In the never-ending quest to get our still-puppy to stop using our niece as a chew toy, we happened upon this bone at the pet store. It’s already been stripped of meat, so we can give it to her in other people's places without worrying about her dropping hunks of marrow and muscle in the cracks of their couch. That's a bonus in and of itself.

But then, when I brought it home, I couldn’t help but think that you could use two of these $5.99 gems as very au currant candlesticks and no one would be the wiser. Suddenly, everything started looking like a riff on skeletons, like these salt and pepper shakers in the background.