One of the very vital team members here at Blissful Style and Blissfully Domestic is contributor and fashion expert Kathy Friend. Kathy has written some of my all-time favorite Blissful Style articles like this one on how clothes should fit.  Girlfriend is a professional wardbrobe consultant and she knows what she’s talking about!

Something you may not know about Kathy is that for five long years, she and her husband Marty have been trying to adopt Anya, a lovely little girl who lives in an orphanage in Irkutsk, Russia. (Please read their whole story here!) Now, after five years of tears, five trips to Russia and tens of thousands of dollars, Marty and Kathy, who have never given up on the little girl they love, see an end in sight – there is a very real possibilty that Anya could officially be their daughter by her 7th birthday in June 2009.

As you can read on the Friends’ website, because of new Russian requirements and waiting periods to obtain a passport for Anya, they need to prepare for an 8-week stay in Russia this summer.  The financial implications of such a stay are overwhelming – but we can help!

The beautiful “Bring Anya Home” necklace pictured above was designed and created by renowned jewelry designer Ali Oesch to raise money for the Friends’ journey to Russia. Here’s a description from the Friends’ website: