Happy 2013! Here is to more subscribers, readers, followers, and quality posts, and to a 365 times better year!
Feel free to click on the month to be taken to the original post!
I do have to come clean, I didn’t have any outfits for January and February, so I substituted them with a couple outfits from March and April 
And don’t forget that:
Happy 2013!
Z
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
19,000 people fit into the new Barclays Center to see Jay-Z perform. This blog was viewed about 160,000 times in 2012. If it were a concert at the Barclays Center, it would take about 8 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
2013 is almost here, and I thought it would be a good idea to somehow sum up this year. I did it in yesterday’s post by reviewing my best (In my opinion) refashions. Today I am going to share my favorite/best thrift finds of the past year!
And don’t forget to CLICK on the image to see the full post
10. $ 15 Rock Band Drums – Brand New in box from Target Overstock/Salvation Army Warehouse distric, and spotted by my husband! I do feel like I need to inspire more male thrifters in this world, that’s why #10 is going to Sam
9. A very Paul Gauguin dress
Love this dress, perfect for the summer, even if you don’t know who Paul Gauguin is 
8. Vintage Polka Dot Top
7. I got Xanax in my pockets sweater
Yes, there were 2 Xanax pills in the pocket of this Pure sweater! Not so pure after all, is it? I will never tell what I did with them!
6. Leather “Basket Weave” Style shoes
5. A Very Zig Zag Dress
4. Vintage Folk Skirt
3. Via Spiga Coat
2. Corso Como $6 boots
1. London Fog leather backpack, found at Empty The Nest store in Burnsville, December 29, 2012. The search for a perfect backpack is now complete! I will never need another one again!
More about this amazing find later!
Happy 2013, and hopefully next year will be 365 times better for all of you, and may it be filled with thrifted and vintage goodies, and a little sweetness on the side!
Z
Let’s face it, I did a lot of refashions, some wearable, some… not so much, but all in all it’s been a great year refashion wise! Let me present you with my favorite refashions! In all honesty, it wasn’t that hard to choose
5. Dress to skirt refashion:
4. White Keds go Golden:
3. Tote Bag Goes Botanical:
2. You Can Never Go Wrong With Crochet Lace:
And the 1st place goes to,
of course,
The Vintage Coat
I hope you enjoyed refashions on BeingZhenya.com in 2012, 2013 will bring even more refashions, DIYs and fun outfit posts! Don’t forget to subscribe, follow, and like to stay in the loop!
Xo,
Z
Vintage Hal Ferman dress, size 8, $3.99 – Savers
Thrifted Mossimo cardigan, $3.99 – Salvation Army
Leather belt, free – NYC swap
I also wore my MEXX suede boots and black leggings!
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
Xo,
Z
Last Saturday our family had an early Christmas celebration, opening presents, a great dinner, taking family photos by the tree after too many glasses of champagne… The whole 9 yards!
I also got Sam to take a few shots of me, and give or take, my husband is a great photographer! So here we go, my outfit of the day!
Boots: Corso Como $6 – Steeple People
Dress: Anthropologie – $15 – Clothes Mentor
Scarf: Thirfted back in my NYC days
Cardigan: Mossimo $7
So here you have it, my very inexpensive, but fun Christmas outfit! Thrifting will never be substituted by shopping in my world!
Happy Monday!
Z
I was tagged to do this Christmas tag by Luchessa! Thank you, dear, for tagging me! Here we go:
1. Which Holiday do you celebrate? Christmas, and then Russian Christmas (January 7th!), just because one Christmas is never enough! There was also a time in my life when I celebrated both Hanukkah and Christmas!
2. What are you doing for the holidays this year? Going to Wisconsin! Enough said!
3. What’s your favorite holiday drink? Anything caffeinated with peppermint in it, preferably from Starbucks
4. Candy Cane or Gingerbread men? I was going to say neither, but definitely Gingerbread men as I think more about the question. They are easier to chew
5. What’s your favorite Holiday/Christmas song? At work – All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth!
But the one that really get’s me in the spirit of Christmas is – Oh Come all Ye Faithful
6. What’s the weirdest gift you’ve ever received? Someone once gave Sam and me a Christmas ornament that said “Our First Christmas 2010″, we got married in 2011, and the people who gave it to us came to our wedding! So I think it was a re-gift.
7. Have you ever made a snowman? Yes, many times! I think growing up in Russia it’s a winter MUST! I also made a miniature one last year for a girl I used to babysit!
8. What is your favorite winter fragrance? Definitely Miss Dior
9. What is at the top of your list this Christmas? Sewing books I posted about a couple days ago!
10. What is most important to you about holidays? Spending DRAMA-FREE time with my family!
I am going to tag all of you my lovely readers to answer all of the questions, and I’d really like to tag the following bloggers:
And once again, please feel free to do the tag and link your post in the comments below!
Happy “End of the World” Friday!
Z
If you are a devoted refashionista like me, you have craft supplies laying around everywhere. My dining table has become a permanent home to a sewing machine. The living room floor is where I lay out most of my patterns and fabrics, finding a pin or stepping on one is nothing out of the ordinary in this household.
Today’s refashion was inspired by a piece of lace trim that was on my dresser, aka make up table! I was going to use it in one of my refashions, but it turned out to be a complete fail (those happen to me too!), but I am glad it came in handy, because I think it turned out super cute! So here is what we are going to refashion today:
A Liz Claiborne Petite Large shirt. It’s so comfy, I love it! And even though it’s somewhat baggy, it’ll be staying in my closet for a long while!
And here is the stranded piece of trim, laying right there on my make up brushes case, like it belongs there:
Here is what we do:
Trim the lace to fit the pockets:
So it looks like this:
And now you are going to hand sew it on. Super easy and fast, took me only 5 minutes! Here is what it’s going to look like from the inside:
And the result:
I hope you enjoyed this easy, super chic, super girly refashion. I am sure that my obsession with lace trim is becoming more and more obvious with every refashion!
Happy Thursday and Happy Holidays!
Z
… but I have to return to the Library!
Today’s post is going to be about new sewing books that I’ve discovered for myself over the past couple of weeks! And I am going to immediately tell you, that I am in love, and some of those books, are making me think “Why didn’t I think of that earlier?” type of thoughts!
The first one is “DIY COUTURE” by Rosie Martin,
My favorite part about that book is the fact that you don’t need any sewing patterns to make anything! The measurements are extremely easy, or you end up tracing the items of clothing you already have. So far I’ve only made a cape following the step-by-step instructions, but there is more in the making! And the best part is – there is more to that than just a book, there is a blog!
The next book is STYLISH DRESS BOOK wear with freedom by Yoshiko Tsukiori,
And I literally want to make every single dress from this book, because they are that amazing! But it’s definitely for advanced seamstresses, unlike the first book I mentioned! I have already been scouting thrift stores for fabrics to use in order to make these dresses. I don’t know what it is about her patterns, but the simple lines and the choice of fabrics really attracts me to her books!
So these are the only two that I am really enjoying right now! What sewing books do you like?
Happy Wednesday!
Z
That’s how we think in this household. Last year we had this amazing cork board tree made out of push pins and yarn:
This year we were not going to have a tree all together, but then I was feeling overly creative and made this:
Yes, I made a Christmas tree out of TP rolls, and even painted it with glitter! So I guess DIY Christmas trees are a family tradition now!
Happy Tuesday!
Z
