military Archives - Page 3 of 17

care packages, military, milspouse, The Six Box

The Six Box ~ Care Packages for Military Spouses

August 4, 2016 No Comments

I am so excited to share this with you all today! I stumbled across The Six Box on Instagram one day and I knew that I absolutely had to see what it is all about. A care package for military spouses. I love it!! The ladies over at The Six Box sent me their August box and I’m in love. This box is adorable and fun and I can see myself absolutely sending this box out to girlfriends that need a little pick me up for whatever reason – deployment, TDY, or just regular military life craziness. Founded by military spouses and made with them in mind, make this a wonderful business to support. Megan and Alana are two amazing women that have worked hard for this and Cammo Style Love is proud to support them!!

So, lets check out what is in August’s box!

Look at this box! So fun right?

~ Evian Mineral Water Facial Spray – I’d never heard of this before. Apparently flight attendants use it quite frequently. I love that you can spray it over your make-up to refresh your face; but using it after cleansing your face is where it really makes a difference. Gently moisturizing and cleansing your face. Crazy right?

~ Sugar Goop Sun Defying Sunscreen Oil – It was about a year ago that I started using cleansing oil that I got from Julep. Again, another weird thing that I never used before, new existed, or even expected to work well. Who thought a ‘tanning oil’ would actually work as a sunscreen. And it smells good too!!

~ Boom Chica Pop Kettle Corn : two words – Yum Yum!

~ Happy Tatts Metallic Chevron Temporary Tattoos – Do you guys remember Swarovski crystal tattoos? Oh my gosh I wore them all the time and they were my favorite!! So this really brought back the memories. I haven’t busted them out yet because I’m really looking for the right opportunity. Make sure you are following me on Instagram so you can see them when I finally bust them out!!

~ Summertime Lyrics Print – Beautiful print that I’m currently hunting for the right frame for because it’s going right up on the wall in my bathroom!

~ August 2016 Journal – This is probably my most favorite part of the box. It is a unique and special little thing. A small journal just for the month of August. The focus of this month’s box is savoring summer. What better way to do that than journaling. I’ve been writing in a journal for years…decades really. I love it and it always makes me feel better. I have vivid memories of sobbing over the pages of my journal, getting the words out of my heart and onto paper. It was such a cathartic thing. This sweet journal is full of great writing prompts and encouraging words.

Pick up your SixBox for $39.95 and spoil yourself

or someone special in your life! Whose got your Six? Maybe this is the perfect way to thank them? Who would you give it to

if you could send one box? Let me know!!

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military, PCS, travel, TravelCenters of America

4 Things I’ve Learned about Road Trips

July 8, 2016 No Comments

I have received compensation from this post from TravelCenters of America. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Summer is here, and I was so excited to share that TravelCenters of America is partnering with NMFA {National Military Family Association} this summer. So it seemed like the perfect time for me to ramble on about how much I love a good road trip. It’s such a great opportunity to see places and spend time as a family, or couple. Whether or not you have kids, the road trips I’ve taken have been some of the greatest memories and so much fun!

1. Explore America Is Fun! I’m sure that it sounds incredibly cheesy…get out and explore our country!! But its so true. We take driving trips a lot, even before we had kids. You see things you might not normally see if you were simply flying to a destination, or driving straight through. If you budget right, look for deals, and save up it can be cheaper than any other trip. I know for us, flying out of the DC area can be a daunting thought process. Five people on an airplane….the cost is sometimes insane. But a drive somewhere is much less daunting. Taking advantage of living in a place where a couple hours drive can take you to one of four states.

Seriously though, isn’t it beautiful?!

2. Research. Before we go out on our road trip we spend some time researching the route we are taking. Looking up local places to eat, must see stops in small crazy towns, and where all the Starbucks are. Am I right?! There was a time where my hubby and I, in high school and college, looked up where all the Big 5 Sporting Goods along our route. Mr. Air Force used to work there, and we spent a lot of time there. So we collected business cards from Big 5’s down California and even snagged a few in Nevada. It seems silly, but its just a small fun thing we used to do. We also look up Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives food joints for any given location. We haven’t been to one that was a dud and it is always some really fun, locals only, non-chain kind of place.

chilling out and all packed in for our East Coast or Bust move!

3. Road Trip Early With Your Kids! Lets face it, road trips are just easier without young kids. But I will say that it is so important for you to travel with your children from a young age. I know that it isn’t the easiest thing to think about doing. But biting the bullet and going for it was one of the best things we did. I know that some babies just hate to be the car, especially facing backwards. My poor friends that have experienced this, I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. As soon as you are able to start getting them used to long trips do it!

Letting the kids get some wiggles out during our West Virginia Road Trip 2012!

4. Be Prepared! For the times you do want to travel with your kids, its important to pack right. Relying on technology alone to get through a road trip is, in my opinion, is missing the opportunity that a road trip provides and isn’t healthy either. Its good to break up the time, especially if you are going to be on the road for a long time; but come up with other cool options to keep kids entertained. Choose an early morning departure time, or time it so a good chunk is taken up with a nap time, make frequent stops and brush off your old-school car game knowledge. Check out my travel board for some of my favorite kid-trip games with free printables!!!

And just in case you might be planning a road trip this summer, why not use that opportunity to give back to an amazing cause! TravelCenters of America has joined with National Military Family Association to give back to military families this summer. How can you help you ask? Well, its probably the easiest way to make a difference, simply eat!

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I love seem large companies take the time to give back in some way. For TravelCenters of America its important to give back to our service members and veterans. “Nearly one in three truck drivers is a military veteran,” noted Tom O’Brien, President and CEO of TravelCenters. “These brave individuals served our nation in the armed forces and continue to serve by safely delivering goods across our country.”

So while you’re planning your road trip, between now and August 5th, consider stopping by Travel Centers of America!

What’s the best road trip you’ve ever taken?

Happy Road Tripping!!!!

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Antietam, DC/NoVa Adventures, military, National Parks, travel with kids, Visit Maryland

A Day Trip With My Biggest Littles {Antietam Battle Field}

June 22, 2016 No Comments

Spending time with the kids, going on an adventure, is one of my favorite parts of parenting. I love that I have little explorers in my family. Mr. Air Force and I have also believed that it was important to expose our children to as much life as possible even if they were too young to fully appreciate it. We’ve also taken them on day trips, camping, hikes, road trips and lots of other things from the time they were very young. So, on one of our free weekends we planned on taking a day trip out to Antietam Battle Field. However, our littlest little decided he was going to have a bit of tummy trouble that day. Hubby insisted I don’t postpone the trip, even though I really wanted to experience this with him. So we dropped off the hubs and the little and we set out on our adventure!

Antietam isn’t far from the DC area but its a good little drive none the less. I had packed up snacks, some of my favorite road-trip games from The Joys of Boys and Capturing Joys, and the kids also put together their backpacks full of items of their choice {usually books, a few toys, and car-friendly art supplies}. These are things I keep handy in the car all the time because we try to use technology only sparingly in the car. The Visitor Center and Battlefield were amazing! You could do so much there. We chose to do a partial walking tour and then we did the driving portion – stopping at different landmarks along the way and exploring.

We are currently going through a “Wearing our uniform every chance get” phase. They are only young once and I love that he is so proud of his daddy…even if it is the wrong branch. But seriously, finding the kid Air Force uniforms is hard!!

It was such a beautiful location, stretching out for miles. Trying to image the horrors that occurred here so very many years ago can be difficult at times. It is both humbling and an incredible honor to be able to walk these grounds.

One of the cool things that we didn’t really get to explore was Burnside Bridge. It is currently be restored, as are several things on the Battlefield property. Burnside Bridge is dedicated to Ambrose Burnside, whose name and crazy facial hair gave us the term ‘Sideburns’, and was also the first president of the National Rifle Association.

There is a monument to President McKinley, that was dedicated after he was assassinated. He had played such a large role in the Battle here that they wanted to pay particular homage to him.

On the way out we stopped at the National Cemetery at Antietam. There is a beautiful church on the property as well Civil War grave sites. It is almost exclusively for Civil War soldiers, with a few exceptions from WWII and the Korean War. The cemetery lies in the town of Sharpsburg which was where the Civil War era hospital was located. When an official plan for the cemetery was created and the place officially dedicated (on the fifth anniversary of the Battle of Antietam) President Andrew Johnson came out.

My sweet little milkid wanted to put as many flowers on as many graves as she possible could. Having been to Arlington so many times, she was deeply concerned about who comes to spend time at these graves and wanted to visit as many as she could.

If you are looking for a great starter Battle Field to go to I would absolutely recommend Antietam to you. Having been to several this was really one of the better ones as far as things to see and do. We went on a weekend and it wasn’t unbearably crowded. The kids had space to jog up ahead of us, and lots to see so they could keep their minds active. It is surrounded by several great towns, including Sharpsburg and Boonsboro. They are both great little towns with little shops, ice cream and places to eat. They each have their own history to check out.

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military, milspouse, podcast, True Crime

10 Podcasts You Should Be Listening To {and I dream of being a guest on}

May 23, 2016 No Comments

Podcasts are my new addiction. I’ve always been the kind of person that needed to have ‘noise’ around me, whether that be the tv, music or just sitting out in the middle of the house while the kids are running around. Silence drives me nuts! So really, listening to podcasts are the perfect way to have ‘noise’ going on around me. There’s no reason for me to look up at the tv, and a smaller chance of getting distracted – oh look, something shiny!!! There is also this little part of me that loves the concept of listening to my entertainment. I remember as a kid listening to the radio with my parents. Talk radio, Adventures in Odyssey, and an A.M. station that used to recreate old-time radio shows. Love!! Podcasts to me are as close as we can get to the days of radio entertainment right? So grab a cup of coffee and sit back and listen to some amazing podcasts.

Not only have I fallen in love with so many podcasts, I have secret dreams of being on all of them as a guest star. And if perhaps, some of these amazing podcast would love to a fan-girl segment I’d be okay with that. But no, seriously…..I could figure out something to say, maybe. I have, in fact, been on one podcast and it was such a lovely experience, and really put a bee in my bonnet. All right, so on to the list!!

1. Gilmore Guys

I’m a Gilmore Girls addict, and you might frequently hear me quote lines from it even if I’m talking to people who are not GG fans. You can catch my post about GG, where I talk about how it may or not may not affect how I raise my daughter. This is a longer podcast, one of the longer ones on the list. So just be ready for that. You’ll love it and the time will fly by!{language}

2. The Lively Show

Jess Lively is just so fun to listen to. Her podcast really is a lively, uplifting and positive podcast for women. There is so much fun and good discussion. I just love it and almost don’t want to go into any more detail because you just have to listen to it.

3. Elise Gets Crafty

The woman behind the Get To Work Book (for all you paper planner nerds like me) podcasts here. This is a great podcast because it talks a lot of what real entrepreneurship and success looks like – which is so subjective. And that’s kind of the point. There are so many different kinds of things that can make you an entrepreneur, and many more things that make someone successful. You can find podcasts about authors, blogging, travel photographers, finding your passions and more.

4. Real Crime Profile

So this is where my true crime nerdiness comes out. Most of the people that are currently in my life {post DC Metro Area move} do not know about my schooling and my life pre-kids. I have a degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology, focus of Criminal Psychology and dreamed of snagging an internship at the BAU. I had a cat named Luminol. This show is headed by Jim Clemente, who is a retired FBI profiler. Also on the show is the casting director for Criminal Minds (who works with Jim – he’s a writer on the show) and Laura Richards, who worked with Scotland Yard and founded an international stalking advocacy group. So, its some amazing people. {intense topics}

5. Lifegiver: A Military Spouse podcast

This podcast is hosted by Corie Weathers (and a lot of the times her sweet sweet hubby), who was the 2015 Armed Force Insurance Military Spouse of the Year. This has been such a wonderful podcast for me, and if I had to rate the podcasts this might rate pretty close to being the top. I have been so encouraged and moved to tears during this podcast. It has offered perspectives on marriage, words of advice and validation. It has challenged me in my faith. I’m feeling emotional just writing this description. Even if you aren’t a military spouse I feel like this would be an excellent podcast. Corie is a Licensed Professional Counselor and is married to an Army Chaplain.

6. The Way I heard It, with Mike Rowe

This is the shortest podcast on the list. Running on an average of 8 minutes you will hear about stories in politics, pop culture and entertainment from a different perspective with the words of the amazing Mike Rowe. And, its Mike Rowe, so I’m not really sure what else you need to know.

7. Probably Wrong Podcast

Two dudes talking about music, culture, faith and beyond…is the description of this podcast…and its about accurate. Although its way less formal sounding than it is. I’m biased on this one only because I know these guys and they have a special plate in my heart. Its really funny, thought provoking, maybe a little hot topic like. But the best part about it is they’re “Probably wrong!” See what I did there? {language}

8. Pulp: the podcast based on a true story

This is an interesting podcast. It started out talking about The People Vs. OJ Simpson, then they’ve talked about other crime related things like Anita Hill, The Bling Ring…so crime, but through a pop culture lens…by young Millennials? I’m not really sure how else to describe it. They know their stuff, they read, they watch, and somehow it works. There’s been a couple times that I’ve laughed because they don’t remember the OJ Simpson trial like I do. Its a fun listen. {language}{intense topics}

9. A Purpose Driven Wife Podcast

So this is one of the podcasts on my list that I have actually been on! Yay! So make sure you find my episode and listen. But Trista is so lovely. Its uplifting, its real, its funny. She is such an encouragement to women, whether that be by faith, by her drive in entrepreneurship avenues, blogging. She’s even written a book. You can find topics relating to motherhood, military life, business and faith.

10. She Percolates

This is THE first podcast I ever listened to. I am lucky enough to have met one of the lovely ladies on this podcast {plus she’s my go to fashion guru – because of her I now am confident in my pattern mixing ability!} way before podcasting. We worked together in the military non-profit world, her working/me volunteering, for the same organization. So when she announced this whole podcast thing I was fascinated. And its amazing. The description describes it as a podcast, “serving up a fresh perspective on success” and its true. Its empowering and encouraging, uplifting and fun. The hosts personalities really come out through their conversations and its a fun listen.

bonus podcasts!!!!

so i added two bonus podcasts to my list, because, well….I can!!

When I was making my list I just found that I couldn’t narrow things down like I had originally wanted to. So I just thought, well this is how its happening now! So I have two bonus podcast choices for you.

1. NextGen Milspouse – This is a military driven podcast that talks about issues in and around the military community. There are tips and advice and so much more. what I really love about this podcast and what I think really makes it unique is that it isn’t just about being a milspouse. And I think that is something that is true for the NextGen brand as a whole. They have a great online magazine/blog format, and that really translates well into podcast form.

2. We Are the Mighty Podcast – They have had some really good interviews – Noah Galloway and Bryan Anderson, and I just think the guys are funny. The episodes about POWs and the best characters in military movies were pretty good as well. I’m pretty sure talking to a lame Air Force military spouse would be low on their list…but I think they are hilarious. Their podcast can run a bit long sometimes, but they are just starting out. {language}

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giveaway, military, Old Spice

Old Spice Hardest Working Collection Giveaway!

May 20, 2016 No Comments

Guys! I’m so excited! I haven’t had a giveaway in forever, and what better way to bring it back then with an awesome one from the people at Old Spice. Last week I had such a fun time talking about Mr. Air Force and how even if he doesn’t ride on the back of a whale he’s pretty awesome!

So we’ve been using the Old Spice Hardest Working Collection for a little while now and I’m still loving the scent. So my military man is definitely living up to the #Smellegendary challenge!!

What do you win?