~ summer brights ~

Instead of my usual black/white striped t-shirt, jeans, and tan flats, I've decided to make an effort to bring some color into my wardrobe and into my life.

{gap dress, target shoes}

{taking my mom's new glasses for a (very quick) spin}

{some logo designing}

{trying out a new lipstick color}

{new Modcloth shoes and new business cards}

I hope everyone's been having a colorful week!

xoxo,

Eliza

~ girl talk ~

Avert your eyes or close the tab if you don't like talking about womanly stuff.

As much as I love the idea of pushing a small human out of my lady bits, I sometimes wonder if 40+ years of periods is worth it.  I started the Monthly Trip to Hell when I was ten years old.  In the summer.  Before most of my friends.  As you can imagine, I was thrilled (bold and indented for emphasis).  For one week every month for nearly the rest of my adult life I would be uncomfortable, unhappy, and in pain - what ten year old wouldn't feel thoroughly optimistic about that?

{completely realistic advertising.  Good job, Tampax.  Good job}

Sure, it's a small price to pay for the love and joy that a child brings into your life, but it also happens to SUCK.  Big time.  I mean, unless laying in bed with a heating pad on your abdomen, cold washcloth on your forehead, assortment of midol, motrin, ibuprofen, and pamprin on your bedside table, and buying a box of pads the size of a pillow sounds like your idea of a rip roaring good time.  If so, I don't think we'll be good friends.

But seriously, is it worth it?  Cramps so bad that it feels like your inner organs are trying to climb out of your body just to avoid the wrath of your uterus (fun fact: one day I couldn't find the heating pad, so I plugged my laptop in to charge and set it on my abdomen until it got hot).  Migraines that suck what's left of the fun out of your life.  Pimples the size of Arkansas.  Welcome to my life.

I suppose one day if I ever have children (which I'm not planning on), I'll be nursing a baby and enjoying my break from periods and sigh with a smile, thinking "Boy, was it worth it!"  But that day is not today.

Rant over.  8 years down, 32+ years to go.

xoxo
Eliza

~ changes, changes ~

Do you ever find yourself in such a deep rut that you'll need a seventeen-foot ladder to get yourself out of it?  Well that rut is where I'm writing this from.  Now, here's how I plan to combat this!  By doing things I've always wanted to do.

01. cutting and dyeing my hair: done and done.

02. getting a tattoo: not done yet, but stick around

I know, I know...go ahead and say it.  "you're too young." "you'll regret it," "are you SURE you want it?"

Get it all out of your system now.  But here's the thing about tattoos - they're a personal decision, a personal choice.  Like having a baby or buying a black t-shirt when you usually buy white.  Maybe I'll buy a black t-shirt in two months, maybe in a year, maybe in three years, but eventually I'll get sick of white t-shirts and branch out.

03. traveling.  

{Turks and Caicos}

{Menorca, Spain}

     

{Faroes Island, Denmark}

     

{Cotswolds, England}

The list could go on.  

Even though my life currently revolves around things I HAVE to do, rather than the things I WANT to do, I haven't completely given up hope.  Today I ordered some temporary tattoos, I'm planning a trip to the mountains in October, and who knows...maybe in a month or two I'll buy a black t-shirt.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ old florida ~

Yesterday my mom and I took a little old florida trip down to Apalachicola and St. George Island.  We drove, we stopped, we took photos, we ate, we drove some more, we stopped, we took more photos, we shopped, we swam, and then we headed home.  But when we stopped, we weren't stopping at convenience stores or surf shops, we were stopping at historic florida landmarks.

But first we stocked the cooler with boiled peanuts, blueberry muffins, hard boiled eggs, and ice cold cokes.

{lunch in Apalachicola}

{The Owl Cafe}

{The Gibson Inn}

So long Apalachicola....see you again soon!

xoxo,

Eliza

~ little things ~

After last week being generally shitty, I figured the universe owed me a good week.  So far, so good!  (I know it's only monday....don't remind me)

01.  my friend Rachael and I made pizza, brownies, watched Sherlock, The Breakfast Club, and went swimming at 11 pm.

02. I ate brownies and pizza

03. I designed and published a website for my photography business!

{my sweet friend Allison and her lovely face}

elizasgphotography.wix.com/elizasgphotography

04. I impulse bought a pair of heels on Modcloth that I've had my eye on for a year now (is that still considered an impulse buy?)....never ignore a Modcloth sale!  You will ALWAYS find something amazing.

05. I finished my summer class today!  Six worksheets and a 9 page essay - DONE!

06. an insanely good dinner for a monday night

Now for some reading before bed, yoga in the morning, and then a trip to Lowes to get 65 white paint swatches.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ blah blah blah ~

That's it.  My life is busy work.

{via the kitsch bitsch}

And that's not just an excuse for why the blog's been quiet for a week...

So let's talk about being busy.

As a creative person, any time spent NOT being creative is spent wishing I was creating something.  But sometimes life gets in the way of your creativity and gives you what I like to call "creative constipation."  Now, what do you do as a sufferer of creative constipation?  Well, in a perfect world, you take time off from the every day life things that require your complete attention and spend all your time creating.  But in case you're new to the program, this is not a perfect world.  

So what the hell do you do about it?  In between working and essay writing and buying underwear and eating salads, make sure you write, read, paint, photograph, and most importantly, REST.

The brain needs rest and the creative brain needs even more rest.  So take a break from things, people, and thoughts that don't enrich your life.  

You'll get your motivation back eventually.  When you have more time, or when inspiration strikes.  So take care of yourself now so you'll be ready when it comes!

xoxo,

Eliza

~ living in the past ~

I have to confess something.  I don't wish I was living in the past.  

I know, I know...the clothes were amazing, the music was fantastic, and the cars were the best, but here's the thing: I like civil rights.  I like being able to go out and get a job and have a future that doesn't involve a husband, children, and endless laundry.  I like being able to instantly connect with interesting people online and see what my old friends are up to.  I like being able to vote.  I like being able to wear what I want to wear when I want to wear it.  And I like the freedoms that come with living in the 21st century.

Now here's a story.

One time I was wearing a 1950s dress, hat, and high heels, and I had a man tell me "I wish women still dressed like that."  Now I like to think that he was simply complementing me on how I wear my clothes, but I heard something more in his voice.  What was he saying?

Women in the 1950s had far fewer clothing choices then we are blessed with today.  Undergarments were far from comfortable, and the "feminine shape" was created with weight gaining products, girdles, tightly laced waist-cinchers, and bras that aimed to please men.

Advertising told women that they were unattractive, shapeless, dumb, and thoroughly miserable unless they tried the magic vitamin, bra, dish soap, or lipstick.  Then, maybe, they would attract a husband or keep the husband they have happy.

This is not what I love about the past.  I love the aesthetic, the look, the clothes.  

I love wearing vintage clothes because of how they make me feel.  I love taking vintage-y photos because of how they make me feel.  I like wearing vintage hairstyles because of how they make me feel.

I don't like the sexism and racism of the past.

I like living in this day and age because women have more rights than they did in the past.  We still have a VERY long way to go in the fight for respect and equal rights, but what a long way we have come.

When that man said he wished women still dressed like they used to, I wonder if he knew the depth of what he was saying....Somehow I don't think he did.

So please, the next time you see someone wearing vintage, complement them on their rockin' style, don't tell them that you wish women still dressed like that.

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty happy with today's skinny jeans and birth control options.

xoxo,
Eliza

~ town hopping ~

Today my mama and I did one of my favorite things: town hopping!  And by town hopping, I mean driving to little towns in Florida and Georgia, looking through antique stores, eating, shopping, buying peaches and butter beans, photographing abandoned buildings, getting creeped out by the abandoned buildings, eating cinnamon buns, and shopping for books.

{the Thomasville farmer's market - best in the state!}

{I picked up a collection of Truman Capote's short stories from the bookstore}

{such an amazing old building.  I'll definitely be coming back to photograph this one in better light!}

Not a bad way to spend my day off!

xoxo,

Eliza