Visit in West Virginia

 Take Me Home Country Roads

Hello everyone! I've been away for a short trip to West Virginia and thought I would share a bit about my trip. The main reason for my trip was to attend a memorial service for my sister who passed away one year ago. The memorial service was given by the Hospice group who cared for her during her final illness and it was a lovely service for all of the Hospice patients who had passed this last year. Above, you see the flowers that were placed next to her picture and candle and then presented to the family. I'm so glad I went as it was a very healing service for me. 

The Mr. and I were able to connect with some of our family and friends while in West Virginia. Above, you can see a beautiful rose that was blooming, among many roses, at a park in Huntington, WV where we visited with our niece, Aubrey, and her family. Aubrey gave us a tour of Huntington and showed us her beautiful home while we were there. 

We also stopped by to visit longtime friends, Rex and Natalie, and I asked their permission to photograph some of their lovely Fall decor both inside and outside their home. Their front porch was so welcoming when we arrived!

Natalie described to me how she had watched the glass pumpkins being handblown. Such wonderful keepsakes!

More beautiful glass pumpkins here and notice the pretty cut glass dishes, as well. Great tablescape accents!

I like the sign above the antique piano which, if I am recalling correctly, is well over 120 years old!

Fall and pumpkins certainly do bring happiness! 

So many things to be thankful for! 

This trip to WV felt especially good to me and I am glad I was able to make the trip. The drive up was especially beautiful with the spectacular Fall colors on the trees! I hope wherever you are that you are enjoying a wonderful Fall as well. Let me know in the comments what you have done to enjoy the Autumn season, okay? I so enjoy hearing from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Fashion, Fall and An Update on River

 A Little Bit of This and That

Hello everyone! Can you believe that it is October 9th already? I honestly don't know where time goes here lately. It seems I just blink and it is already the next month! Anyway, today, in true "this and that fashion," I have several items to share with you and hope you enjoy these this and that posts where I share bits and pieces of life with you. 

First off, is my attempt to style a pantsuit look without the pantsuit! You all know that I love all things royal, and recently I have been looking at pics of Catherine, aka Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, who is always gorgeous in whatever she wears. What I read recently said she has entered her "pantsuit phase" of life. I really didn't know there was such a phase of life and, as someone who always loved a good pantsuit, I kind of took exception to this somewhat snarky comment on her behalf. (You're welcome, Kate). It's hard to find a pantsuit in the stores these days anyway as everything is sold as separates but, oh well. Perhaps pantsuits are coming back which would be great IMO! 

Anyway, inspired by Princess Kate, I decided to try my hand at creating the illusion of a pantsuit using these separates of a black cardigan, gray corduroy pants and an off-white tunic top. I love a longer cardigan, like this one, which takes the place of either the pantsuit tops from the 80's or a blazer jacket. Add in some pretty jewelry and you have yourself a faux pantsuit. Shop your own closet and see what you have on hand that might create a pantsuit style look. Let's all join in with Kate on being in our "pantsuit phases," shall we?!

And in Fall news....I had promised in my last post about Fall decor that I would share what I had purchased as I browsed through all of the Autumn items available this year. I ended up falling in love with this metal pumpkin and decided it was too good to pass up! I love how it matches our living room decor and, because it is metal, a certain puppy can't chew the stuffing out of it! I have really needed to think through the items I put out this year because of River being so young. I will need to do this at Christmas too. 

And speaking of River.....

Look at how big he has grown! And, he thinks he is a lap dog, lol!! The Mr. allowed him to get on his lap one time and now he thinks he can do it all the time. Of course!! The Mr. doesn't seem to be suffering too much, though. 😉

What is happening with you? Any fun Fall projects going on? Any trips? Any fun pet stories? Be sure to leave a comment and let me know, okay? I love hearing from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

The Colors of Fall

 Finding Colorful Fall Decorations

Hello friends!  I had such a fun time a couple days ago browsing at Lowe's in the garden center and looking at all of the many beautiful Fall flowers and decorations they are offering. I decided to snap some photos and share them with you. I'm not being paid by Lowes for this post. I just happened to be there and really enjoyed browsing. 

How beautiful are the pink flowers with the orange flowers surrounded by pumpkins?

The color combinations of the flowers were just gorgeous!!

And I was very surprised to see that they had so many decorative items for sale this year for Fall. I had not seen so many items in previous years. Decorating for Fall is definitely a thing!

I could have bought out the store looking at all of these decorative items. And then, I saw all of the colorful pumpkins available.

Pumpkins sure have come a long way since I was a kid. I used to decorate with the cardboard pumpkins you put in your windows. Now there is a large variety of many colored faux pumpkins that you can purchase to keep and use from year to year. 

I would need a whole lot of storage space to buy all of these items! I sure would like to try, though!

I did make one purchase which I will share in my next post. Be sure to keep a lookout for that! In the meantime, let me know how you are decorating for Fall both inside and out, okay?

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Easy DIY Fall Arrangement and Autumn Decor

 Easy Fall Decor and Craft For Everyone To Enjoy

Hey Everyone!  With Fall just around the corner, I have started thinking about how to do some easy DIY crafting and also some "early Fall" decor around the house. So today, I'm sharing a couple of ideas with you. Now, you know, that I like EASY and I promise you that is what I'm sharing today! (wink)

I spied these Fall shaped pasta noodles at Aldi last week and the creative juices started flowing as I thought about how I might use them, other than eating of course!

I decided that the pasta would make good filler for a glass vase to hide the flower stems. Any glass jar would be pretty with the pasta inside as well.

The only Fall flowers I had on hand when I did this craft were these sunflowers, so that is what I used to fill the vase. I may change them out for another Fall flower at a later date. They look pretty for now, though, and the vase sitting on a Fallish candle ring adds to the look. This is how the infamous foyer table looks now. I'm not certain that this even counts as a "craft." Somehow, filling a glass vase with pasta doesn't really count in my book! But, it sure is easy, lol!!

While I was at Aldi, I also saw this cute Fall throw and decided to buy it to use in the living room. It cost under $5 and has a very soft, luxuriant feel. Plus, it looks cute with my Fall pillow. I'm looking forward to cozying up with it on cooler Fall evenings. And, I don't intend to allow a certain little dog to get hold of it! 

How are you getting ready for Fall at your house? Be sure to leave a comment below. I love hearing from my readers!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Pretty Things Around The House

 Adding "Pretty" In Unexpected Places

Hello everyone! Can you believe that today is the last day of August and that September starts tomorrow?! Time just seems to be flying by and I know that many of you are already starting to think about your Fall touches you will add to your homes. I'm not that far along yet, though. Today, I'm sharing some ways that I have added what I think are pretty touches around our house. And I think they could be called "unexpected" touches of pretty because these items are often overlooked as just basic workhorses of the home. 

If you haven't already guessed, I'm talking about tea towels in the kitchen. Several years ago, one of my sisters gifted us with the tea towel you see above as one of our Christmas gifts. I have loved using this tea towel so much! First of all, it is pretty with the red truck and apples under a tree. The red edging is pretty as well. But, it is also thicker than most tea towels I have owned and really absorbent. It lasts longer between washings and, if stained, I can spray the stains and they come right off. I liked this tea towel so much I looked at the tag on it and found it is from Kay Dee Designs. So I checked on Amazon and lo and behold there are many Kay Dee Designs kitchen towels available. 

Some of the towels can be purchased two to a set and others as individual purchases. Over the last couple of years I have added to my kitchen towels a few at a time until I now own six of the Kay Dee Designs towels. 

I appreciate the high quality of these towels, the graphics choices and the cute sayings on the towels. 

These towels are a little pricier, IMO, than towels I could get elsewhere but sometimes paying for higher quality is worth it. Kitchen chores can be so mundane and it's nice to have a cheerful towel to look at and use!

And with messages like this, who knew that doing kitchen chores could be inspirational? I get nothing from sharing about these kitchen towels. I just like them and use them. If you are interested check out the link above. There are so many choices that one can choose from!

I also added some more pretty in "my room" with this faux antique telephone that I found at our local Human Shelter thrift store. I just love the white with pink roses that are on the phone. My Mom had a similar phone in her bedroom and I think of her each time I see this phone.

And the phone is the perfect touch for sitting on the telephone table that I have from my late sister's home. I moved this phone table under a window in "my room" and I can see it as I walk down our hall. So pretty! I like "old fashioned" and my room has several old fashioned touches now. 

You know, pretty touches around the home can be as simple as tea towels and telephones when they bring you joy and put a smile on your face. And these items that I have shared with you today do just that when I see and use them! Think about little touches that you can use (or are already using) in your own homes! And be sure to share with me in the comments about your ideas for bringing pretty to your home, okay? I can't wait to hear from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

A Little Bit of This and That

 Changes Coming To The Blog

Hi friends! Today, I'm sharing a little bit of this and that with you. Nothing earth shattering. Just some news about our dog, River, and some books I've been reading. Life has pretty much revolved around our pooch these last few weeks. I had forgotten how much time and energy puppies can take up! But, he quickly reminded us of all that! It has been six weeks today since we brought River home and he has learned a lot and grown a lot in six weeks. I have to share a couple of photos with you because they are so cute AND because......

He graduated from Canine Manners class Sunday evening!!!!  I've already shared this picture on Facebook so some of you may have already seen it. Friends, he was the class crazy-man for six weeks and, although he graduated, the teacher said he could repeat the class if we wanted him to. The thing of it was, he did really well at home in a quiet calm situation doing the things he was taught, but in class there were six other dogs and he just wanted to bark and play with the other dogs so badly! BUT, the teacher didn't allow ANY dog interaction which was just misery for our poor River. We had to sit behind a fence covered with sheets so he couldn't see the other dogs but River was smart enough to figure that out and kept pulling us and jumping up to see the other dogs. It was just crazy time for six.whole.weeks!! I managed to attend four of the classes and let The Mr. handle the other two on his own. I just couldn't take the craziness. Anyway, we made it through the class and River learned all of the commands and we plan to keep working with him on our own. We also want to "socialize" him with other dogs. 

This picture is just hilarious, in my opinion, because it truly sums up River all during the classes! He looks like he stayed up all night partying doesn't he?!

The Mr. took this photo and it shows how River has many moments of being calm and quiet. He'll get there more and more. It just takes time and him growing up a little more. (And more training!)

In other news, I did some thrifting recently and was just thrilled to find this beautiful quilted jacket. It is reversible and is all pink on the other side. There are even pockets on both sides! It washed up beautifully and I'm very happy with it. 

And this is the necklace I'm wearing in the above picture. It belong to my late sister and I have been wearing it a lot. I feel it is unique. I haven't seen a cross inside a heart before. I just love it!

And, finally, the very unique basket (that I also thrifted) is filled with some recent book purchases from our local used bookstore Mr. K's. I started reading the Mary Roberts Rhinehart book but put it down because it was a little scary! I find I need calm, relaxed reading at bedtime not reading that might give me nightmares! I am enjoying the Sofie Ryan book, "Undercover Kitty." Sofie Ryan also writes under the name of Sofie Kelly when she writes the "Magical Cat" series. As Sofie Ryan she writes about a cat named, Elvis, who is a pretty cute cat. If you are a cat lover, like me, I think you will enjoy both of these series!

So that's it for a little bit of this and that today. I will let you know that Google Domains has been sold to Squarespace and the change over will be happening sometime in the next month. This means that my domain name of debbiestyleslife.com will now be owned by Squarespace and not Google. I have been assured that the change will be "seamless" but you never know. If you have trouble finding my blog please email me at debbiestyleslife@gmail.com and I will try to help if I can. This shouldn't be necessary, though. My blogging platform is still Blogger and you can actually still get to this blog by using my old blogspot address of debbiethisandthat.blogspot.com. You have to use the blogspot part though or you will be on someone else's blog. Arghhh.....blogging can sometimes be a trial, you know? At any rate, I can't wait to hear from you in the comments section so please be sure to leave a comment! 

Until Next Time,

Debbie (this and that😉) who is still stylin' life!!

Celebrating 8 Years of Blogging

 Happy 8th Blog Anniversary To Me!

Hi friends!  It's hard to believe but, as of July 30th, I have been blogging for eight years! Yes, I'm a bit late in celebrating but that's okay. Life has been pretty busy this last month since the arrival of our new dog, River, so today is the day to celebrate eight years of blogging!

I must say that eight years has surely passed by quickly. I was still teaching full time when I started in 2015 and now that I have been retired for 6 1/2 years life is still very busy. Still, I love my blog and enjoy thinking of ideas to write posts about like fashion ideas, tablescapes, home decor and life in general. Granted, some of last year's posts haven't been the happiest what with going through my oldest sister's final illness and passing. But, I have tried to remain upbeat in most of my posts and look forward to sharing new ideas for the coming year. I haven't shared posts quite as frequently this last year but I have tried to post at least once weekly and hope to do that in the coming year, as well, with some weeks having two posts. The best way to make sure you see new posts is to subscribe to my blog so you get an email about new posts. You can also follow me using the button in the right hand column of my blog page. Also, if you enjoy reading my posts it would be great if you would recommend Debbie Styles Life to your friends and family! New readers are always welcome!

This post from last year in which I shared a sneak peak of my room redo along with some delicious meals and a little fashion was one of my top viewed posts. Click here if you would like to revisit or read the post for the first time. 

And this devotional post on moving forward was very well received. Click here to read/revisit this post. I haven't written as many devotional posts this past year and would like to do more this coming year. 

And this fashion post on styling a blue polo dress got a lot of hits. Who knew polo dresses were so popular? Revisit this post here. 

And, finally, this post on pockets of Christmas decor around the house got huge interest! But then, who doesn't love Christmas?! Get some early Christmas decor inspiration here!

I hope you have enjoyed revisiting some favorite posts from last year and I want to thank you, my awesome readers, for your support over these last eight years of blogging! Debbie Styles Life (and before that Debbie This And That) would not exist without you! 

I would love to hear what type of posts you have enjoyed most over the years and, also, what type of posts you would enjoy seeing in the future. Please leave your thoughts in a comment. I love hearing from you, my readers!

Until Next Time,

Debbie