''leaving it to you is like leaving my dinner plan to Gordon Ramsey''

It has been a long time since I last wrote anything here, and then one very inspiring and amazing person told me: "I don't like it that Shoshana stopped making little steps", so I thought to my self : "but I didn't". And it is time for a new blog, maybe it is not going to be similar to anything I have written before, but that is what I feel like this Sunday evening.

Spring time is finally here and I feel that it is such time of the year that everybody has some sort of action in their lives - it is time for changes: we change time, coats, dark jeans for light ones, and of course we look for new experiences, knowledge, friends, lovers - in other words just throw off the heaviness of winter and greet the world around us, which has also changed: trees put on their colourful outfits, days become longer, sun is shining (well as we are in UK it is not always right, but at least it is much warmer). Everything is like screaming: ' C'mon, act! It is nice, bright, warm - what else you need?!'

BUT!

You probably all know about such thing as spring fever, spring tiredness and all these terms which identify this special mood we tend to get in spring.. It is probably caused by the lack of sun and vitamins in winter and gets us all upset, sleepy, tired and even depressed.

Well, I will try to think of a list of things you can possibly do to pull yourself out of your sad mood (whatever caused it). Ha!

Firstly, let me explain the name of this blog and hopefully it will lead to the first point of my HAPPY SPRING LIST :)
I love planning and organising, and I was sitting with this one great person (who inspired this blogpost) and we were thinking of what we would like to do to boost our mood - and the idea is to

GET OUT OF HOUSE - travel, explore, organise a day out! So he told me: "leaving it (organising) to you is like leaving my dinner plan to Gordon Ramsey" and you can imagine that this made my level of self-esteem boost (maybe too much and this blogpost won't be too great at the end :D). But seriously!
You had enough time for surfing internet and watching movies inside during autumn and winter! Get a picnic basket, book, headphones,friend, or whatever you have.. and go to the park!
Parks are great :) Or organise a day trip to a nearest town, or just explore the places you've never been before in your city. Also, IT IS OK! to go on your own! The most important that this will feel you feel better.

SPORT! - well spring is also there to remind us all that we have few months left for getting our bodies into the shape ! Just remember, in less than two months starts the season of girls in bikinis and topless guys ! You better be ready, but that is not the main reason - sport or in general any physical activity like dancing or playing games are good for taking away you sad thoughts or depression. All you will be thinking about is what is the next step in the dance or how many push ups have you done. Also, it is now warmer and even an evening/morning jog is helpful to give you a boost of energy!

NEW THINGS - by that I do not mean only shopping (however, you have a great excuse - everyone needs to update their wardrobes for spring ;) ). In general, try out something new, new hair, new style, discover new band, new author, sign up to some courses, learning something new is always good. Also investing in yourself is never a waste of time or money and especially when you are not at your best you might need to get some new perspective or opinion on things :) Also try out some new food, if it makes you happy (well food certainly makes me very happy, however it sometimes conflicts with my previous point) - don't mix it - eating your problems away is not the way! :D

Btw here is my drawing I made once.. no comment :D

PEOPLE - here are two things : "Some people are like clouds - when they go away it is a beautiful day", but some people, who inspire, care and make you feel happy can turn your day into the most beautiful one. It is all up to you who you want to have close to you in your life and spend your spring days with! I am sure that even if you are feeling very lonely, there are people who care and think of you! So don't be upset, all your worries are not forever (however i know it might seem so) - well i guess i am turning into spiritual leader or a psychologist here, but i do believe it's true :D

PS: didn't like any of those? One very simple advice just stroke me - switch on your favorite hits (guilty pleasures like Britney) sing and dance to yourself when you are sad. Music is a great medicine ;)

Anyways, have a great spring! 

Love,

Shoshana (who keeps making steps)

 

Smoked chicken layered salad - easy option for any occasion

One very good friend of mine recently watched 'Julie and Julia' (if you haven't seen it and you love good food and Meryl Streep you should do so) and inspired her mum to start a blog, which i think is absolutely amazing! We all know that there is nothing better than your mum's cooking - and these brave ladies decided to share their secret family recipes with the whole (Russian speaking) world. I will link it here in case you are interested to check out a mixture of Jewish and Eastern European cuisine recipes - Inna's blog. Recently I was doing some cooking and I decided why not to share this one with you too. This one is quite an easy salad (despite the fact that there is a lot of chopping to do) that my mum does sometimes when we have guests around or something like that. So here it is: You will need following:

Smoked chicken - about 400g
Chinese leaf or sweet lettuce
Colorful peppers - you can choose one colour it just adds some brightness to the salad
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Sliced tinned mushrooms- or you can fry them yourself
Pineapple chunks and
Mayo and sour cream for the sauce between the layers

To make it easier I prefer to chop all the ingredients first and then just create the layers of the salad. Also it looks nice if you have a glass form for the salad. However, it is all about the taste at the end of the day :) For the first layer I chop the lettuce and put it in the glass form

next is chicken

after that we want to add some colour by adding peppers and coating it with mayo and sour cream. I usually mix 2 table spoons of sour cream and 2 tbs of mayo in a separate bowl.

after, a new section of our salad begins with pineapple chunks and mushrooms

add on your chopped tomatoes and cucumber

finally add on everything what is left from chicken and lettuce and coat it with the mayo layer.

Sorry, don't have the photo of the final result. But I promise it was tasty. 

Try it out and let me know what you think.

Bon appetite!

Books, movies, tv-shows

Hello everybody! I decided to share some of my thoughts on what I have recently read, watched or listened to. I will start with books. Well, since I moved to London I noticed that this city just makes you read mostly because people spend ages while commuting. I for example have to travel for 50 minutes to work and with book time goes by much faster. This summer I have red Dance, Dance Dance which is the last additional book to Murakami's 'Trilogy of the Rat'. I am totally in love with him and this last book as all the previous ones of his had impressed me a lot. I love this weird feeling I get when I read his books - some sort of jealousy towards his characters. You unwittingly desire to become one of them to experience all the mysticism and craziness. Also I love the fact that his books introduce the reader to the culture of Japan - between the lines of the main you find random facts about the life of Japan. For example existence of 'love hotels' (one them was actually portrayed in the newest Wolverine), personal registered seal which enable a Japanese to sign document and 'Chazuke' - Japanese remedy for hangover. In his books he mentions a lot of music and the band that repeats the most in Dance Dance Dance is Beach Boys.

I decided to have a little break from Murakami (I do have 1Q84 waiting for me on the shelf) and read something else. Peter came for help. He is loving reddit and in one of the discussions 'what is the best book you've ever read?' he found me 2 books. I have managed to read one of them - it is 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy. Well, I have to admit I have never read anything similar to this - it is a very unique style of writing and quite a deep and sad story. This book is not the one which will leave you with a light and optimistic feeling, but if you are willing to empathise and even cry a bit - then this apocalyptic genre is for you. Descriptive manner, repeating dialogues are not very exciting, but still there is something in it that makes you keep reading - not understanding what is happening and at the same time interest. This novel was awarded with Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. This story makes you put yourself on the place of the characters and think what would you do? Would you give up or continue fighting? There is no thinking of past or future, it is just the road. The ending of the book is very touching - and I made conclusion that no matter whar happens it is our task to carry the fire, hope for the best and have the strength to live. There is also a film ('The Road') which I recommend watching if you don't want to read a book.

Moving on to the movies and TV-Shows - it has been a lot of them but I will just mention the ones I really love. All time favourite TV Show - Suits. Very pleasant, unobtrusive series. American law firm, there are even elements of romantic relationship, but it is to expand the audience. A guy with an amazing memory - not a lawyer who works in one the biggest law firms in NY. Beautiful men, beautiful women, beautiful life - well all you need to get pleasure. Something different, but yet good. I recommend watching.

I am also loving ANTM Cycle 20 - it is truly amazing - exciting news - there are boys in it! But really, it is really entertaining and I just Love Tyra Banks - I like the American series because it is always something more than just looks and modelling it is about relationship and personality. I think it is very cool and it is also on YouTube. Recent movies that I watched were The Road (which you pretty much got the idea from the book review), Kick - Ass 2 (which was to awful that i don't even want to talk about it), We are The Millers and The Art of getting by. Millers - is a very funny comedy I would say 18+ but is really entertaining - perfect to watch after a hard day at work, gets you out of your routine. Don't expect any deep feeling but a good comedy to watch. The Art of getting by - I found it through Emma Roberts' filmography. As when I like the actress/or i usually check out all the movies with him/her and I found The Art of getting by, which is nothing special, but very cute and very much about life.I love these characters, which sometimes I feel like saying, "God, what are you doing?" They do not leave you indifferent. No one is perfect, and all make mistakes, everyone has their own opinion and their perception of the world. Plus, I love the school theme :D I do recommend. Wish you a great weekend - watch, read, listen to what you love! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

What to wear on a date?

Hello everyone!
Summer continues and it is the best time for walks, trips, nights out and of course some romances! I thought that issue 'what to wear on a date' is the one that automatically comes up. Now, I want to clarify that 'date' doesn't have to be the very first one, or the very important one, it could be any date, for example a date with your boyfriend, who you are together with for a long time.. In my situation I absolutely love defining with my boyfriend (as we are together for long time) 'the date'. Then, we both know that we have to make an effort.
Yes, by the way I am convinced that a date deserves an effort! Even if you are meeting your friend, who you haven't seen for a long time why not to dress up and feel a little bit more special?!

Also, I have very strong opinion about the girls' looks, as I think that we have so much more things to use, to be creative and experiment. Make up, heels, dresses, shorts, skirts and then different materials, textures and colours. Why not to use this variety of choice? This blog is aimed to share my little tips on how to get ready for a date.


1. Opposites attract
I am pretty sure that we are attracted to something that we are lacking. From this deep philosophical thought I will go straight to clothing. Dress up in a way that a guy wouldn't be able to (well at least the guy who you would like to date). If it is a romantic date, you might want to put away your formal suit, unisex clothes and big boots. I think it is better to choose something that is feminine, some soft and light materials, which emphasize on all the right places and hide the ones we don't want to be seen. For a casual get together you can express your personality with the funky and original style. It is always good to think rational - if you know that you are going for a picnic (as much as you'd like to) it is not the perfect occasion for a short dress and heels. But even in the casual wear there are such materials as chiffon, lace or silk which are considered to be feminine. 

Here are some ASOS examples of quite casual tops with some details which will emphasize on the feminine side of yours, which can be easily worn with some shorts or even jeans:
Lace top

Lace top and skater 

This is nice - but too sophisticated. Perfect for a job interview or a meeting with business client

YES!

2. Confidence and (and not so much) comfort

I am convinced that a date is the time to enjoy, so first of all you might want to feel confident and comfortable. However, you can define comfort with cozy flats or with your favourite tight dress and mid-heels which will make you feel comfortable with your look. So it is for you to decide. I usually tend go for not-so-much of a literal comfort , well – beauty demands sacrifice and it’s always your choice of how much you are willing to surrender to it.  

Coming back to the main question – ‘So what do I wear for a date?’ I would say in this context stick to your trusted favourite things, which make you feel good and importantly ensure you with confidence that your dress won’t rip and the shoes won’t be hurting your feet. I agree that it is exciting to buy a new ‘outfit for a date’, however make sure you give it a little ‘trial’ before the day. You don’t want to feel uncomfortable because of new shoes, which rub or blister your feet.

3. Little things that will make you feel good
Talking of your self-esteem, there are always little things that can make you feel on top of the world. It can be anything really and it should not necessarily be visible to everybody. It can be your underwear (which you are not planning to expose) but it will make you feel good before the date while checking yourself out in the mirror; favourite perfumes; accessories  or a lucky charm. Yes, we all have some little secrets and superstitions - and there is nothing wrong about it.  

4. Details - don't forget about them!
Now I would like to expand a bit on ‘we have so much to use’ – I am talking about details. You can always make your look stand out by being creative with your accessories and paying attention to the detail. Moreover, some guys do have an eye for a detail. He will definitely notice your manicure when taking your hand. Colours play an important role in your perception of person. You might want to stay away from a red dress if you consider your date more of a ‘friendly one’ rather than a ‘third date’ (we all know what I am on about).  So, spend some time considering such details as colours, matching styles of clothes, hair and makeup.  



6. Positive attitude

Last but not least – it is not all about clothes. Yes, your look will definitely make an impression of your personality, but don’t try to be someone else - just be yourself (a little bit prettier that on a daily basis) . The person who you are going on a date with wants to see you, not the girl from a magazine who he doesn’t care about. The most important thing which has absolutely nothing to do with what you wear - is your mood. If you like yourself and you can shamelessly say 'oh girl, you are damn hot' to your reflection, then you reached the desired result. Love yourself and others will love you too. 

Hopefully, there was something useful in this discussion and I wish everyone to have great time on their dates!