And we lived happily ever after...

Bailey has come home to live with me! I mean us. Saturday morning we sped down to the Pottery Barn Outlet, swiped my debit card so fast it almost melted, hurriedly loaded my—I mean our—new coffee table into the back of the Rodeo, and headed for home. But before we left the parking lot, I snapped a pic of Bailey tucked in all safe and sound. That's my hilarious husband, above, sticking his arm in through the passenger door. And I have to say, to him and to you, that he has been such a good sport throughout this "ordeal". Once he realized just how much I loved Bailey, and was adequately reassured that I do indeed love him more, he was totally on board with the idea of a new table.

Ta da!!! Bailey's new home, above—so much better than the demoralizing cold concrete floor of an outlet store. Having taken on the exact duties of the old oak table—same books, flowers, basket of magazines, bowl of balls and clock—Bailey delivers an even more than expected amount of cheer and charm to a space that was already pretty happy. But not in a way that's too obvious. It's as if Bailey has been here all along. Aside from all the obsessing and hand-wringing, it was a seamless transition. As if it was meant to be.

Inspired by the addition of Bailey's fresh green-ness, I did a little pillow shopping this weekend as well. The spiffy number above if from Pier 1. Its mossy green, curvy cotton jacquard pattern is a perfect complement to Bailey and a nice juxtaposition to the graphic checks of my red reading chair. If you haven't taken a look at the toss pillows at Pier 1, I suggest you do. There are so many colors and styles from which to choose, I'm sure you'll find something that suits your space. And I do advise you to see them in person before you buy. Colors on their website are not always true, and you'll want to feel the fabrics before committing to something you'll be curling up with at home. Their quality is quite often a nice surprise, most have zippers for ease of cleaning and some, like mine, have feathery down inserts. If the pillow you choose does not, it's simple to insert your own if that's the look and feel you prefer. If you hurry, you can take advantage of the currently reduced prices on past season selections as well as a sale going on now that includes many of their new designs. My pretty new pillow cost less that $24.00.

Another serendipitous bargain was this red toile pillow cover, above, that I found in the markdown baskets at my local Pottery Barn (not the outlet). It's a cotton print with soft velvet welting and was a whopping $13.00. A 20" down insert I already owned fluffed it up so it could join its new friends on the sofa.

As wonderful as it is to have Bailey home, it's been equally wonderful to hear from so many of you!

Thank you so much!

...for your advice and encouragement... for allowing me to be completely ridiculous without judging me as such... for recognizing that even us designer types can become paralyzed when it comes to making decisions for ourselves... and for playing along. It was so much fun waking up each day to a few more comments and emails! Next time I'm faced with such a perplexing dilemma, I know exactly where to go to find help!

For any of you still wondering, here are answers to some of your questions:

1) No, the mean ladies at the PB outlet would not let me borrow Bailey "on approval". Okay, it's not really their fault. PB apparently has an unbending policy with regard to their clearance furniture... it's priced to move out the door and that's where they want it to stay.

2) Bailey is exactly the same size and shape as "old oak"—42"Wx18"H (So what was my problem right? Remove ugly, insert pretty. Sounds so easy.)

3) Bailey fits nicely within the confines of my big white sectional... its round shape is perfect for scooting around to find your seat.

4) Many of you expressed concern that I would regret forever not bringing Bailey home. I'm positive you were right.

See how nice Bailey looks in the photo above holding my laptop and coffee mug? That's where I did my email and blog reading this morning. Many thanks again to all of you who helped make that beautiful moment possible!