Hallo!

My name is Tania Pochtiennykh. I was born, grew up, graduated from University, got married, worked, gave birth to children in Ukraine.

I taught English, ran a fashion blog, played badminton and raised my children. But on 22 February 2022, Russia started a war and we fled the country. Now we live in Switzerland, in the bilingual city of Fribourg.

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So kids say. Unicorns and the knowledge of English

A few facts about me, this blog and my values

First of all, I’d love it if you and I shared the same values

• Children have always loved me and it has always been easy for me to find a common language with them. I thought I was a great teacher until I had my two youngest children. I realised that almost all of my teaching skills were one big mistake. Or it just has never worked with my kids as well as I would have liked it has.
• Probably like many of you, I often wonder why I came into the world. On the one hand, I know for sure that I haven’t done everything I can yet, and on the other, I’m not sure that everything we do has any purpose at all.
• Today I tend to favour the second hand, I mean, the second opinion. Maybe it’s because Russia attacked my hometown Odesa last night. Adult and  little children were killed. Even the rescue dog had tears in his eyes.
• In Ukraine I had a blog where I wrote only about fashion and style, but now I would like to write not only about fashion, but also about our live here. I would also like to share with you some of my memoirs of my childhood and youth. Probably it would be interesting for you to compare your childhood and teenager experience with that of mine.
• The aim and purpose is to share my observations, joys and impressions with you and maybe get you to solve some of your problems, or at least help you to look at your problem from the outside. If you’re tired, make yourself a cup of tea or coffee or just pour yourself a glass of wine. Then make yourself comfortable in your favourite armchair and scroll through my blog. Take a break from the hustle and bustle and all the problems.

When it comes to fashion and style, all material is written with the following statements in mind:

• Fashion is an art. Beware of fakes – in the broadest sense of the word.
• For me, fashion and style are just as important as a good book, a great film or a gourmet meal.
• I don’t think you should devote more time to shopping than to fitness or a walk in the park with your child, for example.
• Appearances alone are worth nothing without inner content. “The body can never play the role of the soul.”
• Dress boldly. Bold does not mean extravagant. Although extravagance is in fashion right now, it’s up to you.
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. No blogger or stylist will ever say that you should wear crimson socks under thin woollen trousers, for example. But that’s exactly what those who set the tone in fashion do. Style is not medicine, nobody will notice a mistake here, and even if they do, that’s okay.
• A sense of style is like a musical ear: even if you don’t have it, you can develop it if you practise it every day.
• If you have style, you have to hone it. This statement doesn’t just apply to clothing – the same goes for literary, musical and gastronomic taste.
• Choose ready-made looks on the blog, buy similar clothes and wear them.
• Everything you buy should match at least three things in your wardrobe.
• Naturalness is in fashion. Freedom is in fashion. Comfort is in fashion. Beauty no longer requires sacrifice. Well, maybe just sometimes)
• Fashion, shopping and style are not a marathon.
• If you draw a parallel with sport and training, you need to dress on the exhale, not on the inhale.

Write a few words about yourself in the comments and tell me what you would like to read about in my blog. I will be really happy to get to know you.