House of Butterflies

This week is our last week in Russia and we are trying to see as many places as we can before we leave. The Butterfly House was a place I had been waiting to visit for a while and I was not disappointed. Inside the greenhouse-like room a tropical habitat had been recreated to house butterflies, tropical birds and even a chameleon! It was a magical experience to be in a room with clouds of butterflies flying inches from my face and at one point I felt a butterfly in my hair!

Cat People

Top - Freddies of Pinewood via MisKonduct Klothing
Jeans - Freddies of Pinewood via MisKonduct Klothing

First of all, I want to thank you for your wonderful response in regards to the video I posted! I am so glad you liked it. I enjoyed making it and as I have been studying film for the last few years it's something I really love doing. For my next bit of video making I thought maybe I could do a questions and answers video! If you have any questions for me in regards to the clothes I wear and anything else you have wanted to know, you can ask me here or send me an email. Also, you can get a chance to laugh at my Australian accent (which isn't that Australian I've been told) so there you go! A hair tutorial might also be on the cards when I get home to Australia.

Last week on our way home from the forest (note my very sensible outdoor activities outfit!) a kitty ran up to me. She meowed at us really loudly and as I have been missing our cats back home I couldn't resist crouching down to give her a pat. Right away she climbed into my lap, and without any hesitation started rubbing herself all over me asking for pats. Her fur was filthy and matted and in some places there was none at all.

I wanted so badly to take her home and give her a bath. It's sad because she had the potential to be such a beautiful cat if she had someone to care for her. Even though she looked to be no older than six months I am fairly certain that she had recently given birth. Taking her home with us wasn't an option, but when she ran all the way home after us we gave her some sausage and sour cream that she lapped up greedily. After that she hung around outside our apartment for a while before continuing on her way.

I made a video!

As a spur of the moment thing when we were taking photos the other day I decided to make a little video! I've never put a video of myself on my blog so I thought it would be fun to give it a go and show you the beautiful Russian landscape in action. I would love to know what you think and if you'd like it to become something I do on the blog every now and then. Just enlarge it and don't forget to turn on the sound!

Put a Bow on It!

Dress - Trashy Diva by Candice Gwinn

That's right - I took two gingham dresses with me! For some reason, being in the country side makes me want to wear gingham. Maybe it's because gingham is so rustic and wholesome? Before I left I mentioned that I took some new dresses and old dresses too, so some of you might be already familiar with this one. Earlier this year in summer (well, my first summer since technically I've had summer twice this year!) when it was very hot I wore this dress without the bow. The bow is one of my favorite things about this dress, but I love how it looks either way!

This week I have spent quite a lot of time picking berries: wild strawberries, blue berries and today I noticed that the raspberries have started to ripen. When we took these photos this vintage-looking airplane was circling overhead, and I was quite surprised to see an older model like this in the sky! I showed these photos to my grandpa, who worked as an air crash investigator in the 50s and 60s, and he was able to identify the plane as an Antonov An-2. This particular model originated in the USSR in 1947 and was affectionately nicknamed "Annushka" - which is exactly what my grandpa calls me!

Kuskovo Palace

When Count Sheremetev started building Kuskovo in the 1730s he wanted the palace and the grounds to rival that of Russian royalty and nobility.  Sheremetev was the richest man in Russia during this period and no expense was spared in building the lavish estate which consists of a series of summer houses, an orangery and a grand palace. Today, the palace has been restored to its former glory and is an incredible place to visit. It is an amazing experience to step back in time to the 18th century and explore the vast and beautiful grounds. These photos cover only a small amount of the estate, but give some insight into what a magical place Kuskovo is.