Before November Passes By

 Taking A Moment To Catch Up

Hi friends! Before November passes by and we are deep into the Christmas Season, I thought I would do a little catch up blog post. I hope that each of you are enjoying pretty Fall colors wherever you may be. It has been a glorious Fall here in Asheville and today I will share a few of those colors with you. The photos I will be sharing were all taken by The Mr.

Fall colors on The Blue Ridge Parkway. 

Beautiful green and gold leaf against the brown tones on a trail.

November is always time in Asheville for the "Parade of Homes" open house event where new and refurbished homes are open for folks to visit. We go each year as my husband worked in the architecture profession early on and enjoys seeing the construction and speaking to builders. Above is "The Tea House" which is a renovated historical house near Beaver Lake. In the 1920's this house was part of a resort area and folks swimming at the lake came here for refreshments. The house had fallen into disrepair over the years and the new owner committed to restoring the house to its original grandeur. 

I didn't take indoor photos but the outside is really spectacular! The backyard goes down to the lake and the owner offered refreshments and live music on the lakeside patio for all the visitors. It was just lovely!

We visited another very large home which was spectacular!

Here I am standing in the kitchen area. Everything was open-floor plan in this house.

And here I am in the master bathroom. I couldn't believe how huge it was!!

This is all still the master bathroom. The Mr. took this picture to show the vastness of it. It is a beautiful house but I can't imagine trying to clean it by myself!! I'm sure whoever buys it won't have to!

This is the view from the back deck of the house. Really pretty vistas here.

We also visited some condos in the same area. This is me standing in the kitchen of one of the condos. I am always partial to a blue kitchen! 

I enjoy looking at all of the new construction as much as The Mr. does. The best part, though, is when we come home to our house and agree that our place is the best home there is! That's a good feeling to have!

I've already begun doing some switching over from Fall decor to Christmas decor. I know that some folks have strong feelings about waiting until after Thanksgiving to do this but I enjoy starting early. I have a lot going on as we go through November and on into December so I want to get my decorating done so I can enjoy it while I am doing other things. 

I'm currently doing a three week stint of preaching at a small church in Barnardsville.

This is a lovely church filled with lovely people and I enjoy preaching and worshipping there very much! The Mr. always brings his horns and ministers with his music!

I'll finish this post with a beautiful photo The Mr. took on a recent hike. To me, this image speaks to the hope that God gives us each and every day through His love and His presence. I pray that you feel this hope as you go through this month and into the next. I'll be back sharing holiday decor and tidbits of life with you. I hope you will take a moment to let me know what you have been doing in November!

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

It won't be long until Thanksgiving!

Stand Alone Flowers, Cute Pets and Barbie Christmas Clothes

 A Whole Lot Of This And That!!

Good morning (or afternoon or evening depending on when you read this) everyone!  Today, in true "this and that" fashion, I have a variety of things to share, in no particular order. As we move into mid-October my porch flowers are starting to show quite a lot of wear. I have already emptied containers of petunias but my brave impatiens are hanging in there for a little bit longer. I've noticed some individual flowers doing some unique things, maybe to make themselves stand out? Or stand alone? This particular impatien has decided to grow much taller and with a thickened stem than all of the other little impatiens. Hmmm...

And here is one lone impatien growing under the porch steps. Last year, you may recall, there were many impatiens under the steps and all along our driveway. This year, only one single impatien has left the safety of the porch containers to venture forth on its own. 

And here, even on this huge driveway shrub, one tiny bloom has appeared...all alone.....to shine forth its beauty...all by its lonesome. 

Interesting, no?!

Of course, I have to wax philosophical about these blooms. Perhaps it is nature's way of showing us that we must be our unique selves no matter what surrounds us. And that being our unique selves may involve standing alone at times. 

Even scripture speaks to this:

1 Corinthians 15:10: "By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect."

God is with us in our uniqueness. So go out today and stand alone and be yourself!

On the doll front, I have been sewing or crafting a Christmas outfit for each of my four Barbie dolls. This is a beautiful red Christmas gown with a sparkly wrap. The dress was made from a thrifted pillowcase! 

These two dresses are very unique and different from each other but fit the "personalities" of the dolls in my opinion. The long formal gown on the left was made from a plush, velour type placemat! The short polka-dot dress on the right was cut from a Dollar Tree child's sock! The hat is the toe portion. I love both of these dresses and I also love how pillowcases, placemats and socks can be repurposed into Christmas doll dresses. I have so much fun designing, sewing and crafting outfits for my Barbies. 

In other news, here is a nice pic I took of a brass quintet my husband plays in occasionally. They played a concert a couple weeks ago and it was really enjoyable. Much of the concert was very classical music-Gabrielle and other pieces, but they did "9 to 5" as their encore piece which was absolutely loved by the audience. So much fun!

And, of course, the "Three Amigos" wanted to stop by to say hello to all of you today! Cassie, Garden and River tend to stay close to each other frequently. Of course, there are times when each animal wants their alone time but they oftentimes are in the same rooms together. I love their fur-family closeness!

A dramatic side-view of Cassie.

Garden striking a formal pose. 

And, finally, River looking like a happy fellow while sitting on his favorite rock in our backyard!

We all wish you a wonderful "this and that" day!!

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Everywhere!

 Pumpkins Are Appearing!

Hi everyone!  It truly is beginning to feel like Fall here this weekend. The temperatures are very cool in the mornings and pleasantly warm (but not hot!) in the afternoons. It feels just perfect! Hard to believe it, but we are in the last few days of September already and so I have continued to add to the Fall decor around the house. And, as you can see, pumpkins are starting to pop up all over the house! The vignette you see above is gracing our kitchen table. The gray pumpkin is one of my favorites. An orange wooden pumpkin sits to the right. And the little Fall tree is a new piece this year purchased from Hobby Lobby. It lights up and is just so very pretty with the Fall colored lights shining forth! This little tree also comes in a larger size but I decided to keep it small and it works really well in this vignette. 

I added another plaid orange/tan pumpkin on the side table in the living room. With the candlelight flickering from two candles the table looks so cozy!

And the bottom shelf is keeping it cozy with shades of green in the two pumpkins I added. Plus, a little sparkle from the pumpkin on the left! I just love decorating this little side table. 

The living room mantel has tiny white lights and a couple faux candlesticks to add to the warmth of the living room on these Fall evenings.

And downstairs in the foyer, the little foyer table flowers are sharing space now with my favorite cloth pumpkin and my little Fall needlepoint. I believe this cloth pumpkin was one of my very first pumpkins years ago and it remains my favorite one to display each year! 

I saw a very unique pumpkin today at The Cottage Door, a thrift shop in Weaverville. It was a tall, skinny pumpkin that was a creamy white with black filigree all over. It was very pretty and I debated about adding it to my collection. But, I didn't as the colors don't really fit with our decor. I'm not sure where I would display a black and white pumpkin. It would work perfectly if your home style was more farmhouse decor, though. 

I'm almost to the finish line with my Fall decorating, folks! I have just one or two more items to complete and then I can sit back and enjoy watching the Fall colors change!

How about you? Where are you with Fall decorating?

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

Autumn Table Runner

 A Table Runner On The Coffee Table

Today's post looks to be short and sweet, I'm afraid! This is a pretty  table runner that I found on the clearance shelf at Aldi last week. The colors match our living room decor perfectly and I placed it on the coffee table that sits in the middle of our living room. 

This table runner can easily be on display through Thanksgiving and can move to the kitchen or dining room table later on if I so desire. Right now it looks perfect where it is. 

Today, I have tried to do some Fall house cleaning which I don't enjoy at all. But, I did manage to do a thorough vacuuming of our bedroom, including moving the bed out and vacuuming behind it, vacuuming the baseboards, the floor and mopping the wood floor with Murphy's Oil Soap. The bedroom rug was aired outside for a while during the mopping of the wood floor. I also changed the bedding and now the whole room feels fresher than it did before. Still a bit more to do in that room but, I still feel good about what I accomplished! I always have visions of getting the whole house sparkling in one fell swoop and that just isn't realistic, is it?! At least not here. 

So, here's to plugging away at Fall cleaning a little bit at a time while enjoying the Fall touches I'm still placing around the house!

Enjoy your day!

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

A Little More Fall Y'All

 A Little More.... Fall Decor

Hi everyone! Today on the blog I'm sharing a few more Fall items that I have added around the house. My favorite "Welcome Autumn" pillow is back along with a new Autumn leaf throw that I purchased recently. I found this throw at, of all places, CVS drugstore for a very reasonable price! It is so soft and cozy and the leaves are very pretty. We already have some color starting to appear around our house and leaves are fluttering to the ground at times. I really love this time of year!

I also created an Autumn flower arrangement for the foyer table using the Fall flowers that I showed you in an earlier post. My blue vase worked well for this arrangement.

And on the bottom shelf of the Foyer table I added this woven rattan pumpkin. It's a great mix with the floral arrangement. 

And finally, a few Fall items have been added to the knick-knack shelf in the dining room. I enjoy changing out items in this shelf with each season. 

I know some folks enjoy having the same decor in their homes all year round, but I guess I am not one of them. While certain items stay out year round, other items come and go seasonally which makes for a little more variety throughout the year. It's a fun hobby that I enjoy to change out my little items as each season rolls around. I do think more about storage these days, however, and try to choose items that don't take up a lot of space and can be stored away easily. And each year, I think about what items I am no longer using as each season rolls around. 

Are you adding any Fall touches to your home yet?

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

Welcome September

 Saying Hello To September

Good morning, friends!  Today, I am welcoming September, that loveliest of months, when we begin to turn our thoughts to beautiful Fall colors and (hopefully) cooler temperatures than we have been experiencing all summer. And, of course, I am turning my thoughts to changing over some home decor to reflect entering early Fall. 

I plan to move slowly in adding touches of Fall decor around our home. First, with the metal pumpkin you saw in the first photo. And second, with this bowl of miniature pillows. The bowl is a handmade gift created and sewn by my dear friend, Sharon. She does amazing artistry! The two plaid miniature pillows are ones created and sewn by me. I got the idea for sewing these little pillows over the summer when we took our niece and her friend to our local antique tobacco barn. I saw some that had been sewn and were for sale and I thought it looked like something I could use my own sewing skills to create. It was fun and easy to sew these. I added a couple other little pillows that I had to create filler in the bowl until I sew more pillows. The heavier fabric and color of these plaid pillows lend themselves to a Fall theme. 

I think the side table in our living room looks so pretty with these small touches added to the other items on the table. I'm pleased with the result. 

I'm looking forward to seeing pretty Fall flowers. I snapped this photo when I was at Lowe's the other day. So many pretty chrysanthemums and these flowers in the front that look like little peppers. Alas, I can't have mums around our pets but I surely enjoy looking at them in other places!

Cassie has been watching me this morning as I snapped photos and prepared to start a blog post. She seems to be telling me to "Get busy already!" She is definitely my blog buddy and my encouragement in many ways! Such a sweet girl. 

How are you greeting September this year?

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

My Diary of Days

 My Diary of What I've Been Doing

Hi everyone!  You may recognize the flowers above and the pitcher. I think I wrote about them in my last post. They are still looking good going on three weeks later! I have pulled out any blooms that were spent and moved the flowers into my smaller Longaberger pitcher. They are still gracing the foyer table and I enjoy them so much! I really got my money's worth out of these flowers!

I've been on a banana nut bread baking kick lately. We always have a couple bananas that are past their time and they work well to make banana nut bread. I have adapted a Betty Crocker Cookbook recipe to my liking by replacing sugar with honey and using applesauce rather than any oil. I also sometimes use part whole wheat flour mixed with white flour. The resulting bread is moist and flavorful and The Mr. especially enjoys the bread. 

I love that I have my Mom's original bread baking pans and I use them to bake this bread. It's a connection to my Mom that I treasure. 

 

And, of course, I've been doing some sewing for Barbie! Since we are getting close to Fall, I wanted an Autumn dress for my Spring Petals Barbie. I bought this fabric awhile back knowing that I would use it for a Fall dress for one of my dolls. It turned out pretty well and she looks pretty wearing it. Luckily, a friend gifted me with several pairs of Barbie shoes and these brown/gold shoes look great with the dress! A girl needs her accessories, right?!

What has been happening in your diary of days?

Until Next Time,

Debbie, This and That