Feeding on Product

While sitting at dinner in NYC after spending five days searching for new product for the store, I realized the things that make a great restaurant are the same things that make a great store.

A great restaurant should have reliable food with that you can always depend upon, but it should also surprise you with interesting flavors or combinations you've never tried before. In the same way, a great store should always have something to surprise you. It should dependably have things no other place has, and those things should always be reliably well-designed.

A great restaurant should appeal to all members of the family, while a great store should appeal to all ages as well. A great restaurant will versatilely appeal to both the couple on a romantic date and workers trying broker a deal over a meal. A great store will appeal to both the person hunting for that last-minute hostess gift and the wandering shopper hoping for something to grab her attention.

Here are some of the restaurants, and a couple of their offerings, that we enjoyed while on our buying trip. Bond 45, is a restaurant we always visit. It's conveniently located. The food is always good and the setting is . . . unique. Once a men's clothing store, it has been repurposed as a great restaurant with an unrivaled staff. 

Our other favorite is Cafe 1, 2, 3. our first visit to this french bistro was for breakfast. We liked breakfast so much that we've returned many times for dinners. Every time we return we are greeted with, "Welcome Back."This time we had a duck confit crepe and the perfect light and fluffy omelet with fries. Don't miss it. You can't go wrong. 

Finally, our last choice was a newer restaurant which we visited for the first time. It's called Cilantro. I would describe it as a Mexican Bistro. We loved the food and the drinks, but it was the atmosphere that made it perfect for us. It was clearly a neighborhood hangout that got a lot of return traffic. We know we'll be returning the next time we're in the City. 

I Don't Believe What I Just Saw!

We just returned from a long shopping trip at the NYIGF. It's always one of my favorite times of the year, but it's also easily the most exhausting. It's so stimulating because we get to see all kinds of new trends and exciting new products to bring to our friends at both our shops. It's exhausting because we spend nine hours a day for five straight days walking and debating the warrants of a million different products.

My mother always likes to tell the story of how I make her look at EVERYTHING, because, you never know what you might find. There's one section of the show called, "Accent on Design". It's one of our favorite sections where we tend to find a lot of great new items. Because so much of what we stock is found there, it takes us a long time to get through it. As my mother explains, there is another section she calls, "Accent on [explitive]" that I also make her go through. We rarely find anything there, but you just never know what you might find. 

Now that we've emptied the Saratoga store, we have to find a lot of product to fill a new space. We loved the color and curves of this lamp, but we loved those curves even more when we saw them repeated in this six-foot tall planter. 

This chair showed both design and whimsy in one great package

Finally, one thing you're sure to see a lot of next year is the anchor motif. We saw it in all kinds of forms. These were just a few of our favorites. 

So, sure it says, "no photos", but sometimes we have to break the rules to bring you our favorite things. 

Tacky Light Tour

Well the holiday season came to an end a while ago, but as you all know, it's been kind of crazy around here at next summer. I'm finally making some time to fill you in on one of the coolest things we did while down in Richmond, Virginia for Christmas. For years now I've been hearing about Richmond's Tacky Light Tour. I've even seen it several times on TV. This year would be my first Christmas in Richmond with Lindsay's family. We were damned sure going on that Tacky Light Tour. 

This is a tour around the city and its suburbs to see all the INCREDIBLE tacky light displays. Let me just tell you this, they do it RIGHT down there. 

Lindsay and I took a break from the tour to get our photo taken in front of one of our "favorite" houses. 

I'm sure the Electric companies LOVE this tour!

Not a square inch is left unlit!

This house is just to the left of the house in the previous photograph. It's hard to tell in this picture, but the signs say, "What's the point?" and "Ditto". The arrow points to the house up above. 

At the end of the tour we stopped to see Santa's Car. Love it!

Strange Things Afoot at the Circle K

I chose the reference to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure in the title to this post because, well, strange things are afoot, but also, because we're headed on an excellent adventure. 

If you hadn't already heard (through facebook or our newsletter), rather than continue to deal with ongoing high drama from our landlord we've decided to take an exciting new step forward!  We've made the decision to temporarily close our brick and mortar store in Saratoga on Monday, January 7th.  While we look for a better space (and we have some interesting choices), we will be operating EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE for a few months while we work out the details of some really cool, exciting projects we've had in development for a while now (here's a hint, it will likely lead to more cool products in our Bolton location - for now).

Nearly six years ago we chose the name “next summer” because it’s optimistic and forward thinking, so forward we think to debuting in a NEW Saratoga location. Stay tuned on Facebook for updates! Of course we'll continue our blogposts and our newsletter. One thing we've truly enjoyed about being in Saratoga is the great relationships we've developed. We hope those can remain in the absence of a physical location. Please feel free to stop by over the next week and say hello. 

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.