B is for Books About Bunnies and Babies

Also, Becky Bloomwood.  But we'll work our way up to that.  First things first.  As you know, I can't let a holiday pass without reading a coordinating cozy homicide.  So this Easter hat trick of three novellas including Leslie Meier's Easter Basket Murder, Lee Hollis's Death by Easter Egg, and Barbara Ross's Hopped Along was just what the Easter bunny ordered.  Each story delivered on the irresistible cocktail of cute and creepy, although I enjoyed Death by Easter Egg the most.  There's something about the combination of candy and crime that's especially decadent.    

Kind of like childbirth and chuckles, which isn't decadent, but rather soothing.  Now that I'm in the last leg of my pregnancy (30 weeks!), I felt the urge to reread Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic and Baby.  As the big day draws near, I knew that reliving Becky's hijinks would be especially entertaining and comforting.  And it was.  What I didn't expect was for it to make me cry.  (Then again, these days, there isn't much that doesn't switch on the waterworks.)  Because along with all the fiascos and fun is the heart that beats so beautifully in each of Kinsella's books.  As Becky persevered through her struggles, I knew that I could conquer mine too, and that in the end it will all be worth it because my baby girl is meant to be.

It's no wonder that this book was the first thing I slipped into my go bag.  

Immediately followed, of course, by a brand-new tube of Cherries in the Snow lipstick.      

Kick Start My Heart: Feels for Heels

From left: Chase & Chloe, Zulily; Chinese Laundry, Zulily; Chase & Chloe, Zulily

I promise that I'm not getting an, ahem, kickback from Zulily to blog about these shoes. Although if Zu wanted to toss me that new pair of yellow Jessica Simpson ankle straps that I just bookmarked, then I wouldn't cry unethical. But if I can't get a pair of great shoes for free, then the next best thing is getting them for next to nothing. Because you can never have too many, and getting each pair cheaper means getting more.

It's a strong woman who can resist a new pair of kicks -- and an even stronger one who buys them anyway and endures the pain. A pain that comes, of course, from the bunions, corns, and hammer toes that are the price of fashion-forward footwear. Although today's trio isn't high on height -- or torture -- I wear plenty of pairs that rival skyscrapers. Whenever my feet sprout fresh deformities, I always think of that part in Shopaholic and Baby when Becky Bloomwood's gyno lectures her about her heels, tsk-tsking that fashion is bad for your health. This makes me angry. Becky already has to battle morning sickness and bloating; she shouldn't have to give up cute shoes, too. Then again, her gyno turns out to be a husband-stealing ass clown, so what does she know? Furthermore, the gyno's clothes are boring, which is a kind of symbol of her inner ass-clownery. You know what they say. Never trust a woman in sensible shoes.

They also say that beauty is pain. Which to me means the bunions are worth it.