Hi @
xgarb!
Do I understand you correctly that all you need is to put top category icons in the sidebar:
http://awesomescreenshot.com/0414nqho6a
In this case, you can change it by altering the skins/default/en/categories/list/body.tpl template.
Here is an article how you can apply template changes:
http://kb.x-cart.com/display/XDD/Step+2+-+applying+design+changes
Here is an example of how to work with image widget:
http://kb.x-cart.com/display/XDD/Using+images+widget