How Do You Cozy Up For Fall?

Autumn Coziness

One thing I enjoy about Fall is all of the coziness that goes with this season. There is just something endearing about putting on a fuzzy jacket, sipping a hot cup of tea and soaking in all of life that comes in Autumn! Today, I'm sharing a list of some of my favorite Autumnal things!

Colors

A couple weekends ago I went on my annual retreat with a group of lovely ladies that form a wonderful supportive group. The Fall colors were just starting to peek out as I walked around the grounds taking pictures.

The red colors are always my favorite!

Or, perhaps I like the golds the best? It's hard to choose!

Foods

Fall is the beginning of soup season in my house. I love hearty and nutritious soups like this homemade chicken noodle soup made with organic chicken broth, chunks of chicken, a mix of whole grain and no yolk noodles and flavorful carrots. 

Each bite is guaranteed to make you feel good inside!

Or how about this luscious organic egg frittata that one of the ladies made for our breakfast during retreat weekend? 

As you can see from our table laden with goodness, we ate well during retreat weekend!

Decor

I'm continuing to add bits and pieces to my Fall dining room decor as I see something I like. This tobacco basket from A.C. Moore looks great behind the white mini pumpkins topping the corner shelf. 

I'm also moving a few things around like this bottle lamp. 

And this flower arrangement that was in the foyer now graces the top of the pantry cabinet in the dining room. I find it fun to rearrange items to create a sense of coziness from room to room. Sometimes I discover an object looks better in another spot. Finding a new space for a lovely object is part of the coziness!

Reading

I love a good book any time of the year, but somehow in the Fall, I go back to old favorites like "Tyler's Row" by Miss Read.

I love the illustrations in this old book which tells the story of a retiring schoolmaster and his wife who buy a set of four row houses in Fairacre and work on renovating the houses while two tenants are still in residence. 

Here's a little bit of page one if you are interested. I found this book in a bookstore years ago and just smelling the "old book" smell makes me happy!

Crafting

Fall is also the best time for doing a little crafting, especially with the holiday season coming up. Here's a sneak preview of a craft I have been working on lately. More on this craft in a future post! 

So, what's on your list for Fall coziness? Hope you'll leave a comment and let me know. 

Until Next Time,
Debbie

Mixing Up Colors and Failing

Color Mix Fashion or Fail?

You know what? Sometimes you have a fashion idea and want to give it a try and when you look at the result you think to yourself....what was I thinking?  Yeah, I'm kind of feeling that way about this outfit. 

I really love the individual pieces of this outfit. The tan corduroy pants I have had for years (Corduroy is back this season I read recently. It never left in my closet!) The marigold color top that is so easy going and comfortable to wear. And another kimono/duster today, this one in beautiful blue with pink flowers throughout. I'm just not certain I like these pieces together. Hmmm...

I do admire bloggers whose posts show them so effortlessly putting colors together. They wear their color mixes boldly and look so lovely doing it!  Alas, I feel that this is more of a color miss than a color mix. 

I guess at heart I'm more of a "matchy-matchy" girl when it comes to colors! I do love this duster, though. It is cut like the hot pink duster I showed you in the last post and can be worn down or with a tied front like you see here. Karen, if you are reading, this is what I was describing in the last post! I love that you can do this with these dusters. 

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And, oh, how pretty the pattern is on this duster! I am enjoying styling my collection of dusters/kimonos for Fall! But, next time, I think I'll choose a different color combo. But, does it really matter in the end? It's fun to play with colors we have in our closet and try out new combinations. Even if we get a miss from time to time. At least we're trying, right?! 

Now, go get in your closet and trying playing with colors and matches and mixes and let me know what you love in the comment section, OK?! 

Until Next Time,
Debbie

Wearing Pink In The Fall

Interesting Ways To Add Pink To Your Fall Wardrobe

Hello everyone!  Today, I'm sharing how I add pink to my fall wardrobe. Pink may not be a color you think of for Fall, but I love it year round! 

To keep the outfit more "Fall like" I started with a creme tunic top and tan pants as the base. Here I am in my kitchen with my ever present glass of tea wearing the base outfit. 

Then I topped the base outfit with what I call my "hot pink" duster (or kimono I'm never certain what to call these cover-ups). I guess the pink color of this duster could be termed fuschia or even magenta, but I'm sticking with pink! 

The duster material is scarf-like and has a square pattern throughout the material. It is long enough to cover up nicely and adds just a tiny bit of warmth for a cooler day in early Fall. 

One thing I really like about this duster is that it has separate sections at the front that can be worn down like I'm styling it today or pulled up and tied in the front while the back portion of the duster remains hanging down. So, it's a very versatile piece. You'll notice that because the duster color is brilliant, I chose to keep accessories light and minimal. Others may like adding lots of colorful accessories to add even more color, but I felt like "less is more" today.

So, with minimalism in mind, I added my favorite clear bracelet and this pretty pink "statement" ring that I just bought last week. It's a pretty Paparazzi ring and I want to give a shout out to Keonna Geer the Paparazzi rep I bought the ring from. She is a sweet lady and one of the awesome bell ringers in our church handbell choir. If you are interested in any Paparazzi jewelry (only $5 per piece!) click on Keonna's name to be taken to her site. 

In this close-up of the ring you can really see the pretty pink color! In addition to wearing this piece as a ring I also plan to use it as a scarf holder and as a ponytail holder. You can get really creative with rings if you think about it!

Simple pearl earrings complete the jewelry for this look. 

Our weather here is slightly cooler today but sandals are still A-Ok especially these tan color BZees sandals that are perfect for this time of year. I've always favored slip-on type sandals for my feet. I never did like thong styles between my toes and, unless they have velcro attachments, the sandals that wrap around the back of the ankle and buckle tend to slip off my foot, so I'm happy with a slip-on for sure!

So tell me, do you enjoy wearing pink tones even in the Fall? Hope you'll leave a comment and let me know. We don't have to retire colors we love just because the seasons change, in my opinion. Go look in your closet and pull out the colors you love and feel pretty in and keep on wearing them!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Pockets of Pumpkins Everywhere!

Home Decor With Pumpkins

Hello everyone!  I'm sharing my Fall decorating in today's post and you will see some old favorites and some new items. My Fall decor this year is featuring pockets of pumpkins in different areas of the house. There are lots of pumpkin colors going on, too, in order to color coordinate with the surroundings. First off, I'm keeping all of my white and creme pumpkins in the foyer where they look oh so pretty with the white front door...

And my white orchid wreath and white/green "R" hanging on the door. 

The living room pumpkins boast golds and greens-warm colors to match the lodge browns, reds and greens of our living room furniture.

I love the fact that today's decor pumpkins come in so many different colors and textures. These new green and gold pumpkins are so pretty next to the crochet texture of the other pumpkin.

The lower foyer table holds traditional pumpkin colors along with a sweet scarecrow. 

These pumpkins are old friends who come out to play every year about this time. Tradition is always good in my book!

But, it's also fun to change things up a bit and these pumpkins are my newest love with decor-buffalo check plaid! I had passed up a couple buffalo check plaid pumpkins earlier and I finally found this one and scooped it up! I think lots of other people like black and white plaid too because it is soooo hard to find!

The top shelf of this corner bookshelf in our dining room was just the spot for this pumpkin and another "R."  I'm loving the look!

My Fall decor is simple. Little pockets of pumpkins in corners throughout the house. Not enough to overwhelm or overpower other decor but just enough to announce, "Welcome Fall!"

How about you? How are you styling Fall at your house? 

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Cassie Cat Chat: So Little Time Fur Blogging

When "Garden"ing Gets In The Way Of Blogging, Among Other Things

"Quick, where's my paw pilot? Are you showing my best side? I think that photo's a bit blurry, don't you have anything better you can use? What....we're live you say???"

Oh hello! So sorry that I have not blogged in such a very long time. I've just been so busy in the last year, you know, with soooo many things! Furst, there was all of the training I had to do for Love and Softie (aka my fur Mom and Dad) to try and teach them what I expected of them and then, of all things, they brought home a kitten for me to raise! Granted, she was an older kitten, almost a year old you must understand, and had already learned some bad fur habits which I am still trying desperately to correct. Have you met her yet? My fur sister I mean. Love and Softie call her "Garden" but I have my own name for her. I call her, "Trouble."

Oh yes, friends, I knew when this one came through the front door that I was going to have my paws full and I wasn't wrong! 

Must I always share my favorite perch with her?!  She follows me around constantly!

And, she always has to have the top tier on our living room perch!  I hesitate to tell you this, but, well.....sometimes Little Miss Bossy Paws even knocks me off if I'm on the top! Now do you see why I named her "Trouble?!"

And, as if that's not bad enough, she sneaks around hiding behind doorways so she can jump on me as I stroll by. I'm minding my own fur business as usual you know, but oh no, Trouble can't leave well enough alone!

I'm sure you can understand how disturbing getting jumped on can be, especially by an eight pound furball!  It has even been challenging to have time fur my hobby of hiding things under the rugs because she is always in the way!!  What's a cat to do? Now, where did I put that twist tie? I know I buried it under the rug in the living room somewhere....

And then, to add even more to my busy schedule, I have recently had to help Love take photos for the blog!  I do believe my photography skills are quite good if I do say so myself. I don't know why Love yelled at me for moving the tripod! (I think I caught her best side in this picture, hee, hee!)

Hmmm...is this my best side??   Anyway, I thought purrhaps that explaining how busy life has been this past year would help you to understand why I simply haven't been able to get a blog post done until now. I'll try to do better, I promise. 

But furst, there's a certain cat lurking around the corner that thinks I don't know she's there. I told you she was Trouble!

Until Next Time,
Cassie

Match Made In Seven: Animal Print

Featuring Animal Print

Hello everyone!  It's time for another edition of Match Made in Seven and this month's challenge is sure to please all of you trend followers out there! If this is your first time visiting our monthly collaboration of fashion, here is a reminder of what we are all about!

We are an international group of fashion bloggers who meet once a month. One of us chooses a theme in turn, and that can be anything. A book, music, a color, a movie. And then we style an outfit based on that theme. The theme of this month is chosen by Emma and is: Animal Print! Also, take a look at the other bloggers and how they have interpreted the theme this month. (See list at end of post).

Animal print is everywhere in the stores right now. It is definitely a trend that isn't going anywhere soon! I haven't jumped on the bandwagon with this trend wholeheartedly, but I must say I am enjoying this recently purchased leopard print top by Melissa Paige. 

This top is a sleeveless tunic type top that is great for cooler Fall weather since it is an easy layering piece. I decided to pair it with some Basic Edition tan skinny pants and these Life Stride Simply Comfort shooties which have a story all their own to tell, but for another day!

The leopard tunic has a high-low style that gives great coverage on the back view making it perfect to wear with leggings, as well. 

Our "girls" decided that since this month's challenge was animal print that they would like to be a part of the post. So, here is Cassie sporting the latest in gray and black Tabby Fur for Fall 2019 and beyond. Cassie isn't much of a shopper so she says this style is just purrrfect for her for a long, long time!

Garden was a bit less enthusiastic about joining in with the challenge but would like for me to tell you that black and white is her go to color "furever" for the domestic short hair look that is currently trending for all cool cats! So, this month's animal print challenge was a family affair at my house! Now, please be sure to check out the other beautiful ladies' posts to see how they styled this month's challenge!

Darlene of https://aquamarinastyle.com/

Sonja of https://www.yustsome.nl/

Bettye of https://fashionschlub.com/

Anna of https://www.muttonstyle.com/

Emma of http://www.style-splash.com/

Nancy of https://www.nancysfashionstyle.com

Do you enjoy wearing animal print? Be sure to leave a comment and let me know!

Until Next Time,

Debbie