oh dear God, it's been a year

..almost a year let's say. I've been neglecting my duties even for a lazy blogger, I admit. Maybe I didn't have much to say or maybe I didn't have the urge to share it, but I'm back.

I would love to share some Moscow insights with you, however I'm under house arrest for some beautiful reasons, I couldn't explore the city as much as I used to.

But I'm nice enough to write some tips for those who actually can explore the city:

-If you still haven't been to Art Academia in Bresenevskaya Naberejnaya, 6, bld.3; go there, now! It's one of the best options to have a after-work drink but also it's one of my favorite places to dine; nice atmosphere, lovely new factory-redesign neighbourhood and Academia food with Academia prices. Nice...

-Have you been to More Vnutri (the Sea Inside)? You should see how lovely this place is in the summer. It's a small cafe with white and pastel colored interior with many seaside elements around. You actually could hear the sound of waves around in this sea-less city. Check out the website: http://morevnutri.ru/ It's very close to metro station Aleksandrovski Sad. And check out these pics we took last october, I think (wow, it's been a while):

- What else what else...Ah the Zorro Musical. It was a first but we really enjoyed the "action" in a musical. I have to admit we kindo wished for an accident, not because we are bad people, nono, but because it kind of is the reality of theater, don't you think. There were a lot of action scenes where Zorro was flying around the theater with a rope and stuff. And you could see how convenient is the mask, because there were stunts and you think the talented actor with the great voice would jump up and down like that...haha, I had my binoculars on! (I did! and later on I bought a pair for myself, white metal with the chain and everything- oh I love my new binocles)

-For our anniversary we went to СЫР (cheese) Restaurant on Sadovaya kaltso. It is one of Novikov restaurants. After Cantinetta Antinori I was a little suspicious, but I tell you, the food was excellent! Every single dish we had was seriously delicious. Plus the ambiance is kindo cool, they put copper pots on every empty seat, which I think is quite original, it kindo gives you the feeling that they will cook your order in that pot; but I doubt that is the case. Interior design is not so very modern let's say, they made it look like inside of a cheese...sounds good, right. But I seriously object to any kind of exaggeration of that sort. Ok we get it, you have a theme! What I don't like about the place is the exterior, you might never guess that it is a chic dining place from the outside. They put a plastic light in the shape of a cheese and written СЫР in blue (?). The entrance also have blue doors. Wtf you might say and I would definitely agree. But in the end it is a hidden treasure food-wise, go and taste some good italian food. (Ah I forgot, there's a piano as well)

I am tired of writing now, I wish you all well with all your future endeavours. I won't keep this long next time.

xoxo

Gossip girl

(what?)

this city needs an exorcism!

What's up with the smoke Moscow!?

It's bad enough that for 10 years I had my share of poison, and now I have to suffer through this horrible white nightmare! пошел на хуй!

For those who doesn't know me or doesn't know the fact that I quit smoking last week, I have been in agony of nicotine-free life which ironically don't feel free at all. It turns out that every pleasure preserves the accumulative equal amount of pain which you happily ignore while enjoying the former part of the equation.

I am happy to suffer in silence, I am becoming healthier, it's ok, все нормально; but my non-smoker hubby and my anti-smoker cat suffered this stupid fog of forest and peat bog fires.

We closed all the windows, put on masks to walk to our cars and as if it isn't fun enough: it's 38 degrees outside. And I'm not smoking.

When you stop giving your body something it got used to in such a way that it is almost a chemical infusion, you don't want the negative effects of that substance while undergoing such a pain refraining from it. I ache not to have poison in my lungs and thanks to humanity, global warming has led to extreme hot weather and extreme hot weather led to fires and fires led to smoke in the city. Now I have poison in my lungs.

Pff, summer isn't fun anymore.

unhappy mish

just like the famous fogs of Milan (except for the toxic particles)

give the girl a pen

I drew tattoos on me and asko the other night, it's permanent as well (until the next shower)

ma giant painting

Last week I finished my giant painting and delivered it to Atlantic preschool (which is opening soon).

It's been kinda warm(!) in Moscow lately and I, as an artist in despair, don't have an air conditioner. So it's been a long and painful project as well as colorful and exciting. Now the best part of any project: the end :)

check out my room as it turns into a studio to fit the 2*2m canvas

You can check out the site and see my painting on a 3D wall:

http://www.atlanticschool.ru/index.php?option=com_joomgallery&func=viewcategory&catid=38&Itemid=60&lang=en

now, more new projects :)

Prichal restaurant

Last weekend, one of our friends took us to Prichal restaurant near Rublyevsky. He didn't tell where we were going and kept us hanging until we got there, and get there we did.

The place is an urban patio myth. It is a combination of beach (pool planted on the river, poolside lounge with wooden chaise longues with white mats) and a summer restaurant with kalyans, roasted lamps and tall frozen coctails.

We got seated right away (which is rare, considering we get in line even for Planet Sushi). There were floating platforms on the river with decorated tables for private parties. The mentioned parties have bodyguards waiting ashore. Well of course...

We ended up spending whole evening there, watching drunk old men and beautiful gals (Moscow's finest).

I forgot to take pictures during the day, but here are some photos taken before we left.

29th km Rublevo-Uspenskoye shosse, Ilinskoe

+7 495 504 1269, +7 495 418 4032

http://www.prichal-rest.ru

Подмосковные вечера

catch that cold

Ain't life a bitch

Last week I arrived at a sunny, blossoming Moscow and in just two days I got sick... not normal sick mind you, the kind that makes you unable to get out of bed just to go to pee.

I was looking forward to picnics, open air sports, walk arounds and going to Botanicheski Sad for some urban sketching. Now, I can go to the kitchen in 5 minutes, holding on to the walls.

Is this catching cold thing getting bigger lately or is it just me? (sneezing my reason away gradually...maybe). Countless people I know is sick these days and they all have the same shit. I hear "I used to get better on antibiotics, even if I don't, it would take me a week at most to heal. Now it's taking weeks for me to recover. Am I getting older?" I don't know how many times I listened to that sort of complaints.

For those who live in Moscow, (I don't know about the rest, I have no means of observation, plus I don't care that much)-(cranky when sick) getting sick is so common that nowadays we receive the news of a person catching a cold like it is a mosquito bite; "what else is new"...

It seems to me that catching a cold is easy when you move to a country where your definition of cold is not the same with the locals. It is amazing how being brought up in a certain way can affect your way of thinking what is normal.

Maybe I'm wrong, but tell me: is it normal to keep your coat, fur hat and your woolen scarf on when you enter a 28 degree metro station? Ok, the weather might be -20 outside, but when you walk into the station, it feels like a Turkish hamam! I begin taking some things out, just to keep looking not-so-foreign, then I cannot stand for long and take my coat, gloves, scarf and hat off and carry them around with me like a fool. Russian people don't, instead they come in and go out the same as if they are weather-resistant. I understand the tolerance to cold but they also have tolerance to hot. Maybe they are nonconductive...hmm

It is a dead end, we cannot be like them. It is both their physique and upbringing, both cannot be modified.

What we can do is first ACCEPT the fact that WE ARE DIFFERENT, so we should BE WEARING MORE.

I wanna add that we don't eat well here, we should take some vitamins as well. But who has the consistency to do so.

Ok I'm bored and going away from the computer. I remembered that I am in fact still sick. Downloading Lost and Sherlock Holmes (gonna see some Robert Downey maaan)

Stay tuned to hear from grumpy zenushka

^_^

kisses to all

take care