TORRES HOUSE

Slow living and what is it all about…

The time between Christmas and New Year is a weird one. It is the time when nobody knows what day it is, what time it is, who you are and what you are supposed to be doing…

It is a great time! In this one week you start to think of your year ahead and reflect on the year just gone…

Last year I was mentally in not the best place, I was a little lost between the mother and wife role, living on a never ending building site which seemed to be a 24/7 money pit, with questions whirling around in my head, like shall I go back to work and send Nala to nursery? Or shall I enjoy our last year together before she starts nursery? For the first time in my life I wrote a New Years Resolution list and from the 15 points I wrote down, I achieved all but 2. Those were to visit Copenhagen (we did Lisbon instead) and to reach 10k on Instagram. I am halfway there and still a long way away, but I couldn’t care less!!! Literally! There are so many more important things in life – this year for the very first time we celebrated Christmas all together with Sergio’s family and my family in Germany. It was NOT conventional or traditional, but then again, what is the tradition in our multicultural family?! It was not picture perfect but it was perfect in any other way!!! We ate, we drank, we laughed, we talked in 4 different languages and translated in sign language. We played games, sung songs, danced Argentinean Tango and Russian Kasachok until 4am in the morning. One thing we didn’t do, was sleep but still our batteries are recharged with so much positive energy and love.

I came across the phrase ‘Slow Living’ a little while ago when I started to listen to Sara Taskers podcasts and I was drawn to it immediately. For me it is all about the living a simple life, about the perfection of the imperfect, about less is more, about teaching my children what really matters, about reading books, about doing what you love and about learning to know our planet, if its the woods around the corner or the country across the Atlantic.

This whole Slow Living concept took me back to my childhood and I started to reflect on my early years growing up in a village with no more than a hundred houses. There was a river behind my house, a mountain in front of the house, a garden full of our own produce, and a little farm with cows, pigs, chickens and dogs and only a tiny washing basket full of toys to share with my sister and brother. I started to compare my childhood with that of my own children. They have a house full of toys, sweets, chocolates, snacks, electrical devices and anything that your heart could wish for. There is such a pressure in our lives and especially our childrens’ lives to always move forward and quickly, to be unique, to have a USP, to be different, to be the best….well and to have a YouTube channel! Don’t get me wrong, I love our “easy” life. The one where you can run down to the local shop at anytime to get your milk, order your party outfit online with next day delivery or hop across the ocean and back within 24 hours, but I am also glad to have had the chance to know both ways…the first Coca-Cola I tried when I was 11 years old, and that not because I wasn’t allowed to, it simply didn’t exist back then in my Russian village (I still don’t like it).

I think this year and especially this Christmas when we mixed our ‘Imperfect perfect’ families together with some unplanned incidents, I realised that it is ok to slow down, to enjoy the moment, to sit back, observe and accept that you don’t have to keep up with the fast forward fashion, with the latest interior trends, with all the perfect pictures created by social media…Worry less, live more! Like Sara Tasker says, see all those chipped teacups, scuffed skirting boards and wobbly chairs as a postcard from a slower life, a postcard from the past! And that I want to teach my children! Happy New Year 2019! May it be a wonderful one x

Polished concrete

Polished concrete (or also known as micro cement) worktops and floor – YAY or NAY?!

First of all, what is micro concrete? It is a cement based coating which can be applied thinly (3mm) to a range of different surfaces like wood, tiles, plaster etc. It provides the look and feel of concrete at a fraction of the cost of real concrete. The material is very durable and can be applied easily to internal and external surfaces. Further it provides a seamless, functional and contemporary finish in any colour you like.

Micro concrete is a waterproof and anti-slip material, therefore ideal for bathrooms, kitchen worktops and splashbacks.

Due to its neutral pH, the material doesn’t develop any mould, fungi or bacteria. It is a natural product and doesn’t involve any chemicals that could cause allergies. Polished concrete provides a hygienic, stain and heat resistant surface, it doesn’t raise any dust, leaves the air clean, it is very easy to clean and maintain and is therefore in my opinion a fantastic choice for floor, worktops and walls inside and outside.

Our polished concrete floor and worktops are now about two years old and I must say that I love it as much as on the first day. It actually looks better the older it gets. One of the comments I received from a visiting friend was: “your worktops feel sexy” and I must admit, she just nailed the description! Yay or Nay? – For me, always a big fat YAY!

Lisbon

Last summer, in July 2018, we were lucky enough to go back to Portugal, enjoy its beautiful beaches and explore Lisbon. It is not hard to fall in love with Portugal as it is one of the most enchanting places in Europe and we definitely left a piece of our hearts there.

We stayed 7 days in the Algarve, exploring a new beach every day and then travelled for 3 nights to Lisbon, so here is a summary our experience there and must see places from my point of view!

By day Lisbon has a naive theatrical quality that enchants and captivates, but by night it is a fairy-tale city, descending over lighted terraces to the sea, like a woman in festive garments going down to meet her dark lover. – Erich Maria Remarque

1. Do a tuk-tuk ride around the city! Amazing experience and so much fun. They stop at all the places you want to see or take pictures. Tip: arrange a price beforehand!

2. SLEEP: get an @airbnb and save yourself some money. Go for a traditional and authentic Portuguese kitchen! We stayed in a beautiful flat just off the main shopping street. It had a kitchen but we ate mostly outside as you can shop, eat and drink everywhere very reasonably. I mean, an espresso for £0.70! By the way, the coffee in Portugal is just delicious.

3. EAT: We tried to eat in small local bars/restaurants away from the main tourist places and it was so cheap and tasty…Great value for money! TIME OUT MARKET – We were not very impressed as we found it totally overpriced and overcrowded! We didn’t eat there, it’s a nice place to see and meet new people though, especially if you travel alone! The food choices are great, just not traditional. If you walk through the old town of Alfama, you will definitely find a cute little place on every corner where you could eat one of the Lisboetas favourite dishes – sardinhas. Especially during the All Saints Week in June, one of the capitals biggest festivals, street traffic is replaced with music and parties and everybody eats grilled sardines followed by pastel de nata.

4. DRINK: Breakfast always starts with an espresso and lunch typifies the old Portugese saying “a meal taken without vinho verde is breakfast”! Try this wine as you will only get it in Portugal and it’s delicious! It’s a mixture between white wine and fizz but has a lower alcohol percentage. In the evenings you will find numerous bars which roll out their tables on the curb and serve all sorts of drinks and cocktails! It is my kind of pub tour!

5. THE PORTUGUESE EXPERIENCE: If you want to have THE Portuguese dinner experience where they serve Portuguese food and sing live Fado, then book a table in Clube de Fado (reservas@clube-de-fado.com) – it’s a warm, romantic and almost mystical atmosphere. Fado is a music genre that can be traced back to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins.

“The only thing that matters is to feel the fado. The fado is not meant to be sung; it simply happens. You feel it, you don’t understand it and you don’t explain it.” – fado singer Amália Rodrigues

The songs were sung by seamen who were missing their wives and the wives who were missing their husbands.

6. VISIT:

LX Factory – love at first sight!!! Imagine you give up and convert an old strip of factory buildings into restaurants, cafés, and creative minds? The result is that you get one of the coolest hangout spots in the city – @lxfactory Lisbon is the perfect spot for entrepreneurs, creative minds and start up businesses. LX Factory is one of many fruitful initiatives. It is a hidden gem a little bit outside the city center and you wouldn’t really find this place in any written traditional city guides. We took a tuk tuk ride from the city center and weren’t disappointed! In fact, it was a real surprise…a street full of amazing quirky restaurants, coffee shops, independent shops and galleries. We started our mini tour with a vinho verde. We strolled around the street enjoying all the art work and graffiti. We stopped at Landeau because we fancied a chocolate cake and oh my goodness…! That was THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE I ever had! It was a pure food orgasm!!! The cake had a variety of textures and must be tried to understand how good it was. It honestly was one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to! It’s an industrial beauty and I congratulate the designers and creators from the bottom of my heart!!!

Alfama is a very old part of the town with lots of run down buildings and the government ensure it stays that way to maintain the culture and history of the city. With lots of little roads and bars and shops where you can again drink vinho verde, delicious Portuguese coffees and eat the famous Pastel de Nata.

Castello de São Jorge. Definitely visit this place. It is a must, you see all of Lisbon from up there. Absolutely amazing and stunning views! It’s the highest point of the city and it’s breathtaking!

Take a stroll along the river and you will find lots of restaurants, bars, live street bands, walk all the way to Plaza de Comercio, it’s a great historic place. If you walk through the arch, you will find yourself in the vibe of the modern city center with the best ice cream cafes.

Lisbon is a city of endless walks! Don’t take any high heels, it’s a waste of space in your suitcase, a space you could use to bring some beautiful basket bags or gorgeous souvenirs back! Just walk around and enjoy the city! It’s beautiful, amazing, mystical, historic…I felt at home and I felt very calm and relaxed there. I can’t wait to go back!!!

How I met my husband…

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To mark my husband’s 15 year anniversary since his arrival in the UK and the release of the first teaser of his documentary (which you can see on my Instagram feed), here is the story of how we met…

I met Sergio in the tiniest village in Germany, my home village, Methler…considering that he was born in Argentina and I was born in Russia and we ended up meeting in such a small village in Germany, I believe it was fate. We were destined to meet, it was meant to be!

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I was working as a part time receptionist in a Sports Hotel to pay my university fees, and he turned up with his football team to stay for a week as part of a pre-season tour. I had just returned from Durham in the summer holidays (I studied for one year in the UK in Durham), so everybody in the hotel thought I spoke fluent English… Now I must say, in Durham they do not speak the kind of English I learnt at school. It’s a different take on the ‘Queens English’ that I had learnt that’s for sure, so It felt like a completely new language to me. Before I even made sense of what the tutor was talking about, the lesson was already over…or the gym instructor who got annoyed with me that I did not understand what he wanted with his “op a don” (up and down) explanations…anyway, thats a different story…

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The team arrived, the team left. Nothing really happened apart from seeing Sergio every day walking past the reception with his blonde locks and a bright smile. He asked me only once if I knew a good nightclub for the team to go to on their last night. The problem was that they only packed sports clothes for the stay, I told him to send me an email with all of their names and I will add them to a guest list at the club where I was also working at the time. He never sent the email…

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Three months later I was back in Durham, by this time completely bored of writing my dissertation, I was checking my emails, including the spam filter and there was an intriguing email that stood out from every other one in my folder. A message from a Spanish name ‘Sergio Torres’ in my German email account. He said he just wanted to check how things were and where I was at that time…He convinced me that communication via Facebook was easier, so I opened an account and 6 weeks later I took the National Express Bus from Newcastle to London to see him. We met at the London Eye, the place where he also proposed to me 4 years later!! I went back to Germany and we remained in constant contact but at this point I didn’t know where it was going to lead so I took on a job as an Event Manager for a year, paid off all my university fees and finally 13 months later, I made the biggest decision of my life, I packed my bags, waved goodbye to my family and moved to the UK. That was exactly 10 years ago. Our own little fairytale with lots of emotions and lots of uncertainty over whether I was doing is the right thing, leaving behind my family and friends but deep down I knew Sergio was the one, and when you know, you know. There is an old saying in Germany that there is a lid to every single pot in this world. My lid was curly and Argentinean.

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The Journey Begins

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Writing the very first blog post is somehow complicated and in a way strange for me…where do I start? who will read it? What is it all about?
It is about everything! The life of a girl born in Russia under the communist regime 35 years ago, moved to Germany when she was 11 and to the UK when she was 25.
That girl is me.
Now, I am a mum to two beautiful little girls and Carlos the little sausage dog. I am a wife to an Argentinean football fanatic and living in the beautiful city of Brighton which has become our home. Our family is a summary of 3 continents, 6 nationalities, 4 languages and lots of travelling.
I believe we are one random product of innumerable different influences. Welcome to my journey and lets trace the map together!