Stephanie Howell

Confessions of a Bookworm.

April 27, 2013

I have been reading voraciously my entire life. Well, obviously not in my baby and toddler years…but you know what I mean.

I started reading early. When I started crawling my mother would tell me to get a certain book and I’d crawl to the book basket and find it.

When I was a baby, my favorite book was Splish Splash. I also loved Hand,Hand, Fingers, Thumb.

My mom used to take me to the bookstore, and she’d leave me reading while she looked around. This would ensure that I’d read almost all the books I was interested in and she wouldn’t have to buy them.

When I was a little girl I loved the Ramona books. And Nancy Drew. And Little House on the Prairie. And Charlotte’s Web. And the Mandie series.

I read incredibly fast. Jimmy likes to watch my eyeballs. He swears I took a speed reading class and didn’t tell him. I just read really fast.

I don’t read every word.

If I don’t love a book, I don’t make myself finish it. Life’s too short to read books I hate.

Or depressing books.

I check out as many books from the library as I want. I go by the synopsis and sometimes just because I like the author.I don’t pressure myself to read them all when I get home. I read the ones I can. I abandon the ones I want to abandon.

I’m a sucker for a good bookjacket.

But I always take the jackets off if I buy a book. They will get destroyed and plus…they drive me nuts.

I don’t use bookmarks.

I have a Goodreads account but never use it.

I am a Luddite when it comes to reading. Don’t tell me to get a Kindle. It will not revolutionize my life. It will break my heart. I will always love the feel, look, smell, of real books.

I have a horrible memory when it comes to books. I’ve read SO many and I don’t really ever remember anything except whether I loved or hated them. Hence the reason I should use Goodreads.

I refuse to read books that everyone else is reading. I don’t know why.

There are two exceptions that I regret deeply.

I hated the Twilight series.

and 50 shades of Grey. Yuck. Horrible writing. I literally threw the book against the wall halfway through. Horrible.

I won’t judge you if you liked those books, seems I’m the only one who didnt.

Believe it or not, despite what you just read, I am not a book snob. I love a good piece of chick lit.

I love YA books.

David Sedaris, Laurie Notaro,Jen Lancaster, Tina Fey, and Mindy Kaling make me laugh out loud when I’m reading their books. Repeatedly.

I love Mary Kay Andrews. She’s amazing. And she’s the only author I’ve met in person. So I can say that and really mean it.

Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns) was my favorite book this year. I read it on the plain to CA and laughed out loud so many times. My fellow travelers looked concerned. Now that is the mark of a good book.

My favorite children’s author is Mo Willems. He is a genius. And I’m not saying that in the Pinterest “GENIUS!” way. He is really a kid book genius.

I have a hard time trusting someone who doesn’t like reading.

I make time for reading. Even if it’s only 10 minutes right before I pass out from sheer exhaustion…I read. I read in the bath.I read in the carpool line and I read to show my girls what it looks like to love reading.

I pray that at least one of my girls will be a bookworm like I am.

I used to stay up all night and read books. Can’t do that anymore. But I will again one day.

Reading changed my life. It has been a passion and a free vacation and a gift and a and an obsession and a love and an addiction.

Amen.

Monday Layout Share

April 22, 2013

I finished this layout yesterday. And as I was adding the final touches I realized something.

It took me over a week to complete this layout.

True story. That’s how I roll these days. That’s why I never do any layouts. That’s why I’m weeks behind on Project Life.

Good times. But that’s life.

I was feeling grumpy yesterday and told J that it was because I needed to make something.

So I made the time and finished this page. Yay me!

I’ve had a box of gorgeousness from Gossamer Blue sitting on my desk for quite some time and it’s been killing me not to put it to use.

I made this using the April Main Kit.

It’s chock full of Studio Calico, Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper, and Dear Lizzy.

Oh, I added a few things from my own stash. I’ll list them in the product section.

This picture of Sadie makes me laugh. This is the face she makes when she’s just….over it.

It’s so her. And I am so glad I snapped it.

Supplies: Gossamer Blue April main kit, from stash –>Dear Lizzy lucky charm stickers, Martha Stewart kraft tags, Maggie Holmes pin, various enamel dots by MME, doilies, Heidi Swapp edge distresser(super old and discontinued but i LOVE it)

I hope you have a wonderful Monday. See you all tomorrow with a new spotlight and giveaway!

Day Trip to Maine

April 18, 2013

One of the items on our Spring Break Bucket list was “Maine”.

We had originally planned to spend the night in Portland and do some exploring. But for budgeting reasons we decided (at the last minute) that a day trip would be smarter.

I spent a week in Kennebunkport when i was a young adult and I’ve thought about it ever since.

That was my first taste of New England and my first bite of a lobster roll.

Kennebunkport has always had a special place in my heart.

When we realized that we could make it there in less than 3 hours, we decided to go for it.

We basically drove all the way to Maine for a lobster roll.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Getting ready for a spur-of-the-moment road trip is not fun in our house.

It isn’t a sparkly, adventurous, bluebirds-from-snow-white type of thing.

But it’s totally worth it.

We hit the road at about 9:30.

On the way to Maine we drove through Boston. My heart sank and my eyes were teary. I am so angry and so sad about what happened.

So I pray. And try to outshine the dark with my light. It’s all I can do.

Before we knew it (okay, that’s a lie. the trip was full of “are whe there yets”, whining, potty breaks, and lucy repeatedly making me fetch her stuffed animal) we were there.

It’s just as beautiful as I remember it.

We had to drive by The Colony. That’s where I stayed last time I visited. SO pretty.

But we were on a mission. We went to find our lobster roll.

Mission accomplished! Chowdah and lobster rolls located.

SO GOOD. It is 7:30 in the morning as I write this and my mouth is watering. I’d totally have a lobster roll for breakfast.

Afterwards it was a quick stop at the windy, cold beach where these three crazies dipped their toes in the water.

And we had to stop by The Wedding Cake House for BB. It’s her favorite.

Our last stop was at The Candy Man. You can’t go to Maine and not eat lobster. And you certainly can’t go to Maine without getting saltwater taffy.

And we headed back home.

On the way back through Boston I snapped this photo of The Greater Boston Food Bank.

Hope you are having a wonderful week. Today I think we are going to go to the Roger Williams Park Zoo.

Love to you all-

wordless(ish?!?) wednesday

April 17, 2013

taken during dress up/imaginary play.

please look at them holding hands!

and as my friend mandy said…

“one of these things is not like the other!” HA!

love these girls, love these days.

NYC

April 13, 2013

NYC holds a special place in our hearts. I grew up visiting with my family, and fell in love at a young age.

The city was part of my love story with J. He went to West Point, which is about 45 minutes north of the city.

I’d fly to NYC to meet him all throughout our years of dating.

We have so many good memories there. We’ve taken the bigs once, you can read this post to hear about our amazing adventure.

We decided to take a pit stop in the city on the way to my brother’s DC wedding last weekend.

Good idea and horrible idea. All at the same time.

NYC is just NOT quite as enjoyable with four children. Oh my lord. I pretty much just sweated the entire time.

Twins that can fall onto subway tracks. Four kiddos that touch EVERYTHING. Sadie tries to lick things.

Lucy? Dropped a paci on the subway floor and then grabbed it and put it in her mouth before we could stop her.

Oh dear Lord have mercy.

I think I aged 10 years and had double the gray hairs after the few hours we spent there.

But still…

My heart loves NYC. So much. I loved spending a few hours in town.

But next time? It will be an adults only trip. HA!

Here’s a quick recap of our whirlwind trip.

We packed up and headed out at about 12:30.

We pulled into Manhattan around 4:00 or so and the light was just beautiful. And traffic was super light. Perfect.

We checked into our hotel. We stayed in the Doubletree Financial District.

Our room had an incredible view of the new World Trade Center.

It literally took my breath away, made my heart pound, and brought tears to my eyes.

We hopped on the subway and met Dan and Colton for dinner in TriBeCa. Leigh was sick and I was so sad not to get to see her, but I did get to love on Colton.

Who is, quite possibly, the cutest little boy I’ve ever seen. I thought Jimmy might steal him.

The Howell girls were also quite enamored with him. Or, as Dan says, Colton “speed dated” the Howell girls.

HAHA!

Lucy was the winner, I think. They kind of loved each other.

I had to take this shot of Dan, Jimmy, and the kids.

From West Point cadets to awesome dads. Kind of cool, no?

And I’ve always thought that these two resembled each other. Totally could be brothers. They are both so handsome!

We hopped back on the subway and headed back to the hotel.

This picture cracks me up so much. Do H and S not totally look like disinterested NYC natives? perfect.

The girls couldn’t stop looking out the window and saying how much they loved the city.

It made my heart happy b/c they are the product of two parents who feel the same.

The next morning we walked around a bit…the girls wanted a good view of the statue of liberty so we walked through Battery Park.

And then it was back to the hotel to load up the car.

I snapped this photo of the girls in the hotel window.They were waiting for their daddy to pull up with the car.

LOVE.

So there you have it. Our NYC experience with six.

It may have not involved high heels, fancy food, and chic cocktails. But I’ve had plenty of NYC experiences involving those things.

This time it was more about surviving. Teehee.

Happy weekend, y’all!

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