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. 😏🚫🏈

Pet Peeve Dry Heave: Don't Eat the Chocolate

Lee Hollis's Death of a Chocoholic in twelve words or less: 

Chocolates made with something extra -- no, not love, but cat hair. 😻🍫

Getting a Handle on Things

As the husband and I get ready for the baby, our to-do list seems endless.  And the most daunting thing on it, at least so far, has been emptying the spare room.  In the last six plus years, we've managed to cram it with every castoff imaginable.  Shoehorned amidst the flotsam and jetsam (The Little Mermaid forever!), is the husband's dresser.  My dresser, which is the same one I've had since I was twenty-two months old, is in our bedroom.  So the husband came up with a solution.  He would build one big double dresser for both of us and get rid of the other two, both of which were in bad shape.

It was a great idea.  I'd been smooshing my PJs and underwear into those child-sized drawers for decades without ever stopping to think there must be a better way.  Still, as psyched as I was for the extra space, a part of me was sad to see that old dresser go.  The first night my parents moved me into my big-girl room to make room for my new baby sister, I crept out of bed and emptied the drawers chanting, "Clothes!  Clothes!  Clothes!"  If that's not a sign of a future clotheshorse, then I don't know what is.  So in honor of that anecdote, I asked the husband to save the drawer pulls, which had always been my favorite part anyway.  The flowers are cheerful and charming, and the white paint specks that dot the brass only add to their character.  I'll probably nestle them among the bric-a-brac in my closet.  

Meanwhile, baby girl's new -- pink! -- dresser is on its way.  I can only hope that it'll make her as happy as my childhood dresser made me.

Also that she too will be so excited about clothes that she'll fling them all over her bedroom.