The Estate of Things

I realize that Christmas is over….. but uh. I just saw this picture of Sarah and her pretty husband Dan and I thought you should see it. Is that your mama’s tree Sary?

We’ll be back in full effect with our regularly scheduled programming on Monday. But just wanted to share a little from our New Years Eve weekend…

Shortly before the countdown to 2010, a little snow begin to fall.  What an exciting and interesting night.

Betsy is on a plane back to LA now as I type and its back to work for me tomorrow.

Betsy and I have a date with 2010 and these boys,

we’ll need a little of this during pre-game probably,

and a decent amount of this,

Happy New Year Everyone! What will 2010 hold?

The Avett Brothers are playing at the Asheville Civic Center, 12/31/09, Asheville, NC

Images 1,3,4 from hazyskyline6, Image 2 from sfist

We laid out some goals last year and it was great to take a look at those and see what we accomplished and where we fell short. The link love and shout outs that we’ve received from esteemed bloggers in the decorating & design niche, a steady growth in traffic and your continued emails and comments are awesome.

We have been at this with dedication for over a year and a half now. It began as a way for us to share ideas with one another, with our long term dream to be retailers, fueling the hobby. We both work full long days– there are little families to take care of and settling in LA.

This year, our hobby has lead us to make connections with new friends both online and live in person.  It has also provided us with a priceless forum where we learn about ourselves and how to translate that in to the place where we dwell everyday with children, roommates, husbands, friends, pets etc.

Thanks to those of you that have made it this far with us. We think you’re pretty swell and we hope you’ll stick around and grow with us.

Signing off for the holidays.

Happy Holidays,

From TEOT

Fasier firs prepared for delivery in 2008 at West End Wreaths in Ashe County, NC.

West End is one of the many places in the NC mountains where you can venture on to the lot to “choose-n-cut”, its the preferred place for our family.

Christmas is getting close, are you ready? Are you tired of people asking you if you’re ready in order to make small talk?

This may look like an AD……… but that’s because it is. But, there is no compensation coming our way for it. If you aren’t familiar with Ten Thousand Villages, its a non-profit FAIR TRADE organization. One that my family has supported since I was just a kid. Check out that desktop bowling set and the owl bookends. Ten Thousand Villages is a super resource for unique gift ideas, and its great way to feel good about your spending!

Mission:
One day all artisans in the developing countries will earn a fair wage, be treated with dignity and respect and be able to live a life of quality.

I have a gift for you, and it’s a great gift cause its a gift that you can give and give and give to others. Don’t know if you have met our friend Bregan from The Lead Chandelier or not, but she put together this snazzy album cover for an eclectic mix of Indie Christmas Music that Frank wrote for the AudioMuffin. He has collected as seriously relevant mix of Indie Music with Christmas Flavor.

Best of all - You can download each of the songs, print the image out and “slap it on the cover of your CD-Rs” and I’m pretty sure your friends will say that you gave them the coolest gift of the year. It’s also a great soundtrack for your holiday party! Visit AudioMuffin Indie Christmas for your present!! We encourage you to share!!

My, I do love a blue/green Christmas!

Not only can Alia from Sweetshorn Vintage thrift but she’s also pretty handy behind the bar. Alia sent this over to me this morning.

This ginger-infused vodka makes a more interesting cosmo and great-tasting drinks that aren’t too frou frou for male party goers. Once made you can decant it into smaller bottles, add personalized tags and you’ve got a beautiful holiday or hostess gift that anyone on your list would be thrilled to receive.

Download these sweet tags for free at Martha Stewart.

A great way to turn cheap booze into a smoother-tasting (not to mention less hangover-inducing) beverage is to run el cheapo vodka through a Brita pitcher four times. This will give a you a great base for creating homemade infused spirits for your holiday soirees.

Ginger Infused Vodka:

1 bottle (filtered) 750ml vodka
1/2 c ginger root coursely chopped

1. Combine vodka and ginger root in a clean container. (Reserve the bottle for storing finished product.)

2. Seal the container and store in a cool, dark place for 3 days, shaking occasionally. After 3 days, pour the vodka through a strainer and discard the ginger solids. Return the strained, infused vodka to its original bottle.

3. Store infused vodka in the refrigerator or freezer

This bespoke spirit is delicious on the rocks, with club soda or in White Ginger Cosmopolitans. These clear cocktails look especially beautiful in frosted glasses. Just run some cold water over martini glasses and stick them in a fridge for an hour.

image via Amy Atlas

Ginger Cosmopolitan:

Combine with ice in a cocktail shaker:

2 oz infused vodka
Squeeze fresh lime juice
1 oz triple sec
2 oz white cranberry juice

Shake and strain into frosted martini glass. Garnish with lime wheels and enjoy!

Thank you Alia! 

Alia maintains her Etsy shop Sweetshorn Vintage and occassionally guest posts for The Estate of Things.