A pretty new tea case

"Why do they always have things just for you?" That's what my mom said to me Saturday in HomeGoods when I showed her the pretty new tea case I had just found. I am calling this a "case" rather than a "chest," but to be perfectly honest with you I'm not entirely sure WHAT this thing is!

To give you some idea of the size and construction, here's a photo of the corner with the hinged lid. It measures about 10-1/2 inches wide, 11-1/2 inches tall and 2-3/4 inches deep.

And here's the opposite corner, with some curious looking divisions. What IS this thing?

Well, you open it to find what I at first thought were photo pockets, but there are no divisions for pockets. These plastic sheet protectors will hold an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, or anything else you can slide inside, I suppose, but there is not a seam at top or bottom. Maybe it's to hold recipes?

And once you turn the wooden "page" with the sheet protectors, you find an open case type construction, which I am going to put to use gathering up some of the many sample tea packets I've acquired this year. It could also be used as a "writing desk" to hold tea-themed notecards, stickers, bookmarks, etc. I thought this was a pretty neat and substantial piece for $19.99. There was (at the Cobb Parkway HomeGoods) another piece like this but it featured a design of shelves displaying pretty teapots. I opted for this one largely because it said "TEA," and this same design is also featured on what looked like a chest for teabags. It was smaller than my piece and cost more, $24.99. I imagine more of these items can be found at other HomeGoods and T.J. Maxx and More stores for you kindred spirits who might like one!