Stephanie Howell

Austria

February 1, 2014

Before I tell you about Austria, let me tell you about this fun trip came to be.

That means I get to tell you about Dana. Dana was our nanny when we lived in Newport. Over the year she also became a good friend…hence her current title of franny (friend+ nanny).

We were all missing her terribly when we left. One day she messaged me asking if I thought she could come live with us for a few months after she graduated college and before she started her job.

Confession? I could not type YES!!!! fast enough. She is a Godsend. She is an amazing helper…but more than that she truly loves our family and our children. We never have to worry for one second when she is with them.

Fast forward to the day Dana arrived at the airport:

We got her in the van and I told her I finally decided where I wanted to take her first in town.

I asked the girls to tell her and their little voices said:

Austria!

Germany!

Liechtenstein!

Switzerland!

I think she was just confused at first and then when it sunk in she couldn’t believe it.

And that is how (2 hours after we picked her at the Venice airport) Dana found herself on the way to Austria.

This is our shortest leg of the trip, but we cannot WAIT to go back. I kind of fell in love with Austria.

The scenery on our drive was amazing. Goosebump inducing. Truly.

I found our rooms (more like a little apartment) on Booking.com.

We stayed in Kreith, a little town not far south of Innsbruck.

As we drove through Brenner Pass (the pass that connects Italy to Austria) we got hit pretty hard with snow. It was dark and kind of scary at times.

We found our way to the area our accomodations were in and very quickly realized that the van would NOT make it down the mountain to where we were staying.

No worries! The lovely owners had us park our van at the top and they came to get us (and all of our luggage!!) and drive us down.

We couldn’t see much when we got there (it was VERY snowy, dark, and foggy) and wondered what we would wake up to.

We spent the night drinking Italian wine and playing games. The apartment was SUPER cozy.

We woke up to this:

Honestly and truly one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

We made snowmen and played on the side of the mountain.

And honestly, I could have stayed there for days and days. It was peaceful and beautiful and warm and cozy inside. And the proprietors were SO NICE.

But we had to head to Garmisch.

So we drove through Innsbruck. It was rainy and gloomy and foggy and we didn’t get to see much. But it was beautiful despite the weather.

A stop for a delicious lunch and we were on to Germany.

Like I said…I honestly loved Austria. Its beautiful and everyone there is so so nice.

Next on my Austria list is Salzburg.

xoxo

Blog Your Heart | January 2014 Edition

January 28, 2014

Time for the January edition!

Here are the “rules” (same as always):

eta- this is NOT just for the last 2 days in January. add your link ANY TIME before the next BYH!

1. Blog whatever is authentic. Whatever is truly on your mind and in your heart.

2. It can be serious, silly, short, long. NOTE:No one said it has to be serious. But it should be authentic.

3. No judging allowed no snarky comments, no making fun, no passive agressive digs.If you are going to read the blogs linked below, don’t be mean. Nothing here is whining, though I can’t help it if you perceive it that way. It’s me honestly sharing my feelings. if you feel that it’s whining, then you don’t have to read. 🙂

4. If you BYH, link back here. I’ll add an Inlinkz tool at the end of the post. I always read and comment on every single post.

5. Feel free to use the graphic above. Just make sure to link back to me.

As per usual, I feel the need to add a completely random picture that makes me laugh.

Okay. Here goes nothing!

1. I am taking Body Pump class a few times a week. I am a DISASTER. My balance is horrible, I’m awkward (note to self: do NOT look at yourself in the mirror. OMG) and shaky and week. But it feels so good to make myself do something. Even if I’m so sore the next day I can hardly walk!

2. I’m almost done with The Book Thief. I’m certain it’s going to break my heart.

3. I’m starting to make some really great friends here. It feels so good to spend time with women who make me laugh really hard and who I can trust. So grateful that I’m slowly but surely finding strong friendships.

4. I start Italian class in a week or so. I’ll be attending twice a week and I couldn’t be more excited. I do NOT want to be an American that lives here and does not learn the language. I’ve made some Italian friends (at the coffee shop and around town) and I’m always asking them to teach me things. I think I drive them nuts, HA! But I get this crazed look when Italians start speaking in rapid fire Italian. A CRAZY huge panicked grin, teehee. Non capisco. NON CAPISCO!!!!

5. I really need to make a dentist appointment. But I had a really bad experience last time I went and I’m being a big weenie about it. SIGH. I need to do what I tell the girls and just suck it up. Yeah, they are army kids. Can you tell? 😉

6. I’ve been thinking a lot about whether or not I want to go back to teaching. And the truth is…I don’t know. There are things about it I REALLY miss (the kids, the reading, the creativity) and things I do NOT miss at all (the red tape, parent drama,etc, etc). I find what I do right now really fulfilling. I love being a part of the creative industry.

7. Lately I’ve been letting the littles go everywhere in costume. Recent favorites? A cat halloween costume (see above), a crown, a pumpkin headband, princess dresses with cowgirl boots, wings. Some people look at me like I’m nuts. But here’s the deal. They won’t ever be three again. Three is magical and whimsical and I love that. So I let them wear costumes. Let them be little.

8. I really don’t like to cook. I have gotten better at it (thanks to Gina at Skinnytaste, among others) but I still don’t enjoy it. I keep thinking that one day I will love it. But no. Hmm. I feel the same way about exercising. Sigh. Non va bene.

9. I keep meaning to blog about our big trip but every time I look at the photos and think about what I want to say…I get overwhelmed. Hence the reason I’m blogging about something else today.

10. I’m finally starting to realize that it’s not personal.I have an issue with taking silly things to heart. I have really been working on not taking things personally and I’m SO much happier now. Not going to say that certain things don’t sting…but they sting. They don’t paralyze.

I hope some of you will join in…or say hi if you are reading today!

xoxo