I have the best friends!

Six years ago, Lyle and I went to Peru. We bought this giant leather hat box/drum for $32. Such an amazing bargain! Then we paid $20 to get it shrink wrapped to ride in the plane cargo area. Still, such a bargain! We brought it home and it sat on it's side in our living room. So, that's where you leave your bargain?

I had a vision. I wanted it to be an ottoman. I wanted it stuffed with foam, and I wanted to make a base for it. I had the vision, but lacked the skills. So it continued to sit on it's side in my living room.

One day Mikka came over with her fiancé, Tim. "Hey Tim, you're a carpenter/furniture maker. Can this even be done?". I explained my (now cloudy) vision to him and he said he would take it to his shop. He asked if I was in a hurry and I told him, "it's been sitting in that corner on it's side for almost five years. Do I look like I'm in a hurry?"

Tim had a vision for the ottoman. He needed different tools. He needed a wood steamer. He needed to do his real jobs and make real money. He asked if I had changed my mind about needing the ottoman in a hurry. To be quite honest, I'd forgotten I'd sent it away. Something else was already in that corner of the living room.

Then a week ago, this glorious stunning piece of furniture was presented to Lyle and I. It's better than anything I could have planned or asked for.

The drum has embossed details of the Nazca Lines. Tim made the legs a "spaceship rocket" shape as an homage to that. But the best part is literally the love that went into it. It's not just a piece of furniture, a work of art or souvenir from a fabulous trip. Now it holds a piece of my heart and it needs to be placed right below my signed Kylie Minogue poster. In case of fire, grab both of these first!