amica

A friend graciously got me to be included in a feature, in the Bulgarian edition of the Italian magazine Amica. It's a regular monthly page called Six Women, where interesting and distinguished females share their plans for that particular month. I wrote it in English, and it was then translated to Bulgarian.

AMICA - SIX WOMEN MAKE PLANS FOR JULY:

NAME: Lydia Dimitrova
AGE: 26
WORK: Freelance writer for the Sofia Echo

1. ONE OF THE UNPLEASANT ENGAGEMENTS DURING THIS MONTH:
None.
2. IN MY WORK AWAITS:
No plans for now except writing restaurant reviews, which I adore.
3. I WILL SET ASIDE TIME TO:
We have a large city garden, which has been in a jungle state for many years, and I have a dream of turning it into an English manor garden, abundant with lavender, and juicy moss and succulents growing by stone pathways. Or at least a grow basil a home.
4. RELAX:
I will make sure, to stay away from the computer, go to bed at 11, and read great English novels that I borrow from the Sofia Public library, as well as write down my thoughts and adventures in my journal.
5. TRAVEL:
I would love to go to Russia, and introduce my daughter to her great-grand father, but this will happen another time. Instead my dear brother and his family will be coming to Bulgaria for the summer.
6. CHILDREN:
My daughter is turning 6 this month, she is very musical and we practice and play the piano every day. I will make sure to not buy unhealthy ice cream for her, instead make it at home from real ingredients.
7. SHOPPING:
I am always on the lookout for pretty, billowy, cotton summer dresses, one's with higher waistlines, and below the knee length.

bistro

This is a darling bistro near where we live, which I treat myself to once in a while. The Sofia Echo now has a photographer for their restaurant reviews, so I no longer take the photos. I do miss this as I enjoy the visual creativity.

sign cafe article

My Husband was interviewed for a advertising magazine called Sign Cafe (nice name), the article to be featured on eight pages, the ones above, and some more of his photography. It's quite an honor to have such a prominent part in their issue, but their writer's skills were embarrassingly poor, the person simply transcribed what was recorded on the interview tape, instead of fashioning cohesive reading material. We could not allow such a debacle to go to print so my husband had to put the article in order himself. The result is above.

maraia

Dartmouth Happy Families

While my mother was pregnant with me, she became friends with a lovely English family who had bravely traveled to Bulgaria. They began a correspondence via letters, and when we relocated to England, eight years later, those same dear friends invited us often for Easter, Christmas and so forth, and took wonderful care of us. Including staying at the river and seaside town of Dartmouth in Devon. There we delighted in the luscious clotted Devon cream with scones, dabbled in the aristocratic lifestyle, and seized the Dartmouth castle.

During this same time the town Dartmouth, as a fundraiser, created a card game every year, drawn by local artist, for family fun, and as collectibles. The characters in the game featured real citizens of Dartmouth, many of which had names that correspond with their profession. Such as J. Price, bank manager, and Roger Carr, limousine car hirer, and Simon Drew, artist, who illustrated his own family for the cards.

I have two of these treasured card decks bought for me by our friends, called Dartmouth Happy Families, and the game itself is very simple. All the cards are handed out to three or more players, and the aims is to collect as many families as possible, and the one with the most wins. The players take turn asking one of the others for a specific member of a family they are trying to collect. The entertaining part surrounds the aspect that most players have the same favorite families, and no one wants to get stuck with unsightly Sleep family or the Nashe's, whilst everyone years for the dreamy Carr's. My other favorites were the girls of course, especially Miss Measure because she was a cool teenager and wore makeup, Miss Price for her nice accessories and lifestyle, Miss Drew, because I like art and her freckles and Miss Kain because she was so sweet and wholesome. I would play with these cards as if they were dolls and set up scenes and scenarios.
I do not know when this tradition of creating the cards began or when or whether it ended, and I cannot find any further information on the subject, all I can say is I will treasure them as heirlooms. Here are some for your viewing pleasure:

grains and the city

This is a shopping guide for health food shops in Sofia.

the world of Lazar and Lydia

A good friend of ours is a journalist for the Bulgarian media, and she interviewed us for the national newspaper Standard, for their weekly supplemental magazine. The weeks topic was "on a hunt for lost paradise", as in how bad things are now, and looking for places where things are still good. Thus we were interviewed, because of the little oasis we have created for ourselves in Sofia. I do like the article, and our friend is a very good writer who arranged my jumble of Bulgarian sentences into flowing prose. I must also mention that she interviewed us Sunday afternoon, and handed in the article the following morning, leaving little time, for follow ups and adjustments, rather mad actually.
In addition, my very opinionated views are briefly mentioned, regarding things I dislike in America, and Bulgaria respectively. Regarding Bulgaria, I abhor how the whole country has their televisions turned on constantly even at dinner parties, and in front of small children, making good conversations impossible. Furthermore other negative aspects the Bulgarian method of communicating, are even too embarrassing and abominable to print in English.

beauty

I attempt to take good care of my face, and have overtime come to discover my favorite products. There are three different brands I like, each in different financial category's. My main requirement is that these potions be natural, though still effective.

Category one, joyfully inexpensive:
The German DM pharmacy brand includes the regulars, and features a few of their own brands, including the all natural Alverde, which is very cheap, as in 3 euro for an excellent eye cream. The reason they are cheap in because the DM owner is the coolest, and everyone shops DM like there is no tomorrow. Favorites include the Wild Rose line and the mature skin Passion Fruit products. Prices range 1 to 15 Euro.

Category two, manageable:
Dr Hauschka, the German biodynamic cosmetics are my ultimate, both holistic and marvelously effective. Every product is divine, I would use everything of there's if I could. My necessities are the Rose day cream, and the mature skin Regenerating serum and cream. Prices range between $20 to $90.

Category three, intensely expensive:
La Mer, cosmetics was founded by a French NASA scientist who created the Creme De La Mer moisturizer to heal from an experiment which burned his face. The founding ingredient in this rich formula is fermented sewed, though sadly it is in a base of unhealthy petrolatum/mineral oil, so I use this cream out of vanity, occasionally as an intense boost. La Mer items range are between $70 to $1,500.

kids

My parents in law who live in the country with a number of animals, just welcomed four baby goats. My daughter is delighted because they are as small as cats, and divinely adorable, and she can pretend she is their mommy.

the crimson petal and the black

Since I don't drink coffee, nor commercial juices, and rarely alcohol, my remaining preferred beverage is tea. I would have liked to write more on the topic, but my limit was 800 words and half of the article had to be shops/tea houses, so this is all I could fit in. I do still like the article, and especially the photo. Those are our tea pot and cup, notice the play of the positive and negative spaces in the handles, and the background is my favorite Ikea paisley bedding.

organic

I could write pages upon pages on this subject, but was given a mere one, of which half had to be locations, so this is all I manage.

childhood

My Russian mother enchanted my childhood life with the most wonderful children's literature of her home country. The lengthy stories were often in perfect rhyme, with eloquent and ornate words, accompanied by saturated masterpiece illustrations. Russian art is always colorful in the extreme, yet always far from vulgar.

The story I remember most vividly and nostalgically and magically of them all, involved honorable and handsome circus performers, a doll, though perhaps a tiny princess, and three ruling and gluttonous fat men. To supplement the vibrant story, were even more fantastically excessive and aesthetic illustrations winning the number one spot in my heart.

I rediscovered this 1924 tome not long ago amongst my childhood belongings, and am attempting to read it's difficult for me Russian, which may very well take me a year. Meanwhile the illustrations are there to delight me, or perhaps my mother will read it to me when she visits. This book has been translated into English as well, and titled The Three Fat Men, by Yury Olesha, though I doubt it can ever be the same.

library

soap part 2

I am relieved to have this article completed, now more than a year in the making, and it is a thrilling three full pages of newspaper. Every word is true with no dramatizing, and I love adding wee touches of fun like that "pest killer", and delight when they are not removed by the editor. By the way I have never seen those photos before.
Online version

before & after

For Christmas, my daughter asked for a bed for her dolls, and I found a nice wooden one, (I loath plastic toys), but unfortunately the fabric and bedding were a masculine blue and orange, quite unacceptable for my dainty girl. So I, as Father Christmas's gnomes set out to sew new bedding. As I adore both sewing and bedding, this was a delightful project, and I recycled one of my daughters' especially pretty baby blanket and swaddling sheet, to make this dolly bed even more sentimental and charming. (In the photos, my work is not completely finished, as the upholstery is being held by safety pins, I will sew it soon, I just could not wait to share.

shopping

I wrote this article on affordable Christmas Shopping for the magazine, attempting to make it as useful and not dull, dividing it into Enchanting, Pampering, Decorating and Amusing categories. After I hand it in, I am told that the magazine did not get enough financing for the months of December and January, will not publish, and the intended articles will instead go into the newspaper. I like the format of the magazine, with its thick semi-glossy paper and color images. In it's newspaper version my article was renamed "More coins in the (designer) piggy bang" ( I did not scan that in) and compressed so tightly as to make it confusing, which description goes with which shop. And the sub title Enchanting was forgotten from the beginning. Oh well it's all right.

birthday presents

Today is my 26th birthday, and I can look back at this year, and this celebratory day, and not want for any presents, other then the ones I was given this past year. Last November in 2007, I was writing my first ever, to be published article, now twenty long ones later, my spelling is as poor as before, (without spellchecker), and I am still in dis-belief that I have a little dream job. Little as in I work a little (freelance) and only when I want to on a grand magnificent dream job. Coincidentally, I am also a published photographer, quite thrilling. My other most generous gift is the curing of my serious health condition, which I have been struggling with for that past four years, and although I have battle wounds, I am saved to live life, at it's most wonderfullest. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. And the city of Sofia just turned on the central heating in our neighbourhood, warmth that I have so ardently been awaiting, and on a random Thursday the 13th of November.

come sweet slumber

I wrote this third health article of mine using an elaborate vocabulary, in the style of writing that I enjoy best, but my words were toned down quite a bit, to a more casual level to include jargon like "booze" (which I never use), but I understand, as this magazine is called Month2Come after all, not Ladies Home Journal circa 1786, nor a C.D. Payne novel. Nevertheless I am happy with it and the message is clear and still the same, so hopefully the article will be of help, to those in need. Although on the opposite spectrum of added slang is the Shakespeare quote in the heading, which I did not write, nor do understand. How is sleep a season of all natures? What is "season of natures"?

illustration

Like many Swedish delights; multitudes of herring specialties, Ikea, and H&M, young Cecilia Carlstedt's work, is modern, yet also retro-contemporary, and very much enchanting. I adore her feminine and chic illustrations, fusing both watercolor and computer mediums, and her delicate color palette.

glassware

Another shopping items page.