Hope you enjoy! And if you have a shopping mission that you’d like help with, send me a note.

For this bar design, we’re gonna start with a statement piece: This groovalicious 1970s acrylic painting (Goodwill, $49.99).

The color palette is so strong here: that bright tomato red, magenta, and royal purple. It’ll be a perfect keystone for the rest of our design. At 24x24 inches, it’s perfect for a smaller area but has a lot of graphic impact.

Moving onto glassware. In this bar, we’ll have fun with voluminous shapes and retro color.

Let’s start with a decanter. This vintage Viking piece (eBay, $79.99) is fabulous, and I love the ruby red color.

The roundness of the decanter echoes the shapes of the painting deliciously.

These golden stemless glasses (Etsy, $75) are perfect, and can be used for wine, punch, or neat spirits. I love the color and how warm they’ll look in candle or neon light.

For your spritzes and fizzes, let’s add some fun branded glasses to the mix. What’s new pussycat?? This set is too cool to be true, and for $35 it’s a steal.

To finish off our glassware selection, let’s get these sexy French martini glasses with black stems (Etsy, $55). I’m obsessed with them. Imagine a tall, cold martini in one of these babies:

Lighting is something we can take in a few different directions here. Are you a bit kitschy? Continue the pussycat theme with this retro siamese cat lamp (Goodwill, $61):

Want something a little more industrial and timeless? This is such a cool tabletop fixture that would be equally at home in a 1920s theme or 1970s. (Goodwill, $27)

For something a bit more subtle that ties into our color scheme, consider this vintage Italian table lamp in a rich blackberry. (Etsy, $76)

No bar is complete without an ashtray! Here are two of my favorites that would fit well in this design. They can also be used to hold toothpicks or matchbooks.

Black ceramic ashtray (Goodwill, $9.99):

Vintage pipe-shaped Japanese ashtrays (Goodwill, 2 for $9.99):

Well, that just about wraps up today’s ~shopping mission~! Let me know what you think - would you mix up a Harvey Wallbanger in this bar?

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah

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Welcome to Diner Coffee, now on Substack! To kick things off, I wanted to share some of my very silly menu ideas for a 2024 Oscars party. If you hate puns, I will apologize ahead of time.

This started as a notes app list during a bout of insomnia, but grew and grew over the last few weeks. I’ve divided the list into beverages, apps, mains, and dessert for easy perusing.

I haven’t thrown an Academy Awards party in years, but 2023 was such a fantastic year for film that I felt inspired! I’ll be holding an Oscars bash at my house this year, and will definitely be making a few of these tasty treats.

Hope this list inspires your Oscars party!

Beverages

Mai-stro punch: A large batch Mai Tai for the crowd. Serve with a Bradley Scooper.

Martini Scorsese: A short martini with black licorice eyebrows.

Holdovers Boilermaker: A shot of Jim Beam with a Jim Beam chaser.

The Wonderful Story of Henny Sugar: A classic sidecar made with Hennessy and a sparkling sugar rim.

Millers of the Flower Moon: Miller High Life Ponies with an edible flower garnish.

Kenergy Drinks: Red Bull cans with pink or tie-dye koozies, to keep the party going until Best Picture.

Appetizers and Sides

Anatomy of a Falafel: A vegetarian fave. Serve with white sauce and a P.I.M.Pita.

The Last Repair Chop: I fervently love documentaries and big salads. This one has cheese.

Poor Wings: Buffalo wings in the most fanciful presentation you can muster. Think like a production designer! I’m imagining wings on a tea tower, lounging on ruffled lettuces. Go wild with it, but don’t forget the ranch.

Past Chives: Scallion pancakes never disappoint, especially with a side of chili oil or soy.

Ruffalos: Simply empty a bag of Ruffles into a sexy bowl. This is my most budget-friendly idea.

Mains

The Calzone of Interest: A very serious movie, a very unserious pizza pocket.

Barbie-que Chicken Skewers: Pick your favorite kind of barbecue here. I personally think yogurt-marinated tandoori chicken would be perfect, with a side of pink raita. Alternatively, simple garlic chicken skewers pair nicely` with Mojo Dojo Casa Sauce. Anything on a skewer is ideal party food, IMO.

The Po’Boy and the Heron: New Orleans’ favorite sandwich makes a fabulous party platter. Dress with your desired fixings, and top with a heron garnish (two toothpick legs topped by a cocktail onion with carrot beak).

Desserts

Ridley Scott’s Napoleons - Perhaps not historically accurate, but delicious. An epic dessert befitting its namesake.

The Foldovers - Apple turnovers evocative of the holidays. Jim Beam optional.

The Last Éclair Shop - A choux-in for best dessert.

The Flanhattan Project - Little known fact: The J. in J. Robert Oppenheimer stood for Jiggly.

The Cruller Purple - Classic donuts with a dusting of purple sugar, or a coat of purple ganache. If you’re feeling adventurous, make your own ube crullers!

Poppenheimer - Popping boba, milk tea, sea salt caramel foam.

Snub Menu

Filet December

Gno Hard Feelings

Pholite Society

Whipped Cream Scenario

Barry Keogin and Tonic

Thanks for checking out my list! If you’re interested in my favorite movies of 2023, check out my Letterboxd here. 😊