Mid Summer Front Porch Refresh and "Prime" Buys, 2023

 

 

 Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!

 

I am so happy you decided to stop by!!

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENT!!

 

It seems like I have quite a bit that I want to share so for the next few weeks, I will be now posting

 3 TIMES A WEEK !!!

 

 I will be posting on MONDAY, WEDNESDAY and FRIDAYS

 

 As always, click on each picture if you would like to enlarge it.... 

 

 

 HOWEVER, I WILL ONLY BE DOING 2 POSTS NEXT WEEK ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY....

 

I will be participating in one of Katherine's, from Katherine's Corner, Tray Blog Tours on TUESDAY ....
 

 

 So be sure to visit me on TUESDAY for the Summer Time on a Tray Blog Tour!!

 

 Today, I will be sharing how I gave my Front Porch a bit of a Refresh and what I bought during Prime Days.... 

In my last post, I shared a few changes I made in the Kitchen after July 4th for the Mid Summer....

 

 

 

 

 

 Click HERE if you missed that post!!

And now for a few Personal Notes...

 

 

The Grand Pups are now back home with their Mom and Dad so that means that next week, I will start packing away my Patriotic decor in the Living Room and start decorating that room in my Late Summer "Under the Sea" Theme.....

 

I also have a lot of yard work to do like cutting back some perennials that have stopped blooming or are growing a bit too much... 

So I will be busy, as always....

 

 

 

 I left up my Patriotic decorations on the Front Porch from Memorial Day to July 4th...

 

 

 

 

 

Prior to decorating for the Patriotic Holidays, I decorated the Front Porch in a red, yellow and orange color theme which transitions very easily into Fall....

 

I have had this outdoor rug from Ocean State Job Lot for over 4 years now..... 

It was only $10...

 

But since it is on a porch that is exposed to the elements during the Summer months, I did notice this.....

 

 Yep!

 

A tear....

 

 

 And it was right in the area where you had to walk to sit down on the chairs.....

 

So since I was afraid someone would trip over it and fall,  I looked at it as an opportunity to look for a new rug....

 

Joe had just taken advantage of a Father's Day/Graduation promotion at Ocean State Job Lot where if you bought a $100 Gift Card, you received an additional $30 Gift Card......

 

It was a no Brainer for us as we frequently shop at Ocean State Job Lot.....

 

So I did what I usually do....

 

Search their site online to see if they had anything that caught my eye....

And something definitely did.....

They no longer carried the size of outdoor rug that I had or the color so I opted for something a bit different....

A black and white striped one!!

But since it would not cover the entire porch like the other one did, I searched online again for an additional rug and found this on Big Lot's web site...

Both rugs were available in the stores right down the road from us....

Wonderful as I am an instant gratification type of gal!!

The rug from Ocean State Job Lot was $15 but Joe used the $30 gift card so it was FREE!!

The other rug was marked down to $5.99 but Joe used a $5 off $15 coupon at Big Lot's so I look at it as only costing 99 cents because he bought household and food items to come up with the $15....

 

So 2 new rugs for 99 cents.....

 

Pretty darn good if you ask me!

Here is my Front Porch Refresh for Mid Summer......

 

I am loving this fresh new look.....

 

Let's take a closer look.....

 

 

 

 The "Welcome to our Home" mat was recently purchased at Dollar General.....

 

 

 

It is still wet because I had it close to the door under the air conditioner which was leaking...

 

 I placed the new rug in the middle....

 

 And the older one with the "B" on it closer to the door....

This is the only entrance we use into our home so I like to be able to wipe our shoes off before entering....

 

 

I brought back all the new bows I made in the Spring.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 You may remember that I bought these flowers in Dollar Tree....

I added a few of the red ones to this vintage mailbox to the left of the door......

 

 

 

 

 I already did a Wreath Refresh in the Spring.....

 When I added these Bees that I painted to the wreath....

And changed out the bow for new ones that I made from different ribbons....

I decided to add those pretty green flowers to it along with a few of the red ones....

I love the different pop of color the green ones give it...

 

 

 

 

 

In the Spring, I also added a few of those bees to this sign....

 

 

 

 

 

 I kept the decor that I hung on the wall of the house the same as in the early Spring....

 

 

 

 

 And now, will you look at that new rug!!!

 

 

 

 

 Honestly, I am really loving it!!

 

 

 

 I think it looks rather striking!!

 

 

 

 

I also think that I will be able to keep it out for the Fall....

 I used to pack the red one away after Labor Day....

 

 

 I had been seeing a lot of rugs similar to this on porches on Blogs, Instagram and You Tube....

 

I think it looks good with all the other black elements in the front of the house....

I feel I made a wise choice!

And I am really happy with the changes I made to Refresh the Front Porch!!

"Prime" Buys

I did do a bit of shopping during Amazon Prime Days but not from Amazon!!!

As I mentioned several times here on my blog, I am not really a fan of Amazon as I find them to be expensive.....

I do not even have an Amazon account.....

When my son Joey gives me Amazon Gift Cards, I have him order what I choose, which are usually hard to find items that I can not buy in a local brick and mortar store....

I kept seeing on face book ads a set of Firefly Lights that were on sale on Amazon for Prime Days for $19.99.....

So I did what I always like to do....

Search for them locally and there they were advertised in the Ocean State Job Lot circular!!

Have I mentioned how much I love that store???

Same thing....

 

A set of 2..

8 lights a piece....

Made by a different company...

For only $10.00!!!!

Half the price as on Amazon!!!

Again, I sent Joe down to buy them and he used what was left on that $30 FREE gift card so they were FREE!!!!!

I put them here in the flower bed under the Living Room window.....

I put each one in the flower pots on each side of the Angel....

 

 

 

 

 

At dusk in the early evening....

 

 

 

 

 

They are nice and bright!!!

 

 

 About as bright as the lights I have on the Amish Buggy Wheel which are not solar but electric....

 I like them so much that I think I am going to buy another set...

Therefore getting 2 sets for the price of one that Amazon was offering....

 

 And while I am here in that flower bed, I just want to share how much the flowers in this area on the retaining wall between my yard and the neighbor's are growing with this heat and humidity!!!!

 

 

 

You can barely even see that there is another pot in the middle of those 2 square pots!!

 

 

 

 

 

 Note to self.....lift the smaller pot in the center up higher next year......

 

Many Brick and Mortar stores were also having online sales to coincide with Amazon's Prime Days...

Boscov's is a family owned chain of Department stores that originated in Reading, Pa, and now has 48 stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Ohio, and Rhode Island!!

 

When a lot of stores are shuttered their doors, Boscov's is thriving and building more stores....

 

 

 I have shopped in about 8 of their stores throughout Pa. and in New Jersey!!

 

We have 3 here in NEPA within a 25 minute drive from my house....

 

I also like to order online from them as they have great deals and great customer service....

 

 I usually buy most of my shoes from them as I only wear Easy Spirit and Clark's mule type shoes with no backs because of my arthritis in my feet and also because of the swelling of my ankles from my auto immune disease...

 

They were offering 20% off current sale prices, including Clearance, on most items in the store!!

 

 So I took advantage of their Prime Sales and ordered these 2 pairs of Easy Spirits ....

I love these as they will go well with jeans....

And I like the darker leather band on these grey ones....

They have the memory foam soles and are padded on the tops and around the sides....

So comfy...

I bought both pairs for a total of $51.32!!!!

 

They were originally $59.99 a piece! 

So I looked on Amazon to see if they had them....

They had them in black for $34.50...

And in a beige color for $65.00!!

I think I got a much better deal!!

I also ordered a spring jacket, which will be delivered today, for only $19.99 and 2 summer nightgowns for only $10....

All were an additional 20% off for "Prime Sales"

 

Another case in point.... 

I needed to replace the  tube from the rain gauge in my back yard as it cracked....

Once again, I searched online and found one for only $5.98 in Lowe's which is literally right next to our development....

 

There was one pretty much identical to it on Amazon for $8.98....

And the one from Lowe's fits perfectly!!!

So I think I got some pretty good deals for "Prime" Days even though they were not from Amazon!!

 

Gee, I guess I will never be a Amazon Associate Blogger....

 

Oh, WELL!!!

I hope you enjoyed seeing how I freshened up the Front Porch a bit and what I bought for "Prime" days....

Please remember there will not be a post on MONDAY..