My "Hometown"

I know I am far from alone in being shocked/heart broken over the Newtown, CT school tragedy. It seems as though these events are becoming all too apart of our world though this one was particularly hard to process. I felt similar to how I felt when the Virginia Tech tragedy occurred as I had a connection to the area it took place in. Gone is the "that would never happen here" mentality as these two specific areas are places that I would feel the safest and most protected.

As I am sure you have noticed, I keep things relatively impersonal and private here at One Preppy Cookie. This blog is more of a creative outlet and less of a journal for me. However sometimes there are personal things that I would like to share with you and today I have a little glimpse into where I am from.

My "hometown" is a mere 14 miles from Newtown. I thought I would share a somewhat recent trip I took there to put in perspective what a special place that part of our country is, though I trust you have already seen that from the acts of kindness and support taking place there over the past 5 days.



Last summer, we paid a visit to my "hometown." Since I lived in 5 states prior to my starting high school, it can sometimes be hard to determine my "hometown." But Roxbury, CT is where I was born and where I lived until I was 6 years old. I had not been back in 25 years and as my mom said, not much had changed.

Here is the first home my parents bought and where I was brought home to from Danbury Hospital. The backyard backs up to a dairy farm and the cows used to occasionally wander up to the back windows.


Next a glimpse of the "town" of Roxbury. Don't look too fast or you will miss it...one gas station, one general store and a small coffee shop all in one place.


Really...that's it!


The church my parents were married in...


The town library...


We ended our trip with a stop at a nursery. I had to smile when I saw all of the zinnias...my dad's favorite cutting flower to grow. Maybe he still loves them from growing up in CT??


I was chatting with a lady at the nursery about the flowers and then wandered away. My mom spoke with her next and mid conversation she said, "LINDA???" And then she turned to me and said, "AMY???" Turns out that she and her son had done playgroup with my mom, brother and I almost 30 years ago. (Remember, she had not seen nor heard from us in 25 years!) It was a serious "small world" discovery and one that can really only happen in places like Roxbury.


We haven't lived anywhere like Roxbury ever since (I don't think many people have.)

My thoughts continue to be with the families and friends of everyone affected in this terrible tragedy. Your courage amazes me.

We Remember

As a Virginia Tech Hokie this is sadly all too familiar to me.

Please join in remembering the victims of yet another terrible tragedy.

(70 Degree) Winter Wonderland

As I peruse Facebook and the like, I have observed many complaints regarding this week's unseasonably warm weather. Each to their own as my opinion is the exact opposite. I am welcoming the warm weather with open arms and even celebrated it by indulging in frozen yogurt two days in a row this week. (Thinking I may have to go for three today now that I typed that.)

If you're on "Team Winter" then these cookies are for you. They were made for a repeat customer who requested polar bears, penguins, igloos and "something else" for her son's birthday. We agreed that snowflakes seemed like the right choice to complete the set and I am very happy with how the collection turned out.

Thank you once again Mina!

Tutotial Roundup

Looking for a few fun projects to work on this holiday season? While not all of these tutorials are "holiday" themed, they could easily be adapted to this festive time of year. (Think red and green topiaries, Christmas tree applique shirts, or snowman ribbon notebooks.)

Peppermint Wreath:

Mason Jar Water-less Snow Globes:

Ribbon Topiaries:

DIY No Sew Applique Shirt:

Grosgrain Ribbon Notebook:

Happy crafting!

Champagne, Crafts & Cookies with Young House Love

Saturday morning as my husband drove me into D.C. he clarified once again why exactly I was on my way to cash in a Living Social ticket I had bought to "meet the blog people." (His real worlds.) "The blog people" are John and Sherry from Young House Love, a blog I have been reading for years. The minute I read about an opportunity for a two hour crafting session/book signing with them, I was in. And while my husband may not really understand the appeal of that, I was right in knowing that it would be a great time.

We were welcomed to the event by a smiling John and Sherry, along with a dedicated spot at the table with crafting supplies and a glass of champagne (my kind of Saturday morning!)

Ironically the room we were in had the worst lighting for photos. This means I took my typical quality of pics but I am sure this blogging/photog powerhouse could have lived without the darkness.

There were 50 women and 0 men in attendance, much to Sherry and John's amusement.

My spot...

The group...

We worked on three projects during our time together. First was a painted vase based on a project in their new book, the second was a set of candlesticks and finally we made a few ornaments.

My favorite craft was the set of candlesticks.

I loved seeing what everyone else came up with. We had some serious DIY ladies in the room as evidenced by the full glasses of champagne and beautiful pieces left on the tables at the end of the session. Crafts > morning libations for this crew!

Next up was the book signing portion of the morning. Sherry and John were both so genuine in their time with us. You can tell that they really value their readers and took the time to make everyone feel welcomed.

Of course I could not meet them without sharing my only real "DIY" talents, so I dorkily (not a word but seems to fit the act well) brought along a batch of cookies for them. They were Jonathan Adler inspired and seemed to be a big hit.

John even gave them a little shout-out in their message...love it!

So on the way home when my husband asked me how my meeting with "the blog people" was, I could say with all sincerity that I had an awesome time.

Thanks YHL!