Greetings from Chicago! Thanks to a chorus of friends (a librarian, ad-man, a pastor, and a nanny, for starters), we reminded this city who’s boss. That’d be me. Chicago means a few things, and mostly, it’s eating incredibly delicious and oh-so-bad for you food and buying knick-knacks.

Success on all fronts! First, to Ann Sather’s for a gooey cinnamon-bun inspired breakfast. A honking omelet or egg mess as big as my face, buoyed by two massive fists of dough covered in hot icing. This is not the kind of meal I tell mom about. But, Ann’s is also very much apart of the college narrative I have with this city. It’s a place even we Southsiders went to, late on Sunday morning, when our roommates had locked us out of the shower. Again. In that way, Ann Sather’s—whatever the location, mind you, it is those sticky, gooey, cinnamon buns that matter—is like an older sister: quietly rolling her eyes at our youthful shenanigans, happy to have us when outgrown spoons on our noses.

Next, the main event: the Renegade Craft Fair, back in all it’s Blue Liney, cooler than thou, splendor. And, there are pros and cons I want to put out there to my fellow crafters before day two gets under way. This Winter version of the fall favorite is in the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse—down Division the other way. Not that far. And, I’m not worried—you likely have an iPhone or hipster radar, so you’ll find it. But, the whole indoors thing—taking what was just a few months back a bazar in the streets and stuffing it in to a winding park building with choppy rooms was aggravating. I kept wondering if I had seen said letterpress artist because it appeared I was walking around in circles. But, I picked up some fun stationary and holiday cards from Chicago letterpress Pearl & Marmalade, and even a gift or two. This Renegade, like many others, the buzz was around city pride. The once darling of the craft world, ORK Posters was here with its beautifully typeset maps of Chicago (and now about 20 other cities). But, after buying one of their shirts in September only to notice little holes in it, I wasn’t too keen on a reprise.

Chicago flag goodies were everywhere, capitalizing on our love of this failed Olympic city. But it was Chicagoan and Etsy seller Diffraction Fiber who won my excitement with this:

Um, yes, that’d be the Chicago flag in stitched goodness! I figured if my friend could have a New Orleans doormat in Kentucky, I could have this pillow to show my Chi-town pride wherever I go. Even with a fun an eclectic stock, it was these darling flag pillows that were, by three hours after opening, sold out. Anyone looking to get me a holiday gift could start with a matching Illinois, perhaps? Inevitably more to say, not enough time to say it.

But, coming soon: a bar, with bourbon on tap, sells hamburgers with a three hour wait. And grown men cry. I’m still working on the leftovers. Stay tuned.

Happy Black Friday! We’ve survived the turkey and stuffing and the trip to the photo albums for a blow-by-blow of the awkward years. Yup, it’s the holiday season. Time to break out the ugly hat with the ear flaps and brave the cold for some hardcore American-style shopping! You’ve got to do it, you may even want to do it, but skip the florescent-lit box stores, because the real deals are to be found at the Renegade Holiday Craft Fair.

Think of it as “Renegade, Part Deux”. Which it is. Because Renegade was in Chicago but 3 months ago for an ‘oh man, summer is winding down, let’s buy crocheted mustaches!’ romp. The Holiday fair is a shorter second act, but captures the playful creativity that makes a Renegade fair fun. Mostly, it captures my paycheck.

My friend and serious craft nerd Sarah, and I will be there—meticulously rounding the booths and finding the deals, and succumbing to a few impulse purchases—Chicago map t-shirts, anyone? Rest up now, count your pennies and come out this weekend. Louisvillian and Dearest Inez designer Melissa Liptrap (also owner of The Makery) will be there. And plenty of people hawking high-end paper, posters, and of course moustaches. If I’m tech-savvy enough, there will be tweeting and live-streaming (ooh) from the fun. At the very least, we’ll play around with video, because let’s face it: I’m going to be at Best Buy today too, and I’ve been jonesing for a Flip video recorder. We’ll see. Look for inane posts called “hello world!” if in fact I prove successful.