for my BA readers

All 5 of you. But really.

Saturday I skipped on over to the Christmas Fair at the British Ambassador's Residence. I had been there a few years back, in the crazy UCA days, for the ambassador's son's 21st birthday. It was a free-for-all of random booze and out of control English kids with a 6 to 1 exchange rate and an insatiable desire to rage. It was so fun and so random. I hadn't been back and when I found out about the annual Christmas Fair, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I had to go!

Each year there is a lovely little fair with lots of little old ladies who call you "love" and sell things like handknit stockings, felt ornaments, cute gift ideas, and other gems. It was a brilliant day, with so much sunshine I wanted to lounge there all afternoon.

I was tipped off by someone I know who was selling things there, and was so glad she filled me in! Emma is from Leeds and has been in BA for the past 6 years with her husband Oliver and two most adorable sons, Seth and Bo. They have just returned after living in India for the past 9 months (Oliver is a writer and was in India doing research). I really don't want to gush, but I have such a girl crush on Emma. She's beyond cool it hurts. Her creativity is incredible and her Boca chairs are being sold by Anthropologie! (They were also featured on Design*Sponge, as was her previous apartment. Check it out here)

When Keith from Man Shops Globe came to BA, she was his guide. Hello, can you see that I am green with envy? You'd think she would have an ego to match, but she's so down to earth! I love that she prefers to work with relatively unknown artisans and people when she's doing a project.

One of her ongoing projects is Handpicked - a small, curated collection of objects and gems from the artists she's found along the way. I bought a bunch of ceramic bowls and limited myself only to those because otherwise I would have taken the entire table with me! There were the cutest little teapots, amazing pitchers, perfect mugs and a million other things I loved. She also carries necklaces made by a woman whose father owns a factory - she rescues the buttons that aren't used and makes the most amazing pieces of jewelry out of them! Toss in some beautiful throws from Elementos Argentinos and you can imagine that I didn't visit any other stand but Emma's!

If you think you can stand the case of envy that will overcome you, take a peep at Emma's blog and read up about her fun little life and all the rest! I will post pictures of the bowls I got later this week.