Celebrating Ten Years of Blogging

 Happy Ten Year Blog Anniversary!

Hello, Hello Everyone!!  Can you believe it?!  I'm celebrating ten years of blogging today and I am more excited than you can imagine! Lots of exclamation points, I know. 

When I started my blogging adventure TEN YEARS AGO I had no idea that I would be here now still writing. To be honest, I truly didn't know what I was doing but I learned from others and found a passion for blogging and sharing little bits of daily life with others that I truly enjoyed. Blogging has always been something that was truly all mine and so, here I am, ten years later, still blogging away and loving it!

This was the very first photo that I published on my very first blog post from July 30, 2015. The Mr. and I were vacationing in Estes Park, CO when this photo was taken. I've come a long way since then with photography I hope! Most of you know that when I began blogging in 2015 my blog was then called "Debbie This and That" using a blogspot domain. Even though I changed blog names to Debbie Styles Life, I still feel that what I do with my blog posts is to share a little bit of this and that with all of my dear readers. Just bits of everyday life that includes styles of clothing and jewelry, home decor, my faith life, flowers, cooking, books I read, my musical endeavors, my sweet fur family, life with The Mr. and so much more. I still will often close my posts with either Debbie or Debbie This and That because, well, that's who I am!

I used to be a bit more adventurous with my style posts as you can see from this collage taken in 2019. I had so much fun with this post. The Mr. and I went to Biltmore Village in Asheville and he took the picture you see in the middle. Sadly, much of Biltmore Village was devastated in the flooding that occurred during Hurricane Helene last September. But, the shop owners are working on rebuilding. Experimenting with how to style and accessorize clothing is very satisfying to me. For some reason, I became less confident about sharing my style ideas on the blog. I began to feel a bit "silly" and didn't want to look ridiculous. I think I need to work on my confidence and start styling a little bit more on the blog. What do you think?

Sharing life with our fur babies has always been an important part of my blog. If you have been a long-time reader, then you may remember "Gracie the Ace Cat Reporter." She always helped me to write posts and sometimes would "write" one of her own posts from a cat's perspective. Sadly, Gracie passed on. I would like to dedicate today's 10 Anniversary post to sweet Gracie, The Ace Cat Reporter. We miss you Gracie. 

Now, our fur family consists of Cassie, Garden and River. They keep us on our toes and Cassie, especially, has a penchant for blog writing. Every once in  a while, I allow these furry writers to take over the blog in a post. You never know what to expect when they start writing (and singing!) however. If you want to read a Christmas Post they wrote, I have linked it for you. 

Over the years, I have created many posts related to tablescapes but none as "infamous" as the tablescapes I create on our foyer table. The pic you see above remains one of my favorite designs for the foyer table. I created the little box filled with flowers and the doily was crocheted by my mom. The tea cup was given to me by my oldest sister and the pearls were given to me by The Mr. This tablescape is designed and filled with love! 

Sharing my faith in God has always been an important part of my blogging experience. I enjoy writing and sharing devotionals and, recently, I have begun sharing my faith by giving sermons in local churches as I am called on to do so. My faith is part of who I am. The most important part. I remember frequently that, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I hope that when I share scriptures and devotions that my readers are blessed. 

And so, dear readers, I am celebrating today! Wow. Ten years. That's a long time. A lot has happened in those ten years both personally and in the world around me. COVID, elections, retirement, family deaths and births. And through it all-sometimes with tears streaming down my face, I have continued blogging. 

I realize I don't post as often as I once did. As I have mentioned before, sometimes I feel like the well has run dry and I have nothing "new" to share. But, I'm not ready to give up blogging anytime soon even if the posts are fewer and farther between. There is still some "this and that" left in this old girl! 

Over the years I have gained some readers and, sadly, lost some readers. Many bloggers have given up blogging either entirely or they have moved to shorter posting on either Facebook or Instagram. And as my dear friend, Shirley, would say, "and that's okay." 

I'm still here. And I hope that you are still here with me because I would miss you if you leave. 

I don't get as many comments as I once did on the blog. But when I do, I love and read every one. 

So, thank you all for ten lovely years of Debbie This and That and Debbie Styles Life! 

Until Next Time,

Debbie 💗

A Little Bit of This and That

 A Great Variety of Pictures and Topics

Hi friends!  Today, in true "this and that" fashion, I have all sorts of pictures and little tid-bits to share with you. I hope you enjoy. I've been collecting these photos over a few weeks. Currently, I am recuperating from a sinus infection. Haven't felt well the past week or so and finally broke down and went to the doctor yesterday. As I am now on an antibiotic I hope that I will soon be back to normal. It's been terribly hot here and somewhat rainy during part of each day. That doesn't help much when one is constantly blowing one's nose and dealing with congestion. Cooler weather will definitely be welcome. My porch flowers are really blooming beautifully in this weather, however. The zinnias are really stunning as you can see. 

Before I came down with the crud, I decided to try and create an all- white tablescape using various white dishes, a white tea set, mostly white (with pretty pink flowers) tea cups/saucers and a beautiful white table cloth given to me many years ago by a lovely older woman I worked with when I taught preschool. 

To be honest, I don't really like the result of this all white tablescape experiment. To me, it just doesn't look all that great. There needs to be more color and more elements to the tablescape to make it look more striking. This experiment was a bit of a disappointment, but it was good to give it a try and learn from the experiment for future tablescapes! If you don't try you don't know, right?!

The Mr. and I have been doing some cleaning out of our house looking for items that we are no longer using and someone else would benefit from having. We do this every few months it seems. I came across a couple boxes in our attic that I had forgotten about and lo and behold found these Avon figurines that I had collected years ago when I was a teenager. I had totally forgotten about these figurines and yet, when I saw them again, I was kind of thrown into a quandary about whether I should keep them or give them away. What to do? I really don't have room to display them anymore and yet many were given to me as Christmas or birthday gifts long ago and I felt guilty thinking about giving them away. After debating for several days, I finally arrived at the decision that giving them away didn't mean I was giving away the memories or the people who had given them to me. I enjoyed these figurines for many, many years but, at this point in life, I knew it was time to give them away. I did line them all up to take this picture so I have the picture to remind me of them and I did keep one figurine (the little gardening girl with the water pitcher) to display in my dining room curio cabinet. Sigh. These decisions are so hard to make aren't they? I feel confident, though, in my decision about what to do with the figurines. 

I also made the decision to donate this ceramic planter that (I am told) was given to my mother when I was born. This was another item that had been packed away in the attic in a box and was being unused. While it was a nice memento, it was actually a gift to my mom and not to me and I found that I didn't have a place to display it or use it. Hopefully, someone else will be blessed to have it. Since I am now an antique, I guess that it is an antique! 😉

In other news, did you watch Wimbledon? We did, and at the closing ceremony of the men's final HRH Catherine Princess of Wales came onto the field to present the trophies to the winners of the men's finals. The Mr. snapped some photos of her off the TV as he knows I love to see her. She looks so pretty here (although very thin) and her blue dress is just stunning! 

She is always so gracious and kind and I enjoyed seeing her and, later, the rest of her family, greeting the winner!

And here we have Cassie and River touching noses on the rock in our backyard. They both love lounging on this rock. 

Here's Cassie laying on her back living her best life!

                                        The two amigos!

And finally....you've heard of Sloppy Joes for dinner? Well, this is a Turkey Joe that I made for dinner recently. Sloppy Joes made with ground white turkey meat are delicious and filling. I added onion, green pepper and tomato sauce to the ground turkey and simmered it before spooning onto a toasted bun and serving with sweet potato chips. Delish!

I hope you enjoyed a little bit of this and that today. You know, I've blogged for many years at this point and it's hard to come up with new ideas to write about that folks might find interesting to read about. So today is just a little slice of my life for you. Things I'm doing, things we're eating, our pets, etc. I sure hope you all are enjoying your daily slices of life. Be sure to share some of those slices in the comments!

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

 

A Beautiful Blue Dress

 Feeling Blue and Loving It!

Hello everyone! Today, I'm sharing a lovely blue dress that I purchased from April Cornell. Have you ever heard of that brand? I'm not promoting or selling for this brand but I must admit that I love the dresses that are designed by April Cornell.

I wore a dress or two by April Cornell back in the 80's and loved how they were mid-calf length and very feminine and flowy. I was glad to see that they have not changed their design. You know I love anything in blue and the embroidery on the pockets along with the lace on the bodice just makes this dress so appealing to me.

I added a heart shaped cross necklace, a pretty watch and some earrings to complete the look. 

This necklace originally belonged to my late sister, Star, and I enjoy wearing it so much. The colors on the stones and in the middle of the cross are so very pretty. 

The Mr. recently replaced the watch battery in my pretty pink floral watch and I'm excited to be wearing it again! 

I have been wearing this pretty blue dress on repeat as it fits beautifully, feels great and makes me feel happy when I wear it! Who knew that feeling blue could feel great!

You know, when you find a great article of clothing that you love it can surely brighten your day when wearing it! Do you have a particular brand, color, style or type of clothing or jewelry that you love and find yourself smiling when you put it on?

Be sure to share in the comments and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Until Next Time,

Debbie (This and That)

What I'm Reading

 Books I'm Enjoying...And More

Hello everyone! I thought I would pop on and share some of the books I am reading right now. I'm on a quest this summer to read "new to me" books and not re-read all of my favorites all the time, so most of what I will share with you fits that quest. 

Now, there's nothing wrong with re-reading beloved authors and their books but I just feel that I want to explore some new authors and books. I went shopping at our local used bookstore and thrift stores and found some really good choices!

The "Tearoom Mysteries" that are published by Guideposts are just delightful books. I finished the first book in the series, "Teamroom for Two" and really enjoyed it so I looked for the next book in the series, "Tea Rose" and ordered it from one of the used booksellers on Amazon. It arrived a couple days ago and I will be starting it soon. These books follow two widowed cousins who move back to the town where they grew up to start a Tearoom in a beautiful big old house. Of course, they meet up with old friends and new and a mystery unfolds surrounding an old teapot they buy and an old ring they find in the wall of their old house. The first book really held my attention and I certainly identified with the concept of a Tearoom and tea pots! As you know, I love to drink tea, both cold and hot! The only critique I have of Guidepost series books is that they use different authors for different books in the series. We'll see how I respond to a new author for the second book!

The book, Creed, by Adam Hamilton appealed to me because I have read another of his books and our former pastor used to reference Adam Hamilton in some of his sermons. I thought this would be a good book to own to not only read but also to use in some of the sermons that I write. 

  In the last year and a half or so, I have begun preaching fairly frequently at both my home church and at other churches. As a certified Lay Servant in the United Methodist Church, I serve as the pastor needs me and she has called on me several times to preach in her absence. Other churches have now begun calling on me to preach on Sundays when their pastor must be absent and I am willing to listen to this new calling from God in my life. 

  This particular book by Adam Hamilton takes each part of the Apostles' Creed and explains it and I am enjoying the book very much. I will preach for the second Sunday in a row this coming Sunday at Bald Creek UMC and I plan to use some of what I am reading in Adam Hamilton's book in my sermon. 

The final book that I am reading right now is a book of short mysteries written by famed mystery writer, Mary Roberts Rinehart. I have owned this book for several years and have read it before but it caught my attention again and I haven't read the stories in a long, long time so I am once again enjoying her mysteries. I finished the first short story, "The Frightened Wife" which takes place in or around the late 1940's and has a "Perry Mason" type feel to it. It also involved a love story which made for pleasant reading as well. Books by Mary Roberts Rinehart were a favorite of my mother's as well as me so I always feel a connection to my mom when I read one. 

I have some other books on my shelf waiting to be read so I will share them with you in the future as I get to them. 

I hope that you will share what you are currently reading in the comments. Or share anything else you would like to share! I always enjoy hearing from my readers. And I want to wish all of you in the USA a very happy 4th of July! Be safe and take care. 

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

                            

Long Time, No See!!

 Let's Catch Up!

artellliii72/pixabay.com

Oh my goodness, friends, the summer is moving right along! And I have been very remiss in checking in here on the blog with new posts. So, let me rectify that right now and let's do some catching up, okay?

I've been kind of busy lately doing some traveling. I drove myself all the way to West Virginia to see my family there and to attend my great niece's baby "sprinkle." I think a sprinkle is a baby shower for the second baby in today's lingo. You can see me standing here next to my very pregnant great niece, Emily, who is expecting her second little boy in late July! I was so happy to be able to attend her Sprinkle. The theme for the Sprinkle was, "Here Comes The Son." Get it?! It took me a minute to get it. I'm a slow learner, Lol! Emily, her husband, and their four year old all wore clothing printed with "Here Comes The Son" on them.

I also got to spend some fun pool time with Emily's four year old, my great-great nephew, Lincoln. My great-nephew, Grant, was there, also, and entertained Lincoln by diving for the plastic rings that Lincoln would throw into the pool.

I enjoyed a very delicious breakfast at Cracker Barrel with my sister, Sharon, her husband, Larry, and my niece, Janna. It was so good to spend time with them. I saw as many family members as possible during my travels. Understandably, it was impossible to see everyone due to work and school schedules. I also spent time with my sister, Barbara. (not pictured)

I left West Virginia and drove on up to Pittsburgh, PA to see my family there. This is my sister, Joyce, with her grand-dog, Dixie. 

Dixie is such a little cutie! She loves playing with her blue ball that is kept at "grandma's house" just for her.

Joyce and I enjoyed visiting and lunching out together.

We stopped by my nephew Tim's house and visited with his wife, Jennifer, and my great-nephew, Derek. Also, they have three adorable dogs that greeted us at the door. 

I think Derek looks so much like his late grandfather in this picture!

Look at this cute doggie!  Again, I couldn't see all of my Pittsburgh area family due to work and travel schedules but it was wonderful to see those I could. 

We also visited the golf club where my nephew, Matt, manages the kitchen. 

It was fun to look out the restaurant window at the 18th hole and enjoy some good food!

And, of course, while I was in WV I had to eat at Mary B's, a local restaurant that serves delicious homestyle cooking and rolls that, as my husband always says, have their own atmosphere! Yes, the rolls are that big!

I was so glad to see my family and very proud of myself for doing all the driving on my own. The Pittsburgh traffic was a bit daunting but I managed my way through it all! It's always good to come home, though. The Mr. held down the fort here at home with all of our fur family while I traveled. Now, I'm home and have done loads of laundry and tried to rest up from my travels. 

I'm sorry to have been away from the blog for so long. I have a few ideas for posts that I will be sharing with all of you in the coming weeks. I hope each of you dear readers are having a good summer. Be sure to share what's been going on in your life in the comments. You know I enjoy hearing from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Bee Happy and Sewing Adventures

 Catching Up On The Latest News

Hi there everyone! It's been awhile since we last connected so how about if we all catch up today? I'll share what's been happening around the blog here lately and you be sure to share what's been happening in your life as well in the comments. I can't wait to hear!

First up is this new "Bee Happy" vignette on the foyer table. I picked up these adorable bee items at Hobby Lobby and I just think they are the cutest! The expressions on the bees caught my attention and I smile each time I walk by the foyer table and see their goofy faces. I think this vignette is fun for late Spring and early Summer. Plus the bee pincushion will come in handy in the sewing room later!

Since Easter, I have been working on planting flowers in our patio pots and in our little backyard garden. Here I am at the garden center at Home Depot a few weeks ago. That place has been hopping each time we go there! I think that folks are doing even more planting this year in the aftermath of all of the storm damage from Helene. So many plants and shrubs and trees were lost from people's properties. 

Here are some of the patio containers. They got moved all around when the roofers were working on our new roof last week so that's why you see bricks where they should not be. We will have gutters installed next week so they will most likely get moved around again. Just ignore the arrangement and look at the pretty flowers, lol!

Because our back patio gets much more sun now, I'm experimenting with some different flowers than what I usually plant. In addition to my faithful impatiens, you will see zinnias, petunias, marigolds and snapdragons. 

The coral bells in our little backyard garden have decided to really bloom this Spring. See the long shoots coming out of them? 

Our rhododendron plants really got beat up during the hurricane but they are bravely blooming this Spring anyway! The Mr. took this spectacular pic of one of the blooms. 

And, our azaleas are blooming beautifully as well. Wish I could keep these blooms going all summer but it doesn't work that way. 

And we have beautiful flowers inside the house, as well, thanks to The Mr. who brought me two beautiful bouquets of flowers on Sunday for being a "fur mama" to our three fur babies. I decided to break up the flowers into three different arrangements. This is a gorgeous pink long stemmed rose. 

And these lovely red long stemmed roses and berries are gracing the bookcase in "my" music room.

And the chrysanthemums and daisies are on the mantel in the living room. Flowers, flowers, everywhere! 

The Mr. has been super busy here lately playing concerts at various venues. He is in five different brass groups plus has a piano/trumpet duo so, as you can imagine, we keep the road hot going to various music concerts. I'm very proud of his musical abilities!

I've also been trying my hand at doing some sewing these last few weeks. This is a gorgeous dress that I ordered from Blair recently in my usual size. But, when it arrived, it was much too large in the waist and top for me. So, I got out my sewing machine and took the dress in on the sides. It fits me much better now. I really like the softness of the dress and the fabric's pattern. 

I also created this stretch waist skirt using fabric from a lounging robe that belonged to my mother. I had kept this robe as a remembrance of my Mom and it was stored in a box for close to 30 years. She loved wearing her lounging robes in the evenings after a long day on her feet at work. I can remember that one of the first things she would do each evening was to get comfortable in one of her many lounging robes. Rather than keep her robe in a box any longer, I decided to fashion a summer skirt that I could wear. I will always think of my Mom when I wear this skirt. 

I also sewed a set of pillowcases for our bed using two fabrics that are so pretty. I don't consider myself a great seamstress, but every once in a while I enjoy trying my hand at creating something new. I thank my friend, Sharon, for her inspiration to try sewing. It continues to be a fun adventure!

We also visited the "Parade of Homes" a few weekends ago and saw this interesting new home. An artist lives in it and she was on site to talk with as we toured her beautiful home filled with her artwork. The Parade of Homes didn't happen last year due to the devastation of the hurricane so it felt lovely and normal to be able to participate in this once again!

So, as you can see, we've been pretty busy during the end of April and the current month of May! Our house restoration is moving along slowly but we are making progress which is a good thing! 

And, I'm always grateful for these three furry members of our family! Cassie, Garden and River fill our days with smiles, laughter and some exasperation on occasion! And that's what family is all about, right?!

I hope this "catch up" post has been enjoyable for you. Just a little bit of this and that. Take good care and be sure to leave a comment letting me know a little bit of this and that in your life, okay?

Until Next Time,

Debbie (This and That)

*Pet photos, rhododendron photo and me in the dress photo taken by Bill Ross.