At some point during the summer of 2012 I picked up the most "en vogue" baby book of the year Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman. I was halfway through my first pregnancy and I had a lot of idiotic ideas about childrearing. I suppose I expected this book to fulfill some of them. I expected to read about where to find the...

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my grandmother, mum and her brother Our beloved "babulya" and Valentina's namesake passed away on the 8th of this month, International Women's Day. And it's only fitting since she was a remarkable woman. I've shared a little bit about her before but I wanted to take a moment and honor her memory.  Most of what I know about her life I learned directly...

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This past weekend I bought this beautiful green head of cauliflower and was thinking of ways to use it. I also am working on using up a gigantic bag of kale that I have in the fridge and after some research it became apparent that these two would be best used in a soup! I wanted something quick and easy since I was...

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hat, top, sunglasses, bag, shoes, shorts, blanket As soon as the weather gets nice I can think of nothing but picnics. Growing up we did a lot of picnicking since my parents didn't have a lot of money and it was an easy and cheap way to do something that felt "special." Thanks to my mum I've become a pro at it. Whenever...

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When I was almost four we were living in Russia and my parents began work on their dream home. Dad would bring home blueprints and mum and I would pore over decor magazines dreaming of what life would look like within the four brick walls. I became especially fixated on a two page spread of a ballerina themed pepto bismol pink bedroom with...

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