November 2021 Highlights

 November 2021 was jam packed with family, friends, and food, as it should be :) And lots of scrappiness!

We had to go down to Castle Rock so I could pick something up - when in Castle Rock, we go to Crave! I sure do miss having one right here in Highlands Ranch.

Jane's class had a poetry reading at school and parents got to attend. Jane wrote her poem about a bee which is funny because she's terrified of bees.

We got a new couch to replace the one that the kids used as a trampoline and broke basically as soon as we got it lol. That one is now in the basement and this one is from Joybird. I love that it can fit lots of people on it comfortably that it's aqua! I spy a little Amy.

We had a date night to see Jim Gaffigan and took the train from Littleton to downtown Denver for the show.

Let the laughs begin!

Jim was so hilarious. Lots of giggles and lols.

It was a great show!

Never seen a sign more applicable to me hahaha. I should have bought it.

We went to Parry's Pizza for the first time as a family for dinner one night. It was pretty good! My all-time favorite pizza place is Papa John's.

Target run for family photoshoot outfits. We're going for very traditional colors and pics this year - can't wait to see and share them!

We curled Jane's hair with a curling iron for the very first time. Such a beauty!

We totally "sleighed" our family pics :)

Got a new pair of pink lounge pants from Target and the dress is from Target too. I love Target. Always have. Always will.

We decorated a bit for Thanksgiving. I love this holiday more and more every year.

This photo is going to be absolutely perfect for one of my upcoming 25 Days of Christmas Cut Files! It's going into my December Daily for sure! We stopped at Whole Foods to get some pies for Thanksgiving and this was the Christmas tree lot out front.

My brother Eric and his wife Tanya and their two kids Zoe and Wes came to visit us for the first time! They had plane tickets for March 2020, but that was when Colorado was completely shut down so they had to cancel. I'm so glad they got to come for Thanksgiving.

I made a list of things to do/see/eat and we checked off a whole bunch of them. Naughty kitties ate the corner.

As soon as they landed we got some lunch and then headed out to soak up the sunshine and warmth. It's gray and rainy in Seattle so they were loving this weather. 

We planned to hike up to the top of the hill but got sidetracked by the playground :)

My cutie patootie nephew Wes.

I love love love the views of all of Denver from these trails.

Gorgeous sunset.

Perfect lighting for photos.

Back at home we chilled and ate "Bethany's Chicken Tacos" for dinner.

Crumbl for dessert!

The candy drawer was open for the taking.

No filter cotton candy clouds.

The next morning we drove an hour south to Colorado Springs to visit the Garden of the Gods.

Lots of pics of beautiful red rock formations coming your way! Also, could the weather BE any more perfect?!

Love these kiddos.

We relaxed in the afternoon and went to the school playground to get out some wiggles.

That night for dinner we went to Cafe Rio. Always yummy.

Whelp! They got a dose of true Colorado weather! One day it's 70 and sunny, the next it's snowy! And then right back to warm and sunny the next!

Wes talked non-stop about "blow-ups" (inflatables) so I took three of the four kids to Home Depot to pick out some Christmas inflatables and suckers.

Success!

We went swimming at one of the rec centers. A perfect snowy day activity!

That evening we visited Chris at work.

Then we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner.

Despite there being snow on the ground, it doesn't count as a true snowfall in the city of Denver because they measure it out at the airport and they didn't get measurable snowfall. We've now broken the record for the longest time without snow. But this definitely counts as snow in my book!

It all melted away by lunch and we headed out to the Red Rocks Amphitheater.

The views the views the views!

I zoomed in on my phone camera and you can see all the way to downtown and even past that to the Denver airport and Gaylord Rockies Hotel.

My people.

It's on our bucketlist to see a concert here some day.

Oh hey!

Remember that "I have a passion for not cooking" sign from earlier? Well, I really really really wanted sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving so I mustered up some courage and made it from scratch!! I peeled and diced the potatoes, boiled them, mashed them, baked them, and topped them!

Ahhh I did it! I'm so proud lol.

They tasted delicious! Definitely going to bake this every year.

Tom and Margi hosted Thanksgiving dinner over at their house and Andy & Cami and their 5 kids drove over from Utah so it was a full, fun house. Margi had an activity for the kids: painting and decorating old bowling pins like snowmen.

Dinner is served!

So very much to be thankful for.

We sat at this table and the other Evans families sat at the other table.

Dessert! The best part! Aside from my sweet potato casserole :)

I got a little slice of pumpkin pie, key lime pie, apple pie, and boysenberry pie. My fave was the key lime pie.

Back at home with full bellies and happy hearts, we piled onto the couch and watched Klaus on Netflix. Well, Eric slept through most of it, but the rest of us watched it and loved it.

 Klaus is one of my all-time newer favorite Christmas movies.

The next morning we started off with a scavenger hunt at a nearby park. I found this cute li'l acorn.

Then we visited Rocket Fizz for some treats.

Followed by lunch at Shake Shack.

And then we wrapped up their visit with a round of mini golf.

It was sooooo fun having my brother and his cute family here for a visit! Time flew by too quickly as it does when you're having fun! Come back soon!

We purchased this beautiful original painting from our talented brother-in-law Kamron Coleman.

It's going to go on the wall behind where the Christmas tree currently stands so I can't wait to hang it after the holidays.

Speaking of Christmas - the Saturday after Thanksgiving we decked the halls to the nines! I have to wear long, thick sleeves and gloves to do the "mother-fluffing" of the Christmas tree or I'll get all cut up from the wired branches.

Kitties always in on the action.

My favorite piece of Christmas decor is this pink vintage tree I got at a flea market with Shanna Noel back when we lived in Washington for a year in 2018.

The glow from the Christmas tree is so calming and invites the holiday spirit in.

Counting down the days to Christmas!

I've been collecting colorful trees over the years and now it's starting to look like a real forest up in here.

Can't even handle the cuteness that is Amy.

Amy & Jill aren't so little anymore! They have continued to grow and bring us so much JOY. They finally started sleeping through the night on the bed with me. Rachel slept with me from night one but these little rascals have needed some time to adjust to my human schedule lol.

They love finding the most comfortable spot in the house and sleeping for hours on end.

They're still always together.

Amy.

Jillybean.

 Jill found my top drawer and she is top drawer :)

I heart my kitties :)

Random - I found this on Facebook and laughed so hard:

We saw 3 movies in the theater: Spencer (Kristen Stewart's acting was fab, the movie itself was a little lackluster), Ghostbusters Afterlife (5 out of 10, would have been better at 90 minutes instead of 2 hours), and Encanto (loved it so much more than I thought I would!).

I've been watching any and all Christmas baking shows on the Food Network with Fox & Jane including the Holiday Baking Championship, Holiday Wars, Gingerbread Showdown, Holiday Gingerbread Showdown, and Christmas Cookie Challenge.

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On the scrappy front, it was another month filled with my passion for scrapping :)

I shared 7 creations here throughout October - 5 layouts and 2 mini albums:

Oh My Heart Layout // You Make Me Smile Layout // This is Our Happy Place Layout
Hello & Goodbye Layout // Butterfly-Shaped Mini Album // Cozy Simple Happy Layout

And this Thanksgiving Mini Album:

I designed and gave away 9 cut files - 5 in my Happy Scrappy Place Facebook Group, 3 in my Newsletters, and 1 for the Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine blog.

I designed a Thanksgiving Cut File Bundle with 20 cut files:

I also designed a Christmas Cut File Bundle with 16 cut files:

On November 20th I wrapped up the 20 Days of Stitching Cut Files and today the 1st of the 25 Days of Christmas Cut Files goes out!

I did a little live in the Scrapbook.com affiliates group showing everything I've made so far with Bungalow Lane.

Then I went live on Instagram and did a flip through too!

I got impersonated on instagram. So nuts! I filed claims and they took down all my pics but the weirdo is still active as far as I know...

I taught my first in-person class in almost 2 years in Thornton, CO! You can read the entire recap HERE. The next event is in the works for April 2022 - stay tuned!

I taught 3 virtual classes! The first was at the Crop & Create Delivered November 2021 Event.

In my hour long class I showed how to make this layout with a piece of pink cardstock, the 6x6 Paper Pad, & the Chipboard Stickers from Pick-Me-Up.

Then I taught the other two virtual classes right in a row. This was the sneak peek pic I shared on socials.

I taught a Bungalow Lane Layouts Class on a Friday night.

Then the next morning I taught my last virtual class of 2021, a butterfly-shaped mini album!

The craftermath:

That's a wrap on the first round of PaigePals!!! Here are all 4 mini albums we made with my PaigePals kits and virtual classes:

Here is a picture of ALL of my virtual class projects so far! It's been so fun creating with people from all over the world this past year.

Speaking of PaigePals, I got product for 8 more months of kits and classes!

I'm planning to do mini albums AND layouts classes in 2022! I'm hoping to have more info around Christmas, just depends on if I can find the time to create all the samples by then since that's coming up pretty quick ya know?! :)

My furry helpers.

I'm working on backing all of my 20 Days of Fall Cut Files and documenting our trip to The Pumpkin Patch in Elizabeth this past October. I've had to put this project away for now to focus on PaigePals2 and my December Daily 2021 featuring my 25 Days of Christmas Cut Files, but it's a work in progress that I'm excited about! I also still plan to make my October Mini Album for 2021. I've really been struggling with getting all the things done that I want to lately - I need 23820275 hours in the day :)

Here are the two Fall Cut Files that I have backed so far:

November was oh so fun we have lots of plans for December to make it merry! Can't wait to document everything in my December Daily. I'm still figuring out the size and format, but it'll come to me and I can't wait to share :)

Have a happy holiday season!