Tying the Knot - To Top it Off

During the wedding planning process, Etsy and I became quite close. 

Photo Credit: MNC Photography

One of the items on my "to find" list was a custom cake topper for our wedding cake. I spotted the shop Better Off Wed and I knew I had to have her make a cake topper for us. 

Photo credit: MNC Photography

I wasn't planning on using gold tones in our wedding reception until this beauty arrived in the mail, It's sparkly gold color inspired me to include more gold tones in the reception decor. 

Photo credit: MNC Photography

Perfect. Just perfect!

Let's Celebrate!

My list of favorite things about teaching grows each and everyday. Here's one of the things I love about being a teacher (put quite nicely by Todd Whitaker):

We all have the opportunity for this year to be whatever we want it to be. That is one thing that makes teaching so special. #IAedchat

— Todd (@ToddWhitaker) July 27, 2015

One of my goals for this brand-spankin' new year is to celebrate more. One way to celebrate more is with birthdays. We've all got them! Each one of my students deserves a day where they can be truly celebrated. 

Therefore, I present to you our birthday treats of room 52:

I made my schnazzy birthday tags with KG fonts, ribbon, and tasty kid-approved snacks. 

You can download your own copy of these birthday tags through Google Drive here.  

How do you celebrate in your classroom? 

Share with me! Help me reach my goals!

A Bench for Bruce

Yes - I'm sitting on the toilet. Awkward.

Let's just take a minute and remember this bathroom. 

Yuck!

Our first house project was ripping down the dreadful wallpaper in this master bathroom. You may remember this post.  I'm standing by my previous statement: Please don't ask me to help you tear down wallpaper. Please! I beg of you. 

Along with the wallpaper, we invested in new faucets, hardware for the drawers, and a new paint job.  My original intention was to spruce up the bench that came with the house. Unfortunately, we thought it would be a good idea to use that bench as a step stool during de-wallpapering and it was destroyed. Oops.  

R.I.P. brass bench. You lived a good life. 

Since then, I've been hunting for a NEW bench. 

My hunt was unsuccessful. 

Yesterday, I was walking around a flea market in my hometown and this bench popped out to me. It pleaded with me to save it. 

$10 later... it was saved!

I started by peeling off the existing cushion. The cushion had been repurposed three times before and had enough dust in it to fill my garage. 

It. Was. Gross. 

I gave the bench a new paint job with spray paint. Then, I picked up a yard of fabric at Jo-Anns, a foam cushion, some batting, and rewrapped the plywood that came with the bench. 

The highlight of this experience was investing in my first staple gun. My crafting possibilities are endless now - thanks to my new ($12) staple gun!

Here's what it looked like in the bathroom before it's little makeover:

And after it's 24-hour makeover!

Let's be honest... 

We all know who is going to take over the bench. The boss - Bruce. 

Did I mention we got a cat? Oh yes, we have a cat now. 

Meow

Hmm.. what shall I staple next?

Tying the Knot - Early Morning "Donut" Call

What's better than finding a bag of fresh donut holes waiting for you the morning after a wedding reception? Not much, folks. Not much!

For each guest that stayed at the Hotel Bothwell for the evening, they were treated to my absolute-favorite guilty pleasure: donut holes.

The donut holes arrived from heaven and were waiting outside each and every door at the hotel. 

Oh, wait. I mean they came straight from the Sedalia favorite, Papa Jakes Donut Shop. 

Let me tell you a little bit about Papa Jakes. 

If you arrive at Papa Jakes later than 9:00 A.M., you are out of luck. No donut holes for you! They sell out QUICK - especially on the weekends. 

 Every slumber party I've hosted since I was a little girl included donuts from Papa Jakes. My dad would wake up at the crack of dawn and get to Papa Jakes so we could have donuts when we rolled out of bed at 10. 

Hopping off the bus when I was in 4th and 5th grade, I was taunted by the smell of the donut shop because my elementary school was right next door. 

My girlfriends and I would meet at Papa Jakes in high school to have breakfast together. 

My (fellow-donut-entusiast) nephew Beckett and I enjoy trips to Papa Jakes together. 

It's just "the place to go". 

Your life will be complete once you've had Papa Jakes. 

Seriously, your presence meant a "HOLE" lot!

Now.. Go Treat Yo'Self!

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More details coming soon.

Catch up on my other wedding posts here. 

Have a great weekend!

Tying the Knot - The Rehearsal

June 19, 2015

Perhaps it's the teacher in me, but I assigned everyone an activity at our rehearsal. Oops. 

You can the girl out of the classroom... (for the summer)

Each guest was invited to complete a Mad Lib about "The Happy Couple" which happened to be Scott and I.  The Mad Libs asked guests where they traveled from, how long they had known us, and to leave us with some advice. 

Much of the marital and relationship advice included to be kind, laugh, respect one another, tell jokes, maintaining personal hygiene (very important!), and always remember why we fell in love to begin with. 

I purchased the Mad Libs for our rehearsal through Groopdealz earlier this spring, but there are many options available on Etsy. Click here to see more. The set we purchased can be found here. 

The best part was reading  the responses once we were home and settled after our honeymoon. I have to give credit to our friends and  family - they are very creative with their adjectives!

For dinner, I was excited to include a few personal and family-centered details.  For the main course, guests were invited to build their own burger. On two chalkboards, we encouaged guests to build the classic California favorite, "Big Mike" and the Sedalia, Missouri classic, "Guber Burger". 

 Why the "Bike Mike" you ask? Ask anyone in central Missouri about Burgher Haus and they'll be able to tell you about the great family-owned restaurant in California, Missouri.  Scott's family has owned and operated the Burgher Haus since 1977.  One of the many gems on the menu is the "Big Mike".  I love visiting Burgher Haus with Scott because (a). everyone refers to him as Scottie (b). we get hugs from family members (c). the food is always amazing and (d). Jane's bread pudding (which happened to make an appearance at our wedding, too <-- details coming!)

Why the "Guber Burger"? Oh, I'm glad you asked. Whenever anyone asks me where I'm from, I always proudly state, "I'm from Sedalia, Missouri - home of the Missouri State Fair and the Guber Burger." Then, I get to rattle off all of these really fascinating facts about my hometown and leave people completely and utterly amazed. 

We were surrounded by so many loving family and friends the entire night - and it was amazing. Just the tip of the iceberg for the entire weekend. Still counting our blessings (almost) a month later!

Writing about all of our wedding details is making me a little emotional - in a good way of course!

Catch up on our details here! 

Tying the Knot - All the Little Details

It happened!

We said, "I do!" 

Seriously, it was the best day ever. 

Now, we get to spend our forever and ever together and that sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. 

 My next few blog posts will be dedicated to sharing the little details from the wedding. All of the little details came together because of incredibly talented people in our lives. 

Guests who stayed the night at the  Hotel Bothwell were treated to a welcome bag upon check-in. Each bag was stuffed with treats for their stay in Sedalia and a welcome card detailing the events for the weekend. 

Thanks to my very talented friend, Maggie, and Emily from Fox and Gypsy for turning my jumbled ideas via email into a welcome card masterpiece. As you can see below, the welcome card included the ceremony details, reception timeline, a little background on the Mr. and myself, and some activities to pass the time. 

Isn't it incredible? Lets all band together and encourage Maggie and Emily to start an Etsy shop to share their talents with the world.