Life on the Porch

The lazy days of summer are here to stay and so is living life on the porch! I love bringing the indoors outside and the 4th of July is the quintessential day of the year for outdoor living.
Our house is full this year.  Our kids are home and Bill's parents are here, too.  We are celebrating our first Independence Day in Washington DC.  And who knows, in the Army, it could also be our last so we are going to enjoy it whole heartedly.
Our menu is simple...burgers (beef and veggie), grilled potato salad, baked beans, chips, watermelon, apple pie, and fireworks!

I'm super thankful we have a screened porch... it makes the easy livin' outside so much easier. A patio makes it even better. 
Here's what we did to our outdoor space...

I'm big into green and navy this year with just a touch of red...

View from our kitchen window... this Biergarten sign is from Germany, the Eidelweiss to be exact!

 A few wrought iron window boxes from Italy found perfect spots on the edge of the porch.

This L-shaped porch is old and very worn but I love it none the less. The rocking chairs are great for drinking coffee in the morning and the lounge chairs are a comfy reading spot on a sunny afternoon.

 The view down our street is always patriotic...

Happy Independence Day! 

'Til next time...

Happy New Year!

I can't believe another Christmas is behind us and a new year is about to begin! 

Next to my children's voices, the sound I love the most is a bottle of champagne or prosecco opening...and I hope to open a few tonight to celebrate with family and friends!

I'm so trying these French 75 Champagne Popsicles..I've linked the recipe site here!

I love this classic quote about champagne from Lilly Bollinger, the Bollinger Champagne heiress...

"I drink it when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it,

 unless I'm thirsty." 

Lovely!

Cent' Anni, Salute, Cheers...

Have a very wonderfully safe and fun New Year's Eve 

and a 

Peaceful and prosperous New Year!

We Believe in Santa

   

From Pinterest, I'm pretty sure he's the real Santa Claus!

 I still believe in the magic of Santa Claus.  At some point in time my children asked if Santa was real and even added they didn't believe in him. I told them this..

  Of course Santa is real! But, there is something you don't know about him... he has the power to make himself look different at different times of our lives.

When we are children, Santa Claus looks like a jolly man in a red suit making a wild sleigh ride across the night sky. 
When we get a little bit older Santa may look more like our parents. When we're even older...oddly enough Santa may look like our friends or even look like ourselves.
Whatever physical form he takes throughout our lives, rest assured that his spirit, the spirit of giving and loving unconditionally, is indeed real.

You just have to believe.

Happy Christmas to you and your family.
I hope Santa Claus is good to you this year, however he appears.

Believe!

Christmas at Quarters One

Basically, the only decorations that went up this year at our house were the ones that the movers didn't take up to the storage room, or at least didn't bury too far into it. The best thing about this Christmas, though, is that all of my children and my husband are home for the first time in 5 years….and to me they are the best decorations of all.

We have a tradition of putting only lights on the tree when Bill or one of the boys is deployed at Christmas so it's been a while since we've seen this guy!

The staircase is longer than this but this is as far as I managed and I think it still looks simple but festive.

 

Stockings are finally hung!

I have a large cloche in an antique silver bowl I filled with silver ornaments from Germany and a nesting bird from The Gatherings.

 This wooden horn came from Germany purchased at a Cristkindlmarkt, I just love those festive markets.

My dream car!

We even managed a dinner party in our tiny, I mean cozy, new dining room…

One of my favorite desserts…a Panettone Trifle, so simple! 
Sweeten to taste 1 container of marscapone with sugar or stevia, layer pieces of panettone, drizzled with coffee liqueur, and marscapone in a champagne flute. Serve room temperature. This can, and should, be made several hours ahead of serving.  

Hope you're having a wonderful Christmas Eve Eve!!

Quarters One, A New Beginning!

Zinnias and Lemon Zest Petunias...a marvelous summery combination!

Welcome to my updated blog with a slightly new name, look and format! Thank you for following me here and welcome if you're just joining me. For many years I have referred to our house as "Quarters One".   It was purely a coincidence that the home we moved into at Fort Riley was also known by the same moniker. Quarters One is where the VIPs (very important people) live and aren't those people our own families?  So cheers to your Q1 and mine...where ever we are! I hope that through my family's military adventures I can continue to share my experiences as a senior military spouse and military mom... along with my love of entertaining and decorating, of course!

You can still find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/quartersone.  

Our current Quarters One on the shore. Living the Army motto, "Hurry up and wait"!