Happy December!

I really can't believe we're here already, but I just have to say I am so grateful for November. I hope you all had a wonderful and safe Thanksgivin

Usually, I feel like November kind of gets swept under the rug with all of the upcoming holidays and Christmas cheer. I'm totally guilty of it, as I've decorated for Christmas before Thanksgiving the last two years.

However, I am someone who loves to make a bunch of extra rules for myself and then get all stressy trying to follow them. SO unhealthy, I know.

So this November, I decided I was going to ride out fall as long as I wanted. No rushing Christmas, until I felt like it. Which, by the way, is really hard when I have a lifestyle blog and I want to have decor ideas and recipes ready to go for you guys.

But I did it, and it was DELIGHTFUL.

I embraced that November is still fall, and that fall is still present, even though October is over, and it was what my soul needed. And then my soul needed an additional Christmas tree, so I did that too (spoiler alert!).

Most importantly, I celebrated the birthdays of two of the most important people in my life this month! My sister, Sarah, celebrated her birthday on November 6th, and my grandmother celebrated a BIG birthday on November 11th. So we spent three weeks doing birthday festivities, because birthdays are a big deal.

Now that the important stuff is out into the universe, here are my November Highlights!

Craft Show.

I know I talked about craft shows last fall, but they never get old. Especially when so many small businesses have taken a hit this year, I was really happy to be able to shop for some unique gifts, and support people in my community as well. Since I did get a lot of gifts, I can't share everything I got, but here are two of my favorites that you might want to think about if you haven't finished your shopping yet!

Smoke Show Seasonings - This company has SO MANY seasonings! I bought, like, half of them, but they have so many to choose from, and they make such a fun and unique gift. I think I went back 3 times to get more....excessive? I think not.

Just Jen - I fell in love with this adorable Christmas tray, and instantly needed one. Even though I don't have kids, I am a child, and it counts. Shop her Etsy here!

Christmas Decorations.

You all know how much I LOVE my décor. So you won't be surprised that I interrupted Elliot's homework sesh to throw out...

"Hey honey, what do you think about getting another tree?"

Head whips around - "um, we have a tree..."

"Yes, I thought it might be nice to have an additional tree. For the foyer."

"I'll say this once. I am decorating ONE tree. The big one in the family room. The rest is on you."

And that, friends, is how I scored a pencil tree for my foyer. Best part - I got it for $40 at Michaels! And it's beautiful. I decorated it in gold and champagne, so it shines like the star over Baby Jesus, and I am thoroughly pleased.

(Side note: I was trying to find a word that wasn't OBSESSED, because it's overused, and I'm not that basic. So, thoroughly pleased, it is.)

Holiday Photos.

Last year, our holiday photos were rained out, and I was a little bit devastated because it was our first year as a family of four (I'm a dog mom, leave me alone). This year, we made up for it and had such a fun session with my friend, Connie! She made it so fun, and had us laughing the whole time. Plus, the sneak peek turned out amazing! I can't wait to see the rest! Check out her website here!

Black Friday/Cyber Weekend Shopping.

This year was the first year in I don't know how long that I didn't go Black Friday shopping. I did everything online, and there were so many great deals! I hope you all had a chance to snag a deal this past weekend, and if you still have some shopping to do, check out my Holiday Gift Guide! I'm pretty sure everything you can think of is on sale right now. I even got 25% off on Elliot's glasses from Zenni! Not that general vision is a Christmas gift, but.....I don't know, things are wild.

Blog Shoutouts.

If you haven't checked out Samantha Styled yet, do it now. She has 14 gift guides, holiday décor boards made of dreams and her blog is just....goals. She does an incredible job, so go give her some love!

Also, my friend Keri is doing this incredible Blogmas challenge - Christmas content every day from now til Christmas! I don't think I could do it, but I'm so excited to tune in to her Christmas spirit every day! You can find it on her super cute blog, Coffee with Keri.

“But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” Luke 2:10

“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” Matthew 2:10