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Stephanie Howell

reading, organizing, shopping, momming too close to the sun. Home is wherever the Army sends us.

wordless (ish?!?!?!) wednesday

Let me set the scene. Dana and I took Cate and Lucy to the piazza to meet a friend for lunch.

I went up to the counter to buy a cafe and turned around to see Dana frantically gesturing at the window. There were about 20 tourists outside waving at C and L and taking their photos.

I DIED LAUGHING.

Those two hams can draw a crowd anywhere they go. Seriously. Hahahahah! Just wish I could have snapped a picture when they were snapping THEIR photos. But I couldn’t get to my phone fast enough.

LOVE.

xoxo

S

Joy.

 I love this quote and believe in it with all of my heart. I am conscientiously choosing to be joyful each day…even if it’s really damn hard sometimes. Even if I have to work really hard at choosing happiness, I believe it’s really important!

I’ve certainly gotten sucked into the vortex of complaining and negativity. But you know what? It’s malignant. And exhausting. And I much prefer joy.

How about you? What do you choose?

xoxo

S

As We Speak…

Fighting a massive sinus infection. Can’t taste or smell a single thing.

Exploring close to home. Because of work, J can’t go far right now so we are trying to see what is in our neck of the woods. found this gem just minutes away.

Wishing there were more hours in the day. I’m back to feeling like a hamster on a wheel. Just.Can’t.Catch.Up.

Drinking endless lattes that my friend Grazia makes. So good. And only one euro per drink. And the coffee never tastes burnt. 🙂

Eating fritelle. The delicious fried treats are so unhealthy but so good. And everywhere right now since it’s carnevale!

Studying Italian. I’ve started my first class and I love it. It makes my brain hurt (it’s been a L O N G time since I was a student) but it’s awesome. And I can now say helpful things like Sono sempre confusa. I am always confused.

Listening to the Frozen soundtrack. On repeat. LET IT GOOOOOO.

Anticipating the Oh Joy for Target collection. It is marked on my calendar. And I have an American shopping liason. 🙂

Learning about Paris. We had to cancel our Valentine’s trip due to work stuff. We’ve rescheduled (in April) to celebrate our 11 year wedding anniversary…dreaming and scheming. And praying it works out.

Wearing yoga pants and my fuschia NorthFace fleece. No ‘ashion for me when it’s gray and depressing and cold. Comfort clothes for the win.

Missing Body Pump classes. Due to my new Italian class schedule, I can’t do Body Pump any more. And my body and brain miss it.

Holding on to the one day of sunshine we got. It was glorious.

Imagining our summer in my mind. Cinque Terre, Amalfi coast, Sardinia…and the imaginary list goes on and on and on.

Making pretty things using my Gossamer Blue kits.


xoxoxo

S

What I’m Reading 2014 // February 2014 Edition

One of my goals for 2014 is to be more intentional about reading. To track my books via Goodreads, to pay attention to what I read and didn’t read, to share what I’m reading here.

For the January edition of What I’m reading (including how I select books and my entire process), click HERE.

This month I want to talk about WHEN I read. I get asked this question all.the.time.

People genuinely want to know how I read so much. The answer? It’s a priority to me. Reading is like breathing. I simply have to do it.

I am a really fast reader. So fast that Jimmy swears I’ve taken a speed reading course. I haven’t. So that helps.

But I also always have a novel in my purse. Waiting in the carpool line? I read. In the waiting room at the doctor’s office? Reading. I even read when I walk. True story. Not so great considering how clumsy I am. HA!

This month I checked out a stack at the beginning of the month. I ended up taking most of them back because they just weren’t doing it for me.

Here’s what I ended up with and here’s what I will most likely read this month:

February List:

1. Joyland by Stephen King

2. The Dinner by Herman Koch

3. TransAtlantic by Colum McCann

4. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

5. Have a New Kid by Friday by Kevin Leman

6. What is Left the Daughter by Howard Norman

Books I completed last month:

1. Wild by Cheryl Strayed- LOVED this. Loved Loved LOVED. Devoured it, in fact. Just an awesome story of strength and redemption. I heard they are making it into a movie and I’m not 100 percent sure how I feel about this.

2. The Returned by Jason Mott- Blah. Had potential but I never connected or really cared about the characters. I kept waiting to like it but I never really cared one way or another. Totally fell flat for me.

3. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker – I’m having a hard time explaining how I feel about this one. I enjoyed it but found it very depressing. I find dystopian books terrifying/intriguing and this was no exception. Walker did a beautiful job of explaining life in junior high. I found this an interesting juxtaposition with all of the crazy cosmic stuff that was going on. Super easy/quick read.

4. The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes- Moyes is one of my new favorite authors. I found this book absolutely fascinating. I have to say I found the flashback portions much more interesting than the “current day” portions, though.

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – WOW. Wow wow wowwwww. Still processing this book. This book tore my heart out and broke it in to a million pieces. I honestly don’t feel that any review can give it the worth it deserves. There are just no words. The horrors, the pain, the death…yep. It broke my heart. Beautifully told. I need to quickly read everything else Zusak has written. One more thing- I had tried to read this once and gave up on it. SO glad I stuck with it.

There you go! The February version of what I’m reading. As always, I’d love to hear what you are reading, fellow bookworms!!

xoxo

S

Living With Intention : What Italy is Teaching Me {Notes from a Blue Bike Blog Tour}

This post is part of the Blue Bike Blog Tour, which I’m thrilled to be part of. To learn more and join us, head here.

Let’s talk about living with intention.Living slower and simpler.

These are things I’ve really been mindful of in the past year. But wait. Here’s what i want to talk about.

I want to talk about what Italy has taught me in the past six months.

You know what I’ve learned from living in Italy?
Truth be told, I’ve learned a lot in the past half year. I’ve learned about prosecco, bigoli, and handling produce with gloves.

I’ve learned many new words, several hand gestures, and how to drive like a maniac.

I’ve learned about the bella figura, how to own a crosswalk with authority, and the zillion different ways to say hello and goodbye.

But above all? I’ve learned to slow the heck down.

It’s been a big adjustement. I won’t lie. Moving from the land of 24/7 and go, go, go! to the land of simmer down and wait has been a work in progress.

But it’s also taught me a thing or two. Like the art of sitting still and enjoying the scenery, like the gift of savoring a good meal.

No mommy wars, no competition, no hurry up and go.

Just good wine, delicous (whole and fresh) food, and the art of being present.

When I got the email asking me to read Notes from a Blue Bike I immediately knew the topic was one I’d connect with. And I really truly loved reading this book. I connected with so much of it.

I connected with the idea of celebrating the art of slowing down.

Notes From a Blue Bike is written by Tsh Oxenreider, founder and main voice of The Art of Simple.

It doesn’t always feel like it, but we DO have the freedom to creatively change the everyday little things in our lives so that our path better aligns with our values and passions. Grab your copy here.


SO so many passages from the book resonated with me. I want to share a few of my favorites with you.

“To love the world and to drink it deeply. I couldn’t imagine not raising kids to do the same.”

“People are willing to be brave when they admit their smallness within the enormity of the world, and the best way to understand our smallness is to leave our comfort zones and start exploring, one foot in front of the other. When we go on an adventure, we’d better understand where we truly belong.”

“Once they’ve traveled, kids have permission to question the how and why of their surroundings, because they’ve tasted and seen that other people live differently. While it may not be the most comfortable way to go through life, it’s the most honest—and this honesty opens the door to making life choices that feel right in your bones.”

Yes,yes, and YES!!! I found myself nodding my head in agreement almost all the way through the book.

Thanks to Tsh for allowing me to review this book and be a part of the blog tour. Again…to read more reviews and learn more, go HERE. To grab a copy of the book, go HERE.

xoxo

S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a free review copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed (as always) are totally and completely my own.