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.

Where's your TV?

The Television is an item that the whole family seems to really love, at least in theory. Those responsible for the decorating around the house often find themselves at odds with the person who actually bought the television. You see, the decorator often wants to hide the television, while the buyer often wants to accentuate the television - or at least, they want everyone to see just how "awesome" their new TV is.

In today's home you'll find the same situation with refrigerators and dishwashers. Lindsay and I have been lucky enough to avoid that argument, but we think it comes down to a sensible philosophy. TV's, refrigerators, and dishwashers are necessary elements of a twenty-first century lifestyle. They should not be viewed as items that need to be hidden away or denied. They are items that we can celebrate. They are opportunities to demonstrate our individual style. Just as a fireplace in a traditional home wouldn't be hidden from view or disguised as something it isn't, today's appliances shouldn't be either. 

Where are the two places that a modern family gathers the most? Around the TV and in the kitchen (around the refrigerator and dishwasher). These items need to be celebrated as communal destinations, as symbols of the closeness of a family. By announcing their presence boldly we welcome those who come in our homes and say, "here is where we gather with those we care about, and respect. We want to include you."

I write this as the proud new owner of a TV that didn't seem as enormous at the store, as it does in our home.