Wedding Weekend!

This is a post that has been sitting, ready to go for 3 weeks now.  It was supposed to go up on December 15th, but for obvious reasons that didn't happen.  I've been excited to start posting some wedding craftables for a while now and I've been waiting to post this for so long that I'm extra excited about it!

I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for my wedding photos so I could start blogging about all the DIY stuff I did for the wedding.  So, I'm pleased to announce I have my wedding photos back and I'm publishing the first official Siriusly Craftables Wedding Weekend!

J. Fiereck Photography, LLC

This weekend I want to highlight something really simple we did that was fun and helpful!  I LOVE Instagram, and let's be honest, who doesn't?  We knew there would probably be a bunch of Instagram pictures from the wedding and we really wanted to make sure we got them all.  So we, of course, did what any rational people would do - we made a hash-tag to go with our wedding!

In addition to my husband reading his vows from an iPad and my sister reading her toast from her iPhone, this was just another thing that really shows how much weddings in our generation have changed!

We posted our hash-tag on a board full of photos near the entrance to the reception, so that everyone could see it. The sign in the middle read "If you Instagram, use #Hitwedding.  We'd love to see your photos!"

Done and done.  It literally took me about 5 minutes to make and print this sign and I was able to get a bunch of fun Instagrams because of it. In all the chaos of planning a wedding it's so nice to have something that's actually easy to do!

While I'm highlighting this particular little project and because I'm such a huge fan of anything and everything thriftable, I'd just like to point out that I got this board from Goodwill for $2!  Honestly, this whole board probably cost me less than $10 to put together.  This DIY project is fun, simple and cost effective if you do it right and the Instagrams we got as a result are awesome!  Here are a few of my favorites.

Woohoo it's my wedding day!

Everything is ready to go! We had to move our ceremony
inside last minute because it was POURING outside!

Here we go!

A little fallish decor.

Our beautiful cake!  

And finally, the morning after breakfast!
What a crew!

Moving Forward.

It's been a long time since my last post. These past few weeks have been ones full of grief and sorrow, anger, frustration, restlessness, sleepless nights, and so many other emotions it's hard to name them all.  How can we possibly wrap our minds around the terrible events that took place here, in a school I went to, in the town where I grew up, in the place that is possibly my most favorite place in the entire world and how can we possibly start to move on?  But it is time, whether we're ready for it or not.  Not time to move on, but to move forward.

I've seen a lot of people over the holidays and so many of them have told me they have been reading my blog and how much they enjoy it.  It's been very encouraging and I have felt bad that I wasn't ready to return to writing quite yet.  I'm not really ready now.  My mind is still filled with relentless thoughts about Sandy Hook and how sad I am about it.  But it's time to try and get back to normalcy.  Not to forget but to move forward.

So, I'm going to start by posting some pictures of my beautiful town over the past few weeks to give me, my blog, and my readers some closure to this event.  My town is amazing and that's never been quite as clear as it has been since December 14th.  There are no words to describe any of the things that have happened, everything is too cliche and not nearly powerful enough.  This is especially true when I am trying to describe the strength Newtown has. I have never seen the level of love I have seen in Newtown and from people around the world as I have seen recently.  It's.....amazing (again, a word too weak to describe the proper emotion)

Without further ado, here is Newtown:

This is my church, St. Rose, seen on the night of December 14th. Hundreds upon hundreds gathered outside to pray for the victims of this terrible tragedy.  Later, this church would endure funeral after funeral for the beautiful lives that were lost.  The world knows this church only because of this tragedy but it is also a place of joy and happiness.  It's the place where I made my first communion and my confirmation.  It's the place I hated going to once a week for CCD, and it's the place I attend Christmas mass, my favorite mass, every year.  I hope that the world will know this church not as a place of sadness and grief but of remembrance and happy times to come.

One of the first memorials set up in Newtown, at St. Rose.  26 candles for 26 Angels.

This is the entrance to Sandy Hook Elementary School.  The world knows this place as the site of a horrible crime, an unspeakable tragedy.  I remember this school as the place I sang Baby Beluga in my Kindergarten concert for my mom and dad, the place I attended SMART camp every year until 8th grade, and the place I had one of my first color guard practices. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I have all of these beautiful memories of this school and the kids who attend it now will probably only remember one day.

But I hope the world knows that despite the awful things that happened here, it is a wonderful place and it had many days full of happiness for everyone that attended this school.  And I hope it is a place that our angels in heaven can visit everyday.

One of my favorite items placed outside Sandy Hook.  Dear Mr. President....please, please, please!

26 christmas trees donated from North Carolina.  This was early on, just a couple of days after the shooting.  The amount of items that would collect here in the following days was truly unbelievable.  

No caption needed here.  God Bless the families.

My sister's beautiful contribution to the Sandy Hook memorial.
 "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for thou art with me."

Sandy Hook center.  Make 1000 paper cranes and you get a wish. Sadly, the only wish anyone would make on this day is one that cannot come true.

Finally, a throw back to the wonderful days I spent at Sandy Hook School.  This was during my Kindergarten halloween parade.  Apparently, I was the only one who took Halloween seriously.

I want people to remember the lives lost on December 14th, but just like me, everyone needs to start moving forward.   I think the best way to do that is to remember all the wonderful things about Sandy Hook and about our town.

Things like our two dollar movie theater, the general store where you can still get bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches for 99 cents before 11 o'clock, the fact that all the stop lights in town go on blink starting at 10 p.m. because nobody is on the roads, the flag pole, which is the most iconic thing in Newtown and also the most dangerous intersection because theres a giant pole in the middle of a main road, our Christmas tree lightings, and most importantly, the fact that when you walk down the street or go to the grocery store you're likely to run into someone you know.  And even if you don't, you'll end up saying hi to someone just because it's a nice thing to do.  Don't remember Newtown for this tragedy.  Remember the lives lost and the amazing town that is Newtown. Most importantly, tell your loved ones that you love them everyday.  It's a phrase that never gets old and life is short.

 Newtown strong.  

Newtown proud.  

And that's all I have to say about that.  I'll get back to my regular blogging within the next couple days!

Love,
Stacy - Proud Sandy Hooker since 1986 :)

A Day of Sorrow.

Today, in my home town a tragedy occurred.  As all of you know, Newtown, Connecticut was devastated today when a gunman opened fire and took the lives of numerous people, many of them children.

I grew up in Newtown, CT.  It has been my home since I was 6 months old. I attended Sandy Hook Elementary as a Kindergartner.  It is a place where I could walk down the street as a child and feel safe.  It is the place I plan on raising my own kids.  It is a community I know and love. And today someone walked in and destroyed that within minutes.


In this time of sorrow, there are no words that can take away our pain and hurt.  However, Newtown is a place where everyone supports one another.  We know and love each other.  And while these horrific events have torn us apart today, we will come together as a community, as we always do, and we will recover.  We will walk together, hand in hand, as we begin to heal.  We will hold up the parents and loved ones of the victims when they are not able to stand.

We will pull together and we will heal.

One day, we will live in a world where our children can go to school safely and where our loved ones are not torn away from us by acts of violence.


Love you Newtown <3


"So our hearts are broken today for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children, and for the families of the adults who were lost.

Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors, as well, for as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children's innocence has been torn away from them too early and there are no words that will ease their pain." - President Barack Obama

Thriftable Thursday!

My Thriftable Thursday this week is an awesome find! Let me tell you the story behind this before I get to the actual purchase itself.

For quite some time I've wanted a pair of cowboy boots. They are super cute and honestly, when I go line dancing, I just feel a little ridiculous in my converse.  My problem was how much it would cost me to purchase a pair of cowboy boots.  Seriously, do you know how much they cost?  Who can spend that much on a pair of boots?  Certainly not this frugal girl.

I searched and searched for a pair of cheap boots that were still high quality and I had no luck at all.  So I finally broke down and just asked for a pair for Christmas and Santa spent a small fortune buying me this awesome pair of slouch leather cowboy boots.  I won't deny it, they're pretty freaking amazing.  They are super comfortable, they have a nice low heal so I'm not towering over my husband (who is the same height as me) and I can wear them for hours and hours of dancing when I want to.  But again, this came at a significant cost to poor old Santa.

You know that saying...you find what you're looking for when you stop looking?  It's true. I went about my life with my new best friends on my feet and just five short months later I came across these at a Goodwill.

They were a size 6, sturdy, REAL cowboys boots and wouldn't you know it, they were 18 bucks!  I stood there debating whether or not I should buy them because I already had a perfectly good pair, but really they were mine the minute I picked those babies up off the shelf.

I rationalized it by telling myself that it's worth it as long as I get use out of both pairs.  And I do. Even though they are both brown they're quite different from each other in the way they are built so I'm able to pair them with different outfits.  

I find boots to be one of my favorite thriftable items because in stores they are usually expensive.  It's hard to get a good deal on a pair of boots unless you luck out and find a pair on clearance.  So I always check the shoe section of a thrift store just to make sure there's nothing I can't live without!









Happy Thursday everyone!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Those Wedding Leftovers! Part I

Happy 12/12/12! Now that you know a little bit about Thanksmas, I'd like to show off some of the new things we tried out this year including place settings and some fun DIY (and recycled!) holiday decorations.

After having my roommates wedding last year and our wedding this year we had quite a bit of stuff leftover.  Things like extra centerpiece vases, small votive candles, votive holders..stuff like that.  There's really only two things you can do when you have wedding leftovers - give them away or reuse them.  Being the thrifty people that we are we, of course, chose to reuse them.

One of the things we knew we wanted to use was our leftover centerpiece vases since we each had a few of them.  And because they are vases they are a pretty easy thing to reuse as, well, just plain old vases.  But where's the fun in that? So in the holiday spirit we made them into these fantastic holiday decorations and centerpieces for our Thanksmas dinner.


The best part about these is that they look great, they were inexpensive (since we already had the vases) and they were easy to make.

We started by buying a giant bin of ornaments from Stop & Shop for $8. You can probably get them cheaper at The Christmas Tree Shop or even the Dollar Store but we were on a schedule. For our tall skinny vases we chose a nice pattern of red, green and gold ornaments and made both of them the same.  These became decorations at our holiday bar.

For the fatter vases we just did red and gold because we used them as centerpieces on top of a  green tablecloth.  To make them we just piled the ornaments in there, dispersing the gold among the red as evenly as possible.

5 minutes - Done.  We have beautiful holiday decor and centerpieces and they cost us no more than $8.  This is a great project for leftovers!

If you want to try this out but you don't have leftover vases I would suggest checking out the dollar store.  I know they had some similar vases to this when I was looking for wedding centerpieces.  I also suggest, as always, checking out your local thrift store.  You'd be amazed what you might find!

Keep an eye out for posts on some of the other fun stuff we tried out at Thanksmas this year!

Thanksmas!

Every year in my house we have a little dinner party with all of our friends.  This dinner party has come to be known as Thanksmas.  This being because we have it right in between Thanksgiving and Christmas and we have a huge Thanksgiving-like dinner. This year we had 15 people at our house and let me tell you, it was quite the challenge.

Our house is not very big and it seems even smaller when you cram 2 tables, 15 chairs, 15 people, 2 dogs and a Christmas tree into it.  But we made it work, it was awesome and everyone had a great time!

So, today I wanted to share some photos from this awesome event and also give you a little update on my Ice Cream Sandwich Cake, which you can find my recipe for, here. This cake was fan-freaking-tastic.  Everyone loved it.  Here's some photos of how it came out.

My wonderful hubby serving it up!

This cake was so easy to make and it looks really beautiful when it's all done (please ignore my ugly throw away tray.  All of our other good dishes were being used for dinner.  Plus using a throw away meant no cleanup!)

When it's all sliced up it looks just as pretty!

As you can see by Ms. M scraping the tray clean, it was quite the hit.  Super easy, delicious and it looks store bought?  How can you lose?

Here are few little updates for the recipe I posted the other day.

• I got 24 ice cream sandwiches and used about 14 for my 10 X 10 container.  
• I also got 2 of the small (16 oz.) containers of Cool Whip to use and it was the perfect amount.  
• And did you know that in the baking section of the grocery store they have bags of crushed Heath Bar specifically for this kind of stuff?  My husband found it on the search for Heath Bars (because they can be quite hard to find) and I was able to use it instead of crushing them all myself!  I call that a win.

So, if you're planning on trying this recipe take those amounts into consideration and adjust accordingly for whatever size cake you are making.  And now, here are some of my favorite photos from this years Thanksmas!

Beautiful Holiday Garland

The table ready for everyone to eat!

More Garland - This may be my favorite holiday decoration

Stockings hung by the chimney with care

Place settings!

Ready to Party.

What are your favorite holiday traditions?

Walkin' In a Winter Wonderland.

I love the holidays.  I love snow. I love hot cocoa and snow days and icicles....I LOVE winter and everything about it.  So I wanted to share a bulletin board I just put up for the month of December.

This is a great lesson that can be adjusted based on the level of the students.  I do this with all my 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and I'm able to differentiate it enough to fit all of them. So here's how it came out:

Unfortunately the picture doesn't really do it justice so I've thrown in some close ups too.  The individual snowflakes turn out super cute!  The base lesson I use with all of my students is about nouns, proper nouns, adjectives and verbs.

For my third graders, I strictly stick to nouns and adjectives. We start by brainstorming winter words that are nouns.  Then they pick their favorite winter noun off our brainstorm and they think of four adjectives to describe that noun.  I have them cut out a snowflake and write their winter noun in the center.  Then they write all the adjectives they came up with on the arms of the snowflake.  We throw some glitter on it and there you have it!  A beautiful, nouny and descriptive snowflake!

I make it a little different for my fourth graders by making them identify whether the words are verbs, nouns or proper nouns as we brainstorm.  They also have to think of more words to describe the noun they choose for their snowflake.

My fifth graders do the entire brainstorm and then choose two winter words to work with.  Those become main topics for them in a writing piece about winter.  They write about why they like those things and what they can do with them.  It's a pretty great lesson overall because we're talking about parts of the English language, the seasons and doing some writing.  All things that my students need constant reminders for!  And you get a pretty bulletin board out of it. Love it!