this weekend's project revealed

If you've ever seen an episode of Mad Men, and it seems most of America has, then you know that you can't get 10 seconds into a scene taking place in Don Draper's office without seeing him light up a cigarette and head over to his personal bar for a stiff drink.

Probably due largely to the Mad Men-induced craze for all things late 50's/early 60's, bar carts, or service carts, are quickly becoming all the rage. Design*Sponge did this article listing 48 great bar carts for sale. Apartment Therapy did this fun post about how to stock your own personal bar cart. Even Eddie Ross is in on the action with this blog post/NY Times article about how the bar cart is back.

The problem? Most of us don't have our own service carts, and if we wanted one, they are hard to find in flea markets and expensive to buy brand new.

This bright green cart will set you back $487...

.. while this unassuming little cart will set you back a whopping $1,295!!!

My solution: this ugly table on castors, an out-of-date wicker tray, and a small shaker. Intrigued? Check back this afternoon for the "after", and see how I staged it for a party that is very Betty Draper. Hint: it doesn't even involve alcohol!