Good news! It's finally time to reveal the last mystery item from my fateful trip to the thrift store last Spring.

Ok, so if you've been following my guest posts here and here, you may recall that I went to the thrift store looking for bookends {which I still have not found for myself by the way} and ended up buying 3 completely not-on-my-shopping-list things: a cane-backed chair, a picture frame, and mystery item No. 3. Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado, may I introduce to you... Steve.

{His name is a nod to Chelsea's post on Ricky the metallic Rhino.}

Now when thrifting it is important to keep an open mind. You never know what you will find to take home and transform so you can't just look at things for what they are. Let's face it, everything looks a little gross in a thrift store - sitting on dusty shelves under florescent lights, inevitably sporting some form of sticker residue. When you're thrifting, you need to look beyond the items for their potential.

I noticed this brass deer amidst a shelf of knicknacks because it was shiny {my parents can attest to my crow-like sensibilities: always gravitating towards things that sparkle}. Upon closer look I realized there were two holes in his noggin. This was no Debby the Doe, this was a Steve the Stag - he was just missing his antlers. Nothing a touch of whimsy and couple twigs couldn't fix.

Now he has a position of honor where he can nobly pose next to the chandelier terrarium on our credenza.

And I'm not the only one in love with Steve. His metallic profile is trending everywhere:

Here he is on some illustrious Anthropologie wallpaper.

And with a lady friend on One Kings Lane.

And even making a cameo appearance on Etsy via this lovely gilded portrait.

So when you're sorting through the flotsam and jetsam at your local thrift store, remember to keep an open mind to what you see. You might find something you could love if you put your own spin on it.

And there you have it! A happy addition to my credenza's vignette and No. 3 installation to this thrift store mystery series.

Also, this is what's happening right now as I type. {And yes, he's dead asleep in that position}.

Happy Wednesday,

~Cate

This post was published under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.