Exciting news – my blog is about to move!

I started this blog in December of 2012 to have a space where I could share my thoughts on a brand new world of beauty and healthy living. As somebody who spends way too much time researching every purchase I make, it felt really good to have an outlet for all of that and to feel like I’m helping others by sharing my knowledge and experience. Over the years the subjects I write about have evolved, and I haven’t always been consistent with blogging, but in spite of all that trial and error I always came back to post about my most recent findings.

2015 has been huge for me so far. Not only have I started to finally figure out my favorite blogging topic (laundry!), but the number of people visiting my site and reaching out via comments and emails is higher than ever. I’ve decided that it’s finally time to move to a self hosted blog!

I’m incredibly excited about the process. The new blog will have all of the old archives available, but all future materials will be easier to navigate and better organized. I will still write about most of the things I normally share, however the main focus will be laundry and healthy living.

Thank you so much for being with me through the years and I really hope that I will continue to see the same people at http://olgaslaundry.com!

Our Wedding Video

I fell quite a bit behind on blogging last year due to spending pretty much every waking moment planning our wedding. The number of details you have to take into consideration is mind blowing – I don’t think I could have ever imagined that it would take so much effort! But in the end we had an absolutely perfect day on Lake Champlain in VT, and my only regret is that it didn’t last longer. Everyone always says that the day flies by too quickly for you to notice, but I never thought that it would actually apply in our case.

Well now that we are slowly easing back into normal life, I thought I would share the lovely fusion video that our wonderful photographers, Hannah Weddings, put together for us. It was such a happy day, as you can probably tell from all the laughing and tears of joy.

On a side note, since today is Veteran’s Day, I should mention that I got my gown and veil for free through a non-profit organization called Brides Across America that donates dresses to military brides in the US. I had actually gone in looking for a lace mermaid, but Heidi, the founder of BAA, picked this dress out for me and at first I didn’t even want to try it on, since it was pretty much the exact opposite of a lace mermaid! In the end it ended up being perfect, and the whole process was even captured on film for the tv show Brides of Honor.

I could not have said it better than this Nouveau Cheap post:

So the one thing I want to say to you is this: it feels really shallow to blog about beauty right now. I can’t seem to get excited about it, and if I don’t have my inner excitement pouring through my words and onto your screen, then I feel like I might as well not blog at all.

However, I realize that many, many of us use beauty blogs (and other types of online activities) as a means of escape when the problems and tragedies and heartbreaks of real life become too much to bear. I know first hand what it’s like to have so much pain in your heart that you just want to run away and get lost in something that in no way reminds you of what you’re going through. Whether that’s looking at shoes, craft projects or pink lipstick, it doesn’t matter. It’s all silly, but it’s something.

Sometimes escaping is our only option – to retain your sanity, you have to resort to it. Let’s do our best to get through this.

Hello world!

A little bit about myself – my name is Olga, I am 28 years old and I have recently rediscovered the wonderful world of cosmetics.

I used to be a very avid makeup user, but then completely fell out of that whole world for a couple of years. Along the way I managed to completely wreck my hair (hello, drugstore shampoo!), develop some skin issues (dry and dehydrated does not even begin to describe it) and fill up my closet with mostly faded jeans and heather gray hoodies.

October 26, 2012 was my 28th birthday, and the Monday after that I was about to start a new job. All this made me realize that it really is time for some major changes – time to start taking care of myself, time to start dressing like the adult, professional young woman that I am and time to start searching for the skin-, haircare and makeup to fit me best.

Here’s my before and after – I am not kidding when I say I have an extensive heather gray hoodie collection!

I spent my birthday at a spa – got a manicure (for the first time in 28 years!), got my hair done, bought some products… And from then on it has been a pretty fascinating journey. A week of back-to-back episodes of “What not to Wear” later I thought I would start this blog to share my findings, and to have a kind of “journal” that I will be able to look back on and remember how it all started.

Hope you enjoy reading!

Love,
Olga