Animals, Etc.

Skirt: Marshalls; Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's; Shoes: Chaps, Kohl's

Belts: Mom's closet; Orange bracelet: B Fabulous; Other bracelets: Mixit, JCPenney; Rhinestone fringe barrette: INC, Macy's; Jeweled bobby pins: Michaels

Flashy Fly Necklace

Top: Express

Bag: Violet Ray, Kohl's; Shoes: Wanted, Modcloth

Top: New York & Company

Top: Nine West, Kohl's; Skirt: Merona, Target

Bag: Zulily; Shoes: Anne Michelle, JCPenney

Sparkly Stripes Necklace

When the flashy fly bit the sparkly striped zebra, a beautiful rainbow appeared.  So what if I'm plugging my own jewelry and, in the process, also violent insects?  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Much like the fly on that zebra hide.   

What can I say that I haven't already said?  I've got a lot of old and new pieces going on here.  The most unexpected is probably the blue Express top.  I rarely shop there because it's expensive and has kind of a corporate cougar vibe.  But this fluttery shirred shirt made me glad I wandered in one weekend.  It's so well made and different from anything I own that I wish I would've snagged its magenta and yellow sisters.  At the clearance price, I could've.  Then again, it's hard to wriggle into, so maybe it's just as well I didn't!  

The rainbow New York & Company and coral Nine West tops are more wearer (and wallet!) friendly.  The rainbow one's so roomy that I was able to gather it at the side with a hair tie, which I love. 

So that's the etc.  Now we'll bring it back home with the animals.  Here are the Sparkly Striped Zebra and Flashy Fly again, duking it out on a (partly) fluorescent flat lay.             

It isn't often that I make neutral-colored jewelry, so when I do, I want it to be Vegas-glitzy.  The Flamingo would've wanted it that way.   

And now I'll have to try my luck at finding a flamingo to wrangle into a necklace.

Happy Mama-Rama Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!  Especially mine, who's the best in the biz.  (For it is, after all, a business, as they say, "the hardest job you'll ever love.")  She's not just the best mom, but also my best friend.  Not like that mom in Mother's Day Murder who nags so much she ends up six feet under.  

So here's to you, Mom, and all the other matriarchs who've mastered the fine art of listening.  You've had to hear an awful lot over the years, and I treasure your kindness and patience.  

Also, all the meals and mall trips. 

Forever Fikry

Ah, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.  A book for book lovers and lovers of love.  Gabrielle Zevin knew what she was doing when she penned this modern classic.  Because no one who builds his life around books could ever be truly hopeless.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you can hop on over to the book review I wrote nearly five years ago.  Or, you can hang here and go with the flow of my musings.  No wrong answers!

When I heard that The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry was coming out as a movie, I was beyond excited.  But also a little wary.  Because the thing about watching screen adaptations of beloved books is that they sometimes come up short.  It's a gamble, agreeing to let yourself see someone else's interpretation of something that struck such a cord with you.  Then again, I have very little self control.  So you know I was streaming in seconds.  

Fikry is played by Kunal Nayyar, and his love interest, Amelia, is played by Lucy Hale.  Now, I'm going to pause here.  Because anyone who knows this book knows that Zevin describes Fikry's and Amelia's physical appearances as nothing to write home about.  Their plainness is, in fact, in stark contrast with the stunning beauty of Fikry's late wife.  So having two lookers play these lead roles rings just a little untrue.  Not that I minded much, because I love Nayyar and Hale, and both are wonderful in the movie.  

That said, everything else about the movie is just like the book.  The quaint island town, Fikry's initially self-destructive life, the mystery (for yes, there is one), the love letter to books, and the bittersweet charm of tragedy and hope and then tragedy again shaping the lives of these ordinary yet extraordinary people.  It's even funny.  I could go on and on, but you've (probably) read enough of my book and movie reviews to know that poignance is what makes my heart beat.  Which means, of course, lots of tears at the end, but the kind that made me happy I saw it.

Because even though I said tragedy, hope, then tragedy again, I forgot to add that last and all-important hope.  As The Washington Post says on the cover, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is "marvelously optimistic."  Not in saying that things will always go well or even stay well.  But in saying that they can be good, even beautiful, for awhile, showing us life's preciousness.

And that's why in both book and movie form, I'm now and forever team Fikry.

Cape Keepsakes

A vacation's not a vacation without a souvenir -- or two or three.  And this is my Cape May trifecta:  

- Postcard of Congress Hall (framed once I got home)

- Handmade blue ribbon brooch from the artisan paradise that is West End Garage

- Lemon lotion from Beach Plum Farm      

Every time I look at them, I'll think of shopping and shellfish.  

Books We Read on Vacation

When I packed for Cape May, I restrained myself by tossing in just one book.  Because you don't go on vacation to read, right?  But the husband goes to sleep before I do, which meant that I had some prime reading time on my hands.  So the first night, I delved into the second half of Emily Henry's Happy Place.  As you know, I've read and loved all of Henry's books (People We Meet on Vacation is my favorite), and Happy Place is no different.  Henry's dialogue is second to none, and in Happy Place, she's at her wittiest.  Her characters' conversations crackle with pithy puns and pop culture references sure to delight millennials and beyond (because technically, I'm a millennial too, albeit on the oldster side).  

So, what's this must-read all about?  Simply stated, it's a second chance romance.  Harriet is a stressed-out surgical resident in San Francisco, and Wyn is a laidback but grieving woodworker in Montana.  They're thrown together for one last magical Maine summer with their college besties before the sale of their beloved lake cottage.  So there are hijinks and, of course, all the feels.  Plus a lot about growing pains and what it really means to go after what you want.  It truly is a happy place, one that delivers a deceptively deep message.  Because happiness isn't for anyone content to stay in the shallow end of the lake.  

Needless to say, I finished it in one sitting -- and instantly felt bereft.  I do not like being without a book.  And I didn't know of any bookstores in Cape May.  So the next afternoon, when the husband and I wandered into the hotel coffee shop, I was ecstatic to see a few books on offer.  

There was a novelization of a Hallmark movie, a depressing-looking biography, and a celebutante novel by Lauren Conrad that I almost went for because I was, at that very moment, wearing not one but three LC Lauren Conrad items.  But there were also two titles by Mary Kay Andrews, an author I'd heard of but never read. 

I chose the lone copy of Sunset Beach, which turned out to be a murder mystery about an offed Florida hotel maid.  (The irony of this being sold in a hotel was not lost on me, nor was the title.  Because although this Sunset Beach is, as I've said, in Florida, there's one in Cape May too.)  Anyway, for a book chosen under duress, it was pretty good, and I read a third of it that night.  Not only did I get my fiction fix, but I might have even found a new go-to author!

Book adventures -- you never know where they'll take you.

Cape May Getaway

Sometimes you just have to get away.  At least that's what the husband and I decided when we realized that we hadn't been on a trip, just the two of us, in almost a decade.  We didn't want to go too far away, and we didn't want to go anywhere new in case we didn't like it.  So the husband said,  "What about Cape May?"  Victorian houses, quaint shops, and seafood?  I was there.  I booked us a room at Congress Hall and marked it on our calendar.  

Yet this past Wednesday, when it was time to set off for New Jersey's southernmost point, I began to have second thoughts.  It was cold and rainy, more like March than May.  Still, I swapped out my packed clothes for warmer ones and ordered myself to have fun.  Usually, when I order myself to do stuff, it's dishes and jumping jacks, so my chances for success seemed pretty good.  

When we rolled onto Washington Street, it was raining even harder.  "What do you want to do?" the husband asked.  That, at least, was a no-brainer.  "Cape May Fish Market," I said.  In no time, we were devouring our go-to, butter-drenched seafood rolls: shrimp, lobster, and crab for me, and scallops for him.  It's one of the best things I've ever eaten.  

That lunch set the tone for the next two days.  Being on vacation in the middle of the week, during the off-season, while it rained off and on, seemed like a decadent adventure.   

For once I wore (mostly) comfy clothes, focusing on my favorite color, yellow.  I got a kick out of how I matched Congress Hall.  

We took nature walks, which is the husband's thing, but once upon a time, it was my thing too.  I make jokes about being indoorsy, but even now there's something exciting and fairy-tale-esque about discovering a path in the forest.  And we wouldn't have been able to enjoy it if it were warmer, what with UV rays and mosquitos.  

We climbed the lighthouse.  If I look grim, then it's probably because I got a little weirded out on the deck.  It was very windy, and I was grateful to be back on solid ground.  

We even found not one but two places to spread our photography wings:

And finally, we shopped and ate more seafood!  

My favorite shop was the West End Garage, a trove of vintage and handmade treasures.  I couldn't believe how cool it was, or that in all the times I'd been to Cape May, I'd never been there.  Stall after stall of unusual décor, furniture, clothes, jewelry, and anything else you could imagine wound before us, not unlike those forest paths.  Here's a stall featuring vintage toys.  

I almost went for the set of lemon and orange bobbleheads but instead got a gorgeous brooch made of ribbons and charms (more on that later).  The husband chose something from the same artisan, a bowtie made of red and tan feathers.

So all in all, we had a wonderful time, full of fun and relaxation.  Cape May, we give you two arms up! 

         

No Wordplay Today: The Title of This Book is Enough

I knew that sooner or later, Colleen Hoover would enter my reading life.  And she did so via the book club when my mom chose It Ends With Us.  I had an inkling of what this novel was about and didn't expect to like it.  But its compelling, complicated story crept into my heart and put up curtains.  I won't say too much (not that most people don't already know the premise, what with its popularity) except this:

It tells two love stories, one beautiful and one nightmarish, leaving the gray in between.

Also, it's not (really) a love story.