Archive for the “Personal” Category

It’s not often that Natasha and I see a concert so when we do it’s always a special occasion. Part of it is that we’re not usually free on the weekends and the other part is that we’re really picky!

Last Wednesday we got to see the amazing acoustic duo of Rodrigo Y Gabriela. It was my second time checking them out and it was both of our first time at the Mountain Winery. And wow, what a place for a show. Just when you think you’ve reached it on the windy Saratoga mountain road, you end up going through the gate all the way to the top of the hill! The view from there was spectacular – you could almost see the entire Bay Area.

We were joined by a couple of our friends and it was definitely a night to remember. I would describe the music of this band as “metal inspired flamenco guitar” :) It was just the two of them getting carried away by the rhythms and solos of their own flavor, with no voice or accompaniment of any kind.

Rodrigo and Gabriela came from Mexico to live in Ireland about 8 years ago. They played on the streets to make a living and now their talents are appreciated by fans worldwide. What a story of hard-earned success!

No cameras were allowed at the Mountain Winery, however, when I saw them play in SF the first time I had a chance to take photos right next the stage. Their show in SF was at a small bar and now they’re on to playing much bigger venues.

This video was part of the reason to their success:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=LU68qT4T1bE]

Here are a few shots I took at their show in SF:

More Rod and Gab here: www.rodgab.com Hope you dig them too!

Mike

I did not want to make a big deal out of my birthday this year, so all the time leading up to it I tried to be quiet and not remind anyone. It looked like I succeeded, because on the morning of my birthday I did not get any calls or emails. I realized I made a mistake, birthdays are no fun without friends, but it was too late. I was sad and tried really hard not to think that everyone forgot about me.

Mike suggested that we drive out to Sausalito – one of our favorite places to visit when we’re free. With the sun shining our drive was beautiful and I came to Sausalito ready to enjoy our time. There was an Arts fare we found on the main stretch and I just assumed that we’ll go to see it. Unexpectedly, Mike wanted to go to the restroom at a caf� a block away from us in the opposite direction. I guess I could have suspected something then. When we walked into that place all of my friends were there waiting, cheering, and congratulating me with a loud SURPRISE!!! I did not expect this at all and was sooo happy to see everyone!!

A beautiful hand-made basket by Stefan in my favorite color:

Sunset on the beach in Pacifica:

Thank you so much for being there, my dear friends! And a special thank you to Mike, without whom this day would not be the same.

Some of the photos above were taken by friends.

Love you all,

Natasha

Ira and Vova got married on April 17!

It was a day much anticipated on two continents: the majority of the planning happened in Russia, while daily, emotion-filled phone conferences took place between my mom, sister, and I. Mike’s duty was to calm me down and help with some of the packing for the trip.

We flew to Saint Petersburg with 2 suitcases of the warmest clothes we could find in our Californian closets. Forecasts did not look promising and everybody was really worried about the weather on the wedding day. Every day leading up to it we would wake up to find gloomy gray skies and the outside thermometer seemed stuck in the upper forties. I think a lot of people were praying for good weather, because when the wedding came around it suddenly cleared up and was surprisingly sunny and warm! It was a true blessing! Let me just add that the rest of our vacation we were wearing our coats once again.

St. Petersburg is a gorgeous old city with so many spots for photo shoots! Fortunately, my sister didn’t care to visit the traditional places that people usually visit on wedding days and let us make suggestions on where we should go for the photo shoot that followed the ceremony.

After some thinking I remembered about Mihaylovsky Castle – an old museum in the middle of the city. This great location, cooperative weather, and a beautiful couple willing to work with our tips yielded some amazing pictures. We just couldn’t stop shooting!

Overall, it was a very emotional day for everybody – the wedding of my little sister.

Natasha