Another Purple Day

In the yesterday's post I wrote about blogs inspiration. I posted some pictures of my purple shoes... which inspired today's outfit. Mind you, I just wore the same purple dress. And purple trench. And the amethyst ring.

I got this trench couple of weeks ago and it's my third time wearing it. It was 70% off which was more than nice. It's quite thin even for Israeli winter, but the day was warm and sunny. This is my morning shot in the elevator, they finally reinstalled the mirror, thank you very much.


After work I went to Zara to check out their end of season stuff. I tried on a dress but didn't buy it. Instead I tried to take my photos which was a bit awkward. This is me trying to look nonchalant. Oh, I'm just checking my messages!

Then the corner cleared up and I took this one. Check out the party dresses on the left! I touched the fabric - they are so stiff they could probably walk on their own!

At work it's the usual mess. Our server gave up the ghost, it's in the lab since yesterday, and we couldn't open the programs we work on. No access to the customers files, no necessary forms, nothing. So all the stuff had to be done manually which means we'll have to key it in later. And the pile is growing... So it was a stupid day. But it's over now, at least for me, and I don't have to go back till Thursday noon.

Tomorrow I'll be working at home, translating a cool police show. It has a great opening song by the Blind Boys of Alabama. I even downloaded it on my cell as a ringtone. I especially like the words "you gotta keep the devil way down in the hole". Everyone has their own devil that has to be kept in the hole. Good luck to us all with that.

I Got an Award!!!

Stylish Lotus from Red Phoenix Emporium nominated me for an award!!
Thank you so much, Lotus.

I'm supposed to tell you 7 things about me. Let's see...

1. I'm a shopaholic and I'm constantly trying to kick the habit. It doesn't help that my office happens to be located at the shopping mall. It takes me ages to get to the car after work. Right now hubby's been out of work for a long time and money's tight. So I close my eyes and run for it... Remember that movie "Confessions of a shopaholic"? It made me want to shop like crazy.



2. I used to smoke but I quit. Apparently it was much easier to quit smoking than buying stuff.



3. I love animal prints! I have 3 pairs of shoes and 2 pairs of boots - leopard, snake you name it. And a bag. When I heard that leopard print was "the new black" I was happy. Look, that's what I'm wearing today!

4. I love winter and really dislike summer. It used to be the other way around, but living in Israel killed the summers for me. Give me boots, jackets, trench coats any day. Summer here lasts pretty much 9 months. Funny, in Russia I dreamt of moving to the warmer climate, live by the sea, enjoy the weather. Now I live 20 min away from the sea (by car) and I go maybe twice a year.

Here is a photo of a boot. I wore them yesterday with fishnets. It's been ages since I wore fishnets!

5. I traveled quite a bit and lived all over the globe (I call it living even if it's for a couple of months. You have your routine, your habits, your hangouts - local way of life). Which city would I pick?

Paris is my favourite. I grew up in Saint Petersburg, Russia and Paris reminded me of my hometown. Only much better. Runner up - Berlin. And Vancouver BC just because it's so beautiful.

This is moi in Paris in 2008. Photographed by my lovely cousin. Love all that hustle and bustle (and the pic is taken on a Sunday!)

6. I'm very easily influenced by other people fashionwise. Bloggers' world has been a huge inspiration for me. I look at your photos and suddenly it hits me - I have this! I can wear it like that! Or the worst case scenario - I see something in a shop that reminds me of a blogger's outfit and... See number 1.

Best example - these shoes by Carlos Santana.


I saw them on BudgetChic blog and just had to have them!!! It was probably 2 years ago or more. I wore them once to a wedding. OK, they were 25 bucks plus shipping (ebay). Cost per wear? Astronomical. Still love them though. Mmmmm, purple!
Another photo from that wedding outfit, just to see the color.

7. I love my TV. What are my faves at the moment? The Mentalist, Castle, White Collar (waiting for 2nd season here), True Blood, Supernatural. I used to watch CSI a lot but then we changed the cable company and I lost it. I also watch Covert Affairs, Lie to Me, Closer. I loved Dexter.

My second job is directly connected to the TV shows. I translate films and series from English to Russian, working mostly with subtitles now. I watched and translated so many of the crime shows. The other day we watched "Law Abiding Citizen" and I could predict almost everything that happened in the movie.

I would do translations only if they paid better. This job is the best for me. You work from home, no phones, no clients, just deadlines that I can almost always handle. I think this job gives me a lot and teaches me lots of things. You can't have it all I guess.

Well, these are my "secrets". Thanks for listening.

Big City Lights

This week I had to work in our Ashdod branch for one of the girls who is moving house and asked me to substitute. (I normally work in Rehovot, if you're familiar with our geography). I like that office, love the change and the fact that I feel like a guest (or a housewife in someone else's kitchen). Work turns into play, no major decisions, no big responsibility.

I wore all black again. But with silver accents this time. Photo taken in my walk-in closet, it's messy but functional. I finally bought a wall-mounted fan to get more floor space (lifting that ancient thing to sweep under it was a real pain).

Look, I'm all matchy-matchy with the pants and the flats!

After work I didn't go down to the parking garage but decided to go outside and check out the progress of construction of the new square. I was pleasantly surprised. It looked really nice with all the lighting and new restaurants. This is "Black Bar'n'Burger". Will have to go there one night.

A passage way between two buildings. Doesn't look like much in the daytime, but now with lights reflections on the tiles it looked nice.

The construction is still going on, but it has moved way up. That's going to be a tall one.

A shot of a shopping mall taken from the car (I stopped at the red light). An ugly building, but inside they have the MAC boutique which I visited the very next day, more on that later. Pardon my dirty windshield.

And this is my town. It's 8 pm and the streets are almost empty. I guess we live in a bedroom community. It's not an upscale town by any stretch. Looks better in the dark as well, you can't see lots of things that spoil the view...

Living in a dirty and unkempt town is a problem. We have raised this questions numerous times with the municipality, some things have been done. I'm afraid it's the mentality, paraphrasing Mad TV show that we used to watch in Canada years ago, this is a "lowered expectations" place. Two years ago I spent 10 days in Paris and coming back was a real shocker for me. Oh well, trying to be happy with what I've got.

Fox Tail

This week I've been dressing for comfort. The shopping mall where I work decided to charge us for parking. I decided that I go there to work and make money, not throw it away on stupid things (I have enough "smart" purchases on my list, thank you!) It all started this week, so I've been parking on the neighboring streets and walking to work which included jumping over things and wading through gravel and sand. Hence no heels.

I took these pictures on Tuesday, and on Tuesdays I work from 8 am till 7 pm. It's a lo-o-o-ong day. But I was very comfortable in my skinny jeans and the oh so fashionable camel color tunic.


This tunic has a built in scarf. You can take it off but why would you? I think it's the best part.

And now I'm going to show you my childish side. What is this hanging off the bag? Is it Snooker's little brother? He certainly thinks it is and I have to hide it inside the bag when at home.

Everyone on the fashion internet was boasting vintage rabbit feet and fox tails, so I had to follow suit. I went on ebay. Everyone wanted to sell me A REAL FOX TAIL! I'm not a PETA activist, but sporting a real fox tail seemed a bit nasty to me. Overkill so to speak. In the end I managed to find this faux-fox-tail. Look, it even has cute little face and ears!

Here is a shot of my bag and a shoe (also an ebay find, Elie Tahari, comfortable 24-hour shoes). They match the bag perfectlywhich is a total accident.

Working 11-hour days you need something sweet to pick you up. At least I do. I try not to overdo the sweets, but this sweet cheese and apple tart was calling my name. Add a nice cup of latte and you're set for the day. Pardon the table setting. I was alone at the office and didn't fancy washing up. But I used a real spoon!

After such a long day I return home absolutely brain-dead. Hundreds of phone calls will do that to a girl. By the way, I don't like talking on the phone. How did I end up with this job where people are constantly calling for appointments?

And who greeted me at home? Scooby Do!!!!

This is a TV shot from "Scooby Do and the Samurai Sword". Kid can watch it 15 times a day. We have it recorded on Yes Max (local equivalent of Tivo or something like that). I love Shaggy and Scooby. "No mind is easy for us, our minds are always empty". Zoiks!

Chocolate night

Have you ever been to a chocolate workshop?
I have.



We received a bonus from the boss for best sales. An evening out at the venue of our choice. So we decided that our life was not sweet enough and booked an evening at a small chocolate shop in the city of Yehud, owned by Neta, a young woman who passionately loves all things chocolate. Her tiny shop is filled with truffles, pralines, chocolate flavored liqueurs and lots of other things that drive you crazy as soon as you walk through the door.

(photos courtesy of http://www.chocolata.co.il/)


Neta locked the doors and led us upstairs. She gave us each an apron and the fun began. First we tasted different kinds of chocolate. Some of us preferred bitter chocolate, but milk chocolate was the clear winner. Neta said that just by looking at the people entering the shop, she could tell by their demeanor what kind of chocolate they liked.


But we did not come there just to eat and talk! We got down to business.

Headless shot with dirty hands. One of the girls brought along her 4 y.o. daughter, she had a great time.

We made some chocolate truffles and after that mixed and poured some petit fours into tiny paper cups. And decorated them. Here is one of our ladies hard at work.

First you have to squeeze the chocolate mix into the cup. Then you take whatever sprinkles you have and go crazy. We drew flowers, anchors, letters, hearts, whatever you want.

And this is the final result. One tray was not enough. Doesn't it make you dizzy?

This is what I brought home. A box of petit fours, a baggie of truffles (chocolate balls, as my Kid calls them) and a bottle of chocolate orange liqueur (it's lovely on ice-cream and perfect for baking, but I'm hopeless at baking so I think I'll just drink it).

A fun evening with nice people - we definitely should do it more often.