The Houston based fundraising group called Victory has just launched their annual drive “The Holiday Shopping Card“.

Victory sells these card at local participating retailers for a minimum donation of $70 – which entitles you to a 20% discount at over 900 (!) of Houston’s best stores now through November 7th. The proceeds from the sale of this card will help make a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families in Houston and the surrounding areas and fund research for a cure. The card is now available at The Hamilton Shirt Co.

Thank you for supporting the American Cancer Society! Buy yours TODAY!

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Hamilton Shirt Co in Houston will be closed from August 2nd through the 13th for our annual summer vacation. The break is a long held (and much beloved) company tradition; we’ll be back soon with a few website updates and some new shirt style introductions for Fall/Winter 2010.

The blog updates might be a little more sporadic – but look for some new entries to pop up here and there!

See you soon.

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Maybe its my lingering 4th of July holiday spirit, or maybe it was the great post on 1st dibs about the history of our grand old flag..but I’ve recently become interested in collecting antique American flags. While many antique styles can run into the thousands of dollars, you can still pick up interesting varieties for much less at flea markets and swap meets.

Jeff Bridgman of Jeff Bridgman American Antiques put together 10 interesting facts about the history of the American Flag for the website 1st dibs…and its worth checking out. From the celebration (or non-celebration) of Flag Day on June 14th, the fact that Francis Hopkison of New Jersey designed the flag and not Betsy Ross, to the fact that the flag had no official shape until 1912 – it could be square, elongated, anything.

Francis Hopkinson

Jeff Bridgman is based in York, Pennsylvania and is considered one of the countries leading authorities on antique American Flags. His antique store specializes in early Americana, and they often bring their wares to Houston, the shop participated in the Theta Antiques Show last November.

Following are some examples of the American Flags currently available at Jeff Bridgman Antiques:

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION FLAG WITH 10-POINTED STARS THAT SPELL “1776 – 1876”, ONE OF THE MOST GRAPHIC OF ALL EARLY EXAMPLES

48 STARS IN A RARE AND INTERESTING STEP-DOWN ROW DESIGN, ENTIRELY MADE BY TATTING

13 STARS, 1876-98, A VERY RARE PRINTED EXAMPLE, UNUSUALLY LARGE, PROBABLY MADE IN CANADA

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The Houston Mayors Office will be sponsoring the official Forth of July celebration called “Freedom Over Texas” this coming Sunday from 4pm to 10pm at Eleanor Tinsley Park at the Buffalo Bayou. This annual event is the worlds largest “land based” fireworks spectacular! The night sky will be totally ablaze with choreographed pyrotechnics that will be sure to impress. Spanning Buffalo Bayou west of Sabine Bridge and running all along Allen Parkway…its a fantastic forth celebration that you don’t want to miss.

Admission to the park will be 8 bucks – or free for each person with a donation of some canned goods for the Houston Food Bank. Fireworks will be taking place around 9:30pm after a full afternoon of planned activities, including a concert by Texas singer-songwriter Pat Green. KBR Liberty Park will have all kinds of military artifacts from our armed forces like an Apache Helicopter flight simulator, and a 55 ton M-60 Battle Tank! A Bud Light Zone will have some designated hang out areas, including viewing stands for watching the finals of the sixth annual Bud Light Texas Volleyball Championships. They’ll also be many kid friendly play areas, charity booths, raffles for some free cars and trips, and general fourth of July type stuff. Sounds like fun – Happy Forth!

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Have a very Happy Father’s Day from everyone at the Hamilton Shirt Company.

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Best wishes for a wonderful Memorial Day from everyone at Hamilton Shirts.

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Today marks the birthday of John F. Kennedy. He was born on this day in 1917 and would have been 93 this year. This iconic President is not only remembered for his politics – but also for his classic sense of style.

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Happy Mother’s Day! Hope you made your Mom proud today!

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Yes, its true…today is official National Caramel Popcorn Day. Take the afternoon off!

Caramel Popcorn

• 4 Quarts of Popped Corn
• 1 16 oz container of Peanuts (optional)
• 1 cup of light Brown Sugar
• 1 stick Butter
• 1/4 cup of white Corn Syrup
• 1/2 tsp of Vanilla
• 1/3 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

Preheat your oven to 250ºF degrees.

Measure the one cup of light brown sugar into a tall sided medium saucepan and stir in the butter, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly for two minutes. Remove from heat and quickly add the baking soda and vanilla. Stir the mixture while it settles down.

Using a large bowl that can hold all the popcorn, combine the corn and the hot mixture – tossing all the ingredients with a large spoon that is greased or non-stick. Use caution with the hot sugar mixture..it gets super hot. Add peanuts if you’d like.

After the corn is covered and thoroughly mixed, spread the popcorn onto a greased baking sheet. Bake in batches for best results.

Bake for 15 minutes at 250º turn the popcorn over and bake for a second 15 minutes. Allow to cool!

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Happy Easter from everyone at Hamilton Shirt Co.

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