What does a lady do best? Entertain, of course. Entertaining has been something I’ve been doing since childhood, albeit not for human beings, but stuffed animals count when you’re five. What I love most about the traditions of hosting a party is the bar (relax – I don’t have a problem). There is something nostalgic about a bar that brings me back to Christmas Eve dinners with all of the men crowded around laughing and mixing their gin and tonics. It is a timeless addition to any party and one that I think is often overlooked, especially living in NYC where we don’t exactly have the space to host a complete bar.

So to help all of you out there that miss a good bar, I’ve listed everything that one needs to create their own saloon. Keep in mind that this is the FULL deal. Take what you want from it and go make your bar but remember to get creative – if you don’t have the space, use a butler tray or throw a linen over a bookshelf. It’s your bar; we’re just drinking from it!

Tools

• bar strainer
• can opener, bottle opener, corkscrew
• jigger measure
• ice bucket and tongs or scoop
• mixing glass or metal cocktail shaker
• lemon/lime squeezer (you know those mini tongs that you use to pick out one ice cube at a time until you just stick your glass right into the ice bucket? That’s a squeezer, folks!)
• shot measurer
• muddler or mortar and pestle

Mixers

• club soda or soda water
• regular Pepsi or Coke
• Ginger Ale
• juices (orange, pineapple, tomato, and cranberry)
• tonic water
• triple sec

Alcohol

• Beer
• Whiskey
• Bourbon
• Champagne
• Gin
• liquers
• Rum
• Scotch
• Tequila
• Vermouth (sweet and dry)
• Vodka
• Wine (red and white)

Garnishes

• bitters
• olives and onions
• lemons and limes
• maraschino cherries
• syrup (grenadine, simple syrup, etc.)
• Tabasco
• Worcestershire sauce

Okay, now I want a Bloody Mary. Cheers!

xx,

WhyDon’tYouActLikeALady

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Oh, it’s Valentine’s Day alright. Please don’t throw yourself from the nearest bridge. WE love you, after all. What else could you possibly need (other than a tall glass of wine)?  Would some funny commercials with women holding the Shake Weight help?

Don’t worry, we didn’t forget you guys.

Sending our love.

xx,

WhyDidYouWearThat, WhyInGayHell, WhyDon’tYouActLikeALady, WhyDon’tYouEatMe, VintageVixen

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What kind of lady would I be if I didn’t share important information with you? Not a very good one.

You may want to write this down. Valentine’s Day = Amateur Night.

People who don’t eat out all year long take this opportunity to bum rush the most expensive restaurant in Zagat still accepting reservations. Couple this with the fact that Vday falls on a Holiday weekend this year and we have a serious problem. It’s like a bad storm. My advice…stay indoors.

With that being said, I would like to shine light on one other issue surrounding the “Day of Love”. Flowers. If just the sight of classic red roses makes most women have a gag reflex, imagine how we feel when we receive them on Valentine’s Day?  They are soo unoriginal and to be completely honest, they look cheap. The only thing worse that I can think of is baby’s breath. Wait…I take that back – carnations are equally disturbing. I get it, red roses are easy and they do have an appropriate meaning but there are so many other flowers and colors that have beautiful meanings. Here are some of WhyDid’s favorites.

WHITE ROSES (My personal fave) – White roses represent innocence and purity.
PINK ROSES (WhyDon’tYouEatMe’s personal fave) – A symbol of grace and elegance. The pink rose is often given as an expression of admiration.
DAISY (WhyInGayHell‘s fave) – Innocence and loyal love.
ORCHID (WhyDidYouWearThat‘s personal fave) – Rare Beauty, refinement, beautiful woman, long life.

More on flowers and their meanings…. http://www.proflowers.com/flowerguide.aspx

Lady Malkin’s Tip of the Week: Cut flower stems on a diagonal under cold running water and place immediately in a water filled vase. Peel away to outer layer of petals from roses to make them last longer.

Hope your Valentine’s Day is lovely…

xx,
WhyDon’tYouActLikeALady

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As we mentioned, WhyDidYouWearThat? just reached a milestone. We turned ONE!! So we gathered our nearest and dearest (and some cute boys too) and partied the night away. We laughed, we cried, we drank a lot of champagne. Below are some party pics from our very pretty (very pink) birthday. Enjoy.

xx,

WhyDid

(Photos by: Kellie Silwa Nuernberg- www.kelliesliwaphoto.com)

Lindsey Kreps, TJ Kelly, Kirsten Smith, Jamie Colangelo Malkin, Ashley Nobbe

Natalie Decleve, Ashley Nobbe, AnnMarie Doroba, Krystal Marshall, Kirsten Smith, Jenn Redd, Jamie Colangelo Malkin

CLICK BELOW TO SEE MORE…

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Dear waiter,

Whydidja…. Remove my plate at the restaurant last night when it was clear I was not finished? My apologies for bothering you while you were trying to work. I am a model, but I will eat my entire meal. thank you.

xx,

WhyDidJas

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