~ words of wisdom ~

Nursing a hurt shoulder all this week (and being unable to do anything physical as a result) gave me time to think about life, and more specifically, my approach to life.

So here are some of my fundamental words of wisdom that I strive to live my life by.

And finally...

So remember to take care of yourself, mentally, physically, and emotionally.  Eat your veggies.  Wash your face twice a day.  Write out your thoughts and frustrations.  Find people you trust and talk to them.  Don't be afraid to ask for help.  If you lose faith in your dreams, change your perspective or change your dreams.  Be grateful.  Be thankful.  Call your mother.  Eat chocolate every day.  And most importantly...

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

~ les fleurs ~

I think it's safe to say summer has arrived in Florida.  The temperatures are in the high eighties and nineties, thunderstorms start rolling in around 4, and the flowers are at their peak.  The perfect time for flower crowns!

Now it's time for an afternoon nap and a cup of tea!  

xoxo,

Eliza

~ d-day ~

Today we remember June 6th, 1944 and the men and women who fought for the cause.  Today I remember both my maternal grandfather and my paternal grandfather, who both fought in the war.  I also remember a very special day two years ago when we (my mom and aunt) took my grandfather Pop to see WWII planes at the airport.  It was an emotional day for all of us and one of his last outings.

{Captain Isadore Schneider}

{in the jungles of the Philippines - 1943}

Pop was a Captain in the Air Force and fought in the Philippians.  He flew through hurricanes, mountain peaks, and flew blind.  Being 25 years old, he was considered the "old man" among the teenagers, but if I knew him at all, he definitely held his own when it came to joke telling and prank playing.

Here's the story that I only heard him tell once, but that has stuck with me and with everyone who hears it.  Written by my mom.

"In the summer of 1943 my dad had to fly his C-47 cargo plane from Zamboanga in the south to Luzon in the north. Part of the way there he was trapped inside a massive hurricane and was blown off course. He knew that he would not be able to fly through the storm and make it back to Luzon without running out of fuel so he decided to bring the plane in at Manilla. The problem - to make the landing strip there he would have to fly his plane between two mountain peaks south of the runway, while being buffeted by hurricane-force winds and flying completely blind. For the next 60-something years, he still wasn't sure how he managed to make it in between the two mountains but he did, blowing out a tire during the rough landing. He taxied the plane to safety and sat for minute or two, in wonder that he'd made it through the storm, between the mountains, past the blown tire. He then glanced at the fuel gauges. Both were sitting on empty. I only heard my dad tell this story maybe three times in my life - the last time in his late 80s when Eliza interviewed him for a history project on WWII. He still wiped away tears as he told it. So many memories, so many close brushes with death. He was one of the fortunate ones who lived to come home to his family and friends. Remembering, this weekend, both those who didn't return and those war heroes (whether they consider themselves heroes or not) who came home with a lifetime of daily demons to wrestle."

It was a wonderful day.  

I miss Pop so much and think about him everyday.  I don't know where he was or what he was doing on D-Day but I know it's a day that he never forgot.  

Towards the end of his life he suffered from dementia, but the one subject he could always talk about was flying.

So, thank you to the men and women and the many members of my family who sacrificed so much for our country.  You are all so loved.

{Pop, second from the left, with fellow pilots at Shaw Field, SC - 1942}

xoxo,

Eliza

P.S. Here's a recording of Benedict Cumberbatch reading the 8am news broadcast from D-Day and Toby Jones reading the 9pm broadcast.  They're chilling.

~ namaste ~

After a very, very stressful week, I decided to make this week all about relaxation.  Sometimes I get wrapped up in the daily chaos and think there's no way I could possibly have a relaxing week, but it really doesn't take much.  Appreciate the little things and don't pass up any opportunity to spend time with people you love.  So far so good!

Monday.
I went on a beach trip with my awesome friend Allison who I haven't seen since my NYC trip!

Tuesday.

I played guitar, had a tofu bahn mi for lunch/dinner, and snuggled with the kittens.

Wednesday.

After work I met up with Allison to eat pretzels and do a little shopping.  Later in the afternoon I went to yoga class...super relaxing!

Thursday.

This morning started out with a yoga class - my new routine.  Then after working on my essay and going to the pool, I worked out at the gym, had some homemade vegan pizza for dinner, caught up on the latest issue of Thom Magazine, and now I'm watching Sherlock.

Hmmm....what will tomorrow bring?

xoxo,

Eliza

~ once upon a time ~

This weekend was filled with more than its fare share of fairy tales.

Beginning with Saturday's magical photoshoot...

I was planning on doing a 50s version of Alice in Wonderland but when I walked outside, Mother Nature was getting ready to have a major storm.  In between the lightning and before it started pouring, I changed the mood of the photoshoot into a creepy Alice/Dorothy/Wizard of Oz/tornado - I don't know why I didn't think of it before!

Continuing with the magic theme, last night I went to see Maleficent, which was amazing!  There were definitely some bits that could have been cut out, but overall it was a great film for kids and adults.  After paying more attention to the makeup and costumes than to the plot, I came home and did a rough version of Angelina Jolie's makeup and awesome cheekbones.  I'll have to try again when I'm using something other than brown eye shadow and concealer.

Whew.  What a weekend!  On the agenda for this week?  Making Maleficent's horns out of masking tape and cardboard and writing an essay on urbanization, immigration, and the politics of the Gilded Age.  I'd say back to normal, but I'm not so sure that counts as normal!  As close as I can get for now...

xoxo,

Eliza