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Stephanie Howell

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

Aeolia and an Apartment!

Last week we finally broke loose and headed off post for dinner at Aeolia in Longare.

Our friends came to get us and as we were driving through the hills, this was our view:

I started clapping I was so darn excited. GORGEOUS.

This was the outside of the restaurant. Harper said “Now THIS looks like I thought Italy would look like” and I had to agree.

We settled in for our first Italian dinner. Meaning it was long and late. First seatings for dinner in Italy aren’t until 7:30 at many places. And you can expect to have many courses and a lot of wine.

I tried several things but my favorite was the fagottini. It was delicate pasta pouches filled with smoked ham and pear. Y’ALL. 

I can not even begin to describe how delicious it was.

There was also caprese. And limoncello. And gelato that they make on site. HEAVEN.

And…um…no big deal but Galileo’s bedroom was in the back of the restaurant. I’m serious.

It was the perfect first “real” meal for us. I will be back often, I can tell you that.

I have one more bit of news to share…we found an apartment!

I did NOT expect to find somewhere the first time I went out with a realtor. But we did. We found the perfect place.

It’s in the heart of downtown Vicenza:


It is a three story apartment (takes up the 2nd through 4th floors)

BUILT IN 1775!!!!

With the most gorgeous high ceilings and moldings and shutters:

and a little courtyard of our own:



It has five bedrooms, two full bathrooms, two half baths, a nice big kitchen, a dining room, living room, and extra room.

Best of all? Floor to ceiling built ins in almost every room. This is invaluable in Italy. The kitchen has floor to cieling food storage. YES please.

Our family will be so very happy here. It’s different, very different, than what we are used to. But it will be a beautiful experience right in the heart of the city center.

Gelato, bakeries, cafes, all within spitting distance.

So that’s where we are.

Dreaming, scheming, exploring, getting used to the tiny and strong coffees, and learning Italian bit by bit.

My new and most used word?

gemelli=twins

I hear and use that one a LOT.

The only thing I’m having a hard time with is the time difference with me and my US friends and family. I am six hours ahead of EST, Nine hours of PST.

I feel a bit isolated and cut off from my online friends. So say hi, if you have a chance. I miss all of you.

oxoxox

S

getting here and our first few days

So let’s get the obvious out of the way first.

I love it here.

I have eaten some of the best food and tasted some of the best wine that I’ve ever had. And I haven’t even tried the really good places yet.

The wine…the wine is amazing. And so much better than my favorite wines at home. I knew it would be, but still. It surprises me every time.

Now on to the stuff we can file under “keeping it real”.

Getting here with four kids seven and under was not the most fun part of the adventure. But it was so much better than I thought it would be.

As soon as the doors shut (not exaggerating here) on our first flight of two…Cate barfed all over J. Yep. We knew it was pretty much destined to happen, she’s barfy by nature. When she coughs, takes medicine, swallows water in the pool…she’s our delicate child. But we did not expect for it to happen so soon!

Luckily we were prepared with changes of clothes. And many barf bags.

And luckily that was it on the hurling front.

Honestly? The girls were troopers. They slept on almost the entire flight from Philadelphia to Venice.


They each had their own backpack full of entertainment. Everything from books to colors to stickers to an entire box of bandaids to stick on themselves. Yep, I did this. And yep this worked.

The flight from Philly to Venice? Was missing more than 100 people. Total answered prayer. Each girl got their own row to sleep. It couldn’t have worked out better.

I didn’t sleep a wink. Between Lucy rolling off of her seat (twice!) and the Italian man in front of me yelling all night long…I just gave up and watched movies.

We had a lot of baggage. But we have four kids. And we will be spending at least a month or two in this inn on post. And luckily J’s orders allowed us a lot of free bags.

This poor guy did not know what he was getting into when he offered to help.


shirts from here

Me not sleeping that first night has made the last couple of days a little rough. Not gonna lie. There’s some major jet lag going on over here.

And that translates to LOTS of whining and crying from the girls. Which I’m not so great at dealing with when I’m exhausted.

But I’m reminding myself to breathe. And be patient. And I am reminding myself that I’M TIRED IN ITALY!!!! Are you kidding me?

These first few days (weeks??) will be a bit odd. We are staying in the inn on post. Which looks like any other Army post anywhere I’ve ever been. And we won’t have a car until our van gets here from America.

Hence the lack of “Italian” photos. We have walked off post every night for dinner but have yet to make it downtown. I am hoping we will be able to take a taxi tonight.

It’s killing me to not be able to really immerse myself in Italy just yet.

Every night when we walk out of the gates I get unnaturally excited. The gelato is delicious. The Italian is spoken at lightning speed all around me like beautiful, animated poetry pouring over me… and I love just listening to it. The pasta is unlike pasta I’ve ever tasted. I already mentioned the wine…

Everything is older. And more colorful. And new to me.

And I am in love. Even though I’ve just met this country, I’m in love.

More soon, hopefully…

xo

S

Addio, dolce amici!


Farewell, sweet friends!

I wanted to take a chance to tell you today, as I don’t think I’ll have a chance to update the blog before we leave.

In two days we will fly over the Atlantic Ocean to Venice.

We are about to embark on a 3 year adventure. One that will involve seeing places I’ve dreamed of my entire life. I’ve wanted to go to Italy ever since I was a little girl and saw Roman Holiday for the first time.

As I type this I am full of confliced emotions.

I am scared. I am nervous. I am already homesick. I am thrilled. I am worried. I am excited. I am already thinking of the things I will see and wondering if I will simply weep when I see them.

Most of all, I am overjoyed.


I am going on this adventure with five of my most precious gifts.

We are so lucky that we get to do this. That I get to give these children a gift like this.

I love this country so much and I am so blessed to have been born and raised here.

But…

I am off to learn to cultivate la vita bella. I am ready for more wine and delicious food…and less worry and “give me more” and “latest and greatest”.

Ready to go somewhere where there are over 100 ways to say I love you and perhaps life won’t be a competition of who is busiest.

I’m ready to spread my wings and fly. And become a better woman for it.

So with that I say…

Arrivaderci!

Ti amo troppo (I love you tooooo much 🙂

xoxo

S

wordless(ish?!?!) wednesday


practicing our Italian hand gestures.

P.S. We will be living in Italy in FIVE DAYS!!!!!!!

xoxo

S

5K Ranch

**ETA after several email inquiries…this is a privately owned ranch. It’s not a hotel or rentable property!**

So between seeing my family in Waco and Jimmy’s family in Nederland…we decided to take a little vacation at 5K Ranch.

Hmm. How can I describe 5K Ranch? How about this. Heaven on earth.

Imagine a place where you have absolutely nothing to worry about. It’s in one of the most beautiful parts of Texas, each of us have our own large bedroom+bathroom, and there is a big ole pool. At 5K ranch there’s nothing to do but ride 4 wheelers and explore, swim in the pool, eat, read, and relax.

Oh, did I mention that our most favorite friends in the world gather there every year? This was the 6th summer at 5K ranch.

We’ve made three.

Every year when our friends meet up there I’m so homesick. Homesick for the jokes, the laughing until we cry. Homesick for the BBQ, the cocktails, and the just being together.

The core of this group is Jimmy’s best guy friends that he’s had since he was a kid. Friends that are the kind of friends that would do anything for each other. You know…the ones you can call up in the middle of the night and they will come without hesitation.

Yep. Those kind of friends. The kind that are the best kind to have when your husband is in Afghanistan and you don’t know if he’ll come home. The kind that dance with you at weddings when he is gone so you don’t feel sad, the kind that take you in as one of them even if it’s super intimidating at first.

The last time we went the the ranch we pretty much had the only kids. This year? Well look for yourself.

Kind of amazing, huh? And two more growing in bellies as we speak.

The kids run themselves ragged all day. Swimming, exploring, not napping, getting dirty, using their imaginations. There is a collective group of a zillion adults watching them.

We discipline and admonish each other’s kiddos as if they are our own. Love them like they are our own too.

This year I met six children that I’ve watched grow through the Internet. Four kiddos I’ve long to hold and get to know. I finally got to do that this week.

We finally got to tell them how long we’ve been waiting to meet them and how much we love their mommies and daddies.

]And after the kiddos zonk out we stay up late talking, reminiscing, and laughing. So much laughing. As I sit here today I don’t have a voice at all.

This week I got to have my coffee on a porch swing every morning.

I got to watch the sun set and the horses graze every night.

And where can you ride a giant swan and learn how to flip off the diving board? 5K. That’s where.

Oh, and let’s not forget the cocktails.

Thanks to Uncle Brad for making me not one but two delicious drinks that tasted like juice and threatened to have me napping on the lawn with the dogs. Which wouldn’t have been a big deal because there would have been 93248028 adults to step in and take over my parenting role.

That’s the thing about 5K. Never any worries.

I’ve tried to put in in words here, but the fact is I can’t really do that properly. The fact is that I’m a little bit teary eyed as I type this.

We are very fortunate to lead the life we lead. We get to see this world and explore and meet new people. But we miss our friends. I  miss them so much it makes my heart ache.

Most people are fortunate to be surrounded by their best friends and family at all times. We miss out on that and it can be sad sometimes.

True friends of the heart are a gift. And time worry-free is a gift.

So grateful for 5K ranch.

We’ll be back in three summers. And we’ll miss it terribly until then.

xo