Friday Favorites: The Final Match Day Countdown

Happy Friday, friends! This is the last weekend before we find out where Chris is headed for residency, and I couldn’t be more excited. We will have to start planning as quickly as possible as soon as we know, so I am ready for one last relaxing weekend. On to my Friday favorites this week:

/ / One:
We are exactly one week from Match Day! I honestly can’t believe we are so close. On Monday, we will find out if Chris matched anywhere, and on Friday, we will finally know where we’re headed. I am so excited, but I haven’t been sleeping well with it being so close. I can’t wait to just know.

/ / Two:
After several weeks of gloomy weather, the sun is supposed to come out this weekend. Honestly, we aren’t used to constant rainy/icy weather in Texas, so everyone has been down. I am so ready to get our first taste of spring!

/ / Three:
This week was my last full week of work for the next six weeks! Our vacation time doesn’t roll over, so I have to spend it or lose it. We will have to make some quick decisions about where we are living once we know where we will be for intern year, so the timing is great.

/ / Four:
Along with Match Day, I am so excited for our California road trip! I can’t wait to explore new places with my hubby and in-laws, and I am eager to head back to San Francisco, one of my favorite cities in the world.

  

 

/ / Five:
I can’t help but show y’all another manicure. I painted my nails with Julep Veronica, and it’s such a pretty pink for spring! It is currently on sale on the Julep website, so I thought it would be a good time to share.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

Linking up with Amanda, Karli, and the High Five for Friday girls.

Three Books I Read This Winter

There is nothing like cuddling up with a good book in the winter, and I took advantage of our snow days these last few weeks. Here are three books I read that I couldn’t help but share:


The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams
I am a sucker for a good historical fiction, especially if it is a past-present format (though in this case, “present” is 1964). Vivian Schuyler receives a suitcase in the mail that once belonged to Violet, a great-aunt she had no idea existed. As she begins to dig into Violet’s past, she discovers family secrets others are desperate to hide. Vivian was one of the best characters I have read in a long time! Her voice was just perfect-I loved how she was a headstrong, no nonsense girl. I also loved the progression of Violet’s story, especially the ending.

Behind Closed Doors: A Novel by Susan Lewis
(Received through Goodreads First Reads) I love a good crime novel, especially one with a different perspective. For Detective Sergeant Andrea Lawrence, when 14-year-old Sophie Monroe vanishes, it brings back painful memories of her own sister’s disappearance. As the case unfolds, Andrea must be careful not to let her past interfere with her judgment. I really liked Behind Close Doors because it dug deep into relationships. Although I thought the direction of the book was predictable, the way it got there was interesting. It was a fast-paced book that kept me reading through the night.


The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
(Courtesy of NetGalley) The Little Paris Bookshop is the kind of book that sticks with you. It is a story of loss, heartbreak, grief, and, ultimately, forgiving yourself. When Jean Perdu, who gives out books like medicine on his floating literary apothecary, finally reads the goodbye letter his lover sent him twenty years later, he embarks on a journey towards healing. I would have thought a book about a depressed man would have had a melancholy tone, but the writing was so beautiful, and I constantly felt hopeful.

I will leave you with my favorite passage:   
We cannot decide to love. We cannot compel anyone to love us. There's no secret recipe, only love itself. And we are at its mercy-there's nothing we can do.

Hiking Through Valley of Fire State Park

Whenever we head to Las Vegas, we like to spend part of our time away from the city. On previous trips, we visited The Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. This time, we decided to stay closer to Vegas and visited Valley of Fire State Park.

Valley of Fire State Park is only 58 miles from the Vegas Strip, and it took us about an hour to get there. The minute we got out of the car, I knew I was going to love it. The formations were so beautiful, and I especially loved all of the gorgeous colors. 

We spent most of the day driving around the area, stopping at Arch Rock, the Rainbow Vista, the Beehives, the Seven Sisters, the Cabins, and many other formations. It was a blast to hike to beautiful lookouts and to climb up the formations. After spending a day at the park, I felt like we barely scratched the surface and would love to come back and explore more in the future.

Friday Favorites: Snow Day Living

Happy Friday, friends! We’ve had another batch of winter weather this week (We had six inches last Friday and six inches this Thursday! Where do I live again?), so we had more time off yesterday. Next week, it is supposed to get up to the 60s, so we will get our first taste of spring weather. Woohoo! Anyway, enough about the weather and on to my Friday favorites this week:

/ / One:
Chris got to spend my snow day with me yesterday, and we had a great time. It was so fun to take our dog out to play in the dog park, catch up on TV, and cook together.

/ / Two:
We only have two more weeks until Match Day! Waiting is getting harder and harder, but we are getting so close!

 
/ / Three:
With all of the snow days lately, I have had some extra time to read. I just finished Inside the O’Briens (c/o NetGalley) from Lisa Genova, author of Still Alice and Love Anthony.

Inside the O'Briens was an intimate look into Joe O'Brien and his family as he struggles with the beginning stages on Huntington's disease. Joe, a Boston police officer who is always used to being in control, is forced to face a disease that forces him to lose all control. As he begins to lose control of his body and emotions, he deals with the fact that his children all have a 50 percent chance of getting Huntington's from him.

The story alternated between his point of view and that of his daughter, Katie, who is struggling with whether she should find out if she has inherited the gene for a disease that means certain death. Lisa Genova does an amazing job of weaving the facts of Huntington's disease in with the O'Briens' story. From the very beginning of the novel, I was drawn to Joe's voice and became invested in the family.

/ / Four:
I received NYC Color Big Bold mascara and eyeliner from Influenster, and I’m excited to try it out. I don’t usually use drugstore mascara and eyeliner, so I am interested to see if this will work for me.

/ / Five:
I painted my nails with Julep Irina, and I love the color and silk finish! Also, I just cut my nails super short, and I’ve had long nails for so long that I am having trouble typing with short nails. It’s pretty entertaining.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

Linking up with Amanda, Karli, Darci, and the High Five for Friday girls.

Real Talk: Answering “Where Are You From?”

I hate answering the question “where are you from?” Do they want to know where I was born? Where I grew up? Where I am living now? As a self-proclaimed nomad who has moved 18 times in 25 years, it’s a hard question for me to answer.

With a name like Olya, just saying I am from Texas doesn’t usually cut it. Then again, I know that as soon as I tell someone I was born in Siberia, I need to have time to explain my entire life story to them.

I identify with both cultures. My parents raised me Russian. We had many Russian traditions, spoke Russian at home, celebrated Russian holidays, had many Russian parties with a large group of Russian friends, and even went to a Russian church. I am proud of my heritage and hope to pass on some Russian traditions to my future children.

I am also a proud US citizen. Most people who meet me for the first time tell me they wouldn’t have known I was Russian if I hadn’t told them my name. (Strangely, I get Swedish a lot). When I am away from my family, I definitely act more American than Russian. I have no accent, and I’ll even flash a big “American” smile at you in photos or if I pass you on the street (which happens to drive my mom crazy).

I named my blog The Siberian American because both of my identities are equally important to me. Now if only I could figure out how to condense this post into a one-sentence answer, I would be set.

What about you? Do you have a hard time answering “where are you from?”