Happy Birthday Barbie and Daily Life Lately

 Happy 67 To Barbie!

Hello everyone!  Did you know that Barbie had a birthday this week and she turned 67?!  It's hard to believe that we are both the same age. She looks good for 67 don't you think?

My doll family has expanded from one to three. This is the first Barbie I purchased. I created the bridal headpiece and veil for her. She was a special Christmas gift from me to me! If you missed that post, where I explained about my new doll hobby, you can catch up here. 

I found this second lovely Barbie at Walmart. I also ordered some more clothes online for my Barbies, even though I am sewing some outfits as well. I'm an ameteur at dressmaking but I'm trying. 

I sewed this dress a couple days ago. I love the color and fabric. 

This is one of the outfits I purchased. Cute skirt, top and tennis shoes!

And this beauty is my newest doll and I found her at Dollar Tree! Yes, they were selling a true Barbie doll at Dollar Tree. It has been so much fun to choose my own Barbies that "call" to me somehow. I love their hair colors and faces. This is another one of the purchased outfits. It's rather glitzy and mod looking! I'm finding that not all of the shoes fit each doll the same but that's the way it goes. Each doll is just a little bit different in terms of body size and proportions. I have ordered extra doll stands which should arrive today so my two newest dolls will have their own stands soon.

I've been doing some Barbie research and did you know that the largest Barbie collection contains 18,000 dolls?! Can you even imagine? For now, I'm happy with three. As I mentioned earlier, I don't have room for tons of Barbies. But my little collection is fun for now. I do have my eye out for a "Clairol Misty Doll" which was actually my first fashion-type doll back in the late 1960's. The Misty Doll came with three hair color markers that you could use to change her hair color from the platinum blonde color to true blonde, brunette or red head. I have found some of these dolls available on Etsy and am thinking of adding one to my collection in the future. We'll see.

As I did research on Barbie's birthday, I also learned that she has an "official" name and birthday which I didn't previously know. She is officially, "Barbara Millicent Roberts" and was "born" March 9, 1959 when she was first presented at the American International Toy Fair in New York City. She was created by a woman named Ruth Handler and was introduced at the fair as a teenage fashion doll. There is also a lot of other "official" info about Barbie that I won't bore you with but found out in my research. That has been a fun aspect of this new hobby of mine. It adds to the knowledge base of what I know about Barbie for sure!

So, please join me in wishing her a happy birthday for this year! And now on to other news. 

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The Mr. in orange hat talking with the crew

We've been having tree work done on our property again to clean up fallen trees from Hurricane Helene. It's been 1 1/2 years since the storm and cleanup seems to be a never ending way of life. I know we were so blessed during the storm to keep our house and lives. But, our property was severely damaged and we lost hundreds of trees and shrubs when the hurricane force winds and, then, a tornado, tore through our area. It still brings tears when I think about all of it!

The Mr. surveying some of the work

At any rate, The Mr. has been working on debris as he can and the crew we had come over the last couple days did a great job adding to the cleanup. 

Getting this debris cut has made a big difference to the way our land looks. Large open spaces exist now where there was once lush forest. It makes me sad to think of what was lost, but grateful that, through it all, we survived and still have our home and property. Many others lost so much more than we did. 

And, I'll end on a happier note with this picture of the three furry amigos laying together in the hallway! River, Cassie and Garden join me in wishing you all a happy weekend and week ahead!

Join me next week when I will be back with another blog post. No dolls this time! 

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

The doll stands arrived!

Early Spring/Easter Decor

 Table Vignettes for Spring

Hello friends! Are you as happy as I am that March is finally here? I'm not so naive that I think that winter is well and truly over with yet, 

however, when March arrives I know that it isn't too far away! At least, not as far away as it was back in December or January. 

I have begun doing a little Easter/Spring decorating starting with some cute table vignettes. These vignettes are all quite simple and took mere minutes to pull together. My favorite kind of vignettes! The Mr. brought me home the pretty plate you see above when he was out thrifting the other day. I love the colors and the hearts along the edges. This plate will work for multiple seasons and occasions and I'm so glad he bought it for me! I used my ceramic Easter rabbit figurine and some small wooden bunny figurines to simply sit on the plate for a pretty vignette displayed on the middle of the kitchen table. 

The foyer table is also decorated. I found some cute Easter egg picks at Dollar Tree and they look festive in a bud vase surrounded by colorful eggs and bunnies. 

Underneath, on the bottom shelf, is my wooden tulip bunny I purchased last Easter. I still think this bunnie's expression is just so happy and joyful. 

It is less than one month now until Easter Sunday so it's time to get out your Easter decor and enjoy your displays! I hope you will share your decorating in the comments below. Have a wonderful week!

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

Daily Life and A Little New Decor

 Just A Few Things Here Lately

Hi friends! I'm just popping on today to share a little bit of daily life and a little bit of new decor around the house. Really, just a little bit of this and that. Hope you enjoy! I wanted to add a little something to the guest bathroom shelf and I found this cute cat wearing eyeglasses at Hobby Lobby. 

So this is what the shelf looks like now. Just a little simple vignette for a pre-Spring look. I love anything with cats and this adds a little whimsy to the bathroom shelf. 

I also added this cute hanger to the front door. Three important words to live by....Faith, Hope and Love! I found this at Dollar Tree and it's also perfect for the pre-Spring and Easter front door style. 

I pulled out a few carnations and some baby's breath from my Valentine's flower arrangement and created a bud vase arrangement for the living room mantel.

The miniature battery operated white lights add a cheerful glow to the mantel in the evenings. So pretty. 

I've also been creating more doll clothes for Barbie. I sewed this paper bag skirt for her. 

The pink cold shoulder top and pink shoes were ones I ordered. 

I sewed this V-neck dress for Barbie and styled it with white boots and a purse that I ordered online. 

I tried lining this dress and fashioned a tie belt to cinch the waist. It turned out pretty well. 

I picked up some Fat Squares fabric and some colorful buttons at Hobby Lobby and have plans for more Barbie outfits and possibly some other items. I love these fabrics, especially the blue! I have been doing some online research, also, and am finding other folks who also enjoy creating and sewing doll clothes and that has been fun to discover!

In other news, I'm currently reading, "An Unlikely Lent," by Rachel Billups and will be leading a study of this book at my church. Our first class got cancelled this week due to bad weather so, hopefully, next week will bring blue skies and warmer temps so we can meet! This book looks at people who were on the periphery of the Easter story and yet played an important role in the events of Holy Week. It's very interesting and thought provoking. 

I also had the opportunity to bring the message at our church last Sunday while our pastor is on a mission trip to Africa. It's always a blessing to be able to share a sermon and lead worship. This particular sermon was written from the text about the walk to Emmaus. I emphasized that Jesus is walking with each of us in our daily travels through life even when we don't recognize that He is there. I hope that each of us can experience an Emmaus walk as we go through the Lenten season. 

And, finally, The Mr. participated in a brass concert on Sunday afternoon that I attended. The music was really spectacular and was a relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon after a busy Sunday morning! All in all, a very nice day. 

So, this is how I've been styling life lately. How about you? What has daily life, for you, been like? Hope you will take a moment to share in the comments. I enjoy hearing from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

A Little Bit of This and That and A Barbie Doll Hobby

 Sewing, Flowers and New Hobby

Hi friends! In true "this and that" fashion, today's post has a little bit of everything in it. I hope you enjoy and find something of interest to read about. Did you love on yourself for Valentine's Day? I hope you had a wonderful day and treated yourself well. Above you see the flowers that The Mr. and I picked out together at Sam's Club. If you haven't checked out flowers there give them a try. They had HUGE amounts of flowers the day before Valentine's Day that were reasonably priced. It was fun to look at all of the choices and pick out what we wanted. I arranged the flowers in a large Longaberger pitcher and they are on display on our kitchen counter where we can both enjoy them! BTW, I'm not paid to promote Sam's Club. I thought you might just enjoy finding flowers at a good price. To me, flowers bring joy and beauty to whatever room they are in and I love having them on display. Although I use faux silk flowers around the house, there is nothing quite like real, live flowers!

I've been doing several different types of sewing projects lately (more to come on that later) and one I completed recently is this cute cat pillowcase. I found this fabric at Michael's and bought enough to sew two pillowcases. I love the black and white and how some of the cats are wearing bow ties! This fabric definitely fits into our house and Cassie and Garden have both told me that they approve! No word yet from River, however! (I may need to look for fabric with dogs on it!)

And guess what? I have a new "hobby" that involves Barbie dolls. This topic requires some explanation-a "back story" if you will. When I was a little girl, I absolutely LOVED Barbie dolls. I had a collection of dolls with clothes, some purchased and some handmade, that I played with all the time. I had a little suitcase that I kept my dolls and their clothes in and I carried that suitcase with me whenever my Mom would go someplace and I went along or when we visited friends and family and I always had something to play with and occupy my time. As I got older, I also had a Crissy doll (remember her?) that I also played with. My Mom sewed several outfits for my Crissy doll which I still have and one of my sisters sewed some Barbie outfits for me. These dolls were special to me. But, of course, eventually I outgrew them and they ended up in the attic. I believe my nieces played with the Barbies over the years and I don't really know what happened to them. My oldest sister returned my Crissy doll and the outfits my mom made to me several years ago and I have them stored safely. 

So, here we are.....ohhhh 50+ years later or so......and I began thinking about Barbie and all the fun I had styling her in different outfits. I had bought a Dollar Tree doll a few years back (some of you may recall those posts) but somehow it just wasn't the same and so I passed her on for someone else to enjoy. And I even had a fourth grade student and her mother buy me a Barbie doll years ago as a Christmas present after I shared with the class how much I had fun playing with Barbies as a little girl. That was such a sweet gift from them! But, again, after a few years of Barbie being up in the closet, I gave her away to a thrift store. 

Fast forward to this past Christmas season.....I was feeling very nostalgic about Christmases past, missing family members and the "way things used to be." Probably all of us have been there with experiencing these kinds of feelings. Anyway, I once again began thinking of Barbie dolls and I decided to give myself a nostalgic Christmas present. So.....I ordered myself a Holiday 2025 Barbie Doll!

Here I am Christmas morning unwrapping my doll. Yep, I wrapped the box and put it under the tree and the gift tag said, "To Debbie from Debbie." And yes, The Mr. might have thought I was a little silly but he's used to me! (wink)

So, here I am embarking on a new hobby of collecting and styling Barbie clothing and accessories. The doll arrived wearing this gorgeous ball gown with heels, earrings and a stand so she can be displayed. I decided to turn this gown into a bridal look and so I created a wedding veil for her using gold ribbon that I wound around a small pipe cleaner that I cut to size and then tied the tulle veiling strips to the headpiece. 

I enjoyed creating the veil so much that I began to think about whether or not I would like to try creating outfits for her using fabric I had on hand. So....I went online and started researching sewing Barbie doll clothing. I found a simple pattern (I knew I would need something simple) and I gave it a try.

Here is the first dress I sewed for her. I added the yellow ric-rac to the hem to add a little something extra to the fabric and I also gave her a yellow headband to pull the look together. 

Isn't she a beautiful doll? I must tell you that I had no idea how Barbies have changed over the last half century! When I ordered this doll I was able to choose hair color and skin tone. There are Barbies in all sizes, skin tones, ethnicities and hair colors available for purchase. There are also special Barbies that celebrate famous women and special needs dolls, as well. There is a whole world out there that revolves around Barbie doll collectors and merchandise that celebrates Barbie! How wonderful, also, for little girls (and big girls) to be able to have so many choices in choosing a Barbie that looks similar to them! But I digress....back to sewing doll clothes. 

This is the second dress I sewed for her using white polka dot fabric on a black background. I added an elastic belt for good measure. I love this fabric and wouldn't mind having a dress for myself made from this fabric. As I contemplated the dresses I had sewn, I decided to order some outfits online to see if I could learn a little more about how they did finishing on doll clothes. So, I ordered a set of outfits and accessories on Amazon.

The set came with about six mix and match outfits, several pairs of shoes and boots and a little purse. Also, this ball gown was in the set. It's a pretty pink gown with sparkles at the shoulders and on the bodice. 

And this is more of a business suit look. 

I prefer a longer skirt but this is how the outfits came. They all use Velcro as fasteners on the back and the shoes have slits on the back so they can slide on the doll's feet. 

The fabric quality of the purchased clothing is just so-so. I used higher quality fabric on the dresses I sewed in my opinion. But, I do like having more variety for styling and having the extra accessories in shoes and boots. I was concerned about the finishing on the dresses I sewed, especially around the neckline area. But I noticed that some of these purchased outfits don't have finishing either. For instance, the white top above doesn't have finishing around the sleeves. The jacket covers that up. 

So, this is a long post, I know, but I wanted to share my newest hobby with you....collecting Barbie dolls and sewing doll clothes and styling the dolls. I definitely plan on adding another doll in the future. Perhaps, as another Christmas or birthday present to myself? I was a little hesitant about sharing this on the blog as I fear some may think this is "silly" at my age. But, I can tell you that this new hobby gives me joy and is an outlet for creativity. And isn't that what hobbies are all about? I don't have room for lots and lots of dolls so probably two or three will be enough. And I want the fun of choosing the dolls myself. I hope to become more adept at sewing the doll clothes and, who knows, perhaps I will learn enough to sew a simple top or dress for myself?! Time will tell. 

What hobbies or interests have you been enjoying lately? I hope you will take a moment to share in the comments. I look forward to hearing from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

 

The Joys of a Corduroy Dress

 Looking For A New Dress Idea?

Hello friends! I don't do many fashion posts anymore, but this dress is something that I decided to share with all of you. Let me assure you that this is not a paid post and I receive nothing for sharing this dress and where I purchased it from. 

This winter season, I have rediscovered a love for corduroy pants, skirts and dresses but have discovered that finding styles I like in these items can be challenging. Lo and behold, I saw an ad for The Vermont Country Store online and, after checking it out to make sure it was legit, I went to their site and discovered this pretty corduroy dress! This store carries so many interesting and hard to find items! And they carry many different styles of clothing. 

This particular dress is long sleeved with a tie in the back to adjust the waist area to your particular shape. It has buttons all down the front and pintucks on the bodice. ( I think that's the correct description for the front of the dress.) There are different color choices and you can choose a solid color or a pattern. The dress also comes in a jumper style if that is what you prefer. I found the size chart they offer to be accurate. I am wearing a Medium and it fits perfectly. This dress is not a "stiff" corduroy but soft and warm, but not overly hot. I just love this dress and have worn it a few times already! I know I will get good wear from this dress. 

So, if you're looking for something different or hard to find in a dress or jumper, or household goods or whatever, give this store a try to see if they have what you are looking for. Again, this is not a sponsored post, but I do like what The Vermont Country Store has to offer. Just my opinion. 

I hope that you are having a good day/week and that temps are getting warmer wherever you may be. We are supposed to be in the high 60's today which will be a welcome change from the recent single digits we have experienced!

Until Next Time,

Debbie (This and That)

Winter Decor Meets Valentine's Decor

☃☃ Snow and Hearts❤❤

Hello everyone!  With February 1st coming this Sunday, I have begun to slowly add in some Valentine's Day decor with my winter season decor. Snow is definitely meeting up with hearts both literally and figuratively! 

After experiencing extreme cold and icy conditions last weekend, we are told that we may have several inches of snow this coming weekend. Winter is definitely making itself known! I know that many of you readers are experiencing similar situations. How comforting it is to have these lovely winter lights to enjoy on these freezing and snowy days! I really enjoy these battery operated snow globes so much. They not only light up but they keep the glitter "snow" inside circulating constantly so it really looks like snow is blowing in the wind. 

I found these cute little stuffed Valentine's hearts at Aldi yesterday. They fit beautifully into this lovely rope bowl that was handcrafted and sewn by my dear friend, Sharon. She is a talented artist who creates lovely quilts, table runners, pillow cases and more. And now, she is creating these beautiful bowls! 

I'm really glad that I found these little stuffed hearts. "Bowl fillers" are popular now and while I don't jump on every trend, I have routinely looked for items that look pretty in bowls or baskets and these hearts certainly do!

Are you adding any Valentine's Decor to your home? Is snow meeting hearts in your home, too? Please be safe and warm as the frigid winter weather continues. 

Until Next Time,

Debbie (This and That)

The Ice Storm Cometh

 Getting Ready For The Storm

Hello friends!  Depending on your location as you read this, you may or may not be getting ready for the impending snow/ice storm that is set to hit close to half of the United States this weekend. For several days now, we have been listening to weather reports, looking at various "models" that show what could happen and generally been getting more and more nervous about the impending weather situation. I try not to get too worked up about the weather, since there isn't much I can do about it anyway. But, I have to admit that since Hurricane Helene took us all by surprise in 2024, I do tend to pay more attention these days. 

I have never been much of a fan of snow and ice and absolutely hate driving in it. When I was still teaching, I would nervously watch the closings and delays list to see if my school system would close down or have an optional teacher work day. These days were more of a misery for me than a joy because I would be so filled with angst about whether I would need to go out or not. Some people just love the snow and wish for inches and inches of the white stuff. But.not.me.

I know that many folks in our area feel more anxiety now about the possibility of bad weather since going through the hurricane. Here in Asheville, we spent weeks without electricity and/or water due to the storm damage. And, sadly, there are still folks in this area who are still living in substandard shelters with this big cold snap coming. Once people have lived through a weather related disaster it's hard to get it out of your head! 

The Mr. and I have prepared as best we can. We have plenty of food, water and an alternate heat source if the power goes out. And with almost half the country facing similar circumstances, we are certainly not alone! I actually may have over-prepared this time for the storm. But, better safe than sorry, right?! I'm really hoping, though, that we don't lose power. Sigh....time will tell.

How are you feeling about the weather these days? Are you a snow lover or hater or indifferent? I hope that wherever you are, you are warm and have a cozy spot to curl up and enjoy life! Please take good care of yourself and be safe!

Until Next Time,

Debbie (this and that)