I pride myself on being a pretty down-to-earth gal. I buy most things on sale, reuse plastic bags until they’re falling apart, and love a good hand-me-down. And I know that having a certain brand of sofa or chair or whatever will not in any way make me happier or more fulfilled. It will only…

WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?!?!? Strike everything I just said. I think we all know I would be so much happier if my house was stuffed to the gills with furniture from POLaRT. No, seriously, people. I have no doubt that if I sat on this sofa every day I would be skinnier, my hair would be bouncier and I would probably be fluent in Italian. And I would finally know the correct way to pronounce “Pinot Noir” and “Worcestershire” without getting all embarrassed and mumbly. It’s like the ultimate investment for the world because I’ll be so much more ciao! See? It’s already working!

This yellow and white one? Um, obviously, I’d sit on it with my bestie Kate (Middleton, duh) because this is totally the kind of couch she’s always sitting on. We’d sip our tea and laugh about our husbands – “Oh, that Wills! How many times have we told him no polo until an hour after lunch? It’s like he just asking for the King of Bulgaria to wallop him!” (I should note I don’t know what any of that means. But I will.)

But, seriously, let’s get serious for a minute. We actually need new dining room chairs because ours are falling apart (as in Alice was crawling under them the other day and stood up and pushed off the seat off of one of them and now it’s just sort of resting there, taunting our visitors with its precariousness…) and I’m wondering what the likelihood is that I can convince Chris this is the perfect set. Hmmm… Well, that’s not very much fun, is it?  Champagne for breakfast, it is!

Now, I know not everyone’s all into the bright and over-the-top like I am. Some of you need something a bit more sedated. Elegant. Timeless. Seating for your interview with Oprah that will make you look slightly regal but still totally approachable. Maybe something like this?

And, of course, they have mini-chairs and settees (another word I’m scared to pronounce) for your little gals!

Alice and I would have such lovely conversations as she sat in her mini chair. She’s already perfect so there’s nothing to improve there, but I imagine if we had this I would do things like remember to bring diapers when we left the house instead of having to skulk around outside the Target bathroom, bumming “just one” off of other moms.
Now they’re a little hard to find to purchase. Funky Sofa has more versions for you to ogle at and, lo and behold, Fab.com has them today on flash sale. See?! We’re already living the kind of life where websites put products on sale just because we talk about them and all we’ve done so far is look at photos of the furniture!! I’m scared for how good this is about to get.

Mornings are not typically my best time. Sure, I look like a million bucks with my gently tousled bedhead and seriously sexy (and only slightly worn-out), Old Navy pajamas, but sometimes I feel a touch, well, grumpy (although I’m sure Chris would describe my morning personality as similar to my morning breath – very sweet).

Saturday morning was different though. I leapt out of bed like it was Christmas morning and there was a new pair of Irregular Choices waiting under the tree for me. Because it was RENEGADE!

The Renegade Craft Fair is like meeting Etsy in person and finding out she’s just as fun and quirky as you’d hoped. Everything is handmade and…awesome. That’s it. It’s all awesome. Plus, all the crafters are there and ready to chat so it’s my dream day – non-stop talking and crafty awesomeness. Chris was so sad he couldn’t come.

At Renegade a cup is never just a cup. It’s a cup with some sort of excellent design that will have people asking, “Where in the world, did you find this?” Why at Circa Ceramics, thank you very much.

Here’s what I love best about Renegade – people are selling zombie flatware alongside heavenly, origami necklaces. There is literally something for everyone. Unless you don’t like crazy crafting and then, I’m thinking, you have much bigger problems.

Don’t tell anyone but this is going to be this year’s holiday pressie for all the kiddos in my life – handmade crayons in the shape of kitties and the perfect size for little hands to hold. Adorable, right?

If the world takes away one thing from the London Olympics this year it should be the tradition of Christmas crackers (oh, I hear ya. What about goodwill? Love? The Royal Family? Sure, those are nice. But, we’re talking paper tug-of-wars which gift you paper crowns that everyone is required, probably by law, to wear the rest of the day. It’s a gift that keeps on giving.) The delightful Robert doesn’t yet have a store where you can purchase his handmade crackers, but maybe if we inundate him with emails he’ll put one up.

And it was Renegade so I’m happy to report the woodland creatures were out in full force (love this jewelry holder by Lizbeth Navarro).

Bird Mafia creates these gorgeous, handcut paper cut-outs, which she then uses to enhance maps and photos. Awesome.

I admit it, I first fell in love with Tina Produce because she puts her tea towels in strawberry containers (can you blame me?); it was her strawberry onesie though that had me handing over the credit card.

As you can imagine, this is just the tip o’ the iceberg. I have lots more to share in the upcoming weeks, but right now I have some hand-cut shadow puppets calling my name.