Remember that insanely awesome/expensive brass bar cart that I’ve been obsessing over from Crate & Barrel? Well, my plan was to be practical and keep an eye out for something similar I could spray paint and spruce up at the flea market Mrs. Mercado and I are planning to head to here in a few weeks. But…my friend Sarah and I (you’ll remember her from the fabulous Vintage Circus Baby Shower we co-hosted for BFOTB) took a little trip to a new local Goodwill store the other day and right when I walked in the door, imagine my surprise when I saw this shiny little guy just waiting patiently for me!

The brass vanity I found waiting for me at Goodwill

And, now for the kicker! Want to know how much I paid for him? (yes, I it’s a him. I think I’ll call him Giles. You know how I get with naming things…remember lovely Jane?)

$10. (!!!) I paid $10 for Giles, my shiny old but new-to-me brass vanity which will be my new entryway table/bar cart. I am so beyond excited! See, our place is small so, it’s hard to buy new stuff because there’s just not that much room to put anything. But the thing with things that are only $10 and such a steal and just what you’ve been looking for is that you have to get them because you can’t pass up something so perfect.

So what you do is you just rearrange your living room. You just make it work.

Giles, lookin’ good in his new spot in my cozy home!

I was originally thinking to remove the mirror portion of the vanity so it would look more just like a little table, but I actually quite like the mirror. Instead, though, in a moment of pure thrifty genius, I decided that I’ll paint the back of the mirror with chalkboard paint so I can use either side, which should make little Giles super cheeky at parties and when we have people over because he’ll be able to relay messages or tell folks what the signature drink of the evening is. See, swanky, right? Oh, Giles, I adore you already! If I take off the mirror, though, I could also put little caster wheels on the bottom to make him more mobile – but he’s super lightweight as is.

a nice, bigglass jar and lid from Goodwill – I think it was $2 or some other awesome price.

P.S. I also scored some great, huge glass jars (one big one is there in that photo tucked underneath Giles because I took it whilst rearranging and organizing), another 3-tier glass cake stand (very similar to the one Sarah & I scored while shopping for BFOTB’s Baby Shower at Goodwill earlier this year) and I almost walked out with a classy set of double old fashioned glasses and tumblers to go on Giles but there was a little bitty sticker on them (they were clearly unused! Goodwill is so awesome!) that said they were made of lead crystal. I didn’t know anything about lead crystal but my mind wandered and I wondered if that’s why they were sitting there unused on the shelf. They were pretty, but very traditional and I think perhaps Giles would prefer glassware that’s a bit more modern to complement his vintage look.

Have you found anything great while thrift shopping?

other little brass goodies I found at Goodwill