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Stephanie Howell

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

Road Trip Day 1

Roadtrip
After the better part of a week in the hotel (oh, and by the way, we SO recommend Homewood Suites in Newport)…

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We said goodbye to our sweet friends and neighbors…
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and recreated our very first photo as we said goobye to our home:

 

june 2013
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july 2012
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J drove the girls to Providence to meet my mom. I missed them right away but seeing pictures like this puts my mind right at ease. BB time is always magical.

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Saturday afternoon the big girls flew to TX…
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and bright and early Sunday morning we packed up the car said goodbye to Newport.

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We vowed to not rush this trip. It’s all about stopping when we want to stop and taking the scenic route.

So when we saw these outlets right down the road, we had to stop. ESPECIALLY when I saw they had this store:

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and y’all…I hit the mother lode. All handbags were half off. I promptly decided (and J agreed, even if he was chuckling when he agreed) that I needed a new bag for Italy. And we all know my affinity for obsession with Kate Spade.
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After the outlets we had lunch at Danny’s Drive In. SO good. The burger was delicious. I totally recommend this as a road trip pit stop.

Side Note: I’m using the Best Road Trip Ever App to help us find quirky attractions and non fast food restaurants. It rocks.

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Then it was over the Tappan Zee bridge:

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Through NY, NJ and some of the most beautiful land I’ve ever seen in PA, 5 or so minutes in Maryland…there was a very brief foray into West Virginia and then we ended up here.

Winchester, VA at the George Washington hotel. Note: rooms are 77 dollars right now and it’s really nice.

You know J is dying at all the Civil War battlefields around here. In his element.

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So as I type this we are in VA. Today we book it to Nashville. We have lots of fun places to stop along the way.

Our first stop is Natural Bridge.

Wish us luck, see you soon. On the road again…

xoxo

S

here we go!

in the past 2 days we:

watched all of our belongings be packed into 8 crates

said goodbye to a house that we love and that provided us a year of beautiful memories and togetherness

got our passports

bought a whole bunch of suitcases

checked into the hotel.

so what’s next?

my mom is taking sadie and harper on a flight back to tx on saturday.

we meet with our homeowners on sunday then hit the road with the babies.

we will be in waco mid next week where we will spend a week with my family,

a few days with friends after that,

then a week with jimmy’s family after that.

then on or around july 15 we are off to italy.

whew. i hope to blog off and on…but if i dont, you know why. 🙂

Sei il sole della mia vita ! (you are the sunshine of my life)

xo

S

USA vs. Scotland

Last night we got to go watch polo for the very first time. It was such a cool experience.

We have the most incredible neighbors here. They are helpful and kind and generous…and their kids are our kids best friends. We just adore them.

So when they invited us to watch USA vs. Scotland at the Newport International Polo Series we said “of course!”.

What a way to experience our last weekend in New England. I felt so sophisticated and British. So pretty woman-esque! Haha!

I thought I’d share some photos from the match. It was a beautiful night.

stomping the divots at half time:

miss harper and her crazy poses:

sweet sadie bug:

cate looking at our neighbor carolyn. can you tell how much she loves her?

yep. she is going to miss them so much.

giving the players high fives after the game…they were going pretty fast and the girls thought it was scary but awesome!

some cutie scottish polo players:

this is minnie. she plays for the USA. what a cool,cool thing for my girls to meet her. i always tell them they can do anything they want to do and be anything they want to be…and she was living proof.

a pink helmet in a sea of boys!

I loved every moment of the night. Good friends, good food and wine, happy kids, and a new sport to learn.

The best.

xo

S

an affordable+fun teacher gift idea.

hey y’all! i hope you are having a wonderful week so far. today i wanted to share our teacher gifts with you all.

we LOVED our teachers this year. they went above and beyond and truly loved my girls. so i knew i wanted to say thank you with something fun.

i had three teachers to buy gifts for, so i wanted to try to be budget-minded.

i had seen SO many cute “beach/pool” themed totes on pinterest and i decided to go with that theme.

so i went to walmart. i don’t go to walmart often because i usually have a hard time finding what i’m looking for and i prefer target.

but target is close to an hour away so i thought i’d give w. a try.

JACKPOT!! not only did i put together some seriously cute gifts…i saved money.

Here’s what I came up with.

this top tote is for one of sadie’s teachers, miss becky. becky is young and fun and so cute and i totally thought this canvas bag matched her perfectly.

i’m also showing you the straw polka dot bag i found for harper’s teacher.

End of Year Teacher Gifts| via Stephanie Howell
End of Year Teacher Gifts| via Stephanie Howell End of Year Teacher Gifts| via Stephanie Howell End of Year Teacher Gifts| via Stephanie Howell End of Year Teacher Gifts| via Stephanie Howell End of Year Teacher Gifts| via Stephanie Howell 
each purse/tote bag included:

-flip flops

-sunscreen lip balm

-a mini fan

-sunglasses

-a striped beach towel (SO CUTE and only $5!)

-a pack of gum

-a tumbler for the beach beverage of their choice. 

for a finishing touch i made tags using thickers,washi, and enamel dots.

easy peasy. and totally budget conscious.

i did think about including sunscreen and a magazine, but that would have added another 40 dollars or so to the overall price so it was a no go.

i figured that they already had sunscreen at home and maybe not everyone likes cheap tabloids like i do. heh.

so there you have it. our teacher gifts for the year. 🙂

happy thursday!

xo

wordless(ish?!?) wednesday


Every day, rain or shine, this kid gives me a big smooch on the lips, asks for a kissing hand, and hugs my neck.

Every day she waves all the way to the front door of her school.

Every day I tell her “Try your hardest and be kind, sweet girl!” and every day she says “Oh, I will Mommy! I will”.

Every day I am so proud of her. For her compassion, her excitement,her courage,her joy.

Every day she is closer to being a second grader. Which I cannot, not even for one moment, believe.

Every day she is a bright spot in our world. Sunshine. Even on a gray,cloudy day.

xo

S