August has been an exciting month already. I returned to DC to film a meditation video for the 1874 Grand Canyon painting by Thomas Moran, his companion piece to the Yellowstone painting that I explored a couple of years ago for the U.S. Department of the Interior Museum.
A view of “Chasm of the Colorado”
A few days later, Mark and I celebrated our 30th anniversary. Where has all the time gone?
One of my favorite views
We head back to Portugal soon, with a pit stop in Dublin, Ireland for the FSU game that happens to be on my birthday. 🥳 It’s our first time to the “Emerald Isle” and we are feeling lucky! Mark and I met at Florida State 36 years ago, as freshmen, and started dating our junior year in 1990.
Come help us celebrate 2024 in our beloved town of Tavira! Just a few weeks left to sign up for the October 12 trip to southern Portugal.Retreat details here.
My uncle, Jim Buie, just wrote an article about Frances Mayes, the author of Under the Tuscan Sun. I read this book over a decade ago and it was one of my favorites. The subsequent movie was fun, but I found the book to be richly satisfying – you really felt like you were experiencing Tuscany with her.
Me under the Algarve Sun
Mayes’ sense of being at home in the world is the same thing that keeps bringing me back to Portugal. I like the “me” that I am there, and I bring that “me” back to my life in the US. I never thought I’d be living in two different places at once, but for now this is working, and it’s helping me to thrive.
My uncle’s article points out that the best kind of travel is not just about sightseeing. He quotes Mayes: “It’s because you want to grow. You want something to happen to you, you want to be changed. You want to be changed into something you are.” I found another illuminating quote from one of Mayes’ later works, A Year in the World:
Travel pushes my boundaries….The own-little-self is unlocked from the present and released to move through layers of time.
After fifteen trips to the southern coast of Portugal over the past six years, I’m still in love with the idea of sharing this beautiful place with the world. Of course, I will always be somewhat on the outside looking in – much like Wes Anderson says he is a tourist in Paris, even though he has lived there for almost twenty years.
An outsider perspective has its perks. At the very least, it’s breaking up my patterns, my routines. At best, it’s forging a sense of community with people of a different culture – connecting on a very personal level, instead of through social media or the constant news cycle. I bring this inspiration back to New York and hold onto the feeling as long as I can. 💙
My goal is to give a glimpse of this through my retreats. The best possible experience of relaxed travel in a limited amount of time. Maybe I’ll write a book on my Portugal adventures someday. For now, I have written a mini book on the day-to-day activities of the retreat.
Remember, this is not a yoga retreat. Morning sessions are optional; you could choose to sleep in. We do have a color theme for each day – these meditations are simply bringing our focus to the beauty all around us. And it adds to the fun! 💛
To Think I Did All That: Hear me feeling “My Way” with dear friend, Steven Strauss
Where has all the time gone? This year marks the 15th anniversary of Peace or Drama, my first solo album.
Dear Eve of 15 years ago, what is this fascination with sofas and rocks? That dress from the cover shot – vintage 60’s midnight blue wool and sequins – had me channeling Ginger from Gilligan’s Island.
Photography, like music, has the magic to bring you back to a certain time and place. Thanks to computer updates over the years, I thought these photos were lost. I found the orginal CD-R but had no way to play it. Mark fished out an old laptop that still had a CD drive, and voilá! It all came back.
Let me set the stage: It was a chilly day in Nashville and I arrived at Merridian furniture store in the early hours before they opened shop.
We lingered in a living room window display. By luck, the artsy backdrop graced me with a fabulous flower halo. The beauty of my surroundings made me feel glamorous, even though my self-applied makeup was a rush job and my first (and only) attempt at false eyelashes was an epic fail. 😫
One lash set, half-unglued, waved like a spindly spider above my eye. No matter, that ridiculousness dispelled my nervous energy. It helped that the photographer was my cousin; Josh has a great eye and never fails to make me laugh.
After a few different takes, we headed to the botanical gardens at Cheekwood and then ended up at the warehouse ruins around Nashville Jazz Workshop. All of these places were special to me.
Who do I think I am?
I am a writer, a musician, a teacher, a guide. I am also simply me, without any labels, just as you are you.
I am a fan of looking back, looking forward, as well as seeing what’s right in front of me. A reflection of self is not vain, it’s a form of connection. Look at Frida Kahlo’s adornment and haunting self-portraiture, as well as her role as a muse for many photographers.
Lucky 13
It took me a long time to own my creative expression, to fully accept Diva Eve. I considered myself lucky with those 13 original songs. A year later I was touring with 13 original paintings, each made by a different artist, inspired by my songs. I did it my way, but I certainly wasn’t alone.
It helps to have creative friends – after all, it’s just “play.” I am forever grateful for the many people who teamed up to put my music out there in the world; my dream come true. I can see it in my face, that creative force we all share. I’ll celebrate this previous me, who is still me with added layers. I’ll be inspired by the milestone and continue to carve out time for play. Thank you, Diva Eve of 2009! 😘
Excerpt from Peace or Drama:
Our path is not a straight one, you will see It circles round like years on a tree And if you get the chance to cut into me Look for the rings of you
Here’s a cut of my own favorite pics from the photo shoot, most of which have never seen the light of day. I’m drawn to the quiet wistful stares (like a secret) or the laughing/silly smiles that remind me of my true self. Almost lost, but not forgotten, I am ready to let them shine.
Full-length shot of the Ginger dress
Cousin Josh captures a yawn at the end of our long day
Fill my heart with song, and let me sing forevermore….
I haven’t forgotten the powerful connection of song. In my back-and-forth between New York and Portugal, sometimes it seems there isn’t enough time for making music. In Portugal, I am lulled by the relaxed pace – I make friends easily, I am buoyed by community. In New York, sometimes it’s harder to make those connections. People are busy, rushing around from place to place and not looking each other in the eye. But NYC also has a strong community. It just moves to a different beat.
I am a lover of history. I go to the freshly renovated Tiffany & Co. flagship store and see the Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I see the elegant designs of Elsa Peretti.
This is a city of wealth for sure, but it also embodies the can-do American spirit and coalescence of cultures worldwide. Both tourists and residents find moments of respite and serenity here too.
My friend Joe and I busked in Central Park the other day. A Japanese man took interest in Joe’s foldable keyboard, and then he offered to take a video of us. An older Russian woman (who now lives here) stopped for several songs, and we became friends on Instagram. A three-year-old boy danced and clapped in front of us for a while. Many people hung out on the benches nearby.
Music is a universal language. I remember when I sang at the Cairo Jazz Club years ago, the young Egyptian guitarist said, “Everybody knows ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ and Frank Sinatra.” ❤️
But it’s not just the familiar tunes that draw people in. On our day in the park, Joe and I performed many originals. Here’s an excerpt of “Do You Remember,” a nostalgic piece I wrote for my oldest friend Alix, whom I’ve known since age 9.
Joe is also an old friend – we met at Berklee College of Music twenty years ago and I asked him to play on my first album. We recorded “Do You Remember” on a beautiful fall day in Nashville, Tennessee in 2008. As I listened to Joe put down the piano track, I watched the lovely golden and rust leaves falling from trees outside the window. 🍁 So many layers of memories!
Do you remember when we met? Was it September? I forget… All I remember is your smile, The way that it warmed me all the while
Hear the original recording of this beautiful song, Do You Remember
I was born in North Carolina, raised in Florida, and have lived all over the US since marrying my college sweetheart, Mark Fleishman. We both had wanderlust from the get-go.
Diva shot at Fat Angel, where it all began
Back in 2018 we were hanging out at Fat Angel, our favorite neighborhood haunt in San Francisco. Dismayed by the high housing costs in SF, Mark said, “We should buy a place overseas.” I whipped out my phone and Googled best places to buy and this is what came up:
Sold! 🤩 I booked a last-minute solo scouting trip and headed to Portugal for the very first time. Spent a few days looking in Lisbon, then rented a car and drove south. On my last night, I landed in a small town called Tavira and I just knew this was the place.
The octopus and the moment I knew
Later I returned with Mark, and by lucky stars we were on the show House Hunters International. Here we are back at the same restaurant during the film shoot – our neighborhood favorite, Nó de Gosto.
All this time, I was performing shows and teaching classes back in SF, sharing about my PT adventures. People kept asking, “When are you taking us to Portugal?”
And that, my friends, is how the seed was planted for a retreat in the Algarve.
I truly love sharing this place and its magical vibes. I want YOU to experience it too – wanderlust is contagious!
This is a RENEW-your-senses retreat, a RELAX-your-body retreat, a RETREAT-from-busyness retreat.
Yes, there will yoga offered by yours truly on most mornings – in a gorgeous 16th-century chapel, no less. I invite you to come, even just to rest on a mat or a chair. But if you skip and sleep in, that’s ok too! My goal is simply to have you feeling better by the end of the week. 🥰
So set aside your worries. This retreat is for YOU!
I was invited to sing in two services in my hometown of Gainesville, Florida. I have such gratitude for the excellent musicians that I met and performed with – we had little time to prepare and I put my trust in them as they did in me.
A precious reminder that I am here to serve.
I made a couple of live recording videos to share with you.
All systems go for May!
In less than 3 months, we’ll have our next Renew, Relax, Retreat in southern Portugal. Now is the time to take the plunge and join us! We kick off Memorial Day weekend and end up in the beginning of June. This is an ideal time of year to visit the southern coast, known as the Algarve.
Portugal retreat 2023: May 27 – June 3 🏖️🏖️🏖️
Invite a friend and double the fun (and save by sharing a room).
I’m back in the land of salt. Our apartment in Portugal stares out at the ocean as well as the salt pans. Portuguese flor de sal (fleur de sel in French) means “flower of salt,” which rises to the pan’s surface forming a crust.
Salt cultivation in the Algarve has existed since ancient times
Of course, even without the crust, the salt is divine! Just ask our retreat participants, who experienced the salt soak (and mud) of Salino, an outdoor spa near the border of Spain. Deets for the upcoming 2023 retreat below.
Portugal retreat 2023:
May 27 – June 3
More salt history in our Seasons and Chakras yoga meditation this Friday. We are now in the season of the first chakra = FOUNDATION – RED – EARTH.
Teaching from Portugal on Zoom. Click here for full schedule.
Here are your February incentives:
Portugal retreat May/June – Sign up by Valentine’s Day and get $200 off.❤️ Invite a friend and double the fun (and save by sharing a room).
Open house this Friday – Come to class FREE (first time participants) or regulars bring a friend and you both come FREE!
