“Larissa Smith began her piano studies at the age of four and made her public debut two years later at the Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw, Poland. An active chamber musician and solo recitalist, Ms. Smith has performed publicly throughout the U.S., Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Germany…blah blah blah … Ms. Smith served as the director […]
Personal (yogini)
First comes love, then comes marriage, then…
…no, I’m not pregnant. (though people keep asking because the assumption seems to be that 3 months after our wedding, we’re pregnant … LOL! We’re not in that much of a hurry…) BUT we are in the process of another step after marriage … buying a house! It’s very exciting. And slightly stressful. Because we […]
TBT: 10 days in silence, aka Vipassana Meditation
I am not really a morning person. I know it may seem that way. I am kind of a forced morning person. I mean, I don’t jump out of bed with lots of energy and super excited about the upcoming day ahead. Who does? Well, maybe on my wedding day. LOL. But I am a […]
The value of a good education … and my current piano world.
I started playing the piano when I was 4 years old. I was blessed to live in countries where classical music was a huge part of the culture. Poland. Germany. Russia. Music oozes through the cracks of the streets. (in front of the Moscow Conservatory) (in the Chopin Academy) (at the birthplace of Chopin) It […]
TBT: Engagement
I had a Facebook memory come up the other day of our engagement on February 19, 2017. It made me smile. Such a surprise. Such a happy time. Really. I felt like I was on Cloud 9 for a LOOOOOOONG time. The sparkley diamond, all the congratulations as you share the news, the special treatment […]
Guilt-free pleasure
I would categorize myself as someone who can be a little rigid at times. Disciplined. Routine. Someone who likes a schedule. Someone who likes to be on time. It has its perks. And it is certainly something that has allowed me to achieve all the goals I have set for myself. If not THE reason. […]
TBT: DC Wedding Portraits
Another TBT of wedding photos. Woohoo! These are some of my favs. After our “first look” at the Jefferson Memorial, we decided to do some photos of just the two of us at the monuments. Because this was a DC wedding after all! And the monuments are simply stunning! I was really nervous leading up […]
TBT: Wedding “First Look”
For our wedding, we opted to do a “First Look.” That has become a popular option in weddings these days where you see each other before the ceremony. Some couples prefer to see each other for the first time as the bride walks down the aisle and make that moment a part of the ceremony. […]
Taking time to rest
It has finally happened. One of the occupational hazards of working with children all day is that they are GERMY. And love to high five. And hug. And touch your door knobs. And instruments. It’s a humbling reminder that we are NOT superhuman. And that I am not Super Woman, as much as I want […]
TBT: #Rach3foraRock
Michael and I met in a very unique way. Well, maybe not quite so “unique” these days. It’s more the norm. We met online. On Tinder, to be more exact. That’s right. We both swiped right. 😃 We did the normal messaging/texting communicating preliminary steps we all go through. Getting to know each other offline […]