First Snowfall and a Sale

It is snowing here in Upstate New York.

Finally!

We hope you have spent most of the day playing in the winter white. Once you come back indoors to get toasty while sipping a mug of hot chocolate (with marshmallows, of course), we hope you will visit our online store to snatch up holiday inventory that has been marked 40% off.

That kind of deal should help warm you up.


INSIDER TIP FOR THOSE HOSTING A NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY: We still have the Gold Glitter Ball Tree in stock. At 40% off, it can easily be worked into your New Year's Eve decor.

Did I remember?

When it comes to shopping for those on your list, we at next summer have endless possibilities. But we know good design and living the good life extends beyond our shelves. Check out our gift ideas - from fun products in our store to an innovative style setting company to our top charitable picks - all very carefully curated to help you find the perfect something for those in your life. 

1. Warby Parker Gift Card ($95): Stylish, hip and forward-thinking. For every pair of glasses they sell, they give away a pair to someone in need.

2. Joseph Joseph Large Double Dish ($28): The perfect gift for all the hosts and hostesses out there throwing parties throughout the holiday season. It allows for multiple items to be served and a tiny holder for toothpicks; not to mention a larger hidden catch-all for pits and shells so you don't have to see your mess and the host can spend less time cleaning up and more time with guests.

3. Liberty Puzzles ($88 - $108): The locations depicted on these beautifully crafted wooden puzzles will stir fond memories for the giftee... sailing on the water, the paddock at Saratoga Race Track, skating on a frozen pond. It’s a gift that will last generations.

4. Christine’s Originals Rings ($68): Outwardly fun, these rings bring a little whimsy into the life of a confident, sophisticated wearer.

5. Lindsay's Pick (Visions of Sugarplums danced in their heads) JDRF:JDRF is the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Giving a donation helps move this important research forward. 
Matthew's Pick (I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas)  The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust : The Trust dedicates itself to the protection and preservation of Africa’s wilderness and its denizens. A monetary donation helps endangered species such as elephants and black rhino (but no hippos). 

TRADITIONS: COOKIES AND THE HOLIDAYS

Traditions. Come December, they are blissfully unavoidable. One of my all-time favorite traditions during the holiday season revolves squarely around cookies.

Baking them. Exchanging them. Delivering them. Eating them.

As a kid, my friends and I would gather in the kitchen at a cozy farmhouse up on top of a very big hill. We would bake dozens upon dozens of cookies, all while eating our healthy share of dough and giggling our way through sugar-high versions of our favorite Christmas carols and hymns. Once cooled, the cookies would be packed up and delivered around our sleepy little town to those simply needing to know someone was thinking of them.

Today, cookie making is still an important part of my friendships during the holidays. While we no longer bake in that cozy farmhouse up on top of a very big hill, we still eat too much dough and laugh until we cry. Our generosity has evolved, though dropping off cookies still happens on occasion.

We at next summer hope your traditions continue this holiday season. And, for those of you without traditions, we hope you consider starting some of your very own. They are part of living a good life.

DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS COOKIES

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix 1 cup softened butter, 1 1/3 cups light brown sugar, 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
3. To the mixture, stir in 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
4. Mix in 3 cups rolled oats and 2 cups of white chocolate chips (Hello, White Christmas!)
5. Spoon equal sized bits of dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 – 12 minutes.
6. Eat one… or two, but save some to share with friends and neighbors. And don't forget to bring in a few for us to try as well. 

The Butler's gotta drink too

Lindsay and I have been doing a lot of work on our home. We've promised to show you as we updated and . . .well, the updates have been few and far between. It's not that we haven't done anything. On the contrary, we've done a lot, but until recently, we hadn't completed much. We've finally completed our "Butler's Pantry" - well, at least that's what Lindsay's mom, a Southern Belle through and through, calls it. 

Here's the Before picture. 

I really like this one, mostly because Izzy is in it, so I couldn't resist. As you can tell, it's less of a "before" picture and more of a "during" picture, but you get the idea.

I've included this picture to show you just how bad the floor was. The unfortunate thing is that neither photograph shows just how bad the wall color was. 

So here are the "after" photographs. The project broke down into four phases, 1) doors; 2) painting; 3) counter; and 4) carpet. This picture below is a "panoramic" shot that I took to show the overall view. No, our walls are not bowed in real life. 

The first thing we did was remove those doors to open the cabinets up. Then we painted the walls a light grey color which made the white trim stand out more. After that we painted the interior of the cabinets a hot pink that was a perfect background to our bar accessories.

 We then had to get rid of that horrible countertop. Putting in soapstone, slate, or quartz counters was not in our budget for this little space, so Lindsay came up with an ingenious solution. She decided to get a mirror cut to the exact dimensions of our countertop. We just fit that in over the old linoleum counters and it instantly transformed the space. To finish the counter's front we bought an inexpensive piece of molding, gave it a high quality glossy finish, and glued it to the front of the counter. 

Finally, we covered that terrible floor with Flor carpet tiles to match the back of the cabinets. This gives the overall space a more modern and sophisticated lounge feel. We love it. Hope you do too!

Strolling Strings at the Victorian Street Walk

Survived Thanksgiving: Check.
Survived Black Friday: Check.
Survived Small Business Saturday: Check.
Survived Cyber Monday: Check.

Phew.

The holidays are officially in full swing and with our store bursting with seasonal goodies, we are primed for this week's Victorian Street Walk in Saratoga Springs.

The 26th annual celebration is a holiday event that cannot be missed. As you walk the sidewalks of downtown Saratoga you will see carolers and entertainers in period costumes. Kids can visit Santa and adults can enjoy the decorations at The Festival of Trees.

At next summer, we are excited to host the Glens Falls High School Strolling Strings. Be sure to check them out as they perform in our beautiful windows on Broadway. They'll begin their first set at 7:00 and hopefully they'll be able to do more as the night progresses. 

Now, back to streaming Christmas music on Spotify...

Frost-dusted evergreens. Christmastime is nigh.

It's that time of year

So Alyssa presented last week some of her favorite Thanksgiving details. Turkey Day is almost here, so as a retailer I naturally think of a couple highlights of this time of year. 

Friday is what is supposed to be the biggest retail shopping day of the year - BLACK FRIDAY!!!

We love Black Friday, but the day we've come to love over the past couple years is the next day - Small Business Saturday. Sure, we love being busy as much as any retailer, but what I like so much is the sense of community. Saratoga, in particular, really supports its small businesses. People come out and say things like, "I love buying local" or "I really try to support small, local shops." One thing I've loved hearing recently is, "I saw this online, but then I remembered you carry them too. I'd rather support you - and not have to pay shipping!" 

We'll be open from 10-6 Friday (no need to lose sleep and get out of bed before sunrise) and 10-6 on Saturday. We hope you'll come in and start up a conversation with us. The best part of owning a small business is getting to meet fun people and hear interesting stories. In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving! 

Inspiration: The Thanksgiving Table

Thanksgiving is one week away. If you are anything like me, you are already dreaming of a big, thick slice of pumpkin pie.

Yum.

You are probably also thinking about the table and how you are going to style the center space around which friends and family will gather.

I've pulled a few images from some of my favorite bloggers for inspiration. Happy tablescaping!

Rustic + Refined via Camille Styles

Simplicity + Candles + String Lights via Kinfolk Magazine

Painted Pumpkins + Pheasants via the Hunted Interior

Colors of the Season via Martha Stewart Living

Bold + Quirky Buffet Table via Pepper Design

Don't forget, one of our favorites for a centerpiece this Holiday season - the Lexington Fireplace from Anywhere Fireplace. 

next summer . . . it's just around the corner

We at next summer love having something to look forward to. When we chose the name, "next summer", we wanted something optimistic and forward thinking. What's more optimistic than looking forward to next summer? Well, something all of us here and many of our customers have been looking forward to is almost here - our online store. It's taken a long time and it's not quite done, but in the next couple weeks you'll finally be able to order next summer products online at our website, www.suppliesforagoodlife.com. 

Since we're located in two popular summer destinations, Bolton Landing and Saratoga Springs, we get visitors from all over the country and indeed the world. We've been flattered to have so many of you tell us how much you love our store and that we have things you can't find anywhere else (I'm so glad you noticed, we work very hard to achieve that mix). We want you to be able to find those items when you're back at home, not just in our two favorite towns. We love hearing from all the fun people we meet throughout the year. Now we're hoping to make it easier for you to find updates from us throughout the year. Stay tuned to see when our page goes live!

Walk it Out

With another election cycle behind us, we start to turn our full attention to the holiday season.

Menus...

Travel...

Gift lists...

It can be a little overwhelming. That's why over the course of the next several weeks we will offering up tips and suggestions to help you navigate all that stands between you and actually enjoying the holidays and all they entail.

We'll offer sneak peeks at our own family recipes (my mother's soup portfolio is no joke), travel essentials and how we at next summer can help you tackle those gift lists in a meaningful and affordable way.

In the meantime, we want to offer up our first tip:

Get out for walks.

An afternoon stroll at my childhood home in Washington County.

While the air is crisp and the leaves are crunchy. Whether it's city streets or the countryside. When you want to think things through or think of nothing at all. A 5-minute sanity saver or an hour-long stroll will do you some good.

Happy Birthday Izzy

This past week was our dog, Izzy's, third birthday. Since we think of her as a member of the family, we had to celebrate. Lindsay gave Izzy a real treat - a dog cake. We've included the recipe below. 
You'll need the following:

• 1 egg
  1/4 cup peanut butter
  1/4 cup cooking oil
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1/3 cup honey
  1 cup shredded carrots
  1 cup whole wheat or white flour
  1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 6 cup ring mold.
2. Combine the egg, peanut butter, oil, vanilla, and honey, if desired, in a large bowl; blend well. Stir in the carrots and mix thoroughly. Sift together the flour and baking soda and fold into the carrot mixture. Spoon cake batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes; then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

You'll notice in the picture below we made a few changes. the letters on Izzy's cake were made with one of her favorites - Beggin' Strips! 

As you can tell, she seemed to like it. And if you come by our house for dinner, don't worry, that's Izzy's plate. You won't be served on it. Besides, she licked it clean. 

Oh, Sandy

Oh, Sandy.

You are wrecking havoc on the entire East Coast. And while we keep our coastal friends at the forefront of our thoughts and prayers, we Upstaters are bracing for impact too.

Here are a few key reminders from FEMA:

• Follow the direction of local officials.
• Make final preparations – If you’re further inland, now is the time to make final preparations.  Be ready for power outages and stock up on emergency supplies of food, water, medications, and other supplies.
• Know the forecast for your area – Sandy is a large storm with potential impacts from wind, coastal flooding, inland flooding, rain, and snow.  Listen to your NOAA weather radio and local news reports, or visit weather.gov for the conditions in your area.
• Check on your neighbor – make sure they’re ready too. (Neighbor helping neighbor is essential to a good life.)

Stay safe everyone!

We're ready... with homemade soup, stacks of magazines and dominoes on the table.

Homecoming - a good life in VT

This past weekend Lindsay and I went to Homecoming at Middlebury College. I have told Lindsay about the fond memories I had of attending the Homecoming game as a student.  My friends and I would go to the game with the intention of drinking more than our fair share of beer. I remembered seeing these impressive spreads put out by alums. I always looked forward to doing Homecoming with the same style when I returned years later. 

Lindsay did a lot to help me realize my fantasy. A real Homecoming spread starts with an actual table. How civilized do you feel when you're eating off of a tailgate? Since Lindsay's a product of the south, she insisted on a tablecloth. We brought an indoor outdoor fireplace just in case it was cold, but we put the fire out after just a few minutes since the weather was perfect. We pulled out a Bauer plate for our cheese, crackers, salumi and grapes. We used recycled Zak! bowls for our nuts and our dessert mix. Chips went on shiny Model Metalworks platters.  Our mixed drinks went in Zak! travel mugs with colorful Zak! swizzle sticks. We added an acrylic napkin holder and colored napkins for cleanup. The point with this is that nothing should be considered over the top. Everything is within bounds. The best comment we got from passers-by was, "now that looks like the perfect way to spend a Saturday". 

after the tailgate was packed away, we headed into the stadium and watched the Panthers beat the Bates College Bobcats 38-23. 

I wanted to show Lindsay the new library, but just as we walked out the skies opened up and drenched the campus.

The day had been perfect up to that point, but when the rainbow came out after the shower, we knew we were living a good life. 

Headed South... Saratoga South

Colored leaves are floating down. Geese are flying south. And we've all had our fair share of apple cider.

It is officially fall.

That means we have closed our doors in Bolton Landing for the season and are settling into our southern-most, Saratoga store full-time.

With a combined inventory and new offerings arriving every week, we hope you will flock in soon.

As always, be sure to check out our Facebook page for frequent updates!

Construction of the Perfect Sandwich

A professor I had in college told me the most important lesson he learned from his farmer father - if something's worth doing it's worth doing right. One thing I've learned over the years is that a good sandwich is truly worth doing and that means it's worth doing right. The construction of a sandwich is just as important as the parts that go into making that sandwich. The following is a list of ingredients in my perfect sandwich:

                           1. Rock Hill Bakery jalapeño cheddar bread

                           2. chipotle mustard

                           3. bacon

                           4. cheddar jack cheese

                           5. dry salami

                           6. cracked pepper turkey breast

                           7. dill pickle chips

                           8. spicy pepperoncini

Here's the most important part - the construction. Start by toasting the bread. This gives the bread some heat. Immediately, after pulling the bread from the toaster place the cheese on the warm toast. This will cause the cheese to quickly warm up and begin to melt into the bread. This cheese layer serves multiple purposes: 1. it covers any holes in the toast; and 2. it protects the toast from any wet elements in the sandwich which would dampen the bread.

Next, add the cooked bacon. Hopefully, if this is done quickly enough, it will melt slightly into the cheese and bond with that half of the sandwich. 

    

Next, you have to add the mustard to the other slice of bread. Try not to add too much (which could dampen the bread, or worse, flow out of the holes in the bread), but make sure you've covered the entire slice of bread. 

    

Once the mustard had been added, you need to cover that slice of bread with the dry salami. Like the cheese, this will cover any holes and it will protect the bread from any more moisture. This is especially important because of the next step. 

    

The spicy, but damp pickles and peppers are added next. It's important that each of these should be shaken to remove any extra moisture before placing them on the sandwich. 

    

   

Finally, the turkey is placed on top of the bacon. The turkey now acts as a barrier between the bacon and the peppers and pickles. This ensures that the bacon and toast remain crispy, acting as a textural foil to the soft salami and turkey. 

   

Anyone who has tried this sandwich knows that, when properly constructed, it becomes an element of a truly good life. 

How Do You Hide?

As for cowhides, my family has gone the natural route.

Brett, my younger brother, has a light brindle grey in his urban condo overlooking Boston Harbor.

My parents have a dark tri color in their country home.

And, my black and white transitioned beautifully from a super modern living space that featured concrete floors and floor-to-ceiling glass windows to my current studio apartment in a hayloft. (Yes, as in a barn. I live in a barn. Don't judge.)

The black and white cowhide rug in the hayloft space.

Moral of the story: cowhides are incredibly versatile.

And durable.

And chic.

And you no longer to have to book a trip to Argentina to hand select the one you want. You simply have to stop in and visit next summer on Broadway in Saratoga.

We just received a shipment of traditional cowhide rugs and one speciality piece that will knock your decorating socks off:

The wild pink on white at next summer in Saratoga.

It's pretty fabulous, right?

We can't wait to see who scoops this gem up...

Visit next summer's Saratoga store to check out our entire selection and to see your custom order options.

Design is a game

How many Saratoga-specific items can you find in this photograph from our Saratoga store? Comment with your guess and we'll let you know which ones you might have missed. Happy searching!

DISCOVERED: Pipe & Holly

Truth be told, we first noticed them because they were wearing wellies.

"They" being Josie and Nicole.

Better known to you at next summer as Pipe & Holly.

After the boot envy subsided, their product took center stage. Hanging from a clothing line and piled high on tables were a wide range of playful, unique images that had been hand-carved and printed on children's clothing and linen napkins. We ended up being particularly fond of the locally-inspired images: sail boats, jockey silks and thoroughbred race horses.

As for Josie and Nicole, a creative business together has always been in the works.

The two attended undergraduate school together at Sage College of Albany as ceramic sculpture students and then continued on in the graduate art education program. Upon graduation, both became art education teachers. (Josie teaches high school art at Corinth Central Schools and Nicole is a middle school art teacher at Ballston Spa Middle School.)

This summer they took the big leap and launched Pipe & Holly, a block print company.

Their goal?

To take a step back into the world of hand crafted goods with a touch of modern flare.

That's a concept we at next summer can get behind.

With the school year in full-swing, both Josie and Nicole are back in the classroom; luckily, their products are still available at next summer in Saratoga and Bolton Landing.