Old European Streets' Charm

I'm thankful for the charmingly narrow old European streets. We don't have those in Moscow, so I guess it makes it so much easier to appreciate them, but I do, and definitely like taking pictures of them too!

World Wide Web

I'm tremendously thankful for the internet! For this awesome thing that makes me such a world wide woman, and helps me keep in touch with people and dear friends from all over the globe. Some of my friendships that I value so much wouldn't be possible or would be so much harder to maintain without internet, and some of them would have never happened in the first place, even if it sounds pathetic to some. I'm honestly very very very thankful!..

Twenty Two

Thankful for making it another year, it was a good one and I'm so ready for having a lot of fun living the life as a 22 year old now.

SMS

I'm thankful that a little kind gesture, a simple text message can still cheer me up.

Good Service

So I bought a laptop. It was delivered to my office right when they promised. Ordered the necessary accessories the next day. All was delivered right on time again. The service was perfect, and everyone was so polite when calling to confirm the details of the purchase... When I opened the box with all my new stuff I saw a Michael Jackson's "This Is It" CD inside - what a nice surprise, what a nice little gesture! I'm thankful for the perfect service this time and good and thoughtful service in general.

And, just because it's a Thanksgiving day in the US of A, and because my buddy Franchesca is just that awesome, here's her awesome Thanksgiving video message:

Friend Request

Oh friend requests, we all get enough of you in these tech days!..

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I certainly don't mind people to be "friends" with me, it's flattering at the very least. What I don't like is getting a completely random one: I have no idea who you are, I've never even heard your name, don't know where you came from and what brings you to my profile, and on top of all, you don't even bither to provide at least some sort of a clue as to what it's all about... Now why would I want you as a friend?

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My Facebook account is a personal thing, and I would decline a request like that not because I'm such a bitch, but because I'm not going for the number of "friends" on my list, but rather care about the "quality" and prefer to know who my contacts are.

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This was the reason I decided to "hide" my last name on here, at some point there were just too much to decline. But, a while ago when I got the request pictured above, I took a minute to think of a way to turn this the expirience into a thankful one in dedication to this blog. With that being said, I'm honestly thankful for the attention I get on the web, even if it's just because you like my picture, ha.

Colorful Rituals & Vivid Dreams

Speaking of movies, isn't it amazing how some of the motion picture productions just have such an impact on us? After seeing the following video yesterday, I had one of the most amazingly detailed dreams ever that night. The video features China's 60th Anniversary National Day and is incredibly beautifully shot - I really like the use of both timelapse and slow motion in one video and how creatively it's done in this particular one. And the sountrack goes just great with the picture, making it such a beautiful work altogether!

China's 60th Anniversary by Dan Chung

I'm thankful I came across this incredible video yesterday, and I'm thankful it caused me to see such a weirdly beautiful dream: I saw a little Indian boy dancing in slow motion by a river bank, playing with some long silk-like reddish ribbon in the haze and subtle darkness of the chilly evening...

Movies

Had a chance to re-watch one of my most favorite movies yesterday, The Bone Collector, and today I want to say thank you for all the good movies out there. Some of my other favorites that I'm thankful for:

A Man from the Boulevard des Capucines

Fight Club
The Blair Witch Project
Phone Booth
The Green Mile
Kids
Catch Me if You Can
Hitch
Yamakasi
12
Apocalypto
Cleaner

As you can see, I tend to like drama/horror/thriller stuff more, the kind that really makes me think. What are some of your favorites and what kind of movies do you generally like to watch?

Simply Packaging

I'm thankful for this awesome book on packaging design called Simply Packaging I got at this super awesome bookstore at 10 Corso Como in Milan. The 10 Corso Como place is an awesome concept in the whole and in general, and I might be thankful for it some time later, but now I just want to focus my attention on the book. I'm thankful to it for keeping me company on these days when I'm not feeling well and have to spend time mostly in bed. I, then, open the book and go through the pictures, reading the notes on the side. It helps me get distracted from the body's unpleasant sensations and keeps my mind inspired, so that when I'm back to the working mode I'm actually ready to have the work done. It puts me in a better mood too, since it brings all those good memories of that trip to Italy... It might come off silly, but when I realized how helpful this book had been I intentionally never opened it on other, normal, days, so I guess in a way I now have something to look forward to even when my body and system could use some rest. Talk about silver lining!..

Tall Americano

Somehow, Starbucks has long been the only place where I always get my Americano right the way I like it. I can't even recreate it at home, hmm. Thank you.

What's your usual order?

No Regrets

I'm thankful for my 'no regrets' attitude. It's only been helpful in life.

Do What You Can

Yesterday as I was getting ready to turn in for the night I realized something had changed, it's like I could feel something had happened inside of my mind - some sort of a 'switch'. It came as a big and an extremely pleasant surprise to understand that this thing was my new approach to something very important to me in life - traveling. Even if I didn't always want to admit it, I almost always thought of traveling as a way to escape from one life situation or another (and it usually ended up with me somewhat successfully escaping from one such situation but getting right into the next troublesome thing). I'm still not sure when exactly it happened or what really caused this "switch", but I suddenly stopped feeling the need to run away... "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" - something one of my buddies, Ben, once said (it's a Theodore Roosevelt quote) and something I'm very thankful for hearing. I knew I had to give it a try and it looks like it's working? Wow.

Scrambled Eggs

I'm thankful for my ultimate breakfast favorite - scrambled eggs. Ever since I traveled to the US in 2007, where I used to eat it daily during my stay, I got hooked. And I've been cooking them almost every morning ever since, which makes it more than 2 years of practice now... and also makes me sometimes proudly declare that I make perfect scrambled eggs (even if maybe I don't have the right to, ha).

What do you guys eat for breakfast?

P.S. The picture above is taken in Salou, Spain, and not in Miami, USA. The scrambled eggs meal featured was not made by me also, it's a restaraunt meal.

Music

I'm thankful for music, all sorts of it. Isn't it cool that absolutely anyone can find a song that would appeal to their taste and mood? Also, I've always been amazed and fascinated by the fact that so many lifetimes since the humankind began people still come up with new melodies... I will never completely comprehend that.

Life Lessons, Expectations and Familiar Situations

"Experience is what you get when you do not get what you want"

I really like this quote by unknown author. It's just true. We may strive for something, do our best at achieving things, but maybe sometimes what we think we want is just not meant to happen, or maybe just not in the way we expect it to happen. It gets frustrating, true that, but what you get in the end is priceless - you get experience and a chance to do better next time around. I'm thankful for the things that went in the opposite direction from my expectations - when faced with a similar situation now, I'm not scared, I know I'll figure out what to do.

Uninspired State of Mind

In all honesty, I'm sitting here and feeling very uninspired right now, staring blankly at my computer screen... But, at the same time, I realize this quiet time is much needed, for I had such rough last days at work that week. I even feel now that this uninspired state of mind is a good thing - gives me a great chance to just really relax finally. So I'm thankful I don't have to keep up with all those thoughts racing through my head at least for a day.

Love Your Hair

Speaking of hair, I want to confess that I'm thankful for mine. I'm not going to say anything new if I mention how so many women (and well, some men too) are not satisfied with the way their hair is - whoever has it straight wants it wavy/curly, whoever has fabulous curls wants to straighten them... I'm not against changing it or experimenting with it, but what I do think is right it's that we need to appreciate our natural hair too. I love my hair. It's not too straight, not too wavy, and it can be a mess sometimes, but it's easy to style - I can get any look I want. I'm thankful for how fast my hair grows out too. I can cut it and rock a bob look and in a year have a medium-to-long cut... and have fabulously long tresses in two. Appreciate your hair, people! Appreciate the lack of it too! Someone might just be wishing to have it exactly like you do.

Morning. Conversation. Barcelona

Sometimes one little conversation can change so much: you suddenly have an all new approach to old things. You might not even notice or understand its impact at first, but sooner or later, reflecting back on the chat or even a single phrase, you realize how meaningful it actually was and how much sense it made. I'm thankful for this conversation I had with a friend on a sunny morning in Barcelona in August - somehow I got reminded I was capable of so many things, and ever since then I never once hesitated to give something I thought I wasn't qualified for enough a try.

"One must learn by doing the thing: for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try" - Sophocles

Miami, Summer 2007

I'll never get tired of being thankful for my Miami trip in the summer of 2007 - I can easily divide my whole life into before and after this amazing experience. Today, however, I'd like to honor the people I met there and the memories we share. Thanks to:

Alessandra S.
Alessandro S.
Andy B.
Andrey K.
Anna D.
Anna K.
Antoine L.
Anu M.
Barbara P.
Benjamin E.
Benoit L.
Charles D.
Dave A.
Fred H.
Irene B.
Laetitia D.
Laurent L.
Leon E.
Leslie B.
Louise-Marie M.-H.
Malwina Z.
Margit K.
Mario T.
Masha S.
Nello S.
Nicolas G.
Nicole F.
Nina P.
Nino V.
Paula S.
Sabrina F.
Sarah F.
Savo J.
Tatiana M.
Teddy B.
Tereza K.
Ursi L.
Vilma K.
Vincent C.
Yulia K.

P.S. Big thanks to my parents who paid for the trip - it's especially memorable because it was the last time I traveled on their expense.

/photo courtesy of a friend of mine

Accomplished Busy Bee

I have been quite busy with a lot of different things lately, and have even been surprised with how little time I had left for certain things I used to do - even replying emails has required additonal effort. However, I don't mind being busy as long as it is for a good cause and as long as it makes me feel good, so I'm thankful. I've been busy but I've been feeling accomplished often lately.

Feedback

I'm honestly very thankful for all the positive feedback, kind commentary, well wishes, words of encouragement and thankful thoughts in the form of comments, emails and messages from both my active public followers and those who read the blog privately. It hasn't even been 2 months yet since I started the project, but I've been receiving so much positivity already! All of it inspires me and keeps me going, so THANK YOU!

Difficult

A man would usually call a woman difficult when a woman knows what she wants. With that being said, I'm thankful for being "difficult" in men's eyes.

Vino Forever

I'm thankful for a thing called wine. It's good for you and it tastes good, anyone can find the kind they like more. It's relaxing, it's heart healthy, goes great with all sorts of foods, it's sophisticated. And I like what wine glasses look like too.

With a Smile on My Face

Yesterday I woke up smiling and couldn't remember why. Amusing feeling, and especially so since it doesn't happen often. So I woke up smiling and felt very thankful for this amusing life's little gesture, and then thought to myself it probably meant that something was about to transpire... A few hours later I find out my blog is featured on Innovate! (So thankful to Elizabeth!) That made my morning smile even bigger and appeared to only be a start of the day full of smiles and very positive events. Oh, thank you!

To Mark

I am so thankful for your friendship. You're so unique in your very own way. You're so British in many things you do even without noticing it, yet I came to realize your Britishness never annoyed me as it used to happen with other English men I knew, instead it makes me smile and appreciate you more. Amazing how we've been friends for so long now - I coudn't ever imagine it lasting that long and us making it 5+ years when we first started talking! Amazing how we're so different yet we always have so many things to talk about... And boy, do we talk weird stuff sometimes! There are things I wouldn't even try discussing with someone else, as they seem quite narrowly specific, but I would rush to send you a quick message about (what's with all those home-made meals photos?)... We've grown to have our own chat topics and inside jokes, and at times it truly amazes me how so many years after we can still talk so much and can still discuss peanut butter :-) Somehow with you all those topics never get old, and I feel blessed to have realized how much our friendship means to me, and I'm glad you're here to hear me say all of these. Thank you for being a friend I can truly count on, Mark! With you I can be sure that no matter what I say or do you're not going to turn your back on me.

Happy Birthday, Marky!

P.S. Hey, I typed the word "quite" correctly!.. :p

My Intuition

I've always felt very appreciative of my wickedly cool intuition - sometimes I just know. This knowing helps me be prepared for the worst when needed and calms me when I get anxious or impatient. I know that for some people this intuition thing may be a bit of a burden, but I've always liked that about me. Thank you and, please, never leave me.

Color Me Warm

I'm glad and thankful I've finally found the right paint color scheme for the redecoration of my bedroom: rich Velvet Truffle 1 (dark) + calm Cappuccino Candy 6 (light). Yay! Can't wait to redecorate my '13 year old boy lives here' room I styled for myself when I was 14 (I liked it back then!) and see the result some time (hopefully) soon!

She is... Beyonce

Oh can I just say thank you to Beyonce? I went to see her in concert yesterday (she's on her "I am" tour now) and oh boy, what a great performer she is! So giving, so genuine, such a charming person and she can definitely sing live. Thanks, Bey, for the great show and for such warm and positive vibe!

P.S. The above photos are taken with my iPhone, so this is the best quality I could get.

Sometimes Things Just Need to Go Wrong

Sometimes in life things are just meant to go wrong, and no matter how hard you may try to hold on certain things just need to be let go off. You may not always know why right away, but you will always know later and, most probably, you'll even be thankful - for if it wasn't for a certain failure in the past one would not always rise even higher.

With that being said, I am thankful for my past attempts at relationships that failed. I'm thankful I was forced to learn to let go off the past - it's much easier on me now. I don't keep old useless emails, messages, photos any more... If I know I need to let go I can do it. I'm thankful I was forced to start using my free time so much more efficiently: instead of spending all of it on second-guessing someone else's actions I used it on bettering myself, both physically and mentally. I'm thankful I'm now able to turn a failure into success, even if it's not always easy.

Paris, je t'aime...

I'm thankful for my perfect trip to Paris for my birthday last year. Loved the city, loved it's vibe, loved it's diversity, loved seeing old friends again, loved getting to know people I knew just a little so much better, loved making new friends... I miss Paris and I will be back!

Big thanks to Antoine, Charles, Laetitia, Teddy, Pierre, Laure, Louise, Chloe, Wally and a huge thank you to Yannick.