8 Photos of Happiness

Does it take you a long time to look through your old (and new) photos because you start reminiscing? Yup, my case exactly. I was tagged by two lovely girls Sophie and Teri to do this great tag called "8 Photos of Happiness". To say that I am big photo hoarder is an understatement. Ask my husband and he will tell you how I can take over 100 pictures of a perfectly still lake :) Nevertheless, it was very difficult to narrow it down to only 8. Plus, all of the actual prints of my favourite photos (especially good old b&w prints) are left back in Ukraine in my apartment. Little disclaimer: please excuse the watermark on the photos (hope it doesn't annoy you too much), I prefer to use it on the pictures of my family and friends that I post online or simply my own and personal photos. Anyway, after browsing for a while on my camera / phone / photo stash on the computer / Facebook / Instagram and whatnot, the decision was made.

Here are my 8 Photos of Happiness (aka 8 Photos That Make Me Happy):

# 1

This is probably one of my favourite photos from our wedding (which explains as well why it was my Facebook profile pic for over 10 months!!). At this particular moment that you see on the photo my hubby was about to kiss my forehead. I love those kisses. This pic also shows off my gorgeous dress, veil, bouquet and hair. It also (proudly) displays my toned arms and skinny waist (well, 'ISH) and reminds me how much I need to hit the gym :) To conclude the avalanche of words, I love all the amazing memories from our beautiful wedding and I love my husband to bits. 

# 2

I have so many incredible prints of my parents in their 20's and 30's. However, I would like to share this present-day image now because these two happy faces are, just like my caption says, my best friends, my role models, my parents. They are the most genuine and kind people + always listen to me and give the best advice. I know what unconditional love is from a perspective of a child and one day I will feel it as a parent. To give you a better idea who my folks are, I will try to describe them in 3 words. My dad: thrill-seeker, brave, kind. My mom: intelligent, sweetheart, loving. They both mean the world to me.

# 3

Take a girl out of New York, but you will never take New York out of a girl. That is so my case! The most amazing city in the world was even more special last time we visited it. I started to call this man my husband last time we were there :) New York was our first stop for a few days on our honeymoon itinerary (en route to Mexico and then Vegas) and we absolutely HAD TO come back to the place "where it all began"... Empire State Building. I was most likely frolicking happily through the city all the time, probably just like #Strutting Leo but with even more pep in my step. 

# 4

Please bear with me because this tag is / will be New York inspired big time! :) Whenever I look at this photo, it just brings a huge smile on my face :D It was taken by my then-fiance. To paint you the picture: Central Park, ice rink, The Plaza Hotel and it was starting to snow! Hence, very excited me tilted to one side (from excitement, I'm guessing haha). By the way, am I the only person who gets super happy when it's snowing?!

P.S. Thank you, Big Apple, for being so beautiful. Always.

# 5

Do you see those two little munchkins in the back? They are my absolute favourite two little girls! K & S are my sweet little nieces (my sister-in-law is their lovely mama). Just like any kid, these two are so hyper and so happy all the time. So I took this selfie in the car when we were stuck in traffic. During the whole car trip they were calling their uncle a slow coach (for driving slowly obvs - you can't really race being stuck in traffic). But we were laughing non stop! I miss them so so much as they live across the ocean but definitely hope to see them very soon. 

# 6

To continue our favourite kids theme, I absolutely MUST share this photo. This little girl is a big ball of happiness! Imagine that big cute smile 24/7 and squeaky high-pitched voice +  the warmest hugs ever. Her name is Sabrina and she used to be my no.1 little student when I was teaching back in Ukraine (while working on my Master's). Her mama and I were great friends so this kiddo was like a little sister to me. As you can see, we both enjoyed that day playing in the snow. She also won the snowball fight. Little rascal :)

# 7

It's about time to share some furry love. My kitty Lexi is so precious! If you are not really a cat person or you think they are just lazy and they don't love anyone...well, here's the photo of one who definitely has a personality and provides most amazing kitty cuddles. I've had Lexi for about 5 years before she had to "relocate" over to my parents' after I moved to the UK. I miss that little pink nose so much! :) Don't get me wrong, I love dogs (and all the animals, maybe except the ones that can kill me lol) but this white furry beauty made me love cats even more! P.S. Does your cat ever run from one room into another like mad, stops and then runs again? That's Lexi's favourite thing to do. And it always made me laugh :)

# 8

I did warn you about how much New York is going to be among these 8 photos ;) So last but not least, one of my favourite photos taken at Top of The Rock on the second day just after we got engaged. The ring is on my finger, excitement on our faces and Empire State is posing graciously in the background :) Even though we were freezing (!!!), New York simply can't keep you in a hotel room. Exploring and enjoying the city is only the best with this man beside me. Happy happy times!

I tag wonderful: 

Kim

Pauline

Phoebe

Gemma

Vicky

I look forward to seeing your post on 8 Photos of Happiness 

{if you are interested in doing it, of course} 

+ I tag anyone who would like to do it!
Please drop me a link when you post it ;)

I hope you enjoyed this post and liked my 8 Photos of Happiness.
*header collage is made of images found on Pinterest under autumn inspiration 

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Leave a comment and let me know which photo you liked the most + share your happy thoughts with me :)