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

Happy Easter Blessings

 

Photo by William Ross

Wishing all of my readers a most blessed and happy
Easter Day!

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13: 20-21

Easter On A Tray Blog Hop

 Easter On A Tray And Other Decor

Hello friends!  Easter is only a few days away and I'm happy to be joining in with another blog hop hosted by Katherine of katherinescorner.com! Today's blog hop features "Easter On A Tray." If you are hopping over from The Painted Apron, I want to welcome you. Be sure to visit all of the wonderful bloggers participating in the blog hop today so you don't miss out on any of the lovely trays they will be featuring. The links follow at the end of this post. 

I decided to create an Easter Tea Tray for this blog hop. The tea cups and saucers are covered in butterflies. Butterflies are a symbol of resurrection and rebirth and that certainly fits with celebrating Christ's resurrection at Easter. I love butterflies and always look forward to seeing them in my garden. By the way, the tea cup set was actually purchased from our hostess's lovely shop several years ago. Thanks again, Katherine, I just love these cups! The white tea pot was gifted to me by one of my sisters and is a lovely keepsake that represents family. 

The ceramic bunny and colorful wooden Easter egg add a note of whimsy to the tray while the faux flowers add some Spring color and extra height to the tray. 

My Easter Tea Tray vignette is living on our dining room table. And guess what? The dining room also houses a lot of other Easter decorations that I want to share with you, including another Easter tray arrangement. 

In the corner of our dining room we have a tall and skinny table that is wonderful for smaller vignettes. Here, I have my tiered skinny tray that I purchased from Target. I added lots of little Easter objects to both tiers. The two little Easter baskets on the bottom tier were created around 30 years ago by my mother and one of my sisters and they are precious keepsakes to me. It doesn't seem like Easter until these little baskets are on display! The two jar lid ornaments were crafted by me using scrapbook paper and butterfly stickers and I think they are so cute! I have had the little ceramic ornament for years and the little wooden bunnies are recent purchases from Hobby Lobby. I really enjoy this whimsical two tiered Easter tray!

The bottom tier of the tall table shows my colorful collection of Easter eggs displayed in a wire net candle holder. Behind it is my wooden "Spring Thyme" sign. In front of the table is a Longaberger basket filled with wooden bunnies that were made for me early in my teaching career by one of my assistants and I just love them! My metal farmhouse bucket is holding my tobacco basket with a Happy Easter sign from Dollar Tree attached to it. I thought the silk white scarf added a nice touch to this vignette. 

This is the view looking into the dining room. 

And, finally, this is a close-up view of my little Easter egg tree on top of the knick-knack shelf in the corner of the dining room. The whole dining room takes on a warm glow when the tree is lit at night!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my Easter Tea Tray as well as the other Easter decor in the dining room. Be sure to hop on over to Common Ground and enjoy more Easter tray goodness!

Blessings to you at this most Holy time of the year!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

Christ Jesus who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Romans 8:34

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Playing With Styling What Looks Best

 Trying Out Stylings

Hi everyone!  I've been spending some time playing with clothes in my closet and experimenting with different looks. I can't say that I love all the looks I'm going to share with you today but it was helpful for me to try out some new stylings and also to take pictures of them. A picture is truly worth a thousand words when it comes to styling. My hope for you is to get some good ideas for how to style some of your outfits and how colors work or don't work. Be sure to tell me what you think in the comments!

First up is a mustard yellow swing style dress that I thrifted recently. I have to admit that this color is probably not the best against my fair skin but I have been wanting some yellow tone pieces to wear and this dress caught my eye. It is a crepe material, fully lined and is very comfortable. I know it would be a terrific summer dress. I'm not sure it is for me, however. I decided to wear a belt with it since without one it is very flowy and makes me look big. You'll see that on the next photo. Anyway, I am wearing a thin black belt, black shoes and a black choker style necklace. 

Here is how the dress looks without the belt. What do you think? With or without the belt? And what about the color against my skin tone? 

Next up is a light blue skirt worn with a cobalt blue shirt. I decided to try tying the shirt at the waist and seeing how that would look.

Hmmm...can't say I love this look either. The shirt would be too long if I left it untied. I like the cobalt blue color with the lighter blue in the skirt. But, the overall look doesn't do much for me. What do you think? I've had a really hard time finding any top that seems to work with this skirt.

Here's another try with a patterned top with the light blue skirt. This looks pretty good if I wanted a super casual look in the summer. But, I still feel that the top needs to be just a little shorter. The jury is out on this look. What do you think? 

Sometimes, just looking in the mirror is not enough for me. I need to try pieces out several ways and even take a picture! Doing all of that can help me to see what works and what doesn't with style. How about you?

I love hearing from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie