~ throwback thursday ~

This semester, Tuesdays and Thursdays have become my dress-up days.  Vintage dresses, bright lipsticks, my favorite shoes, actually putting effort into my makeup, and even attempting to match my socks.  Now as I write this, it's Friday, and I'm in my pajamas, have my hair in a knot on the top of my head, and a dab of honey on my cheek (FYI guys, gals, and everyone in between - honey works miracles on an overnight pimple), but I was too happy with yesterday's outfit not to share it.

Usually I have a pretty solid idea of what I want to wear when I wake up, and thanks to a week-long bout of insomnia, I've had more time than usual to think it over.  This not only makes my morning go smoother, but enables me to spend less time standing half naked in front of my mirror, holding up two different shirts to see which one matches the dark circles under my eyes best.

When in doubt, go with black (which, thanks to a house full of kitties, require some awkward positions with a lint roller).  I wonder if Audrey Hepburn had the same problem.

Slowly but surely my wardrobe is transitioning into that of a spy from the 1960s who specializes in jewelry theft and international espionage.  Not that I'm complaining.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ let's hear it for the boy ~

I've loved menswear as long as I can remember - walking into my grandfather's closet and seeing his suits on one side, and what seemed like 100 blue shirts that were only slightly different on the other, and all of his shoes, lined up neatly on a shelf underneath had a profound impact on my sartorial education.  Diane Keaton, Marlene Dietrich, Frida Kahlo, Cary Grant, equestrian wear from the '30s, etc., etc.  Classic tailored lines, broad shoulders, mismatched ties, vests, pocket squares, cuff links - I love it all.

This winter, I think I've worn a dress twice and that was only because all of my pants were in the wash (and it was 70 degrees), so I think it's safe to say I've entered a new era of my personal style.

{button up: Old Navy / striped shirt: Ralph Lauren via goodwill / blazer: Target / jeans: Gap}

I've spent the last week scouring Etsy, ebay, and Pinterest for vintage ties and riding pants, only furthering my obsession and making all my clothes seem boring and too feminine for my taste.  So if anyone has a velvet top hat or a three-piece tweed suit, I'd be happy to take them off your hands! 

xoxo,

Eliza

~ springtime ~

I can't wait for spring, so I'm gonna go ahead and pretend that it's March and the flowers are blooming, the bees are flying, and I'm unpacking the shorts and putting away the sweaters because the idea of two more months of layering and hurrying from one poorly heated building to another is disappointing.  Party to console myself (and partly to avoid doing the things I actually need to do), I've been slowly purging my closet to make room for floral 50s dresses, cigarette pants, and an assortment of playsuits and rompers (none of which I currently have).

Not that I haven't enjoyed wearing my vintage coats, (faux) fur stole, turbans, and fleece lined everything, but I'm really excited about wearing fewer articles of clothing.  Maybe my hatred of winter is due to the fact that I spent the vast majority of my childhood running around in my underwear and the plastic version of Dorothy's ruby slippers (just look at my childhood photos - it's like I didn't have any other shoes), and only layering on pants and a jacket when it got too cold to go swimming and play Oregon Trail outside.  Whatever the reason, a decade later, I still hate winter.

I'm ready for beach days, and popsicles, and temperatures that begin with numbers greater than 7.
And until that first glorious day of spring, I'll be silently cursing winter and dreaming of better days ahead.

xoxo,
Eliza

~ pho to go ~

yes I know, it's pronounced 'fuh', but for the sake of humor, don't spoil it for me.

Lately I've been in a bit of a food rut.  Some variation of eggs and toast for breakfast, some variation of vegetables and a tortilla for lunch, and some variation of tofu, sweet potato, and salad for dinner.  Now not to say these are particularly bad meals to have every day, but some weeks just need a bit of spicing up.  So the day before yesterday, in an effort to be different, I went to Pho7 and discovered my undying love of Pho.  Bean sprouts, lime, tons of sriracha.  It's perfect for a cold day (or any day).

OH MY GOD.  It's SO good.

Besides the tall, handsome British guy conveniently living next door to me, and the perfect shade of red lipstick, Pho is the one thing that's been missing from my life.

It turns out, branching out every once in a while isn't all that bad.  Just like how wearing something other than black and white stripes isn't terrible and watching something other than Friends isn't always disappointing (but let's face it...it usually is).

xoxo,
Eliza

~ baby blues ~

During different periods of my life, different colors have dominated everything from my underwear to pillowcases.  For most of my childhood, everything in my life was pink: my room, my sheets, my eye shadow (glad that phase didn't last long), and the majority of my clothes.  But like all things, the Pink Period came to a close and I have now entered what I have lovingly titled The Blue Period - though unlike Monet's, mine is not due to failing eyesight, but rather the need for a clean slate (and an absolute lack of pink).

Thanks to nature, nail polish, and sweater vests, I don't have to look far to satisfy my need for blues and whites.

St. Marks, Florida

By next week, I might be obsessed with hunter green - but for now I'll just enjoy each day I find myself reaching for my blue water bottle instead of my green one and thank my lucky stars that I no longer own any Hello Kitty pink eye shadow.  Happy Wednesday!

xoxo,

Eliza

~ treat yourself ~

Whether you prefer the classical "treat yourself" or the neoclassical "treat yo self," treating yourself to a day at the beach, a new outfit, the absence of a morning alarm, or a glass of wine (for the over-21 and/or european crowd) is never a bad idea.

Since this past semester was particularly grueling (to the point where I found myself falling asleep on stacks of notes and accidentally putting the olive oil in the fridge and the carton of eggs in the pantry) and next semester is going to be just as grueling, if not more, my new year's resolution is to treat myself whenever I can - effective immediately.  So to get things off on the right path, if you care to follow me and make this your new year's resolution as well, here are some quick and easy (and cheap) ways to make your life a little better, even if only for an hour or two.

• sleep until 11.

• watch a good movie.  In the past few days I've seen Big Eyes and Into The Woods in the theater, and The Women, The Thin Man, and Paris When it Sizzles while curled up on the couch.  If you haven't seen The Women, then do yourself a favor - watch it all the way through, bask in its glory for ten minutes or so, then watch it again just to pay attention to the AMAZING costumes and complete lack of men.

• wear pajamas around the house, just for kicks.  I guess it's a sign that you're becoming a fully functioning adult when your first instinct in the morning is to get dressed.  If that's the case, then there's more proof that I am nowhere near being a fully functioning adult.

• buy yourself shoes that Lauren Bacall would have worn.

• wear your super comfy pajamas and Lauren Bacall shoes at the same time, just because you can.

• give yourself a pedicure in light pink (to match the piping on your pajamas).

• make yourself three pieces of french toast and eat them all while wearing your silk pajamas, your new shoes, and while watching an old movie.

If you have followed all of these steps, then you're sure to be feeling a level of fantastic-ness that Tom Haverford and Donna Meagle would be proud of.  If not, then rinse and repeat until you get your desired results.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ baby it's cold outside ~

Merry Christmas to all you lovely people!

Today I celebrated with a big breakfast (and my grandfather's famous oven toast recipe), a long walk with my mom, and seeing Into The Woods with one of my best friends.  It was a great day!

Today was all about being thankful for what I have instead of wishing for more and appreciating the little things.  I snuggled with my mom, danced around my room to holiday music, wore high heels for no reason, and talked to my neighbors.  It was a good day.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday and a great rest of 2014.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ from russia with love ~

Okay, that's it...thanks to From Russia With Love, my James Bond obsession has resurfaced.

Though I could do without the blatant sexism and objectification of every single woman in the film, and I could really do without the opening credits (oh my god, the opening credits), Tatiana Romanova's style has certainly crept into my wardrobe and hair+makeup over the last few days.

{gap pants, gap flats, target sweater, target rain coat}

Since it's been gloomy and rainy for the past three days, I've done nothing but eat cinnamon bread, bake cookies, and go to an insane number of holiday parties.  Now it's not exactly chasing down Russian spies and making out with 007, but I'll take it!

Dressing like a Bond girl?  Absolutely.  Being a Bond girl?  No thanks.  

I'd like to survive past the first half hour of the movie.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ chanukah ~

As I'm sitting here in my pajamas eating pecan pie and watching an old James Bond movie (which, by the way, is way more racist/sexist than I remember it being), I'm reminded again of how much I hate doing anything productive while I'm on vacation.

Really the only things I've done this week that I consider to be productive are putting up some Chanukah decorations and washing my hair.  And I'm surprised I even got around to doing that.

Later I'll bundle up and go for a walk to work off some latkes before having more for dinner tonight, but until then, I'm perfectly happy with a cat on my lap and cup of tea by my side.

Happy Chanukah!

xoxo,

Eliza

~ the good days ~

During the holidays (which I consider to be from thanksgiving to new year's eve) the days may be short, but I try to make them as fun as possible.  On friday I finished the semester with a very, very easy final exam, following three very, very difficult ones, and decided to celebrate with lunch in town and a visit to the Victorian Christmas in Thomasville...

After seeing this Humans of New York photo, I went back inside and put on a hat:

"I'm the lead designer for Stetson hats. I've never met someone as crazy about hats as me. My goal in life is for everyone to understand that there is a hat out there for them. I'm not even selling hats. I'm selling romance."

Next time you go to the Bread and Roses Kitchen, make sure you get the tofu bahn mi.  SO good.

Downtown Thomasville is even prettier at night.

What a great start to the winter holiday!

xoxo,

Eliza

~ social butterfly ~

Much like how stepfathers use expensive presents to make their stepchildren love them, I am now going to shower you all in pictures and words to make up for a lack of posting.  If I were a better liar I would tell you all that I've been traveling in a remote part of the world that doesn't have wifi.  Or photographing a war zone.  Or that I lost my laptop whilst jumping off a bridge to save a small child from drowning.  But I'm an awful liar.  The truth is, blogging has been high up on my to-do list but things like studying for finals and laundry and cleaning the bathroom have rudely been cutting in line.

So here we go...a brief summary of events from this month and last that haven't made it onto the blog!

1. Capital Calender Girls release party.  Several months ago, a good friend/fairy godmother came to me and asked me to photograph an idea she had.  With lots of hard work from some truly amazing women, the Capital Calender Girls 2015/2016 calender was born!

If you'd like to purchase one, head on over to capitalcalendargirls.com!  All of the proceeds go to the Tallahassee Refuge House.

2. Last month two of my photos went up in COCA's 2014 Photofest exhibit at the airport - so exciting!

Both photos were part of a 20-photo series I did last year in my photography class, so it was beyond exciting to see them go from an idea, to a class project, to hanging in a gallery!

3. Last night's ugly christmas sweater party!  Pretzels, hot tea, a fireplace, and the best of friends.

I've got two more finals and then I can start looking forward to holiday parties, Chanukah, and spending time with loved ones!  Here's hoping we all make it through this next week with more than an ounce of sanity left!

xoxo,

Eliza

~ one hundred colors ~

I'll be honest.  I've never liked fall.  Like REALLY never liked fall.

When I was younger I legitimately thought fall was killing me because of the dry, cold-induced headaches (and because I felt like someone had stuck a candle up both of my nostrils).  But of course that was probably due to a lack of water and lack of education on allergy remedies.  Now that I know the benefits of Claritin and carry a water bottle with me every waking moment, fall is slightly less miserable.  Slightly.

Cold weather, then hot weather, then arctic weather.  Complete darkness by 5:30.  Wanting to exercise but being too cold to exercise.  The misery that is layering.

The only thing that fall has going for it are the colors.  Look at any pile of leaves and you'll see a beautiful medley of warm colors that look like they have been spawned directly from the belly of hell.  (but in a good way).

Oh fall...you make me itchy and miserable, but you are pretty.  I'll give you that.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ snow day ~

As a Florida girl, the closest I've ever come to seeing snow is seeing a snowy mountain peak from inside a Salt Lake City airport.  So when I woke up to freezing rain I got SUPER excited!  Later this afternoon it turned into sleet, but it's frozen water so I'm just gonna count that as snow.

*for those of you who live up north, please excuse my ramblings over a little bit of ice*

{my first time making a snowball!}

{taking a walk with my lovely mama}

Though there was only a small amount, I loved it!  But it made me appreciate studying and snuggling with the kitten in a warm house even more.

What's the weather like where you are?  

xoxo,

Eliza