Shop "Local" Russia

I'm pretty busy this week with working on a new novel, learning Russian fruits and vegetables (of course a peach is a pyersik and a cauliflower is a tsvetnaya kapusta), and raising a very demanding toddler, so I'm going to let my friend Stephanie do all the work and present you with this awesome Etsy page she made for me. All the adorable/beautiful products are handmade in Russia. My personal favorite is "Pup Ronald," a felted fox.

I tried to find some other handmade items from Yekaterinburg specifically, and I stumbled upon these amazing twin sisters who make the most beautiful, bizarre, creepy-in-a-good-way dolls I've ever seen. They went to design school in Yekat, which gives me so much hope! Their names are Ekaterina and Elena Popovy, and their blog and website are worth a visit.

This weekend John and I are off for an overnight trip to Annapolis WITHOUT Jack. This is big news, people. Wish his very generous babysitters luck!