You see, my dear friend Lindsey tuned me in to a blog done by a young couple with great home decor skills (and a knack for cheap and easy DIY projects) called Young House Love. Although I could probably not be further apart from this couple in taste, color palette, and spending habits, their design aesthetic really spoke to me in a few ways. The main one? I lack white in my life.
I am a big fan of bold colors and jewel tones. But this blogging couple is my polar opposite - the majority of their house is done in shades of white. Given the zoo that is my house with four animals, one kindergartner, and one big Ryan, that's pretty much out of the question for me. I love the look in theory, but for us it just doesn't feel functional.
But man oh man, do I love their white accents. White animals, white bowls, white vases. White is the new teal for me. And if you know me, you know that's saying something.
Once I saw this rhino in their living room, I knew it was the perfect weird accessory for my house. The blog credited the fabulous Z Gallerie for this spectacular little find. Of course I called immediately (he was under $30!!), but the nice lady at the call center let me know that he was discontinued. My heart fell. I don't think I slept well that night. I spent most of the evening on various sites trying to locate a similar rhino (for less than $3000, please). This search went on for weeks and weeks to no avail. I may or may not have called the Z Gallerie outlet about 100 times asking them to check for one. They never would, it is against their policy.
I then decided I would do something I would never ever do. Even my mom was shocked. I decided to go....antiquing. Yes, I said it. I decided to go see if some old lady with a booth at a crap store bought a Z Gallerie rhino and then decided to sell him. Or to see if there was a rhino of any color anywhere that I could paint white. After subjecting myself and my family and friends to hours of perusing old glassware, records, and metal signs, I was still rhino-less. [And I actually love antiquing, much to my mother's surprise. I just wanted to sound cool all those years.] I was starting to give up. Maybe I would like the Betta fish? Maybe I would prefer a Buddha? But no white rhino for me.
Enter Ryan. And please remember when I told you Ryan is good at getting people to give him things. He became a fan of Z Gallerie on Facebook, then posted on their wall informing them that I had been searching everywhere for this rhino and that he needed one. They responded in 12 hours, telling him that the YHL rhino was discontinued (as was their newer version) but that they had tracked one of the newer rhinos down for him. Less than 5 days later, I found this little gem boxed up on our front porch at lunch:
Oh yes. Be jealous. That's my white ceramic rhino. His arrival was exciting enough for me to text coworkers and tell them I would not be returning to work that day. I simply wanted to stare at him.
There was great debate in the house as to where "Ryano the Rhino" (name courtesy Rlowe) should call home. But for once the hubs won and he sits proudly on the dresser in the master bedroom where he watches me sleep and is completely out of the way of small children, goofy boys, and clumsy people. Ginger is the only risk I see here, so fingers crossed she continues to be afraid of the decorative sticks behind him and keeps off the dresser entirely.
So what do you think? Great conversation piece? Love the quirky decor? Fine for me but not for you? Or just plain hate my rhino? You know what, I don't care. I'm literally obsessed with him and there's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise.
Now's the time to give HUGE props to my main man Ryan for hunting down the rhino no matter how weird he thought it was. Love you!
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