Subtle Green for St. Patrick's Day

The Wearing Of The Green 

Hi friends! Happy St. Patrick's Day! Yes, I know it's not until this coming Monday but I wanted to extend wishes a little early so I could share an idea for wearing green that's a bit more subtle in my opinion. Remember when we were in grade school and we would tell other kids that if they didn't wear green we would have to pinch them? All in good fun of course!

 My idea of wearing green includes more of an olive/dark green approach this year. I'm wearing olive green skinny pants with a patterned top by Indigo Soul that I found on sale at Cracker Barrel. The top is tunic style and has pretty patterns of leaves in many colors including green. It matches well with the pants and contains colors that can go through all seasons. I'm glad to have such a comfy and pretty outfit to wear, not just on St. Patrick's Day, but also on many other days as well. 

What combination of greens do you like to wear for St. Patrick's Day or for any other day for that matter? Be sure to wear green next Monday. You don't want to get pinched, you know!

The Mr. snapped this pic of me on our trail yesterday. It's the first time in almost six months since I have hiked. After the hurricane, and then my broken wrist and surgeries, I just wasn't able to go out on the trail. I kind of lost my confidence in being able to do so after falling and breaking my wrist. It all just seemed like too much. I'm told those feelings are normal and soon pass. So, I'm getting back on the horse, so to speak, and starting to hike again. It feels good and I'm using my walking sticks to support myself and they do help me feel more secure. The Mr. has worked really hard to get the trail clear of storm debris. You can see where trees had to be cut off the trail. There's still a lot of "mess" to clean up but it's much, much better than it was. As you can see, we have a beautiful sunset view on the trail now. I really like this picture. It speaks of hope and courage. 

I hope that you are doing well and having a good end to your week. May you feel God's blessings in your life.

Until Next Time,

☘ Debbie☘

A Few Lovely Things

 Enjoying Lovely Days

Hello friends! Today's post is picture heavy and includes lots of photos from lovely days and lovely things that have made me smile lately. I find that many days lately haven't been filled with lots of lovely things, especially if you watch the news. So, this is my attempt to get myself to focus on things in my life that are truly lovely. 

Philippians 4:8 says:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."  So, here are some praiseworthy things in my life.

A few days ago, my dear friend, Sharon, and I went to lunch and tea at 

tea at The Book and Bee Cafe in Hendersonville. What a lovely afternoon

it was. 

The steps leading up to the cafe have titles of famous books inscribed. 

Such a fun theme for a cafe to have. 

Each room in the cafe has a particular theme. We dined in the "British

Room."  This theme was right up my alley as I love everything British

and Royal!

Here's another wall in the "British Room." Even the tables in this room 

were covered with British photos and memorabilia. I just loved it all!

Lunch was absolutely delicious as was our pot of tea. I highly recommend

the veggie quiche!

Each tea cup is a little different. Mine was a very pretty blue flower

design. I didn't ask for my favorite color, it was just given to me!

Sharon and I were all smiles during the whole visit to this

sweet cafe!

A few days later I was doing some thrifting and was inspired to

purchase this cute little teapot and the saucer to display on the

foyer table. It makes a very simple "in between" display for early

March. I say in between because Valentines is over and it's still

a bit early for Easter decor. I don't usually do much in the way

of decorating for St. Patrick's Day, but since the teapot and saucer

contain green that would fit the bill for St. Patrick's Day decor.

And next to the foyer table is our front door with the flower

basket and butterfly hanging on it. Again, a kind of "in between" look

for March. 

This past Sunday I was blessed to be able to bring the message and

worship with the lovely folks at Tabernacle Methodist Church in 

Swannanoa. 

This was the second time I was invited to bring the message here. This

is such a sweet, historical church with a small congregation. They

are always so kind and welcoming. This church reminds me of the one 

I attended during my growing up years. 

And, finally, a few individual photos of lovely things that I just feel

like sharing......

This beautiful frozen waterfall with sun rays hitting it that The Mr.

snapped a photo of during one of his recent hikes. 

These beautiful window toppers that my friend, Sharon, created by

hand for her living room. She is so very talented! The fabric material and 

colors are just gorgeous.

This sweet photo of Cassie that The Mr. took recently. She is such a beautiful girl!

My blue/green butterfly necklace that I enjoy wearing with a 

favorite blue sweater. 

The necklace was a gift to me from my AIG group when I 

retired eight years ago. I know! Can you believe that I have

been retired for eight years already?! Where has time gone?!

And, finally, a picture of the British style phone booth in front of the 

cafe where we dined. Isn't that a fun thing to have on display?

I really hope you have enjoyed a "this and that" type post on the blog

today. And I truly hope that you have smiled as you looked at the photos. That is my goal. To bring a smile to your face today. 

I'll be back again with more from Debbie Styles Life. In the meantime,

take good care of yourselves!

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

 

A Little More Valentines Decor

 February Valentines Decor

Hi friends!  I've done a little bit more Valentines decorating and, as promised, am sharing it with you. I have also taken down the "winter tree" and moved the little white light tree into its place in the living room. The basket you see in the above image is now on top of the curio cabinet in the dining room. This basket belonged to my mother and the two heart shaped pillows are ones I have owned for years. These pillows were made by my very first teaching assistant back in the 1980's and I still love them and use them! The candle ring adds a little extra "oomph" of red to the overall look of the basket. 

So, this is how the corner of the dining room looks now. 

And here is the little white light tree on the round table in the living room. It's small and simple and gives a nod to Valentines with the red cloth around the base. It provides pretty light in the corner of the room. 

 And I added a flameless candle with this candle ring on the bottom shelf of the side table. 

And, finally, this is how the foyer tables looks right now. Just a pretty vase with Valentine picks, a red heart wreath (also made by my long ago assistant) and a glass deer to anchor the look. 

I'm enjoying these added touches of Valentines decor around the house. They give a much needed touch of cheer on this rainy, cold and foggy day! This will do it for Valentines decorating and posting so let me finish by wishing each of you a wonderful Valentines Day! Treat yourself with love and kindness and treat others around you the same!

Until Next Time,

Debbie (this and that)

To read my last Valentines Decor post, click here.

Valentines Meets Winter Vignette

 A Valentines Vignette

Hi friends!  It's time for me to pop back on the blog and share a little bit of Valentines decor with you!  Today, I'm featuring a tablescape vignette in the dining room that mixes with winter decor that has been on display since I switched out from Christmas. 

This vignette consists of some faux silk flowers in a vase filled with colorful Valentine heart shaped macaroni that I found at Aldi, my pretty pink heart shaped wreath and a pretty ceramic candy dish basket that I thrifted last year. To anchor all of these pieces, and also to give a nod to Spring, is the beautiful table cover that is part of a collection of placemats created for me by my dear friend, Sharon. She ordered this gorgeous fabric after I had admired it online and put her talent to work. Isn't this fabric just lovely?! She sewed two placemats from this fabric and two from another fabric, both patterns from a collection called, aptly, "Deborah's Garden." I will do a dining tablescape soon using all four placemats but I decided to give a sneak peak today. Thanks again, Sharon, for such a lovely birthday present!

I mentioned that the Valentines decor was meeting up with the winter decor and so here is a picture of what that looks like. This is such a pretty little corner of our dining room. The Mr. just finished working on this room again as the opposite corner sustained damage during the hurricane/tornado that hit our home back in late September. So the walls are newly repaired and painted. It all looks great and I'm happy to have this corner decorated!

Have you done any decorating for Valentines this year? I don't have many Valentines decorations but I always enjoy the ones I do have. I will be sure to share any other decorating I do with all of you! Hope you leave a comment because I enjoy hearing from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie (this and that)

Monochromatic Styling Using Shades of Brown and Tan

 Creating An Outfit Using Shades of Brown

Hello friends! Today I'm sharing some photos of an outfit I put together that is what I view as a monochromatic style that uses different shades of brown and tan. This outfit uses a dark brown turtleneck, a medium dark tan jacket and lighter tan corduroy pants, socks and shoes.

I'm really pleased with how this outfit came together. I have always enjoyed wearing brown and tan and I got to thinking about how creating outfits using different shades and tones of any one color could be really pretty. Think about using different shades of blue together or green together. You get the idea. Using varying shades of the same color gives an outfit depth and interest in my opinion. What do you think? The jacket I'm wearing is new and is Southern Lady brand. I also bought the matching skirt and will share it with the jacket another time. The turtleneck is very old and probably came from either Walmart or K-Mart ages ago. The pants are Blair and are a soft knit type of corduroy that I absolutely love and own in many colors and the shoes are Skechers brand boat shoes. I'm sharing the brand info just in case anyone might be interested in any of the items. I'm not promoting brands-just sharing some ideas. And just a hint about Southern Lady brand clothing-it runs large so I always size down. Try it on first, if you can, to make sure about your size in this brand. 

The shoes are two-toned and so very comfy. I enjoy wearing them. It has been hard to find shoes in brown that are comfortable and can be worn with pants and with skirts or dresses. Since I don't do heels anymore, finding shoes that fit all styles of dress can be a bit tricky. At least for me. I almost always have success with Skechers shoes. 

I also added some copper colored earrings by Paparazzi. I feel they compliment the outfit and add yet another shade of color and texture.

This outfit contains fabrics that are soft and warm and are the perfect combination for a cold winter day. So tell me....do you wear monochromatic outfits? What colors or shades of color do you choose for your stylings? Be sure to share in the comments so we can all learn ideas together!

Want more style posts? See the links to previous style posts below.

Until Next Time,

Debbie (this and that)

*Thanks to The Mr. for photographing the pictures in this post.

Click here for post

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Snowy Days, Home Baked Bread and Bringing Light into the House

 A Few Things On A Winter's Day

Hello friends! It's a cold, snowy day here and I am looking for all the ways I can to bring a little cheer to the indoors. Here in Asheville, we seem to be stuck in a pattern of really cold temps and we added snow and ice to the mix yesterday. The cold weather is due to be with us into the next week. I really am not a fan of the cold, or of snow, but I will admit it is very pretty to look out the windows and see the snow. One way I bolster my spirits during the winter is to look for ways to bring in light. I purchased the crystal tree you see in the above picture before Christmas thinking it would be a good "winter" decoration.

I discovered the tree changes colors going from white light to blue, green, red, purple and gold. It's quite pretty and I have been using it daily as a way to lift my spirits on these dreary, cold days.

I also changed over my ceramic tree from multi-color lights to white lights and created a little display with snow globes and a glass deer. I have since moved the ceramic tree to the bottom shelf of the side table in the living room and like it better there. It's nice to have pretty lights in several areas of the house especially in the evening.

And then, feeling like I still needed some brighter lights, I put the little three foot multi-color light tree into action again, this time fashioned as a "winter" tree with the addition of pine cone ribbon wrapped around it. I really do love multi-color lights and I was missing them after putting the Christmas decor away so I just took the tree out of its box once more. I haven't put a wrap around the bottom of the tree as yet but am keeping my eye out for something more "wintery" that I can use. I really do feel that my winter decor is different from what I used for Christmas and the extra light definitely helps to improve my mood during these long, cold nights! Winter has never been my favorite season, unfortunately. I don't like going out on potentially icy and slick roads and, since falling in October and breaking my wrist, I am doubly afraid of falling. The Mr. loves winter and the cold doesn't seem to affect him like it does me. And while he doesn't take unnecessary chances, he doesn't feel the panic I feel about driving in bad weather. Opposites attract, right?! Since I retired there is less worry about going out in bad weather although there are still times when I have to make the call about going out or staying in. 

When the snow starts to fly, I always feel like cooking and baking. Yesterday, as we were experiencing a snowstorm, I decided to bake some homemade bread. This is the result. I use bread pans that belonged to my Mom and always feel close to her when I am mixing, kneading and baking bread. She was an amazing bread maker and I can still recall the smell of the house with bread in the oven and then her cutting me a thick slice and spreading butter on it and pouring me a glass of milk to wash it all down. Our house smelled really good yesterday as this bread baked and it evoked many such happy memories. 

I'll share a little bread making secret with you that I recently discovered. You may already know this and I was just late in coming to the party, but rapid rise yeast has made all the difference with my bread baking!

I could never get my bread to rise like this before using rapid rise yeast!

And how pretty is this perfectly browned loaf of bread?! Yes, I'll admit to being proud of myself! 

I also made a big pot of vegetable bean soup and that, along with leftover crockpot steak, veggies and rice, made a lovely supper.

These winter skylines and sunsets are really beautiful. One blessing from the hurricane is that we now have a mountain view that we did not have before. Of course, that happened because so many trees were blown down during the storm. There seems to be positives and negatives to everything. Including the winter season. 

I try to bring cheer into the winter by adding colorful and bright lights and cooking hearty, filling, and warm meals that bring happy memories to mind. 

How do you style your life for Winter? Be sure to share in the comments. I love hearing from you! Stay warm!

☃☃☃☃☃☃☃☃

Until Next Time,

Debbie (This and That)

*Note: We now have much more snow than what you see in these pictures which were taken over a period of several days before yesterday's storm hit. 

End of 2024 Blog Post and New Words for 2025

 Happy New Year 2025

Water globe nativity gifted from one of our nieces this Christmas

Hello friends! Are you ready for the new year to begin? I have to say that I will not be sad to see 2024 go bye-bye as many challenging events happened during the year. I experienced personal challenges via two cataract surgeries, Covid, Hurricane Helene winds which spawned a tornado that hit my neighborhood, a fall which resulted in a broken wrist that required surgery and supporting my family through the loss of another brother-in-law. Yes, it has been a very challenging year in so many ways. And, yet, I would be remiss if I didn't end the story of 2024 by sharing the multitude of blessings which came during the year. Things like the way my neighbors and community pitched in during the aftermath of the hurricane to bring comfort, help, cell phone charging stations, food and water and brute strength to help fellow neighbors in need. And beyond our close community, there were people who came from as many as 19+ states to lend aid to the people of Western North Carolina. We, personally, experienced the help of people coming from the states of Ohio, WV and Tennessee to work on cutting huge old-growth trees that had fallen on our house and property. And many dear friends came to our aid bringing chainsaws, water, wipes, meals, bread and comfort. Our families in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado and California bolstered our spirits through phone calls and texts once we were able to receive them on our cell phones. A mystery package arrived after the storm that contained a special light that could be used with or without power or batteries. We now know that this gift was sent from life-long friends in West Virginia. Prayers and phone calls from Asheville friends sustained us as we began the long recovery process. You see, even when you think you are alone, you really aren't. There are so many caring and kind people out there who step in to help in so many ways during times of stress and pain and I am so very humbled by all who reached out to us during a very difficult time. I was brought to tears one morning when a truck pulled up our driveway and we saw that a former member of our church was coming just to check up on us! What a sweet gesture! And as for my eye surgeries-all went very well with both surgeries. The inconvenience of the long wait to get a new eyeglass prescription was the worst part of it. That and the 21 days of doing eye drops after each surgery! And now, here I sit, wearing my new eyeglasses (finally!) and typing away happily writing a new blog post. My wrist is doing so much better. I began physical therapy for my hand and wrist a couple weeks ago and I am already experiencing so much improvement with movement, strength and dexterity. I have been blessed with having amazing health professionals who have been kind and helpful along this journey. The nurse who comforted me at the hospital triage tents where The Mr. took me after the fall, the hand surgeon whose expertise was evident during and after surgery, and my physical therapist who is helping my hand to get strong again. I am grateful for all of these people. And through every challenge of 2024 my faith has sustained me.

I won't say that I was all smiles going through these challenges. At the time, I kind of felt like God was allowing a lot of things to happen all at once in my life. I don't mean to say that I thought God was causing these issues. Because I don't believe that bad things come from God. Because I believe that God is good. All the time. But, He did allow them to happen. And I was not a happy camper. For many days after the hurricane, I would read chapter four of the book of Philippians over and over. It helped me to hear Paul talk about how he had learned to be content in all circumstances. I really had to dig deep to remember that, like Paul, "I can do all things through Christ who is my strength." And I am here to testify to the fact that God's strength got me through. A sweet friend associated with the church bell choir texted me a beautiful prayer in which she prayed,"that God would send angels -in cars, boats, helicopters, all kinds of uniforms and may we see your radiance and glory in their actions and works." Wow, what a prayer, and God certainly did send those angels and is sending them still! 

When I felt called to choose the words "Courage" and "Contentment" as my words to focus on in 2024, I had no idea how much I would need to rely on these words throughout the year. It's hard to feel content when you can't see well because your present glasses aren't the right prescription since eye surgery, you feel sick from having Covid, your wrist and arm hurts and can't be used, and your house is torn up, your woods are gone and you don't have water, electricity and you're stuck because your driveway and road is a wall of fallen trees, your family doesn't know if you are alive or not because you have no cell phone service and you feel fearful and afraid that you will never get out of this situation. I worried that things would never be "normal" again. But, friends, I can attest to the fact that God met our every need during all of these times. And in the midst of worry and concern, there were moments of peace and even joy. I knew that God was present with us. That He would work it all out. And He did! And He always will. Even when our/my faith wavers. 

I also want to take a moment to share how strong and wonderful The Mr. was and is during all of these events. The hours he spent sitting in waiting rooms at doctor's visits with me. The strength and courage he showed during and after the hurricane with his, "I'm going to fix this," attitude that saw him cutting us out of our back door after the storm, climbing over and under fallen trees to get us water and to connect with neighbors, bushwhacking up the mountain behind our house to try and get cell service so he could call our families to let them know we were okay, bringing me food and drinks after my surgeries, countless reassurances to his frightened wife that we would be okay, and hours of chainsawing to clear our driveway and property. And I'm sure I am leaving out many other ways in which he has been by my side. On New Year's Day, we will celebrate 42 years of marriage and I am so very grateful that God brought this strong man into my life.

So, this brings me to my new words for 2025. I have chosen "Grateful" and "Grace" as my words to focus on in the coming year. I have SO much to be grateful for in my life and I want to be sure to recognize the many blessings coming my way through the grace of God. And, I want to look for ways to extend grace to others. I'll try to remember to share my journey with these words with each of you in 2025!

Friends, I am certain that we all have stories to tell from 2024. Each of you has faced your own joys and challenges throughout the year. Of that I am certain because that is the way of life. And I am sure that there will be challenges for all of us in 2025. I pray that through faith in God, I will face these challenges with courage and contentment but also with gratitude and grace. I know there will be many joys and moments of happiness for each of us as well. If the words "courage" and "contentment" have taught me anything this year, it is the lesson that, even in the midst of bad things, that good things can come if we have courage, faith in God and the willingness to find contentment in all circumstances.

May 2025 bring many blessings to each of you dear readers! And please feel free to share your own thoughts and stories from 2024 in the comments. I love to hear from each of you!

Happy New Year!

“Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:19-20

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That