Elmira Ali

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Latest — 05 Jun 2026

Postcards from Barcelona

For the Easter break, my best friend Aiym and I planned a trip to Barcelona. Although it's already been a couple of months since then, I want to keep these memories in my blog and share some photos with you. It was my very first trip without my

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I became a potential bone marrow donor

What's a bone marrow donation and why register? Bone marrow donation is done for the hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. It is the transplantation of stem cells in order to replicate inside a patient and produce additional normal blood cells. It is most often performed for patients with certain cancers

A date around the potter's wheel

In the beginning of March my husband and I had a chance to attend a wheel throwing workshop in a cozy Alike studio in the Stara Praga neighbourhood of Warsaw. We rarely visit the right bank of the Vistula River, and Praga is a notorious district, but the neighbourhood was

Book review: The 12 Week Year

Full title: "The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months" by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington, published in 2013. I kept seeing people online who shared that they successfully implemented the 12 Week Year as their primary time and

Book review: The Psychology of Money

Full title: "The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness" by Morgan Housel, published in 2020. It was the last book I read in 2024, and it is an easy read on a difficult topic we face every day. Although the advice given might sound

Books

I do not consider myself a bookworm, but reading is a childhood habit that I would like to revive. I hope this page serves as a tracker and a motivation tool. Below is the list of books I am currently reading, the books I recently read (sometimes linked to reviews)

Happy New Year!

Dear reader, May the year 2025 bring us all peace, calm and hope for the better future. Let this year be a year of steady foundations to build on. Wish us all to shine brighter, grow stronger and be true to ourselves. I hope this year will be full of

Five French podcasts I recommend

I still remember the very first podcast episode I have ever listened to: it was How To Actually Learn A New Language With Benny Lewis of Fluent in 3 Months from the College Info Geek podcast released back in 2014. Amusingly, the way it started combines two things I enjoy

Book review: Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

Full title: "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed" by Lori Gottlieb, published in 2019. A while ago my good university friend recommended that I read a book of a psychotherapist who shares stories about her clients and her own experience

Four books that helped me prepare to welcome my baby

When I was 7 months pregnant I took an online course dedicated for future moms by Alexandra Anykina. In my opinion, Alexandra is the most qualified and professional Russian-speaking author of such courses: focused on evidence-based medicine, child psychology and modern attachment theory. I found her both trustworthy, but also