~ ripe city ~

Well, spring break 2015 is wonderfully uncomplicated, so I figured I would go ahead and start a new series on this ole blog.  A brief spotlight on some of my favorite small businesses around town!

In the last few years, Tallahassee has become overflowing with small businesses - restaurants, art galleries, bookshops, vintage stores, boutiques, bakeries, food trucks, and urban farms, among others.  Some have gone out of business, but the majority have hung on, thanks to good planing, good advertising, a public support.

The first local business in this series is the awesome Ripe City, an urban farm right smack in the middle of town.  I've always been passionate about the environment, and in particular, gardening.  Growing up, the day's activities were dictated by what was growing in the garden that season - almost every summer evening was spent picking (or digging up) our dinner.  Corn, butter beans, green beans, squash, cucumbers, potatoes, and tons and tons of herbs.  Now that my life has gotten more complicated and gardening has taken the backseat, it's so great to see a group of people who have dedicated their days to providing people and local restaurants with fresh vegetables.

                 

So if you're looking for great local, organic produce, check out Ripe City - both online (website, facebook, pinterest), on Instagram (@ripecity) and in person.

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

~ 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

~ taking care of business ~

If you're like me (hopefully you're not), then you're just now realizing that it's December and you haven't gone shopping for any of your friends or family yet.  Now you could run to the mall or to Target and get a generic gift, but why not get something unique and support a small business at the same time?

As 1/3 of the 3floridagirls I consider it my duty to support and promote my awesome mom's business wherever I can, but I'm also doing it because everything in the shop is SERIOUSLY AWESOME!  So here are my favorite things in the shop right now - if you're looking for a gift for me, take note!

Florida tea towel 

Vintage florida souvenir salt and pepper shakers 

vintage florida alligator souvenir letter holder

vintage Cypress Gardens aqua maids postcard

vintage 1940s Silver Springs banner

vintage 1940s Wonder Gardens banner

vintage 1950s Florida serving tray

I love all of these items so much (hint hint).  

And when you're doing your holiday shopping this year and every year, don't forget the small businesses!

xoxo,

Eliza

~ thomasville ~

Whew!  This past week has been a blur.  Classes monday/wednesday/friday, a presentation in oceanography, several reflections and and a few summaries due in art history.  Netflix was replaced by note cards, multitasking was perfected, and I'm more than positive the crazy amount of information I've packed into my head has caused the slew of weird dreams I've had over the past few nights.

Taking all that into account I figured I deserved a day off, so yesterday my mama and I headed to Thomasville!

{sifting through ridiculously expensive sheets of paper that I don't need}

We ate, we shopped, we got stuck for ten minutes when a train was passing through town...

Not a bad way to spend a study break.

xoxo,
Eliza

~ small adventures ~

This week, in between studying for exams, losing my student ID (boohoo), and watching Gilmore Girls episodes back to back, I went on a series of mini adventures around town and took advantage of the rare quiet moments (many of which involved cupcakes and breaking into the Halloween candy).

Yesterday after getting out of class early I explored the latest exhibit at the TCC art gallery: The Figure as Vehicle.  It's a beautiful combination of watercolors and pieces of sculpture by Marsha De Broske and John Carollo

Then on the way home from classes I stopped by Lucy and Leo's for a vegan cupcake.

(oreo cupcakes are the bomb)

I obviously didn't have the patience to take a picture since I ate it the minute I got back in the car.

Today also involved art and enormous amounts of good food.  First stop: Voodoo Dog with my mama for veggie dogs, veggie burgers, and the best fries in town.  Then Bread and Roses for some shopping, and a stop at Utrecht (or Blick, or whatever it's being called these days) for canvases, oddball paint colors, and some charcoal.

 

Now I just have to get through my exams tomorrow and then the fun will begin!  Photoshoots, the New Leaf farm tour, an oceanography field trip, the Greek food festival, a play, and modeling on Sunday.  

xoxo,

Eliza

~ too darn hot ~

With the temperatures climbing and the official start of summer nearing, my wardrobe is getting less complicated and beginning to consist of only dresses and bathing suits, which is fine by me!

{gap maxi dress, gap sports bra - for when you're boycotting real bras and it's too hot to put on pants}

After my 10 am yoga class, I had my final homeschool evaluation.  Meaning I am now......(drumroll please)

An official highschool graduate

To celebrate my graduation and final evaluation, I had an amazing iced coffee from Au Peche Mignon (the best French bakery in town, and possibly in the country), and admired their pretty flowers.  All while enjoying the good company and conversation of my friend and evaluator, Laura, and my sweet mama.

{so these flowers are in my front yard, not at Au Peche, but they're too pretty not to share}

And to round out my good morning, I found out what heaven looks like: the tea aisle at Trader Joe's...

I'm not even joking - this was like a third of all the teas they offered.  It's like the Publix tea aisle on crack.  But, like, all natural, organic, fair trade crack.

Now I'll leave you with this.  Happy Tuesday!

xoxo,

Eliza

~ suit up ~

My favorite piece of vintage is coincidentally the first piece I ever purchased.  A gray wool 1950s suit straight from vintage heaven.

When I bought it, there were a few small moth holes but they eventually got worse.  I spent the last few nights carefully repairing all the holes and now it's as good as new!

{one of the invisible patches - can you see it?}

After working at an event at a local museum, my mom and I went out to lunch and visited a few favorite thrift shops.  A perfect day!

{and a perfectly pink sunset}

Stay warm everyone!

xoxo,

Eliza

~ georgia on my mind ~

Today I took a little day-trip to Thomasville, GA for good food, awesome shopping, and some quality time with my mama.  

{target jeans, thrift shop sweater, old navy cardigan, target hat and purse, and converse all stars}

We went to all our favorite shops, did lots of laughing, and found some vintage treasures!

After spotting three vintage hats (that came home with me), I found a box of letters, telegrams, and photos, all from the same woman: Georgetta Smith.

It was so sad seeing a lifetime of memories crammed into a shoe box.  There were wedding photos, photos of a man in uniform, a group of girls playing tennis, a ship leaving port, wartime letters, and a telegram from France.

It's a good reminder to never get so busy that you overlook the little moments in life.  In the grande scheme of things, the little moments are just as important as the big moments.  And they both end up in the shoe box.

xoxo,

Eliza