Awesome Purchase, Part One

Last Wednesday when I went thrift-shopping with Dixie, we found this really nice little consignment shop. They had a cool, big armoire that we both really liked, and it was only $199. Dixie really, really liked it, and would've put it in her bedroom. As far as I was concerned, she had first dibs. I liked it, but didn't necessarily need it, and wasn't sure if that was what I wanted to spend my money on.

Some background info: my paternal grandmother passed away in 2007. The inheritance went to my dad and his siblings and step-siblings, but out of the goodness of his heart he gave me and my brothers and sisters each $500 to get something to remember Grandma by. I have had it for months and wasn't sure what to do with it.

So, did I want to spend some of it on this armoire? I considered it, and when Dixie said she wasn't going to get it, I decided to go see if it was still there. I figured this would not be a purchase I would regret, based on our last armoire which we bought 11 years ago for $200 (or maybe $250). It was only a Sauder-assemble-yourself, but we have used it all this time up until we moved into this house last spring, and I have always considered it one of my best purchases ever. It faithfully kept all the audio/visual equipment hidden, through eight separate houses.

It was still there; this morning I paid for it, and this evening Handsome and a friend went and picked it up. This thing is big, and heavy, and solid wood. There's nothing to show scale in these photos, but it's about 6.5 feet tall. It's kind of rustic and elegant at the same time. Firstborn was somewhat disgusted, and likened it to the window, as in, 'why do you have to always get old beat-up things?'. It is not old or beat up, but apparently it's a little too rustic for his taste.

In the carpet underneath it, you can see the footprint of what we were using as an entertainment center. Not the old Sauder, which was getting pretty beat up after so many moves, but a small black computer armoire from Walmart, only about 4 ft high. We have had it about 4 years, and until this house, it actually held the computer.

It's really a deep espresso color, which you can kind of see in the first photo, but it reads as black, which goes with several of my other furniture pieces.

Love the star-shaped hardware. The flash made it look a little more brassy than it really appears.

When I paid for it the lady told me that they were going to price it at $299 (I thought $199 was a deal!) but that when they moved it into the shop, they chipped a corner. It's underneath and you can't really see it and I can glue the piece back on anyway. I'm actually glad they chipped it, because I'm pretty sure I would not have paid the $299.

So, I'm pretty excited! I got a good quality, solid wood piece of furniture at a bargain price, that should serve me well for many years. And, I still have over half of Grandma's money left. (And if I ever get tired of it, I can sell it to Dixie!)

Awesome purchase part two next week; we can't pick it up until then.