Is there a better way to align these elements without using margin-top on the check mark icons to center them with the buttons?
Avoiding Margin-Top
<div class="icon check" style="margin-top:11px;"></div>
You can view a live example here: JSFiddle
<div id="statusbar">
<div class="icon check"></div> <a class="btn inactive" href="">Button 1</a>
<div class="icon check"></div> <a class="btn inactive" href="">Button 2</a>
<div class="icon check"></div> <a class="btn inactive" href="">Button 3</a>
</div>