❈Sac Thrift Chick❈

Talking about our charitable contributions is not something my husband and I do a lot of. For us, it's mostly a private matter, but we do like to promote the charities we support. When you don't have a lot to begin with, supporting a charity is not always as easy as writing a check. Giving to charity, however, doesn't have to be about money. Charities need physical items -- new and gently used -- and you can supply these with a little shopping savvy. My first tip may be obvious to most deal-hounds, but it wasn't always to me: Sign up for store mailing lists left and right and use those points and coupon offers to shop for charities. It's so simple, and I find, really fun and fulfilling. My husband and I favor women and children's charities, such as W.E.A.V.E. and the Sacramento Children's Receiving Home , both of which have wish lists of needed items. At Christmastime, they have gift wish lists . It's important to check wish lists as charities

It's always sad when an any local music venue closes in Sac, but especially when it's an all-ages one. I admit that, I, personally, was never that big of a Luigi's fan, but I appreciated it for hosting all-ages shows. Whereas 15 years ago, Capital Garage meant the world to me, and before that kids had the Cattle Club -- or The Loft, depending on your allegiance -- today's under 21-crowd had Luigi's. Luigi's was by no means an ideal room, but it did the job, with a real stage, a not totally terribly sound system, and a dance floor that was better than what the other small-sized venues offered. If I was 15, 16 or even 20 again, I probably would have loved the venue, and would have championed it, and then mourned its loss, in the same way I did for so many like it back in the day for the LoCal MuSac E-zine and website. But honestly, I'm not that high-energy punk princess anymore. I'm 30, and not in the best of health. Just thinking about

My fairy-tale wedding -- which included a couture wedding gown, buffet dinner with table settings for 150 people, and a ceremony at a church that is so popular, it is booked every Saturday of the year -- cost under $8,000. When you consider that the average cost of a Sacramento wedding is over $31,000 , I consider that pretty impressive. Now, you can find many budget-saving wedding articles on the web and in magazines. In fact, some of the ones you come across, might even be written by moi. Professionally, I've written countless wedding articles with tips backed by well-known experts. But those are not the tips I'm including here.   These are the tips for someone on a limited budget who doesn't need or can't afford to have professionals run the whole show. These are the tips that require doing your research and asking friends and family for help. These are the tips that saved me thousands.

As a guest, one of the funnest (yes, I said "funnest") weddings I've attended was my stepsister's carnival themed affair at Grace Vineyards near Sacramento. She had many simple and festive DIY details that really carried the carnival theme throughout the day. SisterLee Photography Upon entering the main grounds, guests walked under a fabric pennant banner (by Hey Let's Make Stuff ). A colorful signpost directed guests around the expansive, carnival themed grounds. SisterLee Photography Pinwheels lined the wedding aisle. Fittingly, the bridesmaids also carried pinwheels instead of flowers, and the groomsmen had petite pinwheel boutonnières. SisterLee Photography After the ceremony, guests found their way to their carnival themed tables with name cards attached to Cracker Jack candy boxes. SisterLee Photography The cheerful carnival themed wedding centerpieces included pinwheels, giant lollipops, fun stra