In about a month, Mumbles is turning 30.  I’m so excited to celebrate and I’ve been busy pinning to a secret Pinterest board for months, perusing the interwebs for gift ideas, decor and inspiration while simultaneously planning Declan’s 1st birthday party for two weeks later (ahhhh)!  I decided that it’s now or never to pull off a “How I Met Your Mother” themed party since the show ended earlier this year — condolence high five.  Originally I was thinking that the invitations (womp womp…read about that goof here and then give me another condolence high five) could ask guests to help “stock the bar” as gifts for his birthday but being that the the main setting of the show is inside a pub, you can bet that our new bar, Clyde, will be center stage at this shindig.  Here he is, proudly showing off how handy he’s become:

I’ve been getting Clyde in shape for some heavy use and I was delighted when the lovely folks at UncommonGoods kindly offered to send some items on my wish list to help me get ready for the party. Here’s what I got to style the bar:

A vintage ice bucket from Etsy (similar here) is tucked away in the cabinet below but will be on deck for party time.

These whiskey stones keep glasses of the good stuff chilled but undiluted by water from melted ice – perfect for Mumbles’s drink of choice, Crown Royal. (I got a set as a stocking stuffer for my brother a few years ago — he’s a big fan of scotch)

The Stainless steel mini cocktail shaker and the barware glasses are from CB2.  The glasses are super gorgeous and very thin so they feel like they might break but they’re also relatively inexpensive. Stylist Emily Henderson has them on her styling staples list so naturally I had to have them.

And, here’s the kicker: a pineapple planter. How hilarious is that?  If you watched the show, you know that one of the unanswered mysteries is how a pineapple appeared on Ted’s nightstand after an epic night of drinking. I love it and it’ll eventually be a planter but I want this little guy to get a lot of action with Clyde for our LEGEN-waitforit-DARY party so I think he’ll hold lime wedges so people will pay attention to him (and notice that I’ve squeezed in yet another HIMYM reference). I realized I’ll need to cover the drainage hole so it doesn’t leak any lime juice on Clyde, which also made me realize it would be a really creative candle holder too.

The pineapple planter and whiskey stones are from UncommonGoods, a company that has a really awesome mix of handmade gifts and quirky products.  I take pride in my internet prowess so let me tell you this is a great source for presents that’ll have people asking “oh my gosh, where did you find this?!” and you’ll nonchalantly share the eloquent back story about “an artisan you discovered” because the products come with descriptions of the people who made them, how they’re eco-friendly and if they’re made in the good ol’ US of A…good stuff.

I still need a jigger, strainer, muddler, stirrer and some more liquors and liqueurs to have a fully stocked bar for any guests that want to get crazy in the mixology department.  But if I run out of time, I’ll just grab a great bottle of scotch and tell people it’s Barney Stinson’s drink of choice.  In keeping with the theme, I’m waiting on the intervention banner to arrive (that’s something you don’t say every day). It’s normally something I’d DIY but I’m running out of time and I already want to make a little print like this one to put on the bar (where the framed skeleton keys are) to remind folks to keep the drinks coming.

What else is my bar missing? 

P.S. If you’re just getting started stocking your home bar like me, A Beautiful Mess, Oh So Beautiful Paper and DESIGNLOVEFEST have helpful roundups of what to buy based on your budget. Also, be careful buying these two things at the same time.

Some of the products in this post were gifted courtesy of UncommonGoods for my review. All opinions are my own.