Dear Residents,

Please join us tomorrow from 4:30pm until 6:30pm for Doggie Yappy Hour! We will serve our Furry Family members treats, and even have some available for their humans!

See you there!

Entertaining guests in your home is sometimes more fun than going out. Every gathering needs a well-stocked bar with delicious drinks for folks to enjoy. If your house is where the party is, check out these six great tips for putting together a swanky bar cart that will be the center of attention.

1. Get a great cart.
Depending on your personal style, select a cart that fits your aesthetic, whether it be modern, industrial, or vintage. Make sure the cart has a few different shelves or drawers for holding various accouterments.

2. Select a stylin’ tray.
Find a tray that can be set on top of the cart, so you can prepare a few drinks to walk around and distribute throughout the party. Mirrored trays look swanky, while colorful plastic trays give off fun vibes.

3. Sport a cool decanter.
Bottles of booze are fine, but pouring your liquor into a cool decanter ups your level of commitment to style. Bonus: Label snobs won’t judge your selection; that bargain booze will appear fit for a king being poured from a crystal bottle!

4. It's in the mix.
Make sure you have the basics covered: gin, vodka, and whiskey. If your party craves one liquor over another, make sure it has a place on your cart, along with the appropriate mixers and garnishes.

5. Stock your toolkit.
You have got to have the right drink mixing tools on hand, like shot glasses, stirrers, shakers, and drinkware.

6. Cool it off.
This is important to keep the drinks tasting fresh. Get a bucket or put the ice in a festive bowl with a pair of tongs.

Assembling the Perfect Bar Cart [The Intentional Apartment]
Create and Stylize the Perfect Bar Cart [Guest of a Guest]
How to Style a Bar Cart [DIY Playbook]
How to Style a Bar Cart [Style Within Reach]
How to Style a Bar Cart [HGTV]

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/ninacoco

One of the most interesting developments in viticulture has been the growth of unique, small wineries drawing from the terroir of new locations across America. Virginia is beginning to develop a wine culture around the Manassas area, and one of the best places to get introduced to it is the Paradise Springs Winery.

Located on the border of the beautiful Hemlock National Park, the property is gorgeous. The first grape fields were planted in 2008, and the winery has grown by leaps and bounds since then. Visitors rave about the uniformly high quality of the wine, with the Cabernet drawing special attention. If you’re not a wine expert, the “wine guides” here are exceptionally friendly and well-educated, and they’ll walk you through your tasting and help you pair with the diverse assortment of food here. The winery also hosts musical performances on their spacious patio.

Visit the Paradise Springs Winery website to learn more about this Virginia winery!

Paradise Springs Winery
13219 Yates Ford Road
Clifton, VA 20124
(703) 830-9463
http://www.yelp.com/biz/paradise-springs-winery-clifton

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr/cyclonebill