My FREE Craigslist Mirror!

I know you are all curious about my free Craiglist mirror 🙂  But first, a little weekend recap….

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!  Ours was nice and relaxing.  Saturday we did a little garage saling, a Menard’s run, and a trip to the Scenic Overlook on the trashhill in Bolingbrook.  Yesterday, after church we watched some football (meaning Jake watched and I was on Pinterest ;)), and then visited a forest preserve after a rainfall.  You should try it sometime if you never have, it’s SO serene!  AND (Jake’s favorite part) you’re almost guaranteed to see a deer or two 🙂  I think we saw six does and one big buck!

Oh and there is one more thing we did this weekend that I would like to share with you… and I before I do, I would just like to preface this by saying that this is my ‘twinsie’ post with Victoria.  My dear friend sent me a link to Victoria’s post on the saga of the antique-to-die-for Craigslist mirror.  If you have not read her post that has gone crazy viral in blogland, you definitely should!  She is hysterical. 🙂  After this weekend I feel that I can now say that I have truly shared this experience with her!

While at work on Friday, Jake sent me a text: “I just sent you an awesome email.”  Hmmm…. My interest is piqued!  So I immediately checked my inbox, and low and behold, he had sent me a link to a FREE Craigslist mirror…. (I love that he consistently checks the Craigslist free ads for super finds!)

Well, the add showed a dark picture of what seemed to be a large mirror with black and gold carved frame.  I mean this thing was a find!  After emailing the author of the post, I learned that it was 48″ by 59″ !!!! HUGE !!!! So, that made me really excited…. and instantly (after changing out of my pj’s) I hopped into my little ’03 VW Golf….. (can you see where this is going?)

The mirror was an hour away, but what a small price to pay for so much awesomeness, right?? So an hour later I arrive to pick up the mirror… there is was sitting on the front porch in all of it’s glory and all I could think was, “my goodness, how will I ever lift this?”  I attempted to pick it up. Ha! Sadly, I could hardly budge the thing.  Thankfully for me, the lady who owned it had seen my pathetic attempts and came out to assist me.  Well, the two of us hauled that  mirror out to my car.. where, after several attempts to manipulate my seats, we quickly realized that this mirror was going nowhere.

Defeated, I hopped back into my little golf and drove the hour back home…. When I told Jake the story, he wondered why I didn’t come pick up his truck to take.  To be honest, it never crossed my mind that the mirror could possibly be THAT big…  But, like the loving and faithful husband he is, he drove me in his truck (an hour and a half in rush hour traffic) back to the lady’s house to claim my free Craigslist mirror.

It fit much better this time, and we got it back safe and sound.  My arms are still sore from helping Jake carry it up the stairs… maybe I should workout more?? And here it is:

My Free Craigslist Mirror

Not too shabby for a free Craigslist mirror right???  I mean, wow! 🙂  Of course, then we had to do some research and inspection of our newest addition to the apartment… Looking at it up close you can see the dirt buildup (probably from years in a garage).

The gold portion of the frame appears to have been (faux??) gold leafed, then ‘antiqued’ with red paint and black speckles. Not exactly my favorite type of gold look… The blackish brown portion is textured and I’m not exactly sure what material it is, but it definitely needs a good scrub down!

On the back there is a sticker that says Emerson Et Cie.  Using google, we learned that this is a designer line of decor, that apparently is so expensive they won’t list their prices online… (sadface).  But, wow, we were so pumped!  Also, this company has only been around for 20 or so years, meaning this is probably made in the 90’s.

So now for the million dollar question…

What are we going to do with it????  I’ve battled with this imminent question all weekend, because – to be quite honest – I’m torn! On one hand, after learning it could be worth some money a small part of me considered trying to sell it… but that just felt sinful after the work (and emotional wear and tear – driving thru rush hour is not fun!) we went through to get it and the amazing steal that it is!  It would be too much of a shame to let it go.

Location wise, I am happy with keeping it on the wall behind our dining table for now, it’s just the natural place for it.  But… the real question is, do I want to paint it or not (*cue the cringing*)…. I know, I know, but it’s a designer piece, (faux?) gold leafed, how could you paint over that???  Well, to be honest, as much as I’ve tried to force myself too… I can’t quite dig the black and gold combo, and the speckling on the gold leaf still bugs me.  And… it was a free Craigslist mirror, so I wouldn’t really be out anything if it didn’t work out perfect.

Last night we went out and bought toothbrushes and gave the mirror a good scrub down.  I thought maybe if the dirt and grime came off, I would be able to appreciate it more in its current state.  Unfortunately, it was largely unchanged after an hour of scrubbing.

Here’s the thing…. I think I could appreciate the gold/black look in the right setting.  Like in a grand entryway with high ceilings and other grand furniture.  But to be frank, it simply does not fit into our apartment in that way.  I could hold off, not paint it, and hope for a grand hallway to display it sometime in the next five years… or I could paint it all one cohesive color and be able to enjoy it fully now.

WHAT SHOULD I DO?????

And if I should paint it… what color?  White seems like the most neutral option, but our walls our white….  Glossy gray? Or is that too trendy?  Do you see what a conundrum I’m in??  I would REALLY appreciate your help and opinions on this, what would you do?

Thanks all for listening to my crazy lady rambling!  And I hope to hear from you soon with some advice 😉

Linking up at the Love Nerds, and Work it Wednesday.