good things list / april

can you believe that one third of two thousand seventeen is gone? i am incapable of it! how quickly and incredibly smoothly time goes by. it is surreal and unbelievable, but it is our reality. april was a rollercoaster, although weren`t the previous months the same? there were a couple of great weeks and a couple of extremely challenging and painful ones. it was a complicated month, and it was also important. so many things happened, but to sum it up - it ended well, really-really well. once again, i kept on thinking - what a lucky human being i am, and gratitude filled every tiny space in me. last week i published a post with photos of me taken by tanya on her film camer and i wrote: "i am both content to be where i am right now and impatiently excited about everything that is coming soon". these words are a perfect embodiment of my state of mind. april was a hell of a month, and i am in a way relieved that it is over, but i am also grateful that it happened. i wonder what future will be like, but i make an effort to concentrate on what is happening right here right now.

reading report / april

(текст на русском - ниже)

april was not a stable month in terms of everything that took place in life, but it was a stable one in terms of reading. i read three new books and re-read an old one. it was definitely one of those months when i needed reading to take my thoughts away from the things that bothered me and it managed to do it successfully. also i started using another book that i will tell you about a little later. after finishing "a little life" in march, i had no idea what to read next. it felt as if no other literary work would be good enough, so i went for non-fiction instead. apart from that i was in the mood to think about things, to analyze them, to make decisions and change something. therefore, my choices were natural and perfectly on time. i was extremely excited to discover adam grant, whose work resembles a lot to what malcolm gladwell (whose fan i am and whose books i love) has been doing for quite a while now. it was incredibly interesting and fulfilling to read his two books in one month. i am now eager to get his new book, that he has written together with sheryl sandberg - "option b" as soon as possible.

list of good things / january

(текст на русском - ниже)

remember the time when my laptop was broken and i really wanted to write a new post for you, so i did - i wrote a list of good things on my iphone. also, i said that it is a good idea to write such lists on a regular basis. well, almost three months later, here is my second one! it is a list of good things of the first month of two thousand sixteen. i could have just said "january", i know. 

• read a great book - "choose the life you want: the mindful way to happiness" by tal ben-shahar. i used to be very sceptical about this kind of books, but then i discovered malcolm gladwell and was not able to stop! plus, there this is a great publishing house MIF, which i love, and i want all of their books. literally all. coming back to this particular book - inside of it you can find a list of questions with two options "either...or...". these two choices are well-known to all of us. for example "give up on your dreams or take your dreams seriously". it seems like everyone would choose the second option, but in reality it is not that way at all. there is a hundred of such questions in the book and a limitless quantity of worthy thoughts. it was a great reading start of the year;

• finally read something by ayn rand. i have been looking at her books and thinking about buying them, but never did and then i bought a collection of essays "the virtue of selfishness" and, oh, how many incredibly striking ideas there are. so simple, yet so extraordinary. even today! extremely impressed and looking forward to buying her other books;

• received lovely cards with warm words from paris, london, kiev and dniepropetrovsk, and sent some of my own! every single one of them made me a little bit happier. when was the last time you send a letter or a card by post? or have you ever done it? it is a very special process for me;

• wrote an article about personal branding on social media and then did an interview with a creative duo anton and ksenia schnaider about the use of technology and internet in fashion;
• went to the cinema four times. i lo-o-o-ove going to the cinema, so every time i am there - i am really excited. what did i watch? the good dinosaur twice (!) - cried both times; the hateful eight - so not my kind of a movie; and JOY - i appologize for this, but, boy, oh, boy, what a joy it was watching this movie! i have already mentioned it here. it is my personal must-see;
• watched two seasons of "the big bang theory". it is a breakthrough for me, because i was sure i would not like it and i did not want to even start, but then i did (not my accomplishment, really) and it turns out i enjoy it. it feels so good to realize you were wrong about something (sounds weird, i know), but it really is this way! i can be quite stubborn, so i am glad, when someone manages to persuade me to try something unusual for me;
• bought a beautiful and warm cardigan from "& other stories" in an online store sms moda;
• bought a couple of colouring books dedicated to kyiv for myself and as a gift, started colouring mine and realized i need to buy some more;

• ate a lot of delicious food - both during hoildays and afterwards;
• survived the freezing cold (minus twenty celsius and worse)! moreover, winter went away and it is plus one right now, which is enough to make me glad! 

what now? turn on this music and write your own list of good things. i know, it is monday, so you are probably really busy, but i am more than sure that there is a way to find ten to twenty minutes and enjoy this "task". first month of the year is over, so i have just put away all the decorations. i can say that it was a great start. i have been quite productive and plan to be even more productive in february. wish you a successful week :)

and what a bliss it is to know that spring is in one month! hooray!

p.s. like always there is a postscriptum. this times it is a bonus point of the list - i have finally had my hair cut! enjoying it a lot these days.

помнишь то время, когда у меня сломался ноутбук, а мне очень хотелось сделать новый пост для тебя, и потому я написала список хороших вещей на своём айфоне? также, тогда я подчеркнула, что составлять такой список лучше на регулярной основе. ну что ж, почти три месяца спустя, вот и мой второй список! он за период первого месяца года. можно было бы просто написать "января", я знаю.

итак, что же хорошего случилось со мной за это время? 

• прочитала отличную книгу - "что ты выберешь? решения, от которых зависит твоя жизнь" тала бен-шахара. раньше мое отношение к подобным книгам было крайне скептическое, но потом я открыла для себя малкольма гладуэлла и всё! кроме того, я - фанат издательского дома МИФ, и хочу все их книги. без преувеличения все-е-е! возвращаясь к книге, хочу сказать, что внутри ты найдешь список вопросов с вариантами "или....или....". вот, например, "отказаться от мечты ли серьезно относиться к своей мечте". казалось бы, все выберут второе, но на деле это не так. в книге ты найдешь еще сотню подобных вопросов и невероятное количество очень интересных мыслей от автора. эта книга стала отличным читательским началом года:

• я наконец-то прочитала что-то, написанное айн рэнд. я уже давно и активно присматривалась к её работам, но никак не могла купить ни одну книгу. и вот, наконец это случилось. я решила начать с малого и купила сборник эссе "добродетель эгоизма". и, ох, какое же там количество потрясающих идей. таких простых, но в то же время экстраординарных. даже сегодня! я - под сильным впечатлением, и теперь еще сильнее хочу поскорее прочитать другие её книги;

• получила по почте поздравительные открытки с приятными словами внутри из парижа, лондона, киева и даже днепропетровска, и сама отправила парочку. каждая из них сделала меня немного счастливее. а когда ты в последний раз отправлял(а) письмо или открытку по почте? и делал(а) ли это когда-то вообще? для меня это очень особенный процесс;

• написала статью о персональном брендинге в социальных сетях, а после сделала интервью с антоном и ксенией шнайдер об использовании современных технологий и интернета в моде;
• сходила в кинотеатр целых четыре раза. я обожа-а-аю ходить в кино, а потому каждый раз, когда это случается - я в восторге; так что же я посмотрела? хорошего динозавра дважды (!) - оба раза я плакала; омерзительную восьмерку - совершенно не мой фильм; и, конечно же, ДЖОЙ - какое же удовольствие было смотреть этот фильм. я уже упоминала его здесь. и снова настоятельно рекомендую посмотреть его;
• посмотрела два сезона "теории большого взрыва". для меня это прорыв, потому что я была уверена, что этот сериал мне не понравится и не хотела даже начинать, но потом таки сделала это (на самом деле, это не моё достижение), и выяснилось, что он мне нравится. радостно осознать, что я была не права (странно звучит, я знаю), но это действительно так! я могу быть очень и очень упрямой, так что рада каждый раз, когда кому-то удается убедить меня попробовать и сделать что-то мне несвойственное;
• купила красивый и теплый кардиган "& other stories" в онлайн-магазине sms moda;
• купила несколько раскрасок, посвященных киеву, для себя и в подарок, начала раскрашивать и поняла, что нужно купить еще несколько;

• съела очень много вкусной еды - и во время праздников и после них;
• пережила жуткие морозы (минус двадцать и даже хуже)! кроме того, зима, судя по всему, решила отступить и сейчас на улице плюс один, чего более чем достаточно, чтобы порадовать меня!

что теперь? включи эту музыку и составь свой список хороших вещей. знаю-знаю, сегодня понедельник, и у тебя скорее всего куча дел, но я также более чем уверена, что всегда есть возможность найти десять-двадцать минут и насладиться этим "заданием". первый месяц года закончился, так что на днях я убрала и спрятала новогодние украшения. могу сказать, что начало было просто отличным. я была довольно продуктивной, и планирую быть еще продуктивнее в феврале. желаю тебе успешной недели :)

и как же радостно осознавать, что до весны остался всего месяц! ура!

п.с. кажется, ни один мой пост не обходится без постскриптума. в этот раз это дополнительный пункт списка - я наконец-то подстриглась, и теперь наслаждаюсь этим!

reading report / november

(english version is available below)

в этом месяце я наконец-то добралась до привезенных из киева книг "миф", купила три книги из серии "the do book" и получила от ани в подарок привезенную из парижа и только что вышедшую "à paris" с автографами лорен и жанн <3 кроме того, я забрала из университетской библиотеки последнюю книгу хиллари клинтон, которую университет купил по моей же рекомендации, а в последний день ноября я дочитала шестидесятую книгу в этом году и справилась со своим goodreads 2017 reading challenge. в общем, это был очередной замечательный месяц в плане чтения! открывай полный пост, чтобы узнать больше.

i finally managed to read the books by "mif" that i had brought from kiev, i bought three books from "the do book" series and received a newly-published "à paris" with the autographs of lauren and jeanne as a gift from paris <3 on top of that, i picked up the last book of hillary clinton from my uniersity`s library (they had bought it because of my recommendation). i finished reading the sixtieth book this year on the last day of november and therefore completed my goodreads 2017 reading challenge. all in all, it was another fantastic month in terms of reading, so open the full version of this post to find out more.

reading report / february

(текст на русском - ниже)

at first i thought that i would start this post by saying that it was difficult to find time to read in february. there were a few very important deadlines throughout the month, so basically the time that i would usually spend reading, like early mornings or late evenings, was dedicated to finishing important tasks. however, this thought reminded me of something, that i keep on pointing out to others all the f time - you either make time for something or you don`t. i do not have more time than anyone else, but i have priorities.

for example, i hoped to go back to yoga studio after not being able to go in january and then i just saw that rationally i could not afford giving away three hours (to get there, to be there, to go back) and i had to skip it. i felt guilty and upset, because i really wanted to go and because it made me feel so much better, but i just did not have enough time. instead i tried to do a litle bit of yoga here and there at home. something is always better than nothing. whereas with reading, i just love and need it so much, that i have to read at least a tiny bit every single day to remain sane, so i make it happen. that is why i would like to let you know one more time - if you want to read more - have a look at how you spend your time and get rid of something, because this is the only way to get things done. it works the same way for everything. i know that in march i am going to oversee my schedule one more time to make yoga studio a part of it again, but that is a subject for another post. books are what we are here today to discuss, right? YES <3

reading report / march

(текст на русском - ниже)

even before the beginning of march i knew that i would not be able to read for the first two weeks of the month. paris fashion week is a crucially important period for any brand that participates in it (i am still planning to write a post about taking part in a trade-show or a showroom), which is why, naturally, it is a top priority and nothing matters as much as it does. on top of that, my luggage was full of our collection pieces, so there was no such option as bringing a book with me ("that is why one chooses ebooks, silly", - you are probably thinking). i had to take a break and leave "a little life" unfinished. however, i managed to start reading a book on my phone on my way there, finished it by waking up at five (not on purpose), started another one on the very last day of the trip and continued reading it on the plane on my way back home!