Love Island: Money Doesn't Grow on Palm Trees

My last Target run wasn't complete without a copy of Christina Lauren's latest, The Paradise Problem.  Once home, I opened the beautiful cover to embark upon what was sure to be another great romcom.  Spoiler alert: I wasn't disappointed.

Things couldn't be worse for starving artist Anna Green.  No one is buying her paintings, she just got fired from her convenience store gig, and she caught her roommate doing the dance with no pants on her couch.  So when her in-name-only husband, Liam Weston, offers her a fortune to attend his sister's wedding, she accepts.  All she has to do is play the part of his adoring wife on an island for two weeks.  Then he gets his inheritance, and her problems go away.

Yet despite being draped in Chanel and Dior, Anna sticks out like a sore thumb.  Her pink hair and blue humor clash spectacularly with the Westons' reserve.  Still, despite -- or perhaps because of -- this tension, Anna and Liam become allies, getting to know each other for the first time.  What follows is a modern -- albeit, to paraphrase Anna, an Indecent Proposal-esque -- fairy tale with a villainous patriarch, a gorgeous setting, and the promise of love conquering all.

Funny, romantic, and surprisingly shrewd, The Paradise Problem questions the cost of being born with a silver spoon.  Because even paradise loses some of its charm when you're tap dancing to the tune of millions.

So, yeah.  The Paradise Problem was just the distraction I needed.  And I have to say, it made me feel  very lucky to not be a one-percenter.

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.