What's that SMELL?

Our little girl is going to be 15 months this week. Last Easter was sort of a blur, but since she's now quite aware of what's going on around her, I have been so excited to put together her first Easter basket. No candy, just a small book or two and a stuffed bunny.

So I ordered one of the gorgeous wicker baskets and polka-dot personalized liners from Pottery Barn Kids, with her name embroidered on it. I had this vision of her and our kids-to-be all with their own baskets on future egg hunts. . .until it arrived.

I opened the box (this was nearly a month ago) and I was assaulted with a strong, offensive smell. Turpentine would be the closest comparison. I called PBK that evening and talked with a lovely customer service rep, who said she had ordered baskets from regular PB last year and they also smelled-she was told to air them out for a day and they would be fine, and that it was a "non-toxic" finish.

Well, fast-forward to yesterday, when after a week of hanging the damn thing on my front porch, it still smells. A lot. It's sitting on our piano, and when you come down the stairs, you can smell it from about 8 feet away. So, it's now boxed up on our porch to ship back today, and now it's 6 days until Easter and I need to come up with something else. I know, I know--she's only 15 months old, she doesn't know the difference. . .I have told myself that, too!

But when you feel guilty every morning when you slip out of the house for work before your baby awakes, it does matter to you.