Fall Dress and Healthy Eating

 

Hello friends. It's interesting to me that each change of season brings with it the desire to change up our clothing a bit and, of course, to vow to ourselves to eat right. In today's post I'm sharing my attempt to do both as the Fall seasons appears.

I am so enjoying this dress and have worn it several times since purchasing it. I feel that the color and style are just perfect for Fall. This was one of those times that I saw a dress on the rack and quickly picked it out to buy knowing that it would work perfectly for me. And it has! I have looked and looked for this dress online to link it for you and haven't been able to find it. There was only one of this style available when I bought it. However, if you Google V-necked red dresses many choices will appear if you are interested in a similar style for yourself. I like that this dress isn't a glaring red color but has some brown tones mixed with it. More of a clay red color which definitely reminds me of Fall. The gauze type material is 100% cotton and very lightweight and comfortable. 

I've been trying to eat healthy and I achieve my goal about 75-80% of the time. This is a recent vegetarian dish that I really enjoyed. It uses ingredients I have shared before; steamer bag of long grain rice and steamed broccoli sauteed together with mandarin oranges added in the end. It's a tasty dish and I really enjoy knowing that I am getting whole grains, veggies and fruit all in one dish. Although I am not a full-blown vegetarian I do choose to eat vegetarian dishes a lot. More and more I enjoy finding protein in foods other than meats. 

 So many things start up again in the Fall. School has already started for many although no longer for me. The Mr. and I keep plenty busy now in retirement. I can't help but think about teachers and school schedules in the Fall, however. It was such a part of my life for so long. My church's handbell choir will start rehearsing again in a week so that will also keep me busy as I continue to be their director. I really enjoy handbells and am looking forward to being back with these folks. There is also tutoring and other church work to keep me busy. And trips back to WV to help with ill family members. I look forward to seeing the leaves change colors and fall to the ground. This is such a pretty time of year and soon we'll be feeling the crisp coolness of Fall mornings! 

What are you doing or looking forward to as Fall arrives? I look forward to hearing all about it!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

How To Create An Early Fall Tiered Tray

 DIY Early Fall Vignettes

Hello friends! In only two days it will be September and I know that many of us are thinking of ways that we can change out some of our home decor to reflect an early Fall theme. 

I prefer not to go all out, just yet, with a lot of orange. To me, early Fall decor is more about finding ways to use Earth tones in unique ways. Think off-whites, browns, muted reds and light greens. 

I was so excited to find my double metal tiered tray at the Tractor Store over the summer and have been keeping my eye open for items that I think will work for decorating the tray. I was so pleased to find the decorated apple designs that you see on the tray when I was browsing recently at our local Re-Store/Habitat store. They were in a bag for only one dollar! I scooped them up right away thinking about using them on my tiered tray. I think they are so pretty and unique. I also found the wooden off-white pumpkin that same day. The round Fall sign is what I consider the "anchor piece" for this vignette. I always like to have something that anchors or pulls together the whole vignette. I found the sign at Walmart and it was very inexpensive. Walmart has a lot of Fall decor to offer these days at good prices. I was able to buy a net bag full of earth toned pumpkins, the big acorn and the leaves for a very low price. The plaid pumpkin came from there, as well. 

On the floor below where the tiered tray is displayed is this farmhouse style plant stand that I got at Hobby Lobby awhile back. I decided that these colorful wooden leaves would look good draped across the chair. I thrifted the wooden leaves years ago at Goodwill and have enjoyed using them each year in various displays. They may move to the front door a little later but, for now, I like them here on the chair. 

I know that hot weather is going to be with us for a long while yet and, believe me, I'm not wanting to rush headlong into colder weather! But, there is something exhilarating about changing seasonal decor in the home that gives me pleasure and makes me feel creative. I'll continue to add more Fall touches along the way as September continues and will be sure to share those touches with you, as well. 

How are you decorating for early Fall? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Saturday Scriptures, Being Consistent or Not

God is not man, that he should lie,

    or a son of man, that he should change his mind.

  Has he said, and will he not do it?

    Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Number 23:19

Good Saturday morning friends. I hope you are well and happy this day. Today's scripture talks about consistency. God says He is going to do something and so He does. Isn't it wonderful that we serve a God we can trust? 

I, on the other hand, am human. And I have a hard time being consistent with many things. I promise myself that I'm going to not indulge in sweets. And then, I eat a cookie. 

I promise myself that I'm going to exercise more. And then I end up sitting around the house. Or doing other things other than exercise. 

I want to practice flute on a daily basis. But then, I let housework or other things get in the way and take my energy and then feel too tired for practicing. 

The list could go on and on. Being consistent, for me, has always been a challenge. I have good intentions but then......well, you know the old saying about having good intentions don't you? While it's a bit harsh, it serves as a reminder that having good intentions isn't enough. It's important to actually do what we say we are going to do. 

But, life isn't always so easy. Things happen. Physical tiredness happens. Family events happen. We can't always do what we say we are going to do. 

Which brings me to the point of this post/devotional. I have tried to be consistent this summer with posting Saturday Scriptures. But, I have recently failed pretty miserably. I have been back and forth to help family and have been too tired, traveling or simply forgot due to circumstances. Yep, that's an excuse, I know. But, that's life sometimes. 

So, as I go into the Fall, I will continue to blog. And to post devotionals. But, I can't promise that I will be consistent with any of it. Will the devotional type posts be on Saturdays? I can't promise that. They may occur on a weekday. And, I will post my other usual posts, as well, as I can. 

I'm so glad that God is consistent. I keep striving to be more consistent in my life too. But, I'm only human.

How about you?  Do you have issues with consistency like me?

Blessings and Peace,

Debbie

Home Again

 

Hello friends! I'm back home again after spending two weeks in WV with my family. I couldn't agree more with the tile you see on the foyer table which states, "Home is where we love, rest, dream and nest." I especially like the "rest" part because that is what I feel I need to do a lot of for awhile. The last two weeks were pretty intense. As I have shared before, my oldest sister is not well, and her condition has worsened. She needs care that cannot be given at home so she agreed to the difficult decision to enter an assisted living facilty. In addition to overseeing the moving of furniture to her new apartment, I was involved in packing her clothing and decorating her new place. All hard work and I'm thankful that other family was there to support me and help with everything that had to be done. Moving someone you love to assisted living is a very emotional experience. There are many adjustments to make and that includes the whole family, not just the person moving there. On a personal level, I feel drained and tearful and concerned for what the future may bring. 

However....

This experience has gotten me to thinking about the concept of "home." And how the word "home" can have many different connotations. My sisters (I have four) always say that they hope I can "come home" soon to visit. And yet, I haven't lived in the WV home I grew up in for almost 40 years. Spending two weeks in that home that I grew up in was a bit strange this time, especially knowing that my oldest sister, the owner of the family home, was no longer going to be there. When I was in college and was going to go back to my dorm room I would say I was "going home." My husband and I have owned three different "homes" and we have lived happily in our current one for over 20 years. 

I guess the truth is that there are many different "homes" we can experience in life and as long as we can love, rest, dream and nest....as the tile says.....then we are home. 

I'm thankful to be back to my home with The Mr. and with Cassie and Garden. I missed them all very much on my two week journey to help out with family. My family is here.....my family is there.....my heart and my home are in more than one place. 

So I'll just keep loving...and resting....and dreaming....and nesting....and being grateful to be at home!

How about you? What is your concept of "home"?  Be sure to let me know in the comments. I love hearing from you!

My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.

Isaiah 32:18

Until Next Time,

Debbie

What Lies Behind A Smile

 

Hello friends. I took these pictures a few days ago on my sister's driveway in WV. When I took the pics, I was intending to share how to create an outfit using a basic piece like this sleeveless top with a shirt over it. 

I love this style shirt by ExOfficio and I just ordered this one in white from Poshmark. I already own a similar style in light blue and orange and wear them so often. I think this style top and shirt over a pair of favorite capris is just the classic summer look for me. I received many compliments on this outfit and enjoyed the comfort of wearing this style.

So yes, the original purpose of this post was to write about this classic summer style and to encourage you to look in your own closets for what you consider your own classic summer style. 

But then, I looked closely at my pictures. And at my smiling face. And how inside I feel like doing anything else but smiling. My oldest sister is very ill and my other sisters and I are doing our very best to help her. And I just don't know what the future holds. 

How often in this life do we present smiling faces to the world around us? And yet our hearts aren't smiling. It seems like our culture wants us to do this. To smile. No matter what. 

It's just like when we say, "Hello, how are you?" to people we meet and we don't really expect a response. I've often wondered what someone might do if I truly told them how I was feeling. 

Can you relate? 

And yes, prayers, prayers and more prayers for "S" and my family would be appreciated.

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Saturday Scriptures on Monday

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 

Collosians 3:12

Hello friends. You may have noticed that I missed Saturday's devotional post. I was traveling once again to help with my family and, to be honest, it slipped my mind. I did bring my computer with me on this trip, however, so Saturday Scriptures is coming to you on Monday. 

You know, as ladies, most of us like to go through several steps when we get dressed. We put on our clothes, add jewelry and other accessories, put on our makeup and check in the mirror throughout this process to make sure that everything looks just so. It's important to us that clothing ourselves with garments presents us to the world in the best possible light. 

But, the verse from Collosians reminds us that there is a more important way that we need to clothe ourselves. And that is with "spiritual clothing." Adding the important "accessories" of compassion, kindness, gentleness, humility and patience is very important in how we, as Christians, present ourselves to the world. 

For me, patience is always a challenging article of "spiritual clothing" for me to practice. I often fall short of showing enough patience to others and to myself. 

Which of these "accessories" challenges you the most? 

Blessings and Peace,

Debbie

My 7th Blog Anniversary

 My How Time Does Fly!

Hey friends!  I'm afraid I've let a few days go by without acknowledging and celebrating the 7th anniversary of my blog! So today I want to do just that. It is really, really hard for me to believe that seven years have passed since I first sat down and shakily pulled up Blogger to see if I could figure out how to even design a blog let alone write a post. You can see my first timid attempt here if you are interested. The post was short, sweet and to the point! If you have been a long time reader you will also notice how I have changed over the years. The picture collage above shows the very first picture I posted and the second, of course, is how I look today. Since I first posted on July 30, 2015 I have retired and learned to embrace the changes that come from retirement and adjusting to a new routine and schedule. I enjoy more freedom to choose how my days are shaped now than I did when I first started blogging. However, that doesn't mean that I have a lot of "empty" time. I have learned that "nature abhors a vacuum" and my time quickly has become filled with church work, spending time with The Mr. (who is also now retired), doing things around our home, musical endeavors, tutoring and traveling to see and help out with older members of my family. That especially has taken on new significance in the last few years. 

When I first started blogging, I tried to post at least three times per week. That has lessened over the years and now I post 1-2 times per week. Writing devotionals has been a mainstay of my blog since the beginning and I have returned to "Saturday Scriptures" for the summer months. I will decide when September comes whether I want to continue with this each Saturday. 

My posts are quite eclectic in my opinion. One may be about fashion the next may be about books, a tablescape or vignette, a devotional, or a mish-mash of all of the above! I guess that I write posts that I would enjoy reading. I enjoy learning about my favorite blogger's homes and pastimes and so I try to include all of that in my own posts! Even my two cats, Cassie and Garden, get in on the act when they "take over" the blog and write posts. They are creative little felines who like to share their adventures around the house as only they can share! 

I was looking back at my reader numbers from the start of the blog to now and, to be honest, they are rather discouraging. The numbers just aren't as big as they were at first. I attribute this to several factors. I think blogging as a whole has diminished and with the demise of blogs the readers have gone bye-bye as well. Instagram and Tik-Tok are the new "flavors of the month" and have taken the place of many blogs and I find that very sad. There also used to be lots of "link-parties" to link to and get new readers and those, too, have diminished and stopped. There are still link parties out there but I find that my interest in linking has also diminished. There are "rules" to join these parties which include reading and responding to other bloggers and sometimes I just don't have the time, energy or the interest in doing this. So, I plod along doing the best I can with my own little space in the blogosphere. I also made the mistake, which I truly regret, of reverting my blog back to blogspot for awhile and giving up my original domain name, Debbie This And That. In doing so, I lost a whole lot of readers that I never regained. Oh well. We live and learn, right?! The good news is that I have a wonderful group of faithful readers who join me in "styling life" and for that I am so very grateful!

Whenever a blog anniversary rolls around I always like to ask my readers to chime in with what they like to read/see on the blog and what I haven't included that would be of interest to them. So, here's your chance to let me know. Even if you read the blog and don't ever comment (I do that too with blogs I read) I would really appreciate a comment this time. It helps me to know that people do appreciate the time I put into blogging. I won't lie. It's been a challenge this past year to come up with ideas that I feel offer something "fresh." I mean, how many times do people want to read about what I put on my foyer table or how I set my table or what new dress I just got? I worry that my content is becoming boring or obsolete. I don't have new outfits to share each post. I made a definite decision long ago not to monetize my blog. I don't like reading blogs that have ads popping up while I am trying to read. It annoys me, so I don't want to do that to other people. I also don't invite or pay others to write posts for me. This blog is "all me" and that's the way I like it! I hope you do too. Thanks for giving your precious time to reading Debbie Styles Life. I truly appreciate YOU!

Until Next Time,

Debbie  (aka...Debbie This and That, Debbie Styles Life 😊)