Quarters One Christmas Tour of Homes 2012

A Christmas welcome from the Big Red One!

Deck the halls with boughs and boughs of birch and cypress branches! Coming on the heels of a wonderful RandR, and Thanksgiving with all of my children, I was hard pressed to be motivated to decorate for Christmas. I really just wanted to make like Rip Van Winkle and sleep away the rest of the deployment. But...instead of wrapping myself in Christmas lights and drinking vodka while crying to Christmas tunes... I enlisted the help of my friend, Rob and VOILA!  A Christmas decorating miracle! It's amazing what can be done with  birch branches and fresh greenery.  Imagination, along with zip ties, wire, and ribbon held it all together. We used everything fresh outside and fabulous faux greenery inside.  

This sweet reindeer was just passing through but he was a great touch to  our decor!

 The outdoor light fixture was stunning!

Another view of the porch light.

This was really my excuse for not wanting to vacuum on this side...

Everything on the porch got touch of fresh greenery.

 Naughty or Nice, I'm still trying to decide...

Our theme this year was Woodsy Glam.
lots of natural elements mixed in with silver, velvet, and crystal.

 I love to decorate with these old snow shoes.

We had the same Christmas decor on our stairs for the past 7 years, it was time to change it up and we did! The birdhouse added a touch of whimsy and accentuated our outdoor theme.

One of the five fireplaces in Q1...this tile came from Italy and symbolizes our much loved 173d Airborne Brigade.

This fireplace is reserved for Santa!

A little angel reading a "book" we added a few pages of our own to make it a Christmas story.

Italian stockings made by my friend, Aly. The painting is a Rembrandt reproduction found at a market in Italy, he reminds me a little of St. Nick!

A snapshot of our collection of snowmen and Santas from all around the world.

'Tis the season to be Joyful! We decorated both sets of dining room chairs.

 Found these great reindeer candle holders at Tuesday Morning one year.

We staged the dining room table to look like a New Year's Eve buffet!

The dining room sideboard.

An ornament given to me by a German friend.

My very favorite room! An antique corbel makes a great centerpiece and the oyster shells are votive holders.

Over sized sugar bowls serve as mini soup tureens.

We've used the "Duty First" ribbon a lot! It came from StationaryStudio.com.

 More corbels (I love them!) act as bookends for our favorite Christmas books.

This is the island in the kitchen and it is where we always eat when it's just the two of us. The Big Red One glasses belong to Quarters One.

We moved this desk into the kitchen from the living room, it really "cozied" up the big space!

We had over 200 visitors on the Tour of Homes, our Historical Society did a magnificent job!

There goes Leigh, our HASFR president and the head docent for the day at Quarters One. I loved the period costume she wore, it added a great touch to the event. For more Christmas pictures of Quarters One visit us at www.facebook.com/Quartersone!

'Til next time....Merry Christmas!

Duty First!

Simple Fall

Fall comes to Quarters One

I'm so glad Halloween is behind us. It's not that I have anything against it, I've just never been a big fan of spooky decorating.  I prefer uncarved pumpkins and decorations that take us right through Thanksgiving. It's probably a function of my age, of course, there was a day when my children were small and our quarters were bursting with pumpkin guts, candy, and costume frenzy!

These days I choose a simple way of decorating with organic materials and as little fuss as possible. Here are some of my favorite fall photos from Quarters One and the web.

I love unconventional pumpkins...and white dishes!! (From Pinterest)

I can't get enough of white pumpkins this year....if you can't find them try painting the orange version!

I just love snuggling them everywhere!

The front hall mantle, a mixture of textures all done in a neutral palette.

Princess, heirloom, Cinderella pumpkins...whatever you call them they are so vintage looking

You never know where they'll turn up.

Love this from Pinterest, so simple yet it says "Fall"!

 Bittersweet is a beautiful vine...even just a sprig calls out Fall in a big way.

 I just love decorating with ivy, it's quite hardy if you get the right kind. I love this monogrammed pumpkin, it's been part of our decor for about 5 years now.

La Bella Luce's porch is ready for the season.

Of course sunflowers are a must for any fall decor...personally, I have them in Quarters One all year round because they represent two of my favorite assignments, Italy and Kansas. These sunflowers are paired with kale, love the combination.

I'm not a big fan of mums but I love these fall blooming hydrangeas that grow in the garden at Quarters One.

I love a reason to use our dishes from Deruta, the colors are fabulous, but if you can't get to Italy to find them you can also try Home Goods or TJ Maxx...a great source!

Sweet idea from Better Homes and Gardens.

From Pinterest, another version of fall, neutrals, love this too, I am going to try to recreate this for Thanksgiving this year.

Last fall we were privileged to have some of our local mayors and their spouses as guests of Quarters One, we began our afternoon with a tour of post, courtesy of the Commanding General's Mounted Color Guard. If you haven't been to visit our historic stables I hope you get the chance to do so.

Happy Fall from Quarters One! 
If you want to know more about what goes on in Quarters One you can follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/quartersone.
'Til next time...Duty First!

The Gatherings on the Prairie

The Gatherings re-opens September 28 at 10 am!

Winter holidays bring happiness and when the holidays arrive in September it is pure JOY!  That's exactly what happens outside of the gates of Fort Riley in a fabulous little shop called
 "The Gatherings on the Prairie".
Days after we moved into Quarters One my friend, Theresa, introduced me to Rob Dudley and Rick Munson, the proprietors of the Gatherings, and I became their biggest fan!

It's where the Army sends us..I'm so glad it sent us to Fort Riley!

All year long the Gatherings is filled with beautiful home decor and things you never knew you needed.  It is my absolute go to place for gifts large and small and it's my number one destination spot when I have a decorating dilemma...there is plenty of help and talent to be found with in these well decorated walls.
But, ahhh, September...that's when the magic really happens! The Gatherings shutters their windows and doors for two weeks and the store is totally transformed into a Winter Wonderland.  I, mistakenly, missed out on the first few weeks of the Gatherings holiday season last year. A mistake I will not repeat this year! I was honored to be able to take a sneak peek of the store and I am excited to share my photos with you. Even if you don't live in  Kansas I hope you'll enjoy this pictorial tour and maybe get some great ideas for 2012. And if there's some thing you really love, give Rob a call, he might just be able to make your Christmas wish come true!

These wonderful Christmas pillows, many of which are Rob's own designs, will make you feel  Very Merry!

Happy!

Red is in the house! Amaryllis, velvet ribbon, antiqued ornaments....perfect for "Big Red One" decorating!

Rob used the term "Rustic Glitz" to describe this year's holiday theme...I think he made that up on the spot but I love the way it sounds and the way it looks!  

I believe!

No matter the season, each time I walk through the doors of The Gatherings I am excited to see all the sweet things it has to offer. More than that I am excited to see my friend, Rob. When the day comes for us to leave Quarters One and Fort Riley I know that the most precious gift  that I will take with me from the Gatherings is that of friendship.

Thank you, Rob and Rick, (and Susan, too!) for truly creating a place where we can all gather on the prairie...and for being so good to me and all of my Army Family.

I'm dreaming....

The Gatherings on the Prairie
615 North Washington Street, Junction City, KS
785-238-7300
Mon-Fri 10-6 and Sat 10-4 (Closed Sunday)

If you would like to see more photos of The Gatherings on the Prairie look for us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Quartersone . You can also visit (and like!) the Gatherings on Facebook.
'Til next time....Duty First!