DIY: CREATING A BAR CART

i've always  wanted a bar cart. i think they are one of the coolest pieces to make a room feel welcoming... unless you don't drink and in that case, buy a bookshelf!  a friend of mine recently decided she wanted to have a bar cart in her apartment and it got me thinking about mine.  what do you buy? what all belongs on the cart? where do you get the cart in the first place?  sounded like a perfect post opportunity to me! here's just a quick guide on how to make a perfect bar cart for any party or to just have a place to store your booze!

1. the cart

finding the cart is a feat all in itself. shop flea markets, thrift stores and yardsales for a piece that you fall in love with.  i use to live in an itty bitty apartment and my cart (from Ikea) was originally used as my kitchen table. i was first worried it would be too big for a bar cart, but our liquor collection is growing all the time and now i think it's gorgeous!

2. the liquors

over time, you'll be able to see which liquors you should buy more of and what is most popular in your house (ours are vodka & rum) but in order to be a great host and not have that awkward  moment "oh, we don't have any ________ how about something else?" keep a few of each on your new bar. 

there are 5 main liquors: vodka, tequila, rum, whiskey/bourbon and gin.

3. the mixers

you keep one or two of these on hand and you'll be a rockstar bartender in no time. also, if you want to just start filling up space and building your collection, buy one top shelf liquor bottle -like the ones shown above- they are the best quality and one well bottle. "well" is considered cheaper and lower quality, but still perfectly fine for a bar cart. i get a lot of my mixers (margarita mix, bloody mary mix, etc. from TJ Maxx. the bottles are pretty and cheap!) in addition to your 5 core liquors, you will need things to mix them with. including: agave nectar, grenadine, and lime juice (these can stay out all the time) and  fresh mint, bottles of tonic, club soda, pop and juices (refrigerate these)

4. glassware, pour spouts and everything else.

 i keep 4 tall glasses, 4 short glasses and 6 shot glasses on the bar at all times (all from TJ Maxx) and a stack of plastic cups in case things are gettin' really rowdy! pour spouts will make pouring liquor waaay easier. attach them to the tops of your bottles before using them to allow for easy pours without spilling. just make sure to wash them after use to avoid bugs. wine bottle openers, beer bottle openers, muddlers, stir sticks and straws are also good to have around. i keep all of mine in a big see through glass jar. i think they're pretty!

5. organization 

there is no right or wrong way to organize a bar cart. whether you keep your bottles up top, your mixers in the middle or your glasses tucked away, it's all up to you. i do suggest trying to organize your bottles next to those in the same family. it will make drinking life more easy and creates a flow for your bar. example: tequila and triple sec are both used to making margaritas, so keep those bottles together. same goes for your bloody mary mix next to your vodkas!

a few quick TIPS:

-keep towels/papertowels around your cart

-buy a "drink mixing" book (ours is from urban outfitters) and keep it on your cart

- fresh flowers and other small odds and ends add personal character to your cart

-muddle your own mint and impress everyone around you

-keep glasses mouth down to avoid them getting dusty inside

-recycle your bottles. they are gorgeous (and cost you a pretty penny)

-make it your own. make it corky and tacky and fabulous!

-keep a chalkboard near your bar and post your "drink specials" for parties

- keep track of your creations! 

-always remember... Liquor before beer, have no fear! Beer before liquor, you have never been sicker!

Cheers! 

Northside Rock N Roll Carnival

i gotta say northside is one of the coolest, most ecclectic little towns in Cincinnati and i love that i get to take advantage of everything it has to offer. summer time here is the best since it's easy to walk to all the many bars, shops and music festivals. tonight, we went to a festival down the street called Northside Rock n' Roll Carnival and, aside from the heat, it was a lot of fun! 

 aside from listening to good music and drinking good beer, there were lots of good things to stare at. 

things like this:

 and this: (yes, that's a sword down this dude's throat!)

 and a few hairdresser's nightmares:

 and sweet ass rides:

A DAY TRIP TO FINDLAY

i always know that summer has kicked off when my fruits and vegetables come from the farmers market! the mismatched grocery bags, the haggling prices and the floating dollar bills in my purse are always a dead giveaway. i may be biased, but i'd say we have one of the best farmers markets i've been to (smack dab in the middle of the ghetto, no less) called Findlay Market. it's practically a small town in itself.  numerous shops line the street offering up meats, cheeses, fresh seafood and baked goods for cheap cheap cheap!! it's fun to buy local,  talk to the owners and feel like you're making a contribution to your city... you're welcome, cincinnati. and thank you for the peaches!

beer fest in indianapolis!

I just got home from a short overnight trip to Indianapolis and i'm exhausted! i've only been there once before and it was during probably one of the worst snow storms in the past 5 years so i don't think i had the best opinion of this lovely city. it was a good time though being that it was only 2 hours away from Cinci and one of the cleanest cities i've ever been to! we originally went for a beer tasting convention with my aunt and uncle and it turned out to be a bar crawl all over the place! we first got there and i was absolutely starving so we stopped at what i thought was a food festival of some sort. it turned out to be a Mexican Festival. what that was exactly we weren't sure. but it turned out to be meat on a stick, overly crowded sidewalks and margaritas everywhere in the meeting of the town square. very interesting to say the least. i didn't eat there.

so we went over to old pointe tavern so that we could get some grease in us before beer tasting. this bar/restaurant was really cute inside with lots of original artwork on the walls and your classic bar foods. plus, we could smoke inside which is always a plus. (it's gross, i know) 

this was one of the beers we tried. Jon, whose last name is Floyd, I'm sure found it humorous :)

we left the tavern and went over to the beer tasting where we left with multiple 4packs of beers from sun king brewery this place was really neat on the inside. just a giant warehouse set up for beer making and touring. we got cans of their Osiris and i am now in love with it! we left the brewery to head over to one of the more interesting bar set ups i've ever been to. it was in the corner of an indoor farmers market.. where no other stores were running. odd but neat i suppose!! 

we went to numerous other bars, ate at Webber for dinner and watched a live band over at the Slippery Noodle the oldest bar in Indiana. Such a good weekend!! 

getting a little glossy eyed after all those beers! 

skydiving? no sweat!

one thing on my list of "stuff to do before labor day" was skydiving. this was a biggie. probably one of those things i put on the list anticipating it not actually ever being done, let alone before the summer ending. everyone i know says they want to skydive before they die, but i don't know how many people actually go through with it... well, we did. 

waking up this morning, i was an absolute panicked wreck but as we pulled up to the airport, i became shockingly calm. i was cautious as anyone would be, but not nearly as scared as i anticipated myself being. i thought i would chicken out. i thought the weather would turn cloudy. i was sure something would happen and i would leave the airport without having had my first skydiving experience. but it didn't. we got there at about 2 in the afternoon and were told we would be up in the air around 3. but one complication lead to another and our jump kept getting pushed back farther and farther. we snacked on chips and pop, listened to 90's music and watching the pro's pack their parachutes. 

up we went in the plane and there was no turning back. we went up 13000 feet into a clear blue sky only to plummet out into it. stepping up to the edge of the plane door, i knew there was no turning back now! i began laughing nervously and just saying "oh my god" over and over.  my instructor was awesome and very light hearted which kept me calm... once you're up that high, it doesn't even feel real. the ground looks like one big green grid with splotches of blue water. on the count of 3 we jumped out without a second to think twice about it. i'm so glad we did it. it was a once in a lifetime experience that i'm so glad i got to have. but doing it again? not sure yet :)

the perfect way to bring in September!!