Friends as Furniture, Volume II: My Brother Donnie

Yesterday was the 33rd birthday of my big bro -- from whom I learned how to endure such hardships as being shot with a bb gun, having my head stuck under the couch for long periods and having a crib mattress fall on me from the top of the attic stairs. And one time he said, "Open your mouth," as he chucked a penny across the room, and it went directly down my throat in a straight shot -- didn't even hit the hangy-ball on the way down. (I coughed out it, fortunately.) It was amazing.

I also learned some other critically important life skills, too, like how to wear crazy clothes and be considered cool and not weird and how to pray about things instead of worrying. In other words, he's a pretty neat guy and you can always expect the unexpected when he's around.

My brother is also a dedicated husband to his equally cool wife, great father of two adorable little boys, a beloved college professor and a collector of strange, fun gadgets. He's quirky, clever and subtle -- which is why I chose these two items for this installment of "Friends as Furniture."

(Above) X-ray Bunny Wall Art from UrbanOutfitters, on sale for $35. I can imagine visitors doing double takes if they saw this on the wall.

(Above) Giant plastic cup stool/container from Limiteds.com, $114. Donnie, you (or the boys) seriously need one of these, right?

These posts are so fun. I said that last time, but I really mean it. I should do this more often. You could be next!

Friends as Furniture, Volume I: Jen

If you haven't already, meet my beautiful sister-in-law, Jen. Also meet her 6 week old son, whose fresh little identity I shall protect for now by not blasting his name all over the internets. (Hey lil fella! Your Auntie Em loves you!)

Jen is a wife to my crazy-awesome brother, mom of 2 crazy-adorable boys, crafter, teacher, author and all around sweet person. And if Jen were a chair, she'd be this one:

The Josette Chair (Pier 1)

Jen loves bold color and happy prints, so we've got that covered. But she's not ostentatious or overbearing, so the scaled down dimensions and tidy upholstery show the right amount of stylish restraint. And the color choices themselves are spot on, as I'm pretty sure every color on this chair is used as a wall color somewhere in their house.

Jen, this chair needs to be in your house. FYI.

Post Script: What started as an inside joke has been so fun that I might just have to psychoanalyze all my friends and family to determine what furniture they resemble. Who wants to be next?