One day in LA. 

Phew it is hot. The heat in Southern California never seems to let up. This February is unseasonably warm, which translated, means just like summer. During the week we drove to Los Angeles. I like this town. It is terribly snobby, but it beats with positive and creative energy.
                  
From Newport Beach to Santa Monica (Los Angeles) the route by car usually takes about an hour, we were able to make it to the nearest Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in just over 40 minutes. 

For sure we went faster as we used the less crowded carpool lane - reserved for cars with a minimum of two passengers. Look at all those cars with just one person driving!

A visit to the Polish very elegant office passed without any problems, and in over one month I should get my new passport by mail.                          

                             

A few months ago, I spotted on the Discover LA Instagram page a property that took my breath away. I really wanted to see it with my own eyes. I succeeded:                      

The Stahl House is located in Hollywood Hills. Buck Stahl wasn't anybody famous. The house itself does not involve any Hollywood story. It just happened that one day in 1954 Stahl bought land on the hills and decided to build a home on it.

With the help of architect Pierre Koenig, the Stahl House was transformed into amazing and unique estate.  The Koenig work featured in the Case Study House Program. It was a practical manifesto of a large group of designers, whose aim was to show the modern, post-war and functional architecture.

The concept used the beautiful skyline, visible from any interior. The house itself is built mostly of glass and steel. The Stahl House was entered the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Our only regret was that we did not stay until sunset, and we could not cool off in the pool.

Here is a link to the Stahl House gallery of recent magazine and commercial photoshoots: 
http://www.stahlhouse.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=115  

                                    

In the afternoon, in a different area of LA, we found time to catch up with friends. 

 We also traveled through the famous district of Beverly Hills.

When we left hot Los Angeles, we had to stop for a little shopping.

I recently read the book Driving the Saudis - by American author Jayne Larson.  She mainly describes the experience of working for the lavish Saudi Royal family, but you can also learn about the city of Angels itself. I recommend it. :)

Along the way, we checked if we were lucky winning the mega lottery Powerball. The prize was $500 million! We were close, but still very far away.

Three right numbers, including the key powerball number, got us to win $ 7! Almost enough for a delicious lemon cheesecake from a well-known Cheesecake Factory restaurant, which we bought at the mall. 

                                                  

                                                       

                           

We came back little tired but in good spirits, and we are already planning our next visit to magical LA.

H.                             

  

It's time for Super Bowl!

Last Sunday the 49th American football championship was played.

This time, the Seattle Seahawks did not win the Super Bowl (see my blog posts from January and February 2014).  The New England Patriots are the 2015 champions.  The same team who is involved in the so called Deflate-gate.  Allegedly the Boston team used under-inflated balls, which might make them easier to catch.

I still do not quite understand the rules of American football. This time it occurred to me that the whole team does not play simultaneously. Each is divided into three smaller teams, and are accordingly active on the field depending on the time of the game.

I did notice that Sunday's match was full of emotional ups and downs. And in the end, to my surprise, the Seattle Seahawks players got into a fight with the Patriots! One of the players received a $ 25,000 fine. Of course when one earns a million of dollars per year, this amount is not much noticeable. 

Dean loves to talk about sports, particularly about football. He often discusses the games on the phone with his Dad.  He also obsessively checks the internet for the newest scores.

For me, the halftime show was exciting enough. This year, live from the stadium in Arizona, Katy Perry gave an entertaining performance. Just like the one we went to last year in Tacoma.  And just like last time I had a great time listening to her popular hits.

Surely you know how important and costly advertising time during the Super Bowl is. 

I particularly liked these newest commercials:

                                                 

                        

And you? 

Here is a link to all of them :

http://graphics.wsj.com/superbowlads2015/8CCCBA4B-235B-424F-A79E-7121EBA740F0 

One must notice that American economy has to be getting on the right track. It seemed to me that most of Super Bowl commercials showed brand new car models.

Stay tuned for next post from Southern California:)
                                                                         

©www.boston.com

©yahoo

                                                                                     

Bundle of Joy

I am pleased to officially announce that Dean and I are expecting! In the USA, public baby announcements are very popular.  I saw many online forums where moms-to-be ask for advice when choosing its most unique form .

I am quite a superstitious person, but in the end, I too succumbed to the desire of sharing pictures of my,quite visible baby bump.

Our little one is scheduled to come into the world at the end of May. I am in the good hands of university hospital doctors. In February a new modern obstetrics ward is scheduled to be opened. It will be within walking distance from our apartment!

We performed all the tests in the framework of a good health insurance. Only the cost for a fairly expensive medicine that helped me ease early pregnancy symptoms, was not covered.

Despite this, the insurance covered comprehensive prenatal tests, that we performed in Bellevue. It turns out that doctors in San Francisco were pleasantly surprised by this, as I have not yet attained the risky age of 35.

I haven’t yet decided whether we are going to have a Baby Shower. So far I am still attached to the superstition that it is still very pleasant to receive gifts after the birth, and not before.

In any case, we all feel great and we are looking forward to the upcoming changes. I just need to learn quickly how to change diapers and get a newborn to sleep. So far, I have signed up for the weekly prenatal yoga classes. The first class was just what I needed and I am looking forward to the next one.

Meanwhile, we're getting ready for the finale of the American football playoffs. On Sunday our favorite Seattle Seahawks have a chance of winning the Super Bowl twice in a row! I have a feeling that that the baby will be rooting with us as well:)

Dear Readers, please keep your fingers crossed!

Oxygen fix at Muir Woods National Park.

Picking Baby's first outfits from Hanah Andersson catalog.

American maternity wisdom says that expecting woman can eat popcorn shamelessly. #checked

                                   

                                       

Good Morning America!

Reveille. Dean gets up early in the morning to get ready for work, prepares breakfast, and I find myself on the couch turning on the TV. Before moving to the USA, I enjoyed waking up with Dzień dobry TVN. Now with my morning coffee, I often watch the Today Show or Good Morning America.

What immediately stands out to me is the energy emanating from the American presenters. Remember, they get up at around four o’clock  in the morning. Nevertheless, they all seem to be so enthusiastic in front of the cameras. No wonder! The most popular anchors are rumored to earn around $ 20 million per year! I was surprised, however, that the popular morning infotainment programs are viewed by around 5 million viewers.

Super-energy beats also from fans who come to New York to see their favorite  presenters and of course to greet their loved ones on air.

TV stations compete in topics. Recently I have seem segments not only on news-items such as the charitable missions of the former US President Jimmy Carter, but also on the homosexual pair that became first time parents thanks to a surrogate- mother. Of course, all kinds of financial, dieting, beauty and lifestyle advice are offered.

In contrast to the programming of Polish breakfast TV, weekdays shows are far more grandiose.  This week I have already seen Anne Hathaway, Martha Stewart and Jennifer Aniston; even the weekday anchors are celebrities. One Tuesday in January, there was even a live wedding ceremony in the GMA studio, which featured brides and grooms competing for the honor. 

Experience it for yourself: 

http://abc.go.com/shows/good-morning-america/listing/2015-01/13-gma-113-bride-groom-tie-the-knot-live-on-gma 

(If you reading outside USA follow the youtube link in the Polish version)

Anything to satisfy the coffee and cereal crowd.

After months of watching American morning television I actually needed to take a break. I understand that the show has its own rules, but after a while having everything so sweet, such talented guests, and some of them, including the anchors, fighting bravely with illnesses was too much for me.

I still occasionally start my day with American TV, but always later during the day I check the internet to see who has recently sat on couches in the morning studios in Warsaw. 

                                                   

H.

Well, we had a great Holiday! So many nice gatherings, delicious meals, fantastic gifts and many European walks! 
Christmas time in Krakow is really one of a kind. We welcomed New Year in the authentic Kings' castle. At midnight we enjoyed an awesome firework show. We have even danced a traditional Polish dance- polonez. 
It wasn't easy to come back to the USA.  Only after one week I managed to get over jet lag. It is very sunny in San Francisco, no signs of winter. Is it really January here?  
Here is a photo gallery recap of our Christmas trip. 

      Boarding in the right spirit...

Berlin during Holiday time.

Hello Santa! 

Finally on the way to Cracow.

    Glimpse of sunshine in my hometown.

Dean added new level to Christmas. We sang Polish, American carols, and even one Channukah song. 

After singing, we could finally unwrap gifts from tye Christmas Angel. 

We also tried to take walks after eating all of these tasty meals.

      Like this soup rosół made by my Mum.

And here may i present you my very nice and well behaved guests who came to share with me chocolate Birthday cake:)

Don't stop the party. Happy Anniversary! #30yearsafterwedding

New Year couplie ♥

           On the way back to the USA we also visited
(just for one evening) London.   

                                                 

                                               Happy New Year!!!             

                                                                               

                       I wish you a very merry Christmas, straight from                                       a very sunny Cracow!

                                          

                                     Stay tuned for a Christmas story...

Books for Christmas

It so happens that all the books that I have been lately reading were written by women.  For Christmas, I would highly recommend Alexandra Fuller and her African memories, the latest prose by Zadie Smith or short stories by last year's Nobel Prize winner Alice Munro.  I also enjoyed reading the biography of Róża Thun, a Polish European Parliament Member elected from Cracow.

This year I also read some interesting books of American women writers.

One of them was the memoir entitled Brain on Fire, written by a NY Post young journalist, Susanah Cannalah. One day in the office she began to act very eerily. The doctors could not immediately identify the reasons of her rapidly deteriorating mental state, which resembled schizophrenia. After some dramatic events she finally finds a good psychiatrist, an immigrant from Syria. He helps her diagnose and puts her life back on track. The innovative treatment in New York cost the young patient a million dollars (sic!) Fortunately, the author could count on the support of family and a good health insurance.

Maybe a long time ago you watched Little House on the Prairie? That was the series that launched the acting career of Melissa Francis. She was then only a lovely preschooler already making appearances in television commercials. Although it seemed she was growing up in perfect American middle class, her memoir is bittersweet. She writes about show business and growing up through the prism of a toxic relationship between her and her Tiger Mom in Diary of a Stage Mother's Daughter. Although she learned how to be ambitious (she is now an economic journalist), some of the wounds have never healed.

Meanwhile, while driving several times to Oregon, we listened to the audiobook Lean In. It's a feminist manifesto of the American business-shark-woman Sheryl Sandberg. We listened how important it is from the very beginning to share household chores equally, but also to take a proactive approach at every stage of our life. Although sometimes mildly annoying, advice shared by the billionaire and incumbent Facebook’s COO are definitely worth paying attention to.

All three books are based on real facts. All three show stories of women who, despite the odds, believed in themselves and achieved their goals. 

Well now it is time for me to make a trip to Barnes & Noble for a new supply of interesting stories. Or maybe I will happily find some under the Polish Christmas tree?

  H.