Anyway, my list has 103 things on it and one of them was to go to the Renegade Craft Fair.  Not as big as “Meet Mark Kermode” (More on Dr. Kermode at a later date.  Actually, pretend I didn’t just say that.  I feel like he deserves a post of his own and now I’m worried that you’re going to google him and have an imperfect first meeting when I know that if I’m there to lead you through the process, you will love him too.  Don’t google him!!! I swear this isn’t one of those reverse psychology moments! I really need to be there when you meet!  Gah!  Pretty birdie!  See the pretty birdie!) Where was I? Oh yes, Renegade.  Not as big as “Meet – ahem – Oprah” but then again not as small as “Do a pull-up” (although now that I think about it, that one is actually pretty huge since my right arm is still sore from the gallon of milk I carried home two days ago.).  Anyway. I’ve always wanted to go and I’ve never lived in a city that had one and it seemed like a weird thing to base a trip around.

“Why are you going to LA?”

“To buy a toast scarf.”

Weird, right?

But since we live in San Francisco (check that off the Life List) we could go and even base our entire weekend around it! I don’t know who was more excited – me or LB.  Okay, it was me. I was pretty much a nightmare all Saturday morning. I didn’t even have coffee because I was afraid it might (literally) give me a heart attack, I was that jazzed up.  It was all I could talk about incessantly so you can imagine LB had the kind of day that they just don’t warn you about before you get married.  Although the excitement must have rubbed off on him a teensy bit because he did come in to take a look.  Okay, he pretty much walked right back out but I think that had more to do with my discovery of this book of cats in wigs than the actual fair itself. I get it. A man can only take so much.

Renegade was everything I’d hoped it would be.  There were toadstools, tons of posters I would have bought if we had a wall to hang them on, Gingerbread men missing body parts (he had a tag around his neck that said – “The one that got away”), a lady walking around selling felt ice cream people out of an ice cream cart.  It was so good.

I only made one purchase but I LOVE IT.  I’ve been absolutely desperate for one of those fancy feather headbands (but then who hasn’t been, really?) but they were all either too expensive or not the right colors. And then I saw Tara to the T’s booth.  Not only did she have headbands in just about every color imaginable but they were only $22!  It was truly an Inspired Craft Fair Moment (which reminds of a conversation I had with our friend. Him: “What’s with the Renegade? Why’s it a ‘Renegade’ Craft Fair?”  Me (without a hint of irony): “Because the crafters there are CRAZY.”)

I have to admit, after meeting Tara (look how cute she is! and nice!), I was secretly hoping that the fascinator would magically transform me into a sort of writer-ly version of her – all retro fab with blond locks and tattoos, perhaps a pencil coyly tucked behind one ear – but it didn’t. Still you have to admit, the results are pretty dramatic.

What a day.  That gets a hearty cross-off the ole Life List (at least until next year).  And yes, I’m going to post a ton more links.  There was just so much cool stuff I want to make I sure do justice to all of them.

Go over and check out all of Tara’s fascinators and her line of stewardess-inspired dresses at Taratothet.com.