A Little Bit of This and That for April

 Easter/Spring Decor and More

Tiered Bunny and Egg Tray

Hello friends!  Well, here we are in April and I'm ready to share a little bit of this and that with you here on the blog. First off, is some Easter/Spring decor around the house. I'm using the colorful ceramic bunny, yellow and blue bunnies and some new yellow and blue Easter eggs to grace the tiered tray on top of the curio cabinet in the dining room. 

My little tiered tray fits just perfectly with the amount of bunnies and eggs I have to display on top of the dining room cabinet. I have a larger, round tiered tray but, more and more, I prefer this one. I picked it up at Target a few years ago and find that I use it throughout the house for different seasons. 

These colorful bunnies are on display on the side table in the living room. The green Easter egg is a new purchase from a fun day out in Hendersonville, NC awhile back. 

And on the foyer table you see one of my Longaberger baskets filled with a pretty placemat, bunnies and an Easter egg wreath. Using a wreath as a basket filler is a unique way to use wreaths. 

I don't have a ton of decor I use for Easter and Spring but I really enjoy what I do own. It's wonderful to know that we are in Springtime now and we are already starting to have some really warm days here in Asheville. Today, it's been in the 80's and it's only early April!

I've been doing some card crafting this Spring and this is a display type card I created recently. I covered the card with scrapbook paper in teal and gold and then added stickers that have sayings I really like. "Trust the timing of your Life" is especially meaningful to me.

I used butterfly scrapbook paper on the inside of the card with more lovely stickers. This isn't a card to send but, rather, a card to keep on display. This one is now on the shelf in "my" music room. 

In other news, how cute are these two "furever" friends?! I call Cassie and River the two amigos because they are typically not far apart. We don't let Cassie go outdoors by herself, but she likes to be carried out to sniff the great outdoors and sit on the big rock with her dog brother. You can't see it, but The Mr. is holding her with one hand and taking this pic with the other! Garden, our other cat, prefers to remain indoors. 

This pic, with River's tongue hanging out, makes me laugh! He can be such a goofy dog! But, he's a very good boy!

And, finally, I thought I would share a post-Hurricane Helene update report. Folks are still trying to rebuild and repair and get rid of storm debris over six months since Helene roared through Western North Carolina. The sounds of chainsaws and huge trucks and heavy equipment doing debris removal have become a normal part of each day here. I'll share some pics of our own property to give you an idea of what things look like here at this point.

This is a huge root ball from a very large tree that blew down during the tornado that spun out from Hurricane Helene in our neighborhood. It left a gaping hole as you can see. This is behind the big boulder that Cassie and River like to sit on.

And remember the waterfall and my sitting rock where I have taken many pictures for the blog? This is what it looks like now. You can see another huge root ball on its side right next to the creek. This is the creek where The Mr. got water for us to use right after the storm. Our entire driveway was covered with downed trees so he had to climb over and under the trees to get to this stream with buckets. This went on for many days until crews could get through all the fallen trees on our road and get us cut out of our driveway. Just on our property, alone, we lost hundreds of trees.

Signs of tree cutting are everywhere on our property. This is next to the hiking trail on our land where we hike with River. 

We continue to have piles of wood laying everywhere. We have had several crews come in to cut plus The Mr. is out frequently cutting. More and more our property is looking better even with piles of wood everywhere. 

And, good news, we are finally on track with a roofer to get a new roof and new gutters in the next 4-6 weeks! The trees hitting our house caused damage to our gutters and roof. You can see some of the damage here. 

So, that's the update. Things are moving along and slowly returning to normal. God is good. All the time!

I hope you have enjoyed my this and that post. I hope you are able to get out and enjoy some beautiful Spring weather. Take good care and, if you can, leave me a comment which I will surely read and enjoy!

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

Subtle Green for St. Patrick's Day

The Wearing Of The Green 

Hi friends! Happy St. Patrick's Day! Yes, I know it's not until this coming Monday but I wanted to extend wishes a little early so I could share an idea for wearing green that's a bit more subtle in my opinion. Remember when we were in grade school and we would tell other kids that if they didn't wear green we would have to pinch them? All in good fun of course!

 My idea of wearing green includes more of an olive/dark green approach this year. I'm wearing olive green skinny pants with a patterned top by Indigo Soul that I found on sale at Cracker Barrel. The top is tunic style and has pretty patterns of leaves in many colors including green. It matches well with the pants and contains colors that can go through all seasons. I'm glad to have such a comfy and pretty outfit to wear, not just on St. Patrick's Day, but also on many other days as well. 

What combination of greens do you like to wear for St. Patrick's Day or for any other day for that matter? Be sure to wear green next Monday. You don't want to get pinched, you know!

The Mr. snapped this pic of me on our trail yesterday. It's the first time in almost six months since I have hiked. After the hurricane, and then my broken wrist and surgeries, I just wasn't able to go out on the trail. I kind of lost my confidence in being able to do so after falling and breaking my wrist. It all just seemed like too much. I'm told those feelings are normal and soon pass. So, I'm getting back on the horse, so to speak, and starting to hike again. It feels good and I'm using my walking sticks to support myself and they do help me feel more secure. The Mr. has worked really hard to get the trail clear of storm debris. You can see where trees had to be cut off the trail. There's still a lot of "mess" to clean up but it's much, much better than it was. As you can see, we have a beautiful sunset view on the trail now. I really like this picture. It speaks of hope and courage. 

I hope that you are doing well and having a good end to your week. May you feel God's blessings in your life.

Until Next Time,

☘ Debbie☘

A Few Lovely Things

 Enjoying Lovely Days

Hello friends! Today's post is picture heavy and includes lots of photos from lovely days and lovely things that have made me smile lately. I find that many days lately haven't been filled with lots of lovely things, especially if you watch the news. So, this is my attempt to get myself to focus on things in my life that are truly lovely. 

Philippians 4:8 says:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."  So, here are some praiseworthy things in my life.

A few days ago, my dear friend, Sharon, and I went to lunch and tea at 

tea at The Book and Bee Cafe in Hendersonville. What a lovely afternoon

it was. 

The steps leading up to the cafe have titles of famous books inscribed. 

Such a fun theme for a cafe to have. 

Each room in the cafe has a particular theme. We dined in the "British

Room."  This theme was right up my alley as I love everything British

and Royal!

Here's another wall in the "British Room." Even the tables in this room 

were covered with British photos and memorabilia. I just loved it all!

Lunch was absolutely delicious as was our pot of tea. I highly recommend

the veggie quiche!

Each tea cup is a little different. Mine was a very pretty blue flower

design. I didn't ask for my favorite color, it was just given to me!

Sharon and I were all smiles during the whole visit to this

sweet cafe!

A few days later I was doing some thrifting and was inspired to

purchase this cute little teapot and the saucer to display on the

foyer table. It makes a very simple "in between" display for early

March. I say in between because Valentines is over and it's still

a bit early for Easter decor. I don't usually do much in the way

of decorating for St. Patrick's Day, but since the teapot and saucer

contain green that would fit the bill for St. Patrick's Day decor.

And next to the foyer table is our front door with the flower

basket and butterfly hanging on it. Again, a kind of "in between" look

for March. 

This past Sunday I was blessed to be able to bring the message and

worship with the lovely folks at Tabernacle Methodist Church in 

Swannanoa. 

This was the second time I was invited to bring the message here. This

is such a sweet, historical church with a small congregation. They

are always so kind and welcoming. This church reminds me of the one 

I attended during my growing up years. 

And, finally, a few individual photos of lovely things that I just feel

like sharing......

This beautiful frozen waterfall with sun rays hitting it that The Mr.

snapped a photo of during one of his recent hikes. 

These beautiful window toppers that my friend, Sharon, created by

hand for her living room. She is so very talented! The fabric material and 

colors are just gorgeous.

This sweet photo of Cassie that The Mr. took recently. She is such a beautiful girl!

My blue/green butterfly necklace that I enjoy wearing with a 

favorite blue sweater. 

The necklace was a gift to me from my AIG group when I 

retired eight years ago. I know! Can you believe that I have

been retired for eight years already?! Where has time gone?!

And, finally, a picture of the British style phone booth in front of the 

cafe where we dined. Isn't that a fun thing to have on display?

I really hope you have enjoyed a "this and that" type post on the blog

today. And I truly hope that you have smiled as you looked at the photos. That is my goal. To bring a smile to your face today. 

I'll be back again with more from Debbie Styles Life. In the meantime,

take good care of yourselves!

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

 

A Little More Valentines Decor

 February Valentines Decor

Hi friends!  I've done a little bit more Valentines decorating and, as promised, am sharing it with you. I have also taken down the "winter tree" and moved the little white light tree into its place in the living room. The basket you see in the above image is now on top of the curio cabinet in the dining room. This basket belonged to my mother and the two heart shaped pillows are ones I have owned for years. These pillows were made by my very first teaching assistant back in the 1980's and I still love them and use them! The candle ring adds a little extra "oomph" of red to the overall look of the basket. 

So, this is how the corner of the dining room looks now. 

And here is the little white light tree on the round table in the living room. It's small and simple and gives a nod to Valentines with the red cloth around the base. It provides pretty light in the corner of the room. 

 And I added a flameless candle with this candle ring on the bottom shelf of the side table. 

And, finally, this is how the foyer tables looks right now. Just a pretty vase with Valentine picks, a red heart wreath (also made by my long ago assistant) and a glass deer to anchor the look. 

I'm enjoying these added touches of Valentines decor around the house. They give a much needed touch of cheer on this rainy, cold and foggy day! This will do it for Valentines decorating and posting so let me finish by wishing each of you a wonderful Valentines Day! Treat yourself with love and kindness and treat others around you the same!

Until Next Time,

Debbie (this and that)

To read my last Valentines Decor post, click here.

Valentines Meets Winter Vignette

 A Valentines Vignette

Hi friends!  It's time for me to pop back on the blog and share a little bit of Valentines decor with you!  Today, I'm featuring a tablescape vignette in the dining room that mixes with winter decor that has been on display since I switched out from Christmas. 

This vignette consists of some faux silk flowers in a vase filled with colorful Valentine heart shaped macaroni that I found at Aldi, my pretty pink heart shaped wreath and a pretty ceramic candy dish basket that I thrifted last year. To anchor all of these pieces, and also to give a nod to Spring, is the beautiful table cover that is part of a collection of placemats created for me by my dear friend, Sharon. She ordered this gorgeous fabric after I had admired it online and put her talent to work. Isn't this fabric just lovely?! She sewed two placemats from this fabric and two from another fabric, both patterns from a collection called, aptly, "Deborah's Garden." I will do a dining tablescape soon using all four placemats but I decided to give a sneak peak today. Thanks again, Sharon, for such a lovely birthday present!

I mentioned that the Valentines decor was meeting up with the winter decor and so here is a picture of what that looks like. This is such a pretty little corner of our dining room. The Mr. just finished working on this room again as the opposite corner sustained damage during the hurricane/tornado that hit our home back in late September. So the walls are newly repaired and painted. It all looks great and I'm happy to have this corner decorated!

Have you done any decorating for Valentines this year? I don't have many Valentines decorations but I always enjoy the ones I do have. I will be sure to share any other decorating I do with all of you! Hope you leave a comment because I enjoy hearing from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie (this and that)

Monochromatic Styling Using Shades of Brown and Tan

 Creating An Outfit Using Shades of Brown

Hello friends! Today I'm sharing some photos of an outfit I put together that is what I view as a monochromatic style that uses different shades of brown and tan. This outfit uses a dark brown turtleneck, a medium dark tan jacket and lighter tan corduroy pants, socks and shoes.

I'm really pleased with how this outfit came together. I have always enjoyed wearing brown and tan and I got to thinking about how creating outfits using different shades and tones of any one color could be really pretty. Think about using different shades of blue together or green together. You get the idea. Using varying shades of the same color gives an outfit depth and interest in my opinion. What do you think? The jacket I'm wearing is new and is Southern Lady brand. I also bought the matching skirt and will share it with the jacket another time. The turtleneck is very old and probably came from either Walmart or K-Mart ages ago. The pants are Blair and are a soft knit type of corduroy that I absolutely love and own in many colors and the shoes are Skechers brand boat shoes. I'm sharing the brand info just in case anyone might be interested in any of the items. I'm not promoting brands-just sharing some ideas. And just a hint about Southern Lady brand clothing-it runs large so I always size down. Try it on first, if you can, to make sure about your size in this brand. 

The shoes are two-toned and so very comfy. I enjoy wearing them. It has been hard to find shoes in brown that are comfortable and can be worn with pants and with skirts or dresses. Since I don't do heels anymore, finding shoes that fit all styles of dress can be a bit tricky. At least for me. I almost always have success with Skechers shoes. 

I also added some copper colored earrings by Paparazzi. I feel they compliment the outfit and add yet another shade of color and texture.

This outfit contains fabrics that are soft and warm and are the perfect combination for a cold winter day. So tell me....do you wear monochromatic outfits? What colors or shades of color do you choose for your stylings? Be sure to share in the comments so we can all learn ideas together!

Want more style posts? See the links to previous style posts below.

Until Next Time,

Debbie (this and that)

*Thanks to The Mr. for photographing the pictures in this post.

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