raising the bar- every home needs a bar cart

"every home needs a bar cart."  I always say this.  it's a party on wheels!

here's ours.  we turned an old mid century gardening cart into a bar cart.  I love the patinaed brass detailing on it and the fact that it has wheels makes it mobile so we can move it around to suit our entertaining needs...and it's contents/display are ever-evolving.

here are some "moody" bar carts.  what I love about the first one: the bandana, the lamp, and the portrait/framed art.  you'll notice that a lot of bar carts in this post have a lamp on them- so cozy!

what I love: the colors, the blue glass, displaying the crystal glasses, the flowers, {the lamp}, the art, and flowers- you'll notice that a lot of these bar carts have flowers on them; this one is via domino mag

I also love a bar tray, especially a freestanding one, which I believe is also called a butler's tray.  this one is by Badgley Mischka via elle decor.  note the lovely candlestick:

this is my favorite bar tray of the post, because of it's campaign styling:

and here I just love the painting hanging above it:

another lamp...

you'll notice that some of these are brass bamboo, a very popular style for bar carts {which I love}.  here are some more... this one shows another great {and functional} styling idea- swizzle sticks!

on this one I LOVE the greek key detail!!:

the books are a great idea!!

a variation of style...

honestly, just had to include the next two b'c of the pink:

truthfully, I'm not digging the curved lines...

*loving* the preppy style of these:

check out this sunny yellow chinoiserie one styled by Scot Meacham Wood

prefer blue?

a snapshot of more preppy/lilly styling with fun, bright accessories via a southern state of mind

topiary idea...

an overflow tray...

celebrating or decompressing with a bath?  good thing most bar carts tend to be mobile; it could also be used to stock extra towels, etc.:

a little nautica on the bar cart for the coastal homes!

had to include this one b'c of the wallpaper, truthfully, but candlesticks are another good idea:

short on space?  how about turning something like this slender gardening cart into your bar cart?  would love to see something like this in the corner of a room- especially a kitchen or bathroom!!  via dot & bo

and, speaking of other uses, how about rolling one into the guest room when you have visitors for any items you'd like to provide to them for their comfort?

how about the classical use of a tea cart?

how about setting up a coffee station on it?

have kids?  stock it with healthy drinks and snacks that they can help themselves to especially during summer vacation or when they have friends over?

whatever the use, bar carts serve as self-service stations freeing you up to do other things, entertain, be present!

the end.

xoxo

black friday panic?

hope everyone had as good a thanksgiving as we did!  here are some of our homemade decorations...

...when you're done with black friday lines, traffic, and chaos- or, if you're ready to skip it altogether- and ready to shop from the comfort of your home, sharonna misha designs / johnny's girl vintage is ready for you with special sales in holiday, home decor, jewelry, vintage, and original artwork- something for every person on your list- check it out!!

xoxo

my happy valentine's day!!

hope everyone had a happy day yesterday!!  
i thought i'd share my happy story and i would love to hear yours, too!  did you get a valentine surprise?  feel free to reply with it ♥

my husband and i went to a 'Breakers' restaurant called 'Top of the Point' for dinner.  guess what?  we went on the 13th as we don't prefer large crowds and slow service- we think it was a good choice!  ...if you would like a review of the food, just ask!
then, on the 14th, i finally got my Cartier watch.{!}  my husband and i exchanged cards in the bedroom and then he went to get himself a beer and a glass of wine for me...  i decided to go get it myself and, everywhere i went in the house, there were roses!  i walk into the dining room and there's a bouquet of peachy pink roses on the table along with a plant called 'polka dot'- do you know that one?  so cute, the leaves are all light pink and green!  then, I walk into the kitchen and i see another bouquet of red roses on one countertop, turn around and see a bouquet of white roses on another countertop! 

record album art- frame your old records for instant artwork!

album art- nothing can replace how wonderful and original the artwork was on vinyl album covers.
the colors were intense and the designs fantastic.
create an instant art installation by framing your old records or album covers
Or, overlap the two and use the cover as a background/matte!



ready to hang
available in black or silver, your choice~
To Purchase, click here!

a Great tip for cleaning tile countertops

unfortunately, we still have the tile countertops that came with our home and, until we redo our kitchen next year, i have to live with them.
ours are black and it drives me crazy that when i wipe them down, they show all the streaky wet marks.

well, i found the trick for cleaning them in one step {without having to towel dry them to get rid of moisture marks!}--  Baby Wipes! 

try it- it works!  and the scent is so pleasant, too! ☺

navy is my new gray

gray was my new black but that was fleeting-  less than 6 months later, navy became my new black and there it stayed.

maybe because gray has been too overdone.  very likely because gray is neither here nor there and i need more powerful colors- black, white, pale pink... and i still love charcoal.  that's the best shade of gray.  it makes a beautiful, sophisticated impact.  so much to say about charcoal...  for more, see our charcoal bedroom here:  My color of the moment is Gray

but, anyway, back to navy:  navy is timeless, classic, elegant, nautical- so it still works here in south florida, preppy, masculine- in an elegant way for femmes too! -in a truman/roosevelt/hemingway kind of way...
we painted our bathroom navy with bright white crown moulding, and a dark wood 'medicine cabinet'- it wasn't really supposed to be a medicine cabinet, we repurposed it and it worked beautifully.  just the other day, my husband said to me, 'that's still one of my favorite of our finds.' 
i haven't photographed the WC yet because it still isn't finished- we have yet to find and add a strip of dentil moulding below the crown {harder to find than we expected!}- but, when we do, ill be sure to post pics right away!!
in the meantime, i only have a photo of another one of our cool, old finds that we've hung in there: