too many words by laura lemay

what is that? I must have it

TJ Maxx sells extras and leftovers and overstocks; its the pre-internet overstock.com. Most of the time all you’ll find there is crap but occasionally there’s something interesting to find, especially in housewares. I’ve found calphalon and all-clad pots there at 2/3rds off, and 400-thread count sheets dirt cheap.

But then there’s stuff at TJ Maxx where you kind of understand why it was an overstock or a leftover. Like this, um, chair? ottoman? stool? mushroom? thing. Its about a foot high. Its upholstered in turquoise polka dot satin. The fluffy stuff on the sides is feathers. And it has feet. Glittery feet. This wasn’t the only one; it had a matching partner, in pink.

When I first spotted this thing in TJ Maxx in December it made me stand agape in the aisle and laugh out loud with the incredible ridiculousness of it. I pulled out my cameraphone and took pictures of it with the sole purpose of ridiculing it in a blog post as I am right now.

And yet over the months as I have stumbled across the picture on my phone I have thought about the ottoman/stool/mushroom and have strangely longed for it. Like the giant leopard-print divan I loved ages ago but I never bought because it was just WAY TOO and I thought was too grown up for such brothel-like furniture, the blue spotted emu ottoman keeps haunting me with its outrageousness.

I think I have to go back and get it.

Update: Rene in the comments informs me that the mystery thing is a tuffet (as in along came a spider). Now that I know what it is I am seeing them all over the darn place. I saw a leopard print one just yesterday!