Favorites New Years 2019

 

Hopefully you are able to have a relaxing day, this very first one of 2019, to enjoy time with friends/family or maybe just relish a free afternoon. Here it’s chilly and frosted with white (finally), but I’m enjoying it from inside with a sniffly nose and a hot cuppa. A slow beginning that makes me deeply appreciate how great it is to wake up and feel healthy the rest of the time!

 

I’m not much of a vodka person, but recently my friend Sondra brought back from Vermont a bottle of Barr Hill Vodka made from raw honey—not flavored with honey, not infused with honey—but distilled from honey.

It. was. amazing.

They distill it only twice (most vodkas are distilled at least three times) so the natural essence of the honey remains—pure aromatics without the sweet. It needs nothing except a big ice cube. No mixer, no juice. Not that it wouldn’t make a great cocktail, but I’m pretty sure you would lose the subtleties that make this such an experience.

 

 

Read more about their story of starting a distillery in Caledonia County, Vermont. Some stores now carry the Barr Hill brand but there are also online options.

 

If you’re interested in something without the alcohol, the Seedlip cocktails look really intriguing. They use water and natural botanical distillates and extracts (i.e. Orange, Blood Orange, Mandarin, Lemon, Ginger, Lemongrass). Based in the UK most of the European Union can order them online and more recently North America was added to the list.

Or you could jump on the Shrub wagon for another non-alcohol option. Shrub, or ‘drinking vinegar’ is an old term for mixing vinegar with fruit syrup then drinks can be made by mixing it with fruit juice, sparkling water, spices and herbs to create a refreshing drink or ‘mocktail‘. Regional shrub producers are popping up all over, or you can order online from places like Pok Pok Som, Inna Shrub, or The Twisted Shrub.

We love to mix it with sparkling water and citrus zest for a mocktail, or to add it to our water bottle before heading out for hiking or skiing–it’s a great source of electrolytes.

 

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Happy New Year! 

 

 

 

Favorites New Years 2019

 

 

Pastry art of former architect Jennifer Yee, and by former architect Dinara Kasko, and yet more totally awesome pastry art by Matteo Stucchi

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Make beautiful pastries with a Pastry Roller

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Seedlip—a new world of non-alcoholic blends

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Looking mighty comfy to me

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Another cool bike from Denmark

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A Visible Tapestry

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Cool Tool

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The Ennis House by FLW

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Nocturnal Design light painting photography by Jordan Kjome

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Another Cool Tool

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Interesting and minimalist overshoes from Montreal

 

 

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Hanging out with my friend Sondra is one of my favorite pastimes. May this year bring you more time with the family and friends that bring you joy!

Happy New Year! 

 

 

“Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.”

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Anais Nin

 

 

 



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