Normal Life

Life in Israel is never boring. I returned home from Turkey and started a new job. Plus-size ladies' fashion. Worked there for 5 days and boom - literally. The rockets started falling again. I'm not going to discuss politics here, it's not that kind of a blog. But I was told not to come back until further notice. And the girls who worked there had their hours cut back. Of course, people don't want to go shopping in a situation like this, especially in the evening. They want to be home with their kids.

My Kid is home too. He started going to summer camp organized by his school but now it's been suspended. So I took him to the movies yesterday. We watched How To Train Your Dragon 2 in 3-D. We both loved it. There were 5 people in the theater - us and another family. That's it.

I wore my maxi dress which is great for the hot weather we're having.

My comfy Max Moretti sandals.

And I felt oh so French carrying my straw basket. It fits a lot and it's lightweight. And it's not your traditional handbag. Nice to wear something different for a change.

I heard good things about the new Loreal Miss Manga mascara and decided to try it out. We don't have it here yet and I ordered it on ebay. It finally arrived yesterday but I haven't used it yet. Hope I like it - I'll tell you about it later.

Of course, I can't go to the mall (that's where the movie theater is) and leave empty handed. Especially when I walked into the Moretti shop to say hello to my friend. These beauties were on sale plus I had some bonus points. Real suede sandals for about 35 bucks? Yes, please.

And I might have ordered something last night from the Asos site. I've been on the lookout for this style of espadrilles for quite some time and then I saw them on Susie So So and Style At Every Age blogs. Here they are:

You can get them here in black/off white or here in taupe/black. The stock is low and not all sizes are available. Good luck!

Turkey

We are back from our Marmaris holiday. Actually, we returned a week ago but I had so much to do and organize that only got to downloading my photos now. 

The trip started with a hiccup and it was extremely annoying. First of all, we had to fly via Istanbul as there are no direct flights. So instead of flying once for 40 min we had to fly for 2 hours and then another hour flight which was delayed. We got to the Dalaman airport and found out that my suitcase didn't make it to destination. While sorting out the lost luggage business, we missed our bus to Marmaris and had to wait for the next one scheduled for 2 am. Here is a very blurry image that I posted on Instagram. My exhausted son and husband. I was no better.

My suitcase was delivered in the evening of the second day. Good thing that the husband could wear my Kid's clothes. But I was stuck with jeans and one tank top in over 40 C degree heat. 

Actually, I could have packed half of what I took with me. I didn't wear my pretty dresses as it was way too hot. Denim shorts and sleeveless tops is all I could weather.

The main reason for our visit was my FIL's 80 birthday party. But before that we celebrated my Kid's 15th birthday. This is the view from the Pineapple restaurant in the marina.

And this is the birthday boy's dinner. This plus a tub of french fries of course.

We stayed at our friend's house that had a nice and cool swimming pool. Here it is, all decorated for the party.

M has lots of cats and a dog. This is his favorite spot - he can listen in on the conversations and stay out of the way.

This is Toppy, my very good friend. He looks vaguely diabolical, all black, even his nose. But he is extremely friendly.

You can see that Toppy was quite interested in my food. What you can't see is that two minutes after that he was ears deep in my tuna salad. Unfortunately I was too slow to take a picture.

Lovely and delicious birthday cake.

The next morning we went out for a Turkish breakfast. Very nice and right on the beach.

We are sitting on a wooden deck millimeters away from the water.

On the last day we went to the market to buy some fruits and veggies. I was surprised to see lots of strawberries - their season in Israel is already over. But then, their grapes season hadn't started yet while back home we already have plenty.

Being a huge "Fast and Loud" fan, I was lucky to spot this beauty. Chevrolet Impala, my guess around 1965 model, four door (sorry, Richard, I prefer four door!) In need of a paint job and some missing trim but otherwise perfect.

Such was our trip. Too short, as usual.
Now I'm back to my two jobs, I started working at the store, but we'll talk about it later. And in my translations, I'm just about to start the second episode of a certain Steven King-based TV show. All is far from well in Chester's Mill.

Murphy's Law

We are flying to Turkey on Sunday afternoon. So what does my Kid do this morning? He gets sick. Fever 39.5 C. He is sleeping now having taken a bunch of pills and there are more pills in his future. Because we're going!!! (he said).

In the meantime he's been busy packing his suitcase everyday this week. The finished product usually looks like this:

or like this:

I haven't even started packing yet. I'm putting little piles of clothing on a trunk in the bedroom adding and subtracting as I go. My vacation wardrobe mostly consists of stripes. Wide stripes, narrow stripes, red stripes, blue stripes. And denim. 

My biggest debate with myself is which shoes I should take. I'm taking three pairs plus flipflops for wearing in the house. So far I've decided to take my betulas

my old Zara flats

and my new Zara sandals. Why don't they put the sticker on the sole? It doesn't come off!

Anyway, I'm off to whip my son into shape. Will try to catch some WiFi and instagram from Marmaris.

Have a great week, everybody!

Bad Blogger Who Wants to be Good Again

I've been a really bad blogger. In fact, I'm sure I've lost the right to call myself a blogger. I could call myself a half-assed instagrammer because I post pictures of my cat and dog from time to time. Oh and a pair of shoes. That's it.

Here is the proof:

What's for dinner?

Total harmony

I guess my life is not that exciting lately (for the last couple of years). I've been working from home, not going out much, trying not to spend myself into a huge black hole which is a battle in itself.

Next Sunday we're flying to Turkey for a week for my father-in-law's 80's birthday (plus two more birthdays all within 2 days of each other, one of which is my son's who is turning 15). And it seems like a good time for a fresh start in life and in blogging. When we get back, I'm starting a part-time job in a clothing store. It's temporary for now (I'll substitute for another SA who is going away for an extended holiday), but hopefully when she gets back, I'll stay on. It will be nice to get out of the house.

So I'd like to become a blogger again. You, the fashion and not only fashion bloggers have been my friends, my support network and my inspiration. Just look at this photo:



Moi in Tel Aviv. Hat, sunglasses, t-shirt, bag, bracelets, the flower ring - all inspired by the cool and fabulous people who's blogs I read every day.

So here's to new beginnings and I'll see you soon.

Give Me Denim

This summer the fashion blogosphere is all about denim. Lightweight chambray shirts, denim jackets and vests, denim on denim, you name it. Here are some of my favorite looks that I've saved.

 

Brooklyn Blonde

My Style Pill

Suburban Faux-Pas

Sydne Style

I love jeans and I have always preferred them to skirts and dresses, until a couple of years ago. But even then, I managed to buy two denim dresses, here they are:

Last month before leaving for Moscow I went to H&M specifically in search of a denim jacket. I found this one. I'd prefer a jacket without the rips but couldn't find anything else. And I'm so glad I decided to buy it. Judging by the photos from the trip, it was the best purchase I'd made in a long time. Cost per wear must be miniscule. Of course, coming back to million degree heat, the jacket went straight into the closet where it'll stay for another two months at least.

Another item on my list was a chambray button-down. I've looked through tens of them everywhere without success. But yesterday I was finally able to cross it off my list. Thank you, Mango! They had only one left and in my size. But this shirt will also have to wait for cooler weather. I love that it's thin and I'll be able to tuck or half-tuck it in without too much extra bulk. Perfect layering piece.

While in Mango, I found a denim t-shirt. I remember seeing something like that on a blog and thinking "I want one"! So I got it as well. I can wear this now (if I'm going somewhere airconditioned) with everything.

As if two denim dresses weren't enough, as soon as I saw this one, I just had to have it. Classic shirt-dress with sleeves that can be rolled down.

This belt makes it perfect for a 4th of July party.

And this picture deserves to be in the "throwback thursday" pile. I bought this vest at the Guess store in Vancouver B.C. sometime in 1995. I'm so glad it survived all kinds of closet purges! It's a bit shorter than I would like, but still it would be perfect with maxi dresses. Which I'm planning to take with me to Turkey next week. We'll see how my plans work out...

And just to save everyone from denim overload, here is a picture of another recent purchase. I tried this dress on just for laughs thinking I'd never be able to wear anything like this. But it fit so well that I almost wore it home. Never be afraid to think out of the box meaning try on different clothes.

So there. I'm ready for autumn.

Dino Date

Yesterday Kid and I went to the dinosaur exhibit in Rehovot Weizmann Institure. I jumped at the chance to wear my new dress that I bought for the Moscow trip but didn't even take it out of the suitcase. Too cold. Well, it was perfect for here.

 

Big-ass 2 dollar earrings and chainlink bracelets completed the look.

 

I knew we'd have to do some walking, so I wore my old andalusian sandals.   

 

 

The Weizmann Institute of Science is a research center in Rehovot, here is the Wiki page. On the grounds there are some interesting structures.

 

Labyrinth-looking walls.

Lots of trees and green grass.

And fat cats. This one didn't even blink when I came up and ask to take his picture.

 

My son said that this model of a megaraptor was incorrect. The claws should be longer. I believe him, he knows.

 

The argentinosaurus was so huge, Kid had to go way back to fit him (and me) in the frame.

Stegosaurus saying hello. Behind him was something called  eco-sphere. It reminded me of the movie "Bio-Dome" that I translated years ago into Russian subtitles.

My friend amargosaurus.

T-rex, of course!

And ankylosaurus.

 

There were more dinos, but that's for the "experts" (the Kid would sit for hours studying all these photos).

 

 A good educational outing. We got home pretty late mostly due to a traffic jam. Luckily the bus was air-conditioned.

 

Next week he goes back to school.