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Stephanie Howell

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

2014 Favorites

Favorite Movie :

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Favorite Book (read in 2014, not written in 2014):

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Favorite Album :

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Favorite Project:

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Favorite Vacation: Paris

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Favorite Blog Posts :

On Whimsy 

I am That Mom

 

 

Favorite Photo:

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Favorite Pop Culture Moment:

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Favorite TV Show:

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Best New Food Tried: Patatas Bravas in Barcelona

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Prettiest Beaches: Sardinia

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Best Moment:

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Best View: Positano

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Happy 2015 y’all! xoxo

Exploring Italy | Bolzano Christmas Market

Italian Adventure

This year I made it a point to go to a couple of Christmas markets. We didn’t get to any at all last year and next year I hope to go to German Christmas markets (Nürnberg is at the very top of my list). So this year it was all about the Italian markets.

First we went to the market in Verona. It was super cute and quaint but very small.

The second market we attended was in Bolzano. It’s the biggest Christmas market in Italy. Bolzano is in Northern Italy, really close to Austria. The town looks much more German than Italian. It’s very Bavarian and I love it. It’s only been an Italian town since WW1!

I love everything about Christmas markets. They are quaint and cozy and they just ooze Christmas spirit. Exploring with a cup of vin brulé warming my hands…well it just made me happy.

Warning: This post is really photo heavy. I’ve read all sorts of articles about how blog posts shouldn’t contain more than a few shots to get your point across – but I don’t care. This post deserves a million photos. 🙂

Bolzano is nestled at the base of the Alps. It’s just magical there, there’s really no other way to describe it. I fell in love with it the first time we visited and I still feel the same way.

We experienced the market during the daytime and at night…here are some shots from when the sun was still up. The market was full of all sorts of treasures. Some kitschy, some classy. There were giant pretzels and paninis. White hot chocolate, hot chocolate, vin brule. It just smelled delicious.

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The best part is that everything is handmade and made with love. No crap.

We rode the cable car up the mountain to explore for a bit. At the top we found a big drink tent.

The drink tent served vin brulé -aka mulled wine/glugwein (both white and red) as well as apple cider. It was FREEZING so we lingered for a while so we could warm up.
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By the time we got back down to the bottom it was dark. I have to say that I think the market was even more magical at night.



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This was such a great experience for our family and I am now so ready to experience the German markets!

Happy Monday!

 

xoxo

S

 

Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas! Thank you so much for the gift of your encouragement, love, and kindess over the past year. I am so grateful for all of you.

I mean it. I read each and every comment and they all mean the world to me. I wouldn’t have my sanity if it weren’t for this blog and the wonderful community that surrounds it.

Love to you all!

xoxo

Wordless (ish?!?!?) Wednesday

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Jimmy’s face. BAHAHAHAHA!

Can you say outnumbered? Notice there are six. We kept two friends this weekend.

Bless his heart.

xoxo

S

Friday Miscellany

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TGIF Y’all!

I hope you had a beautiful week. I meant to blog, but life just got in the way! December craziness and all that. 🙂

First, I want to announce the winner of the oils giveaway.

Kim Delaney said…Would love to try this starter kit. My daughter suffers from asthma, allergies and migraines.
Congratulations Kim! You can email me at harpersmama8(at)gmail(dot)com and I’ll get everything out to Jill for your order!
Moving on-
I can’t believe December is pretty much half over. How in the world did that happen? I still have so much to do but I’m feeling a lot more calm about everything. This year I’m not putting expectations on myself. No stress. No guilt. Thinking about what really, truly matters.
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Look at this picture! I feel like this was just yesterday. I remember watching them together and thinking how much I loved them. They were babies!
Okay. That’s it for today. I know this is really random. I just wanted to say hi!
What are you doing this weekend? Oh- and what are you getting your little ones for Christmas? I’d love to hear your ideas.
xoxo
S