Let's be honest, the best thing about the holidays are the cookies. Throughout the rest of the year, we actually don't like the same type of cookies (Clark prefers chocolate chip and Andrew a PLAIN Oatmeal). This month though, we both LOVE our Mom's sugar cookies. Clark's mom makes a shortbread style, that gets rolled in sugar (literally covered!) and Andrew's mom makes frosted cut-outs that compliment every meal (and all snacks too). We're including their recipes here (with pics!). Send us your pics and recipes too, we'd love to be a part of your traditions. Have a wonderful Holiday Season, Clark & Andrew (Hamilton & Adams) Christmas Rounds Ingredients: 1lb margarine 1C sugar 4C sifted flour 1/2 tsp. Almond...
It's happening, the weather is cooler, the days are shorter, there's frost happening. Fire season is upon us 🔥🔥🔥 Building the perfect fire isn't hard, but it does create some detail, and planning. If you don't want to read this, just grab this BOOK and get on about your day. (For those of you who are still with us, we'll be brief.) The anatomy of your fire and it's corresponding materials are tied directly to the success of your fire. The required materials are: Firestarter (We sell these!) Tinder Kindling Logs Building from the ground up (if you read the book, there's some other theories here), stack and layer your starting pieces. You'll need to make sure that all of these...
It's that time of year we love (some of us anyway). FALL 🎃🎃 During this season temperatures can swing 30 degrees from the morning lows to the daytime highs. It's layering season here in the Catskills. Our 4 essential layers will keep you warm in the morning, and just right for lunch or your hiking trail The Essential Layers: 1. Base Layer: The long sleeve T. Our brushed cotton and recycled poly T's will keep you warm but won't leave you sweating at the midday peak 2. The Quarterzip. It might not be sweater weather quite yet, so the 1/4 is here to do his job and keep that warmth close to your body. Easy to pop off and tie around your waist...
As you're reading this, you're probably thinking, 'Hey, we should go upstate and pick some apples, get pumpkins and look at the leaves this weekend' Well, where exactly is Upstate New York? Some say it's north of the Mid Hudson Valley (think Newburgh/Beacon), others say it's not until you're north of Albany (hello Adirondacks!) The truth is, there is no exact authoritative definition of 'upstate' Sure, there's areas we all know: The Hudson Valley, The Catskills, The Adirondacks, Central NY, The Finger Lakes, and of course 'Western NY (Go Bills!). But WHERE is UPSTATE? Since we settled in this area in 2012, we have always believed that upstate was really a state of mind. To us, it's a slower pace,...
As most of you know, when we aren't working, we love to explore and hike throughout the Hudson Valley. These are our top places to get outside. 1. Minnewaska State Park (Lake Awosting): This is easily our go to spot. Just 20 minutes from our house, Minneswaska offers some amazing opportunities to experience the Shawgunk Mountains (that's right, it's not in the Catskills!) We often will take first time visitors to the lake trail (just 3.5 miles and relatively flat), to walk around the glacier carved lake and stop for photographs overlooking New Paltz and beyond. More information about Minneswaska can be found here: https://www.parks.ny.gov/parks/127/details.aspx 2. Overlook Mountain: You've probably seen pictures from this trail (who doesn't love an apocalyptic...
