One-day trips around Sicily: Villa Cattolica in Bagheria

Hello, beautiful souls!

Today I want to suggest one more cool destinations you can visit in one day if you ever find yourself in Sicily and in need of some paintings, photographs, vintage movie posters and killer tiles. Seriously, #tilesgoals.

Coat - Sisley | Sweater - H&M | Jeans - Zara | Boots - Bata | Bag - Pieces via Asos

So yes, if you are in Sicily, you have a free day and want all of those things, you need to visit the museum at villa Cattolica in Bagheria.

But first, chack out my video on YouTube (and remember to subscribe) and read till the end of the post to know some of my suggestions and tips. 

Three years later

Three years ago, after a lot of thought, the revolutionary winter and one of many Lufthansa strikes, I finally managed to land in Palermo. 

It was Sunday, April 6. I remember wearing a denim shirt with leather collar, searching for my suitcase for ages, missing the bus to the city and waiting for half an hour in the rays of the warmest Sicilian sun. Oddly enough I didn't have any specific expectations or worries.

It was the beginning of a new adventure, but not more than that. 

 

I had quite specific plans for when I will come back to Kyiv, that included photography, politics, and going back to Thailand for a few months to work on my book. Sicily was one of the great steps on the way to mindful and enjoyable life, but I never planned to stay here more than for 9 months of my EVS project.

#45daysofblogging 04: Valdemone festival in Pollina

Day 4 - August 21

Welcome to the day 4!

Yesterday I suddenly got a chance to visit the annual festival of street theater called Valdemone for the first time. The first time I've heard about it two years ago, when I was still a volunteer - every bar in Palermo had the festival's sticker on walls, doors, mirrors etc.

But as I don't drive, have no car and at that point had no idea where is Pollina, I just admired the cute vintage bicycle on the logo and wished for one of the stickers to put on my laptop. And forgot about it for two years.Until yesterday, when I was invited to visit the festival's last day.

How I wear my... resort look

Yes, it's "How I wear my..." time of the month again! Check out other ladies' take on resort/vacation look here, over on Jill's blog.

How I wear my - boho

This month I was participating in "How I wear my..." again. Of course I did, the topic was boho! I know, I'm super late with this post, but in my defense - I've been traveling, moving houses, studying and volunteering non-stop and now preparing to travel again. Yes, this Sunday I'm going to Hungary for another project and yes, I will try to publish my impressions about my Scandinavian trip before the new one (or during it - I have a long wait in Bergamo).

I love boho and often incorporate its elements into my personal style. I don’t think I can ever be ‘full-time’ boho, but combining certain bohemian pieces with something either edgy and structured or simple and basic is my favorite thing ever. This dress was technically a birthday gift from my co-workers - in the sense that for my birthday I received some money from them and immediately bought this dress as I was in love with it for a few months. When a beautiful piece of clothing waits for you to take it home for such a long time, you know this item is truly yours!

Dress - Orsay; Bag - Lonchamp Le Pliage M in navy; Faux leather jacket - Pimkie; Earrings - from Palermo street vendor.

One-day trips around Sicily: Taormina

Taormina has been on my Sicilian travel bucket list for a very long time. It’s one of the most popular tourist destinations and normally is really overcrowded in summer, so after some debate my friends and I decided that it will be very nice to see it now, during the low season.

In my experience small Sicilian tourist towns (such as Cefalu or Isola delle Femmine) tend to change completely depending on the season, and during winter months they are look a bit deserted, but romantic. So if you are thinking whether visiting Sicily in winter is worth the trip, my answer is - definitely yes. It’s not going to be a beach vacation, but also you will not be dying from +40 C heat while exploring the island’s most valuable treasures.

How I wear my - tote bag

This month I decided to participate in "How I wear my..." round up once again - I'm really enjoying it and the topic was very inspiring. I love totes and back at home in Kyiv I have quite many of them. As now I'm living out of a suitcase once again, my options to chose were limited, but of course I brought my two absolute favorites with me. The fabric one with the sheep print is going to be featured in one of my future posts, so I decided to showcase this one instead.  

Bag - Lonchamp Le Pliage M in beige; Jeans - thrifted; Shoes - Vans Atwood Delux in grey; Faux leather jacket - Pimkie; Colourful aztec print scarf - from Pratunam market in Bangkok; Red scarf - from street market in Kyiv.

Here is my latest love, a Longchamp Le Pliage in beige. Yes, it’s more of a warmer months bag, but we had a very warm winter on Sicily this year and I feel like I’m living through the fourth month of spring now. Also I absolutely adore this bag—it’s perfect for my current lifestyle. As a PhD student I'm going to many seminars, to the library, for study sessions with one of my friends, and this bag always gets very handy - it fits all of my notebooks, planners, pens, as well as some snacks and a big water bottle. 

How I wear my: gloves

I haven't participated in "How I wear my..." since April or May. My heart wasn't in the right place - I was working on my applications a lot, and when I wasn't working, I was too sad about not being in the place I want to be, I really didn't feel like dressing up. When the real autumn started, with yellow leaves and beautiful rains, I realized I didn't even touch some of my favorite summer dresses. I wasn't depressed, but my mind was elsewhere.

Now, with new/old city and new realities I feel more inspired to blog and to participate in round-ups. Especially in this one, created by two wonderful ladies - Jill of Everything Just So and Adrienne of The Rich Life (on a budget).

Please, check out their posts where you can find lots of spring outfit inspiration and get to know more amazing bloggers!

So gloves... As I’m back on Sicily now, this post becomes even more interesting. Mostly because even here I wear gloves in the evening, and it's +11-14C degrees at night. Some of my friends are literally laughing in my face when they see gloves on my hands (honestly, happened yesterday when I went out to get a pizza). But I basically don't care - even though I’m okay with wearing tights and skirts all winter long, if my hands get cold, I’m freezing all over. These double-sided gloves are from Italian brand PittaRosso, that sells horrible (and I mean it!) shoes and quite decent accessories. I bought them last year and they are still making me happy every rainy cold day.

Wearing:

Top and scarf - H&M

Jacket - Pimkie

Backpack - Asos

Earrings - Centro

Glasses - Carl Zeiss

Gloves - PittaRosso

How I wear my: spring jacket

Two wonderful ladies - Jill of Everything Just So and Adrienne of The Rich Life (on a budget) once again gracefully invited me to participate in their monthly round up "How I wear my...". Please, check out their posts where you can find lots of spring outfit inspiration and get to know more amazing bloggers!

My favorite summer jacket is this light parka/jacket by H&M L.O.G.G. It has been my best friend for many years now - while I was still living in Kiev, when I moved to Thailand (perfect for traveling in overly air-conditioned buses and trains, and also for surviving the rainy season), and especially when I went to live in Italy. It’s light, simple, stylish and functional, and goes perfectly with almost every item of clothing that I have, and this is what defines my current style.”

Autumn's here

We have an amazingly beautiful autumn in Kyiv this year. It's almost like a reward for me - during the time I spent in South East Asia I couldn't stop dreaming about autumn. About clear cool air, beautiful leaves and cozy scarfs-boots-coats outfits (I think everyone's going to dream about it while living in +40C temperatures).

So this weekend we went to one of my absolutely favorite spots in Kyiv and my friend took some pictures of me. And yes, I wear glasses now. It's not a fashion choice - my eyes get so tired because of constant writing/translating that this is the only possible way to help them relax a little. I'd love to still have my perfect eyesight, but we have what we have. I kinda love them, so I don't mind.

Wearing:

Jeans, coat, boots, denim shirt - thrifted

Satchel - everything5pounds

Scarf - bought it at Pratunam market in Bangkok

Bracelets - handmade, Centro and bought at Chatuchak market in Bangkok

Earrings - KUZ and borrowed from my mom
Glasses - Carl Zeiss

I'm actually holding a pumpkin tart here. I bought it from 'Baker Street' bakery and was trying not to break it.

How I wear my: Sunglasses

The loveliest Jill from Everything Just So and Adrienne from The Rich Life (on a budget) were so kind to feature me in their monthly round up "How I wear my...".

This are my favorite sunglasses and also my favorite place in Bangkok - Vertigo bar on top of the Banyan Tree skyscraper (Lumpini MRT station). The views of the sunset over Bangkok and of the night Bangkok are absolutely gorgeous!

I'm wearing:

Top - bought on Sunday walking street market in Chiang Mai

Skirt - bought on Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok

Watch locket - bought in Pai

Sunglasses - Karen Walker number one (in tortoise)

Pai

Pai is a small, but amazing village in the mountains of Nothern Thailand. It's one of the favorite destinations for people who live in Chiang Mai and also for tourists. People say that you can come there for three days and stay for three month.

Now I can confirm that it's true. The village is tiny, just a few streets, but it has a happy relaxed atmosphere that you just want to stay longer. The food is great, the accomodations are good and rather cheap, the nature is amazing!

To get to Pai you need to take a minibus from the second terminal of Arcade bus station in Chiang Mai. It'll cost 150 baht. The road is taking about three hours and has 762 (!) turns on mountain roads, so the motion sickness pills can be very usefull.

How I wear my: Florals

The loveliest Jill from Everything Just So and Adrienne from The Rich Life (on a budget) were so kind to feature me in their monthly round up "How I wear my...".

As you know, I don't have all that many dresses and skirts with me, but this one is my favorite item of clothing right now. I wear it with different tops when I have a date, a night out, a chance to go on some interesting party. Simple, easy and versatile, just how I like it.

You can see many beautiful bloggers wearing their floral outfits here.

Lao P.D.R.

In the end of April my friend and I went to Laos to get new Thai visas. It was too early for me, but I wanted to see Vientianeand also I had no desire to pay 2000 THB for extending my visa for a month, when I can pay the same amount for money for a new visa that can help me to stay in Thailand for 4 month without any extra pay.

So we went to Laos. I haven’t seen much of the country, only it’s capital, Vientiane. One of my new friends here, in Chiang Mai, told me, that Vientianeis her least favorite part of Lao P.D.R. and that I need to see more. I’m sure she’s right, but I actually loved Vientiane. It has that Indochina vibe that actually makes you feel like a character from an old movie.

Scroll to the end of the post to see my recommendations  on where to stay, where to eat and what to see)

{outfit(s) post - Songkran}

I feel a little bit stupid trying to make any outfit posts when you've already seen every piece of clothing I own right now. But still I'm going to try.

A month ago Thailand celebrated Thai New Year. And it was unbelievable. If you've never been here during Songkran, you've missed a lot of fun (and water). Celebrations usually take 5 days, and during this time you better watch out - you can't make two steps out of your appartment without getting soaking wet. People will chase you with water guns and buckets full of (sometimes icy) water and trust me - you don't want to be wearing anything nice and expensive.

Chiang Mai old city is countored by a huge moat, so it's the place you want to avoid, if you don't want to get wet. Or a place you definitely need to visit, if you want to have fun, meet new people, shot them with your water gun and drink few cold Singhas.

So here are few pictures of Songkran celebrations in Chiang Mai - on it's calmer and crazier days.

One of the first days of Songkran - the city and all of the temples are nicely decorated with flags and ribbons. This is me on the Sunday walking street market, wearing:

Skirt - thrifted

Tank top - bought at the Sunday market (3 tank tops of a great quality for 100 baht - a little bit more then a dollar per one tank top)

Shoes - bought at Sunday market (super comfy, I'm on my second pair now. I think they cost about 2 dollars)

Bag - thrifted, made in India

Bracelet - gift, my friend brought it back from Thailand (who knew!)

Sunglasses - Karen Walker Number One (in tortoise)

Chiang Mai University

During my time in Asia I've been to many temples, but the funniest thing is that I've never felt so much peace and inspiration in any of them, as I felt on the campus of Chiang Mai University. 

It's a beautiful place - lots of trees, lots of flowers, lots of places to sit down and study or just relax with a cup of coffee and a good book. Also it's very close to the beautiful Doi Sutep mountain. 

I've had a nice relaxed day there and looking forward to spending some more.

Party outfit - Country day

Before I left Kyiv, I had a chance to go to one of our work parties. It was one the most crazy ones - we had one of the rooms completely redecorated (as you can see)) and everyone was dressed in country style (or something close to it)

My outfit:

Skirt - borrowed from my mom
Top - Pimkie
Shirt - thrifted
Belt - thrifted
Boots - thrifted
Heart earrings - DIY

Disco New Year party

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that in my office we always have themed parties.
This year the theme of our NY party was 80th disco.

Якщо ви читаєте мій блог доволі довго, то знаєте, ще агентство, в якому я працюю, завжди влаштовує тематичні вечірки.
Цього року у нас було диско 80-х.

With the host of the party.

I wore:

Tunic - selfmade

Jeans - thrifted

Earrings - DIY

Wedges - everything5pounds

How I wear my: Date Night Look

The loveliest Jill from Everything Just So and Adrienne from The Rich Life (on a budget) were so kind to feature me in their monthly round up "How I wear my...".
I'd definitely wear this dress on a date (maybe not on a first date)). I've bought it at a thrift store for something like 5 dollars and I think it was money well spent)

You can see many beautiful bloggers wearing their beautiful date night outfits here.

Lviv, day 3 - Lots of art and some angels

Our last day in Lviv was bittersweet. It was amazing, but it was the last.

We went to a few museums, had a great dinner at Bianco Rosso, went for a walk. And then there was the time to leave. 

We've had the best time in one of my favorite cities in the entire world. Thank you, Lviv, and see you next year!

Наш останній день у Львові був і веселим і сумним водночас. Він був класним, але він був останнім.

Ми сходили до кількох музеїв, пообідали у Bianco Rosso, погуляли. А потім був час їхати.

Ми чудово провели час у моєму найулюбленішому місті у світі. Дякую, місто Лева. Побачимось за рік!

I wore:

Dress - Sister's (I've bought it the day before from their sale rack for something like 6$)

Cardigan - Ostin

Belt - Centro

Denim jacket - Jennifer

Bag - Centro

Flats - Blink

Earrings - DIY

Hot-air baloon necklace - Plato

Bracelets - Topshop and street vendors

Scarf - Six