority or rather, it’s not the first thing that comes to mind when I think about how to spend my weekend.

This winter had a lot of rain which apparently means that there’s a lot of snowfall in the mountains. It seemed like a good enough reason to finally explore local snowboarding opportunities. Recently, we  organized a Fit Club at work and for our second outing (first was a hike along the ocean) we decided to do a Snow Day. It was such a great idea! Not only did we get a chance to hang out outdoors but we also had a really fun road trip.

Read More Snowboarding in California: Mountain High

Travels

Russian/Русский

I miss season change. Even though it is actually awesome to always have great weather as it happens to be in Southern California, there is definitely something special about the feeling of a fresh start every few months. In search of fall we recently took a trip to Big Bear Lake.

Big Bear has such a different vibe from LA. Beautiful scenery, fresh air, quietness and cozy cabins make it a perfect weekend getaway. To me, Big Bear is also special because it reminds me so much of Russia, particularly Altai – a beautiful region not too far from my hometown. Going out of town in the fall is a wonderful change of scenery.

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Read More In Search of Fall: Escape to Big Bear Lake, CA

Travels

 Russian/Русский

Traveling with kids might sound scary and traveling alone with a toddler might seem like a crazy idea. However, it is an amazing bonding opportunity as you get to see your child experience new things and explore. The adventure hasn’t even started but your baby is already fascinated by the  airport, plane, and all the fun things inside.

A few months ago, I got a crazy idea to fly to Russia for my mom’s 50th birthday without telling her. Surprise! Since I’ve had my son, coming to visit without him is obviously not an option, my family would just stare at me in silence and then would say: “Why did you even bother coming alone?” I am kidding, kind of. Anyways, it was clear it was going to be me and Alaric taking on world travel and so we did.

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Read More Flying with a Toddler Under 2: Preparation + Packing List

Travels

Russian/Русский

Even living in LA which has so much to offer, it is really good sometimes to change the scenery and get out of town for a little bit. Few weeks ago we went to Palm Springs and it was so nice! It it so close to LA yet so different. I was super excited about the dry desert heat, warm nights and cocktails by the pool.

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I was a little nervous because this would be the first “road trip” for our little traveler but he did great! I think the key here is to plan around the nap time, if possible. Alaric pretty much slept the whole way there waking up right before we arrived all fresh and ready for adventure.

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We got a suite room again which I think is the best living arrangement for traveling with baby because you have a full kitchen and/or another room. There were no cribs available at the hotel (which I researched in advance) so we brought our play yard and it worked great.

After settling in we went straight to the pool and hung out there all the way through the golden hour, it was so relaxing! The best part of this short-vacation was the nights out on a patio. Baby’s asleep while we are outside in the air soft as a warm milk, surrounded by the darkness of the desert and bright stars above us, talking and dreaming, aaaah so so good.

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Read More Palm Springs

Travels

Our third day in Minneapolis was actually the reason we came there in the first place – to attend a graduation! The story is actually pretty funny, Derek completed his studies a decade ago but somehow never graduated because he moved away right after school so this year he decided that it’s time to wrap it up. They could have just mailed the diploma but we thought it would be fun to go and do it in person hence this little trip.

I have never been to a graduation in the US so for me it was extra interesting, I don’t even know who was more excited me or Derek, haha. We got his cap and gown the day before and splurged on a bow tie with the university logo (which I ended up putting on Derek UPSIDE DOWN!! So instead of “M” for “University of Minnesota” it said “W”, oops:D).

The morning of graduation there was a great atmosphere of excitement around the campus, hundreds of students smiling and celebrating this really cool milestone. I loved the commencement speech by Pam Edstrom, I think it’s a great tradition to have someone successful share a piece of their wisdom and to inspire new graduates.

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The graduation ceremony was at the hockey arena which I thought was interesting although apparently it’s pretty normal, there were so many people! I didn’t realize that every singe graduate will walk the stage and it would take at least 2 hours, but hey, I get it, it’s probably the most exciting part of it for the person graduating. Meanwhile, I had Alaric attached to me in a carrier, who by the way also dressed up for such occasion and got his own little bow tie. He was a champ behaving very well for the most part.

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Read More Minneapolis. Day 3. Graduation, Meeting the President, Fondue.

Travels

Russian/Русский

On our second day in Minneapolis we continued to explore the city. We left Alaric with grandma and went on a walk in Downtown. It was really fun but really cold. I was so desperate to get warm that we decided to walk to Target to get some extra layers to wear. Turns out Target in Minneapolis is so much better than in LA (maybe because it’s headquartered there?), it had so many cute and better quality pieces, and cool brands like WhoWhatWear, for example! I ended up trying on few dresses and other summer pieces and buying couple of really cute things. Did I mention that I originally went there to get something warm to wear in a freezing cold Minneapolis? I know, I know… They will be my souvenirs haha.

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Rishka is loving the crayons

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Minneapolis skyline

Read More Minneapolis. Day 2. Downtown, Bridges, St.Paul.

Travels