Lifestyle for Sale

I know that the point of catalogs (and advertising in general) is to make you long for a different lifestyle. But it doesn't normally work for me. Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware offer sumptuous homes that can be yours for just a gazillion dollars. (Remember that episode of Friends when Rachel decorated Phoebe's apartment in all Pottery Barn furniture but has to lie about it because Phoebe hates the yuppified store; Phoebe of course ends up loving the stuff.) But those lives don't appeal to me. However, there is one catalog whose life I covet: Levengers. Don't get me wrong; there's nothing in that catalog I actually want. I just want to be the kind of person who would use the things in its catalog. I want to have the kind of life where I dip my pen in an inkwell as I write in my leather journal, lounging in my reading chair. As I write about my worldly adventures, I'd consult my globe, and then, when I was done, I'd play my leather Scrabble set with my family. Perhaps, someday, that's the kind of life we'll lead. But for now, I've got to go help Adam clean the poop out of the sofa (and, oh, I wish I were kidding about that, but I'm not).