A New Way to Be, Nothing to See, Just a Geriatric Pregnancy

Coat: Nine West, Kohl's

Bag: Isaac Mizrahi, Marshalls; Scrunchie: Ella and Elly, Zulily

Sweater: So, Kohls; Skirt (a dress!): Three Hearts, Kohl's

Jewelry: Macy's

Top: Candie's, Kohl's; Boots: Mossimo, Target

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Here I am looking downright rural.  So, evidence that this bump is turning me into a country bumpkin.  I'm not mad at it, though.  It feels cozy and simple and safe at a time when life is anything but.  

Today I went for my 24-week checkup, where I was informed that I can register for my June hospital stay now if I do so desire.  Yikes!  I mean, the crib is still in the box.  Also, in slightly more serious but let's-not-freak-out news, I may have gestational diabetes.  My test results were just a wee bit elevated, which means -- yes, you guessed it -- more testing and more needles.  But I'm getting good at getting bloodwork (yesterday at LabCorp, I didn't even flinch), an activity that, as you know, used to nearly make me faint.  So, progress.    

But back to the outfits.  Full disclosure: The pink dress and jean skirt pics were taken last month.  There's no way I could wear a jean skirt -- or anything else with a zipper -- now.  But the pink sweater pic was taken yesterday.  Yep, I got gussied up for LabCorp.  

So now to up my diet and exercise game just a tiny bit for this tiny one.  

Because as ever I have hope that all things great and small are always possible.

Sorority of Satire: Never Judge a Book by its Lover

For my last book club pick, I went with Curtis Sittenfeld's Eligible.  Not because I'm a Jane Austen fan, but because I'm a fan of Sittenfeld's Romantic Comedy.  Eligible is (probably?) the latest in the many modern takes on Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  Which gave me pause because -- and please don't send hate mail -- I've never liked that book.  I found Elizabeth Bennett kind of cold and Austen's writing tedious.  I know, I know.  It's a classic, not to mention the archetype for every romantic comedy ever.  Even the famously critical Sheldon Cooper couldn't argue its excellence when trying to denigrate things Amy Farrah Fowler loved on The Big Bang Theory, conceding, "He has too much pride, she has too much prejudice.  It just works."  That said, I was intrigued by Eligible as a pop culture comment on a novel that's never far from the zeitgeist.

And you know what?  It was a hoot.  This time Elizabeth is a New York City-based women's magazine writer.  Her big sis Jane is a yoga instructor and lives in the Big Apple too, and their three younger sisters Mary, Kitty, and Lydia are unemployed and live with their parents in a crumbling mansion in Cincinnati.  I always knew that Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were caricatures, but I never appreciated just how laughable they are until Sittenfeld reincarnated them as a health insurance objector and shopaholic hoarder.  Even Elizabeth's dislike for Darcy rings truer when she overhears him disparaging her hometown to his bestie and Jane's love interest Bingley.  Darcy, by the way, is an ER doc, a role that imbues him with all the arrogant pomp he needs to do his namesake justice.  Not only that, but he's still super rich and master of Pemberley.   

But it's not just the characters that emerge as more vivid.  I really enjoyed the language.  It's just dry enough, sharpened by wit and insight and, yes, heart to echo the vibe of the original in a way that doesn't, as I like to say, "stick in your throat."  Add some very present-day social scenarios, all of which reveal Elizabeth to, surprise surprise, be the most traditional as well as the most forward-thinking of the Bennetts, and you have a silken satire.

So hats (bonnets?) off to you, Curtis Sittenfeld, for softening my misinformed prejudice toward this timeless title.

Maybe I'm a little like Elizabeth after all.          

Sunbeam Scream

Top: Elizabeth and James, Kohl's; Skirt: Candie's, Kohl's; Boots: Chase & Chloe, Zulily

Bag: Olivia Miller, JCPenney

Anchor necklace: Charming Charlie

Art block: Primitives by Kathy, Zulily

Sweater and bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Skirt: Kohl's

A colorful corner of the craft room

Dress: Lula Roe; Shirt: Bongo, Sears; Boots: Penny Loves Kenny, Amazon

Bag: Delia's, Dolls Kill

Logistically speaking, sunbeams don't scream.  Unless, of course, it's summer, and even then they don't scream so much as scorch the skin of careless beachgoers.  But the phrase sounded good so I used it, despite the winter chill that still stings the air.  

To that end, here are some very yellow -- and very boho -- outfits.  I wore the first one to Valentine's dinner with the husband and the other two to run errands.  (I don't run errands often, so when I do, I make the most of it.)  None of the clothes are maternity except for the leggings.  The yellow sweater is one of my favorites, and when I saw myself in the mirror, I thought, yep, you can tell she's really in there.  Which was kind of crazy but also cool.

Even if it did make me fret about someday soon protecting her from the sun.

Cake Walk, Perp Walk: A Book Between Two Blouses

Top: Modcloth

Top: Hell Bunny, Modcloth

When Mel and Angie are invited to sell cupcakes at the Juniper Pass Rodeo, they're nervous and excited and all of the things.  Even though -- and surely you'll excuse the pun -- it's far from their first rodeo.  By which I mean that they discover yet another dead body.  Such is the sweetly sinister setup for Jenn McKinlay's Red Velvet Revenge.

But catching a rodeo clown of a killer isn't the dynamic duo's only challenge.  When their freezer goes on the fritz, they're faced with more thawed cupcakes than they can sell, forcing them to pivot to cake pops.  Ah yes, cake pops, that cutesy craze of the 2010s (this caper came out in 2012).  Needless to say, the cupcake catastrophe means that Mel and Angie's square dance card is full.  Particularly Angie's, as she juggles not only perps and pastries but the affections of two not-quite-gun-slinging suitors.  

But these two aren't the type to let men or mayhem get in the way.  And it's fun to find out just how they make -- no, bake -- their way out of this one.  

Speaking of twosomes, I couldn't help but post this pair of retro-licious blouses.  I wore the cherry one during a Zoom call, and I've never worn the heart one at all.  So I thought I'd show them off here.  Because murder mysteries remind me to make the most of the everyday.

Including always eating the cupcake. 

Have a Heart or Three: Heartland Stand

Top: Wild Fable, Target; Skirt: Cat & Jack, Target

Print: Burlington Coat Factory

Crafty Cupid Necklace

Boots: Wild Fable, Target

Hair ties: Marshalls

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon

Tank: Nine West, Kohl's

Dress: Modcloth, Zulily

Heart Harbor Arbor Necklace

Barrettes: Michaels

Red bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Rainbow bag: Betsey Johnson

Sweater: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Heart Flower Bower Necklace

Bow: Carole, JCPenney

Bag: Target

I'm closing out Valentine's week with a bang.  It's hearts, hearts, and more hearts here at the Trove.  First, with more big bauble necklaces, then with the wooden heart candy dish that the husband made for my mom.  For me, he made the lip-shaped lipstick holder.  I'm psyched to display my Sephora lipsticks in it, especially because their cases are so cute and colorful.  

This is the first post in a while where I'm not wearing maternity leggings.  Instead I concentrated on kitsch, although I did wear leggings when the husband and I went out for V-day dinner on Saturday (more on that later).  Anyway, I bought the pink tank in the first pic a couple of years ago but never wore it because it was too big.  Now it fits perfectly, especially layered under that suddenly-too-small yellow top and over that below-the-bump skirt.  It's fun to see what fits I can finagle!      

Maybe by St. Patrick's Day, I'll have morphed into a rotund rainbow.

War of the Words: Love Language Anguish

When speechwriter Nina Gregory's beloved hotel mogul father dies, she's heartbroken.  Whenever Nina told him, "I love you," he always responded, "More than words."  But as she begins to sift through his affairs, she learns that he wasn't the paragon he purported to be -- and that maybe she isn't who she thought she was either.

Jill Santopolo's More Than Words is a sympathetic look at a woman who communicates professionally but has trouble sharing her truth with loved ones.  One of the most symbolic stops on Nina's journey is a shopping spree to update her monochrome wardrobe:

"Nina loved the new her (too).  In these clothes, she felt confident and powerful.  Like someone worth noticing.  Like someone who would make bold choices, whatever they were." (244)

As Nina grows more vocal, she also grows stronger -- even when it means moving on from a career and relationship that once defined her.  

Because knowing herself means knowing peace.

And that's worth more than words. 

Valentine Time: Pink With a Wink of Maroon

Coat and dress: LC Lauren Conrad; Boots: Jessica Simpson, DSW

Bag: Betsey Johnson

Brooch: Napier, Kohl's; Hot pink necklace: Nine West, Kohl's

Jacket: Candie's, Kohl's; Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's, Shoes: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Hooks: Michaels

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Dress: ELLE, Kohl's

Bag: Delia's, Dolls Kill

Red may have been all the rage yesterday when Kansas City took on San Francisco, but here at the Trove, I'm thinking pink.  Also, maroon.  Or, to be more accurate, rust.  But maroon sounds more refined than a color usually used to describe a decaying Chrysler.

For the office, the family Valentine's bash, and the ever-popular I-put-this-on-just-to-take-a-pic op, I donned the colors of Cupid.  Each outfit includes maternity leggings, which are now a staple, and whatever regular clothes I can still squeeze into.  The polka dot dress is a swing style with no waist -- so, ideal for an ever-expanding midsection.  The surplice top is roomy, and the black skirt has a big, stretchy waistband that I positioned below my bump.  Finally, the pink sheath was always big.  No need to belt that baby now -- or for the foreseeable future!

And so that's my kind of Hail Mary, something else football, two-point-conversion, something else football, field goal, never mind, let's just go with the generic, gets-the-job-done wardrobe win.

As if you didn't know sports aren't my strong suit. 😏🚫🏈