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.