I FINALLY FOUND LEO'S REPLACEMENT...MEET SHELBY!

Leo, my long time friend, has FINALLY been replaced, y'all!

If you have been reading my blog for any time at all you know who I am talking about when I say "Leo". Leo is the name I lovingly gave this lion print that I have had sitting on the mantel for the past 4 1/2 years we have lived in this house.





He also was a long time friend hanging around in our last home for about 5 years. So, sad to say, Leo is a bit outdated old and needed to be, shall I say, retired. I have attempted over the past few years to find something to hang over the mantel in his place but never found anything that was quite my style or that suited me.  I tried my DIY starburst mirror, my DIY sunburst mirror AND other prints but nothing I truly liked up there better than Leo.

I did spy a mirror at Marshalls that I really liked and it was cheap enough but with 2 failed attempts with mirrors I passed it up as I just wasn't sure another mirror was what I wanted there.

I also saw this gorgeous horse print in the Restoration Hardware catalog that I knew would be a fabulous replacement for Leo and is just my taste and style...and it would work great with the color scheme and things I have planned for my living redo later this year. It was the $1500 price tag that kind of threw a wrench into me getting that.

So I was back to searching and have been casually looking here and there and everywhere. I would look at the art in every store I went into to see if I could find something worthy to take Leo's place. I even looked at many places online but there was NOTHING..at least that I could afford!

Then this weekend we took a day trip to a wildlife refuge in St. Louis that just so happened to be near an AT HOME store (used to be Garden Ridge). Since we were already in the area I talked the hubs into stopping to have a look around. I wasn't planning to buy a thing. Really! Wink, wink!

I went directly to the art and looked diligently through everything that was in the size range I needed but there was nothing...absolutely NOTHING. Awww, I was soooo sad and discouraged thinking that I would never be able to send Leo off to retirement in style; but, just as we were getting ready to leave something caught my eye in an aisle of smaller prints. I spied a large blackish frame hidden behind and among the smaller ones. I had no idea what kind of art the frame held but I just had to find out. After all the frame was the PERFECT size and it was the PERFECT style and color too; so, I sauntered over and gingerly threw moved everything out of the way so I could see the art that this perfect frame held and as I pulled the last piece away, I gasped in jubilation as I could see that it held Leo's PERFECT replacement.

Say hello to SHELBY...

She's absolutely PERFECT!!!

Doesn't she look so good with the sconces that I recently updated with black shades?

In my eyes she's very Restoration Hardwareish and is the perfect compliment (or will be) to the rustic luxe living room makeover I have planned for late this year, once the dining room is finished and the bathroom gets a little refresh.

I am truly over joyed because of how perfect she is for the vision I have for this room...even better than the $1500 print from RH in my opinion. I'm just tickled, tickled, tickled!  Can you tell I'm tickled? Hahaha.

The hubs LOVES her too that's why I didn't have to beg to get her. He instantly put her in the cart for me and didn't even hesitate over the price, which is VERY rare for him. I've caught him staring at her several times since I placed her on the mantel. That's a good thing because I feel it's important that my husband is happy with my home decor choices too...since he has to live with them as well.

I'm not sure what else I will add to the mantel in the way of accessories. For right now I put a couple small pieces of drift wood I had here at the house up there. I like the simplicity of it and I'm not sure it needs anything else.

I know one thing, Shelby has given me a new incentive and excitement to get the dining room makeover done and to get moving on the rustic luxe style changes I want to make to the living room.

So tell me, what do you think about Shelby?  Do you like her?  You know horses are coming back into style right now in a BIG way.  As a matter of fact At Home had a ton of horse and equine statues and decor at really great prices. I have also spotted a bunch of them at Marshalls, Homegoods, Target and Joss and Main, just to name a few. I've even spotted them appearing on some popular blogs lately so...does having Shelby technically mean that I am finally in style? Hmmm, now there's a question! Hehe

What did you do over the weekend?  Find anything special that you have been wanting for a LONG time? The comment section is open and I'd LOVE to hear all about it!

Ciao,







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