Musical Pairs: The Old Switcheroo Made Shiny and New

As romcoms go, Emily Henry's Funny Story is classic screwball.  Daphne Vincent's and Miles Nowak's significant others have ditched them to be together, leaving them no choice but to shack up and launch their own buzzworthy albeit faux romance.  Somewhere between farm stand crawls and action flicks, they catch feelings, and drama ensues.  Still, Funny Story isn't any old meet-cute courtship couched in a summer-at-the-lake montage.  Because, like all of Henry's romances, it hums with cerebrally sexy, soul-baring wit and emotion.  No-nonsense librarian Daphne and stoner-with-a-heart-of-gold Miles are so flawed and quirky that you feel like you know them.  I especially love Daphne's love of books and what she tells Miles about it:

"I like that it feels like I can live as many lives as I want." (127)

Same, Daphne, same.

Devil-may-care yet tender Miles is just who Daphne needs to venture outside her comfort zone.  Just as whiteboard plan-plotting but sensitive Daphne is who Miles needs to rein himself in.  That said, these characters are complex and layered, belying their tidy stereotypes.  Their love story may not be as glossy as the ones they shared with their exes.  But it's most definitely fun and funny and real.

And that's a win because at the end of the day, our stories are all that we have. 

Red, Yellow, and Blue: The Core Color Crew

Sweater: Forever and Ever, Kohl's

Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily

Mom's lemon bars.

Dress: ModCloth

Bag: Dancing Days by Banned, ModCloth

Top: Nine West, Kohl's

The husband's tools of the trade.

Shoes: Nine West, Zulily

Headband: Goody, Target

Flame Game Necklace

Bag: Mellow World, Kohl's

Top: ModCloth

It seems like it's always time for the primaries.  But before you can say, "Tote Trove Lady, are you crazy?  You can't make jokes like that in today's political climate!," I'll say this: I'm only crazy about color, especially red, yellow, and blue -- the trio, triumvirate, and trifecta that give way to every other hue in the rainbow.

I love how primary colors mix to make everything from green trees to purple grapes to orange sunsets.  Also, how they morph into Snow White, Wonder Woman, and Wonder Bread with a whirl of the gown, cape, or circusy circles.

And that's why I wear them so often and am wearing them today.

Magical, memorable, and, dare I say, matriarchal.

That's the power of primaries.

Even if I was tempted to say the power of Pine-Sol instead.

Turn That Frown Upside Down: The Blix Fix

 ' "Whatever happens, love that." '  That's the legacy of Blix, the woman who drives Maddie Dawson's A Happy Catastrophe without even being in it.  Bohemian, colorful, and larger than life, Blix had a gift for uniting soulmates, and it's this second sight that told her Marnie and Patrick were meant for each other.  So what if Marnie's a freewheeling extrovert who fills their brownstone with strangers, and Patrick's a set-in-his-ways introvert who avoids people?  Not to get all Jerry Maguire, but they complete each other, their differences striking a balance.

Still, all isn't rosy.  Marnie yearns for a baby, but the mere idea sends Patrick into a panic.  Then again, Patrick has his reasons for fearing change.  Years ago, he failed to save his girlfriend from a fire.  Haunted by survivor's guilt and the scars that disfigure his face, Patrick clings to his routine of walking his dog, watching game shows, and, when he feels like it, painting.  But then two things happen to upset his carefully curated apple cart.  An old contact from the art world insists he put on a comeback show, and a one-night-stand -- excuse, me two-night-stand -- from nearly a decade ago shows up with his until-now-unknown-to-him daughter.  Marnie couldn't be happier about the oddly named and even more oddly behaved Fritzie.  Patrick, however, remains ambivalent, consumed by the very art show that's plunging him into a depression.  Yet the further Patrick drifts away, the harder Marnie tries to save him -- and them.  And that's when "whatever happens, love that" heals them, however slowly.

I don't know if it's the newish mom in me, but Fritzie really pulls at my heartstrings.  What kind of a mother dumps her eight-year-old on a stranger?  Even if that "stranger" is, as Fritzie calls him, her biodad.  It's bittersweet to watch Patrick try to bond with her, probably because I too am an introvert who once worried about a little person turning my world upside down.  But I'm learning that the only way to appreciate -- and, indeed, truly live -- life is to let it get messy.  And I like to think that Patrick is learning that too.

Well, that and never leave an eight-year-old alone with a pair of scissors.

NFL Spell: Love You to Saturn and Back

Boots: Simply Vera, Kohl's

Sweater: Club Room, Macy's

Bag: Sleepyville Critters, Zulily

Turtleneck: So, Kohl's

Unshrinking Violet Necklace

Bag: Gifted

Sweater: Jessica Simpson, Belk

Skirt: Almost Famous, Kohl's

Sassy Silver Necklace

Sweater: IZ Buyer, Kohl's

Bag: Delia's, Dolls Kill

Sweater: Maison Jules, Amazon

Blast Days of Disco Necklace

I've been wearing lots of stripes lately.  It wasn't the plan, but then maybe the universe -- or Saturn -- had other ideas.  Either way, the result was a happy horizon of color.  The sweater in the first fit is actually a men's small from Macy's.  But the big orange bow, which is Wild Fable from Target, tipped the scales back to girly.  Target offered the bows in all colors (I also have red and yellow) and was marketing them with see-through bags this fall in, ahem, a clear and perhaps Taylor Swift-inspired campaign targeted toward football fan fashionistas.  Which, despite not being into sports, I found fun.  Because I'm forever Team Bow.

And Team Swifty.  

Criminally Cozy: Shaking it Up Shamrock Style

I may have missed out on getting a Shamrock Shake this year.  But I wasn't about to let St. Pat's week pass without reading a green-themed cozy.  And Irish Milkshake Murder, which is comprised of novellas from Carlene O'Connor, Peggy Ehrhart, and Liz Ireland, was the perfect pick.  Each tale features a mint milkshake and characters that are just as colorful, including an Irish dancing duo, sheep-shearing enthusiasts, and elves in leprechaun clothing.  St. Paddy's décor and treats abound, homing in on those holiday feels.  It's almost as if no one's been murdered at all.

What more could a cozy -- and festive -- fan want?  Not a thing.  

Except that Shamrock Shake.

Racing Rainbows

Sweater: Pink Republic, Kohl's; Skirt: ModCloth

Bag: Kate Spade

Shoes: Mix No. 6, DSW

Somehow, it was St. Patrick's Day.  It all went by in such a blur that I felt like I wasn't chasing, but racing, rainbows.  Because as I often say, parenthood is like running a race that I'm always losing.  And I say parenthood instead of motherhood because the husband feels the same way.  There's just so much to do, and you can't do it all, so you do the best you can.  That said, those rainbows sometimes remain somewhat within reach.  And on March 17, they took the form of this pic of our little family.

And also of me as a leprechaun lady. 🍀🌈

Tea Shop Pretty Amidst the Grim and Gritty: View from the Vanity

Laura Childs's A Dark and Stormy Tea may be boiling over with murder and mayhem.  By my favorite parts are her descriptions of Theodosia's charming tea shop and cottage.  And of the many word pictures she paints, the most vivid is that of Theodosia's vanity:

"With its desk and drawers and cushioned stool, the vanity took up one wall and was the perfect spot for Theodosia to sit and apply makeup or brush her hair.  Scattered atop the vanity were Theodosia's collectibles -- perfume bottles by Chanel and Dior, leather-covered journal, ceramic box decorated with jaguars that held her good pearl earrings, a large white bowl with scalloped edges that corralled her bracelets, cuffs, and a strand of pearls and a Jo Malone candle." (79)

I love hearing about "collectibles," especially those of a beauty bent.  They're full of feminine fun, aren't they?  So here are some pics from my own vanity.  Or, rather, the nightstands in my closet.

Princess toys and novelty tissues may not be Chanel.  But they are my happy place.