It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a...

Bench? Isn't she beautiful? Wait...she does a few tricks...

Now she's a storage chest! And for her final trick ladies and gentlemen she will turn into a...

Table! Can you believe it?

I found her a couple of months ago at Pier 1. I instantly fell in love and started planning where she could sit at my home. I decided on the entry area directly across from the dining room. She's a beautiful worn-white color and as you can see she is completely versatile. I just wasn't willing to pay the $450 price that Pier 1 was requiring for me to pay in order to take her home. So, she sat in Pier 1 for weeks. I would check on her now and then. Over the weekend Neil and I stopped in at a Pier 1 and I proudly introduced her. They really liked each other. She even had a clearance tag. This meant two things.

1. The store could no longer order any more. Once she was gone she would be gone for good.

2. I still wasn't convinced that the clearance price was the best price.

Neil and I walked away, but I couldn't stop thinking about her. Wouldn't she be adorable with pillows? Wouldn't it be fun to sit on her with a friend and chat during a party? How many linens or seasonal decor could I stuff into her trunk? And lastly...what about that table? I mean, how great would it be to have a table to pop up during parties if we need a place to set the food? I could just imagine myself with friends over, casually going over and, with the slide of a wrist, transforming what they thought was a plain ol' bench into a table! Can't you just hear the gasp in the room? No applause please.

On Monday my mom stopped by for lunch. I casually mentioned to her that there was an amazing piece of furniture at Pier 1 that I wanted to show her. I needed her for emotional support as I pondered over this decision. We went right over and she too was amazed. I asked the store clerk how many they had left in stock at the store. She said that the bench on the floor was the last one and that the other stores in the area also only had one. Oh she did mention that the Galveston store had two listed (umm...obviously the inventory hasn't been updated since Ike!). As I mulled over the decision some more, a man walked in and starting eyeing the bench. Without a word my mom and I instinctively moved next to the bench clearly indicating with our body language that he should keep on walking! As we sat on her and thought about how perfect she was my mom said that she would like to contribute a portion of the money since Neil and I had watched my parents' dog for the week. As if I could accept money for watching the family dog! But she was relentless, and after all, with her contribution, the price dropped into the range that I had decided I was willing to pay! Perfect! We paid and loaded her into the trunk(thankfully my mom still drives a minivan!).

I just love looking at her in the hall. I stop and sit on her once in a while dreaming of beautiful hand-stitched pillows (made by someone else of course!) and all of the wonderful trinkets I can store in her. Neil and I have plans to eventually paint the walls, so once that project is complete, her white-washed color will stand out beautifully. I'm so glad that she's home now!