Side-by-side divs within lists - css-float

Question

Trying to display a list of upcoming events, showing the date(s), an icon, and a brief description. All of these should line up side by side, like columns, but when the description wraps, it falls down to the next line. This is probably insanely simple, but I've tried various combinations of float and inline-block with no success.
<div class="events">
<ul class="list-unstyled">
<li>
<div class="event-date">Jun 16 -
<br />Jun 27</div><i class="glyphicon glyphicon-star">a</i>
<div class="event-text">Opening Day for Faculty and Staff</div>
</li>
<li>
<div class="event-date">Sep 10 -
<br />Oct 08</div><i class="glyphicon glyphicon-star">b</i> <div class="event-text">Coffee with a Cop, 7:45 a.m. # Cafeteria Courtyard</div></li>
<li>
<div class="event-date">Mar 12</div><i class="glyphicon glyphicon-ban-circle">c</i> <div class="event-text">Labor Day: Campus Closed</div></li>
</ul>
.list-unstyled {
list-style: none outside none;
padding-left: 0;
}
.events li {
border-bottom: 1px solid #4188d6;
margin-bottom:10px;
}
.event-date {
background-color: #74a2c2;
border-radius: 3px;
color: #ffffff;
display:inline-block;
font-weight: bold;
margin: 0px 10px 10px 10px;
padding: 5px;
width: 65px;
vertical-align:top
}
.event-text {
vertical-align:top;
display:inline;
border:1px solid green
}
i {
display:inline-block;
vertical-align:top;
border:1px solid red
}
http://jsfiddle.net/d4h2A/1/

Answer 1

Using your existing HTML (good as is), try the following CSS:
.list-unstyled {
list-style: none outside none;
padding-left: 0;
}
.events li {
border-bottom: 2px solid #4188d6;
margin-bottom:10px;
overflow: auto;
}
.event-date {
background-color: #74a2c2;
border-radius: 3px;
color: #ffffff;
font-weight: bold;
margin: 0px 10px 10px 10px;
padding: 5px;
width: 65px;
float: left;
}
.event-text {
overflow: auto;
border: 1px dotted gray;
}
i {
float: left;
vertical-align:top;
border:1px solid red;
margin-right: 10px;
}
See demo: http://jsfiddle.net/audetwebdesign/y54Zb/
To allow for a fluid width of .event-text, start by using float: left for .event-date and i (optinally, add a right margin as needed).
To contain the floated elements within the li blocks, use overflow: auto.
Finally, apply overflow: auto for .event-text to keep the text from wrapping around the floated elements.
The net result is that as you shrink the window width, the text will start wrapping at the left edge next to the icon. As you expand the window, the text will simply stay on a single line for a wide enough window (use max-width if this is an issue).
You might want to set a min-width for the text block depending on your layout design.