STYLE & THE BAR CART- TARTAN WITH A TROPICAL TWIST
Hello darlings! Today I'm happy to bring you another entry for "Style & The Bar Cart." If you're not familiar with this series let me quickly break it down for you.
Style & The Bar Cart is a creative production that combines my passions (style, decor, vintage & DIY) to serve as outfit and occasion inspiration for the modern-vintage girl who loves to entertain in style and prefers cocktails over wine. I've created 3 entries in the series thus far and today I'm elated to bring you a holiday inspired cart just in time for Christmas!
For this Bar Cart I wanted to do something traditional and incorporate one of my favorite holiday prints, Tartan. This print screams classic Christmas and I love everything about that but I wanted to add a twist and that's when I reached out for your opinion on IG. Would it be #TropicalTartan or #TartanWithATwist?
The majority of votes supported #TropicalTartan and I was super happy about that because anything Tropical is right up my alley. I also liked the other theme so I decided to combine the two and bring you tartan with a tropical twist! Clever right?! I'm laughing at myself now.
To play up the tropical aspect of this cart I incorporated a few Guyanese must haves at Christmas. To begin we have a Spiced Sorrel Rum Punch, El Dorado Rum, Cream liqueur (which has a flavor profile similar to Bailey's) and Shandy as beverages. For edibles we have Black Cake aka rum cake and a cheese platter for the savory lovers.
I wish I could've gotten Banks Shandy from Guyana but the West Indian markets here in NYC don't carry them so I got the Carib brand which is pretty good too.
For the Spiced Sorrel Punch you can start by follow this recipe from The Kitchn. I tweaked mine by adding a bit of Ginger cocktail mixer and garnishing with orange slices and cranberries. I also garnished each copper mug with an orange slice, rosemary sprig, cinnamon stick and slice of candied ginger.
I kept the savory snacks simple by preparing a cheese plate. I chose a Creamy Toscano Cheese Soaked in Syrah and served it with beet crackers. Easy peasy!
To make this gold serving platter more glamorous and colorful I garnished with half of a pomegrante, a single persimmon and meyer lemon.
Since we covered the savory part, let's move on to the sweet. Black Cake is staple for every Guyanese household at Christmas time and is a delicious and dense cake made from rum and wine soaked dried fruits. The fruits are actually soaked months before Christmas and I found a great recipe for it here. I bought mine from a bakery but next year I plan to prepare ahead of time with my fruits and make this for Christmas 2018!
For my outfit I wanted to play up the theme so I styled these tartan pants with my green gingham ruffle top. I accessorized with rose tassel earrings (handmade by your's truly), a zebra bracelet, pearl ring, watermelon clutch and green satin pumps. You can shop my style and the bar cart from the widget below!
SHOP STYLE & THE BAR CART
Now if only I could decide which drink I wanted to finish first! I hope you enjoyed this post and wish you all a safe and fun-filled holiday. Merry Christmas!
