A Return To Saturday Scriptures

 

Created by Debbie Ross on Canva

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

I Thessalonians 5:11

Hello friends!  I am excited to announce that I am returning to doing a "Saturday Scriptures" post at least during the summer months. We will take it a few months at a time and see how it goes. Today's scripture from Thessalonians really speaks to my heart as I have had a week that has brought physical pain from a rib injury and with it came an overwhelming feeling of discouragement. Have you ever been in a similar situation? It might not have been a physical injury but, perhaps, a hurt of another kind that just seemed to cause the day (or days) to be cloudy and gray and you just felt like sitting down and crying. 

That's how I have felt this week. 

I was looking forward to doing all sorts of things around the house and, instead, I have been sitting around feeling pain and wondering if I am becoming "old" before my time. My feelings of discouragement came to  a point yesterday when I finally reached out to ask for help, calling on friends to pray for me. Their kind words, prayers and texts and emails helped to lift me from my gloominess and gave me hope that better days are ahead. And, indeed, today has been a better day not only in terms of pain relief but in terms of my mood and how I feel about myself. Hope is there today that wasn't there yesterday. 

I Thessalonians 5:11 tells us that encouraging others is important. And you know what? Encouragement can come in many forms and it doesn't have to cost a cent. Calling someone, writing them a card, note or letter, sending an email or text are all ways to reach out to someone to offer them words of love, healing and hope. Of course there are other ways to offer encouragement that take a little more time, effort (and money) such as sending or taking a person flowers or preparing them a meal. The key here is to think about how one can offer encouragement. It can mean the world to others. And, I believe that offering words of encouragement in addition to praying for the person is very important. 

I certainly know that the encouragement and prayers I received this week has meant the world to me. 

I feel like there are dual blessings to be found when we encourage each other. The person who gives encouragement is as blessed as the receiver. It's a wonderful feeling. And it's wonderful to follow the will of God in such a beautiful way. 

So, when have you given encouragement? When have you received encouragement? I hope you will share in the comments. I love hearing from you!

Be Blessed,

Debbie

Casual Top, Pants and Jewelry for Spring And Summer Fashion

 Casual Fashion for Spring and Summer

Hello casual fashion lovers! Today, I've put together a styling for you to show the possibilities of looking put-together and stylish for all of your Spring and Summer activities. Whether you are lunching with friends, running errands or having a fun shopping afternoon, this outfit will take you there!

Nothing I'm wearing here is super expensive. The top is a casual tee by Chico's that I bought on sale a few years ago. I love anything pink and the little gold sailboats on the top give it a little something extra. V-necks are also universally flattering on women, I think.

The off-white pants were thrifted and are by Land's End. They are sort of a brushed, soft corduroy style and are my go-to pants for comfort. They have an elastic waist which also adds to the comfort factor. I am wearing lots of elastic waist pants these days as they are comfy and forgiving. 

The sandals I'm wearing are new and I bought them for a song at Hamrick's, which is one of our local outlet type stores. The brand is new to me (Ingaro Sport) and I am really liking them. I love the interesting bands and the white color goes with anything. I wore them to church this morning with this blue skirt and white top and they were perfect! They are also very comfortable and are not high arched. I have noticed that a lot of sandals have the arch really high and located in the wrong place for my type of foot. These Ingaro sandals are perfect. 

If you're out and about, you might want to add some pretty jewelry to accent your casual outfit. I chose a light pink stretchy bracelet and this lovely lovely gold with purple bead flowers bracelet that I purchased years ago from the lovely Katherine of katherinescorner.com. The pink bracelet is one I bought from a trip to Colorado several years ago. I love pink and purple together!

And of course some pretty earrings complete the look. These polka dot round padded post earrings reminded me of the seventies/eighties when I found them in a local shop and thrifted them. I'm wearing more post-type earrings lately and these give such a fun retro vibe to this casual look. 

So, what tops and pants are in your closet that you could wear to put together a casual outfit for Spring or Summer? What shoes are on the floor of your closet that would match well with that top and pants? And now, head to your jewelry box and find some fun pieces to accessorize. You're ready to head out the door and have a fun afternoon! 

Be sure to tell me all about it in the comments. Can't wait to hear from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

A Rhododendron and Azalea Tea Party On The Foyer Table

 Rhododendrons and Azaleas Have A Tea Party

Hey everyone!  Are you looking for a simple vignette for a small table or center piece in your home? You may need to just take a walk around your yard to find the ingredients for a lovely tea party themed vignette. 

We are very lucky to have some beautiful rhododendron and azalea plants blooming right now on our land. I took a cutting from each of these plants on a little walkabout today and thought about how I would like to style them. 

The idea of creating a tea party using this beautiful tea pot and a white tea cup came to mind. The tea set became the perfect vases for the azalea and rhododendron blooms. 

And the little violin playing angel seemed like the perfect final touch to this vignette. 

This is what the top and bottom shelves of the foyer table look like together. It's lovely to see a new vignette on the foyer table for Mid-May. I hope these lovely blooms last a long time. 

Are you creating any vignettes in your home? Are you enjoying beautiful Spring blooms? Be sure to leave a comment. 

The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:11

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Flowers, Inside and Out

 Time For Flowers

Hi friends!  I'm back from my travels and I've got my gardening gloves on and am ready to enjoy some flowers both inside and outside of our house. You' re invited to come along as I choose flowers, bring them home and get them planted. 

The Mr. and I decided to do a "trial run" starting with a few plants and seeing how they do with our bear and deer visitors to our backyard. 

The Mr. is also working on getting the little lawn we have to look a little greener. We got plenty of soil for our projects. 

And here is how this arrangement of planters looks. I like how The Mr. put the round planter on top of the square planters for a bit of an artistic arrangement! As you can see I went with orange/pink and white lantana, purple coleus and one container of an orange impatiens. Last year I was able to have huge impatiens plants without the deer eating them. We'll see if this year is the same. Impatiens are my favorite outdoor plant, especially the New Guinea variety, so I would love to plant more of them this year! So far, so good!

And, on my recent trip to see family, I had occasion to visit a lovely store in the mall that sold all sorts of home decor. I decided to buy this pretty candle ring and it is now in our living room gracing our side table. I love the yellow flowers for Spring and Summer. It is so cheerful. 

And continuing with the yellow theme, I wanted to share these pretty yellow mums that The Mr. gave me. They are starting to look a little spindly but are still oh so pretty. I like the yellow and white plaid wrapper, also!

So, that's it for flowers both inside and outside of my home! How about you? Are you planting any flowers or bringing any flowers into your homes? Be sure to share in the comments about flowers, or anything else, you would like to share. And Happy Mother's Day on Sunday for all you lovely Moms and ladies who have loved and mothered others (including fur babies)!!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Easter Pics, Shopping for Shoes and Backyard Visitors

 A Little Bit of This and That 

Hey everyone! I thought you might enjoy a "catch up" post of several miscellaneous things that I have been doing recently. So, here's a little bit of this and that for you! First up are some Easter pics. The picture above was taken by The Mr. outside our church the day before Easter. He did a good job, didn't he? 

 

Our church had a Spring Fling and Easter Egg hunt the day before Easter. There were lots of fun activities for the young set.

I manned the "Making Bubbles" station for a short while. It's harder than you might think to create these huge bubbles!!

I grew up with the tradition of coloring Easter Eggs the evening before Easter and I still continue this tradition most years even though I have no children around to help me color them. It's fun and I absolutely love the pretty colors! I usually only color about four eggs. We can't use up more than that. 

And speaking of pretty colors, how gorgeous are the colors on these shoes?! The Mr. went shoe shopping the other day and while he shopped, I wandered around the store and snapped photos of unique shoes for the blog. I definitely do not need more shoes at this time, so this was a fun way to spend my time. These shoes by L'Artiste are, as their name suggests, quite artistic!

Another colorful pair of L'Artiste shoes. I don't believe I have heard of this brand before. The shoes are certainly pretty, although I didn't try them on to see how comfortable they are. 

When I saw this pair, I actually thought they reminded me of a cow! I actually like these, although I can't wear the thong style as it hurts me between my toes. Somewhat limiting on many summer styles, but I have never been able to wear thong style sandals even as a child. 

And, oh my, aren't the heels on these shoes fancy?!  The block heel would give extra support but the pointed toe is a deal breaker for me, I'm afraid. I don't like my toes to be cramped. Oh well! On to something else. 

We've had several families of bears visiting our backyard this Spring. All were mamas bringing their babies to visit. This mama brought her yearling cubs by.

Here are the yearlings getting a beverage before heading up the mountain. 

Here's a close-up of the mama of the yearlings. We probably saw her as a little cub in our yard years ago.

And here are some newbies that visited a few days ago. Mama was sending them up a tree for safety. 

You can see mama better here in this picture. We fear for the safety of these bear families. They have passed a law here in NC about allowing hunting now in bear sanctuaries. We are not in favor of this law but it passed anyway and that puts the lives of these gorgeous animals in danger! To be able to hunt in an animal sanctuary is unfathomable in my opinion!!

And, finally, here is a recent meal that I cooked for The Mr. and I to enjoy. Chicken tenders sauteed in a skillet and then cooked until done in a mushroom sauce served over rice with a side salad. This made a tasty meal for us. 

And that's it for this post! Hope you are having a great week. I'll be back soon with more from my travels and other things from Debbie Styles Life!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Cassie Cat Chat: Cassie and Garden Take Over The Blog

 Five Things To Know About Cassie and Garden

“Stop it! Take your paw off this keyboard right now, Garden!”

“You stop it, you little furball punk! Love said I could help with the blog post too!”

“I am the senior cat by one year and I will be the feline in charge of this post. If you don’t move away right now I’m gonna go get Softie and see what He thinks about you throwing your catitude around!”

“Fine! I’m going to my office if you need me!

“Your office is a cushion behind the green chair where you sleep all day!”

“Meow, Meow, Meow!! Smell you later, catigator!”

*******************************************************************************

“Well, now that Garden is off to her office I can finally get some blog work done. Let’s see, what would my….I mean….Love’s readers want to know about? Hmmmm...Oh, I know! How about 5 things you need to know about Cassie and Garden? I’m certain that everyone out in blog land wants to know more about us! Let’s see, where are the number buttons on the keyboard? Oh yes, here they are! Let’s get started before Garden comes back and gets me all furstrated! This post will be just purrrrfect!”

1. We both found Love and Softie at the same shelter. I knew immediately that I wanted to adopt them both. Garden had to visit with them several times before she decided to bring them home. That figures. Garden couldn’t possibly have the discerning taste that I have. 

2. My full name is Cassandra McClaws Charlotte Ross. I was called Cassandra when I adopted Love and Softie and they shortened my name, most of the time, to Cassie which I am fine with. Charlotte was added to my name after Princess Charlotte was born to Prince William and Duchess Katherine. Because, well it’s obvious isn’t it? I have royal cat blood running through my veins. 

3. Both my cat sister and I have children although they never call or write which is too bad. There is nothing quite as heartbreaking as a thankless litter of kittens. 

4. Garden and I each have our own hobbies. Mine are of a more artistic nature, of course. I enjoy locating pencils and putting them in safe spots such as under the rugs and chairs. That way, if I wish to draw I will know where a pencil is located. Garden enjoys hunting face masks and leaving them lying littered along the hallway. As if she is performing a great service to catkind and humankind. Hmmph. 

************************************************************************

“Hey, fur face how’s the blog post coming along? Need any help?”

“Garden, I thought you were in your office napping. Move over, I’m just completing the post.”

“I was. I took what you might call a short cat nap. A mini nap as it were. Let’s see what you got here…..”

“Get out of my way, Garden! Scoot over and stop reading over my shoulder! Oh, alright….you can write the #5 thing to know about us!”

***********************************************************************

5. “Man, has she been feeding you readers a whole lot of cat crap! She has royal blood, my furry bum! And I will have you know that hunting face masks comes quite naturally to me. Just like when I hunt ‘Queen Cassandra’s’ favorite toy mouse and bury it in the sandbox. Heh, heh, you oughta see her furry face when she goes looking for her ‘Mousie Mouse’! Oh yeah and my name was Garden at the shelter and it’s still Garden. Sometimes, Love and Softie call me ‘Gardenia’ but usually it’s just plain Garden. Whatever.”

“Garden, let me see what you wrote. I might need to edit it…what did you say? I am too royalty. What??? You hid my mouse in the sandbox? I knew it had to be you. Alright, you’ve had it you little furry faced monster!”

“Heh, heh. Thought you’d like that. Hey watch it, move over, you’re in for it now. This isn't how royalty should act. I’m calling Love on the ipaw right now!”

                                           Sound of phone dialing and ringing.

“Hello, hello?  Cassie and Garden, is that you calling? You two had  better not be fighting while I’m away. Look girls, do not make me come down there early from my trip!!!!”

Click.

Until Next Time,

Cassie and Garden

Decorative Sleeve White Top And Sky Blue Skirt

 By Jove I Think I've Got It!

Hey friends!  I surely hope that each of you enjoyed your Easter Day very, very much and your week so far has gone well. Our Easter Day was low-key and included church services with lots of bells and brass, Mexican for late lunch and then chilling for the rest of the day! All in all, the perfect day. Now, look in the mirror and tell me what you see. I see the perfect solution to a top for the light sky blue skirt I shared a few posts ago!

You may recall that I was moaning about the fact that I just couldn't seem to find the right top to wear with this skirt. I kept trying different tops and, somehow, none of them looked right. I was ready to send this skirt on its way when I found a winner. 

Can you imagine my surprise when I found this beautiful cream/white top on the clearance rack at Walmart?! The top is branded as "status By Chenault" and boasts the prettiest sleeves. There are flower designs with holes on the petals on the sleeves. It's a cotton/poly mix and I will wash it carefully to keep it nice for a long, long time. I found a similar top to share with you. 

I'm also listening to my readers who suggested wearing a blue scarf with the outfit. So, voila! I think this scarf is the perfect accessory to pull this outfit together and carry blue through the whole outfit. Sometimes, we fashionistas have to be patient for just the right article of clothing to come along in order to make an outfit come alive. And when it works, it works! So, don't give up just yet on that pair of pants or skirt or top that you just can't seem to style. The right article of clothing to compliment that hard-to-style piece may be right around the corner...and if you're lucky....on a clearance rack!

I'll be traveling to West Virginia next week to see my family but, never fear, Cassie has assured me that she and Garden are perfectly capable of keeping the blog running in my absence so look for a post from them next week as well as a "this and that" post later in the week. 

Until Next Time,

Debbie