November Around The Web

Hello, friends! I hope you were able to celebrate Thanksgiving safely with your families/friends. We ended up having a small outdoor celebration and I’m really grateful we had warm November weather! This month we made the most of some warm weekends with bike rides and dinner outdoors and I actually did a lot of online Christmas shopping. It felt good to get a jumps start – I even put up our decorations before Thanksgiving this year for the first time ever!

• I am waiting for my new iPhone to arrive and would love to get one of these phone cases with Jamie’s photography!

• Have you interviewed your parents or grandparents about their lives?

• We tried these Brussels sprouts and this soup this month. Both were delicious!

• Adding these documentaries to my list!

• I’ve also been reading a lot lately! Looking forward to reading some of these as they come out.

• I’m always fascinated by families who downsize or choose to live in smaller homes. Some great tips even for our home!

• Daydreaming about a big European trip… someday!

• Grateful we will soon see the first female Vice President inaugurated (and Joe Biden of course!).

Embracing Gratitude Today!

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October Around the Web

Happy Halloween, friends! This October was extra special because we were able to celebrate my sister Sophie’s engagement, she found her wedding dress and she had a birthday! Dale also turned 29 this month and despite being on a busy rotation at work we celebrated with Minsky’s and a fire pit night. We also fit in lots of traditional October things with a visit to Weston to pick apples and pumpkins, we went to Louisberg Cider Mill and watched both the Presidential and Vice Presidential Debates on our outdoor projector. Last night we topped it all off by watching Hocus Pocus with a few friends. We’ve made the most of this extra strange spooky season! Here are a few of my favorite’s this month:

• My dream bathroom from Sarah Sherman Samuel! Saving for someday…

• A lovely article for this season

• I always love pink and green!

• Otto definitely doesn’t NEED this but I really think he would love it…

• Saving these Halloween costumes for any future children: Madeline and Plants!

• A cute Fall/Halloween DIY

• I don’t bake often but maybe next Halloween I’ll give this cake a try!

• Always daydreaming about future travels…

• A new favorite follow on Instagram

• Trying to feel hopeful about the impending election.

Let’s vote for change, friends!

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Ptarmigan Lake Trail

Our trip went way too fast and our last day arrived before we knew it! Dale’s number one request was that we hike up to Ptarmigan Lake, and while it was a little longer of a hike than anticipated the view at the top was spectacular. I’ve never been to Colorado in the Fall and really loved getting to see the start of fall with the orange and red ground cover and yellow trees. I’m more grateful than ever that we had a chance to get on the road and visit somewhere new. None of my travel plans went as expected this year but it was SO nice to have the smallest bit of normalcy with a road trip. I hope you all are staying safe and have some adventures of your own (even at home!) planned for this Fall!

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Buena Vista, Colorado

We spent the last half of our trip in Buena Vista, Colorado! Dale had been once before and I was really excited to spend a few days hiking and enjoying the hot springs. We arrived right after the sand dunes and immediately went in search of dinner before spending the evening relaxing at our apartment. We ate at Eddyline Brewery a couple times during our stay as well as at the beautiful Surf Hotel. I’m grateful there were a couple great outdoor dining options in town!

Our first full day in town was spent sleeping in, visiting the Mount Princeton Hot Springs, and driving through Cottonwood Pass. We were able to plan out our hikes for our last full day and truly relax, it was the best.

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Great Sand Dunes National Park

After our time in Colorado Springs Dale and I headed to the Great Sand Dunes National Park! I’ve always wanted to visit and as we drove up I couldn’t believe how big the dunes were. Since we had plenty of time and the park was our main stop for the day we decided to hike up to the top of the dunes. I’ve never hiked through sand before and despite a few moments where I wasn’t sure I could make it the views from the top were more than worth it! However, my very favorite part was running down the dunes because the moving sand sort of propelled you forward as you ran. Checking off this national park and looking forward to the next one we have the opportunity to visit!

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Paint Mines Interpretive Park

Visiting the Paint Mines Interpretive Park outside of Colorado Springs was one of our favorite stops during our trip! I would recommend visiting in early evening like we did if possible because the light was perfect for photos as the sun was setting. Different parts of the park feature white rock formations and then some have rainbow sherbet like palettes! Enjoy!

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