Out with the old - In with the new!

Hey girlfriends! Was your Christmas glorious? Our families had such a nice time spending time with one another! I hope that you all had a nice time too! Well, Karrie and I were in, not so early on Tuesday to kick-start our annual "Out with the old - In with the new" sale. Good old mom took the bull by the horns and waited on our lovely customers until we got there! (Thanks momma!) We have all the Christmas in the store 50% off, and haven't excluded anything - snowmen, CD's, arrangements, and wreaths! So get on in and get what you didn't, before it's gone! Not only do we have that sale going on - but we have added and discounted more to the Sale table - everything there is 40-80% off! There are some lovely Maggie B purses that we have discontinued that would be a great gift for those January birthdays! Just to let you know, the sale is going on now, thru January 13th!

So - "Out with the Old........and Bring on the New!"
We have gotten in so many new things last week, and this week, so I snapped some pictures up and thought I'd share....

We finally got our chandeliers in! Yippee, they are very cool, I can't wait to show you these (however your going to have to wait so that we can hang them up!) But, I did snap a picture of these neat lanterns that can hang, or sit somewhere in your home. Aren't they unique? In the garden area, we received the neat wall grill you see at the very top. WOW! Is it big or what? It has places to put potted plants right on it, and can be hung inside or outside - what a cool idea! Summer will be here before we know it!
We got two new mirrors in, one that I'm showing you is a gold mirror that would be such fun to put anywhere. I think I'd use it with other pictures in a grouping! The green urns are breathtaking! They really are! Every time I pass this section, I stop and think....."Where can I put this in my house?" It is so pretty, and it has a matching plate! We needed some red things in the store, so we got some! The red plate is huge, and heavy and comes with it's own stand. If you need a powerful punch to a "blah" spot - this is a keeper!
It has matching bottles in different sizes that you can put with the plate, or use by themselves! So far, everyone has stopped and noticed these, imagine what they would do to your room! Last, I will share the new line of pottery that came in last week. We love it - it has a punch of color, and promises sunshine and fun with it! It has so many colors it picks up, we've had a lot of fun displaying it in our hutch! What do you think? I feel I could grab some friends and have a fiesta, for sure, with this pottery!!













Well, ladies, the time is ticking, and the year is about to close. Thank you all again for shopping, visiting, and spreading the word about "that little shop in Helena!" We sincerely appreciate it!
Happy New Year - Best wishes for you all in 2007!
Karla and Karrie

'twas a week before Christmas....

Merry Christmas! It may not feel like the end of December, but my calendar assures me that it is! How is the holiday treating everyone so far? Last week my husband had a conference in Pittsburgh and the whole family went along. Although it was a bit stressful knowing I had a lot of shopping to do yet, I put that behind me and we had a really nice time! We went to the Pittsburgh Ballet and watched the Nutcracker. The theatre was beautiful, as well as the performance. I just love looking at architectural details everywhere I go. It must be wired in me - good thing I went into interior design!

The next night we went up the Duquesne Incline and saw the wonderful skyline view of Pittsburgh from above. The weather was in the low 50's so we enjoyed it even more with the pleasant outdoor conditions! The next morning we headed back home and then to my husband's family's Christmas gathering, then the next day we had my family's Christmas. That night we were exhausted!

Monday morning, I woke again in a panic "Christmas! It's almost here!!" Well, Karrie rescued me and we took off and went shopping for my kids and got it finished up! Sometimes you just wonder where the time is going! This is what I've been hearing every day at work this week. Everyone seems to be hunting for that last perfect gift! Sometimes we just have to quit stressing over this - I think that we get so caught up in that perfect gift! You know what - if you can't find the perfect gift - give them a gift card in a perfectly clever package - it works just a nice!!

I hope you all have had stress-less buying this Christmas season! It makes Christmas a lot more enjoyable!! Remember to take the time to spend time with those you love, and go out of your way to be kind to others that you do know and don't know. These are the perfect "gifts" of Christmas!


Things going on in the store - This week we are finishing up our sale:
20% off Christmas items and
20% off Pictures, Clocks, and Lamps

I know several of you were looking at some of our wonderful pictures and clocks, so you'd better hurry in! Next week - starting Tuesday, bring in your Christmas "mad" money, and get something special for yourself or your home! Christmas items will all be 50% off - yes, that will include wreaths and arrangements - get a jump on next year's decorating!

New things are coming in - I will have to post some pictures! We have new floor lamps and table lamps that came in last week with some big, bold red vases and display plates. This week one of our spring pottery lines came in. It is very vibrant and fun! There will be more to come - of course - so be sure to check it out every so often!

Ladies, I don't know if I will get on to blog before December 25th, so, please accept our deepest thanks and appreciation making The Summer Kitchen a special place to come and shop in 2006! Karrie and I really are thankful to have customers like you all!

You all take care,
Peace, and Christmas Blessings to you and your families, from ours!
Karla & Karrie

We're Sisters & We're Having a Sale!

It's that time of year - The Sister Sale. This is the third year that we have had "The Sister Sale," yet every year we get those that just don't get it! Well, here I am to explain this little mystery! Karrie and I first got the idea when we were trying to come up with fun December things for you all. The first year we decided to play "White Christmas" on the DVD player and we thought we'd call it the "White Christmas Sale" however, being that we loved the performance of Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen singing "Sisters," we decided that this sale HAD to be called the "Sister Sale". So, we thought we'd have fun, and ask all of you to bring yourself, and your sister, or your "soul sister" shopping, that way we could have fun specials, and a chance to win a $100 gift certificate (that you HAVE to share with that sister you bring!) So there you have it - any questions? This will be the first Sister Sale that we will have the specials all week long. The sale will be December 12th-16th and, although they are listed below in "December Specials" I will share them with you again:

30% off all Christmas ornaments
20% off all Carruth and Maggie B purses and accessories
10% off anything else in the store!

Come on in and be a Summer Kitchen Sister for the day! We'd love to have you! We even will have some of our delicious tea to try all week - be sure to try the new Noel Blanc for a festive flair to your afternoon (or morning) tea!
Speaking of tea, the Christmas Tea went really well!
I have some pictures of all of the lovely ladies that attended! We had quite a meal!! I thought I'd share the menu with you and the ladies asked me to post the recipe for the soup - try it out yourself!

The Menu

Cream of Sweet Potato Soup


Festive Chicken Salad Croissants
Cucumber Sandwiches
Asparagus Roll-ups
Merry Cheese Kabobs

Gingerbread Scones
Twelfth Night Scones
with Lemon Curd
Grape Clusters

Meringue Clouds

Old St. Nick Peppermint Stick Brownies
Pecan and Pumpkin Tarts

Lindor Chocolate

We had a nice time and we also sent a check off to Liberty Center for all the ladies donation to come to the tea, and for a percentage of their purchases - Thank you ladies! We were asked if we would be doing this again, and yes, we will! We will have our 2nd annual Tea for our customers in February, and then we will have another benefit tea in April or May for Heartbeat. If it something you are interested in, let us know!
Before I go, I'll get you that recipe:

Cream of Sweet Potato Soup

Makes 3 1/2 cups

2 tablespoons butter
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
2 1/2 cups cooked, pureed sweet potatoes (about 2 medium)
2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon yellow curry powder

Garnishes: chopped peanuts, sliced green onion

1. In heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.
Add green onions, and cook 2 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add Chicken broth and stir in sweet potatoes.
3. Process sweet potato mixture, in batches , in blender
or food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.
Return mixture to saucepan.
4. Add half-and-half, salt, and yellow curry powder,
cook over low heat until thoroughly heated. Garnish if desired.

Just to let you know that I made 4 batches of this soup for the tea. I only doubled the half and half, salt and curry powder though, and it still was delicious!

December Specials

Greetings! We made it through the last big open house! Now we can get down to business! I wanted to first let you all know that we have 6 openings left for the Christmas Tea on Sunday from 2-4pm. Get those reservations in if you'd like to attend! We started to plan a lovely menu for you all, so don't be shy!! Before I forget - I want to congratulate the winners of the Christmas plates from the Open House this weekend: Tiffany Turner, Sue LeMaitre, Karen Smith, Cathy Haslinger and Paula Daniel. Congratulations ladies! Enjoy!

Now, what you've all been waiting for! We've come up with some specials for December - so here they are:

December 5th-9th
Take 20% off
All florals on the floor ~ Christmas and everyday
Hanging arrows and replacements
All Christmas Pottery

Sister Sale
December 12th-16th
Take 30% off
All ornaments
Take 20% off
Maggie B purses and accessories
Carruth
Take 10% off
Anything else in the store
CD special ~ $14 each

December 19th-23rd
Take 20% off
Clocks, lamps and pictures
All Christmas items

More everyday things are coming into the store now, and we are getting a big Carruth shipment in for Thursday. Let us know what you might be hunting for, and we'll see what we can come up with!

Are you all decorated yet? I still have things that need done - perhaps it will all be put together by Christmas eve! Mom has to put her tree up yet, and after it is ready, I'll post those pictures. Oh, and Karrie is not just country, I just want to get this straight. How I said it, made it sound like she just is country. I meant to say that she is more country than myself, but she is also a very eclectic in her decorating. I hope that might clear things up. (At least for her - I have to be more specific while I'm typing away!!)

One more thing - The "Big Hint" sheets went out this week to all those lucky men in our lives. If you didn't have a chance to fill out a gift registry, you still have time! Just give us a call and we'll get your personal BIG HINTS out to him ASAP! (Besides, he won't shop for another three weeks yet!)