Bar Carts for Non-Drinkers

Sometimes, when I'm out thrifting and having no luck, my mind wanders back to the thrifty finds that got away. There was a day a few months back, when I was wandering through Urban Market (formerly Charlie's) and I spotted two swanky brass bar carts. They were each priced just right at around $35, and they didn't even look too bad as is. I had seen so many inspiring images with bar carts, but I remember foolishly thinking, "But I'm not a drinker. What would I put on it?"

Yes, it's true: I don't enjoy drinking. I don't have a problem with anyone who does-responsibly, of course-but I just don't enjoy it. For me, even one drink means a headache the next day. It's just not a good time:

So, in my case, stocking up a Mad Men-style bar cart in my living room would be pretentious and just silly expensive.

But, I have good news! Fortunately for people like me, there are some geniuses out there on the internet who have been looking into this problem for themselves. Take a look at all these amazing ways bar carts can be used to hold items other than liquor. If you find yourself in a flea market and you come across an amazing bar cart at a great price, buy it! You can always:

+ Load it up with books. You know how I love decorating with books. {Image Source}

+ Use it as a plant stand. Wouldn't it look great packed full of greenery and parked in front of a bright window? {Image Source}

+ Put your record player on top, and fill the bottom with your record collection. Uh-oh. I like books, plants, and records. Conundrum! {Image Source}

+ Store bathroom necessities. I don't yet have a real bar cart, but I do have an old microwave cart that is currently serving this very purpose in our bathroom. It adds some extra counter space to our bathroom, since we have a pedestal sink, and it's a great way to store the items that should be in plain sight to guests (extra toilet paper, guest towels, etc.). {Image Source}

+ Create a coffee station. Do you have "stations" in your home? I like the idea of a coffee station, where all the supplies are kept in a convenient place. This is really just the same line of thinking as a bar cart, just for coffee drinkers, and near an electrical outlet. {Image Source}

+ Or, you know, just use it like a shelf. The bar cart thing makes me want to designate it as a special place for only a certain category of my things, but a great looking bar cart would look just fine parked somewhere in your home and covered in all your well-curated stuff. Eddie Ross has a great step-by-step tutorial on arranging your belongings in an artful way, so check it out and don't be afraid to use that cart for whatever your heart desires!

So tell me...
+ Do you have a bar cart in your home? What do you keep on it?

+ Do you watch Mad Men?
-I'm a little obsessed, although more with the furnishings than the storyline.

Have a great day!

June Recap

Friends. How can we possibly be wrapping up June already? My summer's just getting started! And so far it's just been a bunch of naps. Mostly naps, with a few other activities thrown in between naps. My first week of summer vacation is now over, so I'm ready to look back at June and see how it went:

Books Read

This is Where I Leave You was really sad, but the disfunctional family thing was still kind of funny. The Night Circus started out magical and beautiful, but it ended up being a disappointment. Still, finishing a book is often like finishing a run-even if it wasn't ideal, I still end up with a fresh, new perspective. 

Miles Ran

With the end up the school year and the start of this crazy heat, my mileage dropped a little this month. I ran a total of 29 miles in June, so I'm hoping to bump that up a bit in July.

Rooms Admired

I loved how this home was light and bright, but full of greenery and life. This NYC industrial loft was amazing with so much good stuff you just can't DIY: incredibly high ceilings with skylights, concrete walls, and the perfect open floor plan. I die!

Projects Completed

After a DIY fail, I bounced back with this questionable take on the wire pendant light. The macraméd cord is definitely staying, but the wire pendant may get another try someday. I did find a little time in this busy month to liquid leaf some thrift store needlepoint, which found a home in the dining room.

Internet Goodies Found

+ Can you tell I like plus signs? Cotton and Flax features FREE patterned wallpaper for iPhones, and this months' pattern is the white plus sign on linen!

+ Maybe I get a little too excited about blogs, because I'm weirdly excited about the purchase of this house.

+ Janae shared some great racing tips (because this is obviously a running blog!).

I'm sad to see June go, but I'm going to enjoy July to pieces. I plan to do a lot of running, reading, relaxing, and I've got some DIY projects up my sleeve.  Stay tuned!

So tell me...

Have you read any good books lately?  I'm ready for some more suggestions!

-I've started Gone Girl and I'm loving it, and next I'm thinking about starting A Prayer for Owen Meany.

What happens to your workout schedule when it gets this hot? Or are you lucky enough to live somewhere with milder summers?

-Even when I get up at 4:30 a.m. it's still already 75 degrees and humid, so I just have to be miserable for a while. :(  Still better than running on a treadmill, though.

Have you had any project fails lately?

-Did you see my first wire pendant light?

DIY Wire Pendant Light

While flipping through the pages of Lonny a few weeks ago, I came across an image of a pendant light with its cord wrapped in jute. The jute was just tied with repeating side knots so that the jute appeared to spiral around the cord. I immediately thought, I can do that!  So I did:

I added a pretty clear bulb, but I never hung it up. It still looked a little bare. 

I've already made jute pendant shades, so I wanted this shade to look a little different. Then one day, while digging through my craft supplies for some liquid leaf, look what I found:

So I wondered: could I make a shade out of wire?  Maybe something like this:

{Source}

{Source}

{Source}

{Source}

{Source}

Maybe. 

So I gathered up some materials and tried my best to build a pendant light sculpture out of wire.

My guesses on supplies were: an exercise ball, all the different types of wire I could find around my house, and some pliers that also cut wire. 

I started out making some giant loops out of wire, using the size of the exercise ball as a guide.  Then I tried to assemble the loops into a globe, tying them together with more wire anywhere they intersected.

Spoiler: it was a DIY failure. When I ran out of wire, I only had this, but I didn't believe it was going to get any better, so I stopped there.

It was too floppy, and the wire was bent in all directions, so it looked like a mess. I stuffed it in the trash and ate some Oreos to make myself feel better.

Then I had a thought. I went back to my inspiration photos, and I noticed something about that Young House Love light. This one:

I love this light. And doesn't it look like two halves of a wire globe put together? Do I have anything like that?

Do those look a little like wire plant hangers, maybe?

I dug a couple of plant hangers out of my garage, and I removed that bird nest looking stuff from inside them and the chains they were hanging from. I put the two halves together with some wire, stuck my light inside (I switched back to a frosted bulb, because the clear one was blinding with just the wire!), and I ended up with this:

Hmm. I like it! I don't love it, though. It's a lot smaller than what I wanted. But it was free, since I used things I already had around my house, and it provides more light in the dressing room, which I needed. And I really do like it. The wire is sturdy and the pattern is a lot fancier than anything I could have made. It's really a perfect smaller version of what I wanted. I just wish it was bigger.

But, if you're looking for the easiest possible way to get a cheap wire pendant, and you don't mind it being a little smaller than the YHL light, the plant hanger plan works pretty well. I've thought about taking the light out and spray painting the wire part a fun color, or maybe black, so all the wire would match. 

So what do you think? Have you made anything for your home lately?