Festive Fits and Fatal Hits: Don't Get Murdered this St. Patrick's Day (Weekend)

It wouldn't be St. Patrick's Day (weekend) without one of Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone mysteries.  And Tinker's Cove wouldn't be Tinker's Cove without the always colorful and festive Phyllis:

" . . . Phyllis was at the reception desk, decked out in kelly-green reading glasses and a green-and-white-striped sweater, with some rather large shamrocks dangling from her ears.  A huge bunch of Irish daffodils bloomed on her desk.  "You've got the spirit, I see," said Lucy.  . . . "Look, it's March in Maine," said Phyllis.  "It's cold and gray, and the snow is filthy, and there's mud everywhere.  Truth be told, I'm dying for a glimpse of green and just trying to avoid falling into a depression." ' (214-215)

Same, Phyllis, same!

I won't bore you with the details of the rest of the book, which, by the way, is called Irish Parade Murder.  There's a parade, someone gets murdered (although not at the parade, despite what the title suggests), yada yada yada.  It has all the fun, escapism, and comfy feels characteristic of the cozy genre.  Yet as always, it's the everyday things that grab me because they're the things that make life wonderful.

Well, that and surviving a cold-hearted killer.  But you already knew that.

Happy St. Pat's Saturday! 🍀🌈

The Secret to a Happy St. Patrick's Day? Everyone Knows it's Minty!

The holiday of hooligans and a classic '60s song are more than enough to get me to succumb to the lucky charms of the Mickey D's drive thru.  So that's where the husband and I found ourselves tonight, making our yearly pilgrimage to get Shamrock Shakes.  Well, I got a Shamrock Shake.  The husband thinks they're too sweet, so he got a mint Oreo shake instead (because nothing cuts sweetness like  chocolate).  Yet Oreos or not, it was a fine way to celebrate not only St. Patrick's Day, but the weekend.  Meanwhile, I'm sitting out my exercises on account of my sugar (and okay, French fry) coma.

McDonald's, you are a cruel mistress.🍀

Self Care Dare: Compendium of Compassion

I was so excited to read Matt Haig's The Comfort Book.  I loved his novel The Midnight Library (remember that, exploring the meaning of life through time travel and, of course, the library?), so when I heard that he'd written this nonfiction book, I was like, sign me up.  

Right off the bat, Haig tells us that there's no right way to read this book, gently and humorously letting us know that we're in a safe space.  The rest of the book is just as, well, comforting.  It's for anyone who's ever been stressed, depressed with a capital D, and/or overwhelmed.  So, all of us.  

This is one of my favorite parts:

"The sky isn't more beautiful if you have perfect skin.  Music doesn't sound more interesting if you have a six-pack.  Dogs aren't better companions if you're famous.  Pizza tastes good regardless of your job title.  The best of life exists beyond the things we are encouraged to crave." (51)

It's so simple, a reminder to appreciate life.  Because there's no rush and no one's keeping score (well, no one important, anyway) and our only job is to be.  To say "no" when we need to and relax and enjoy instead of relentlessly racking up achievements.  The Comfort Book is both soothing and joyful, a literary hug from a writer who's been there and knows what he's talking about.  

And outside a department store duvet display, it doesn't get much more comfy than that.

When the Hair Claws Come Out

Sweater: Express; Jeans Princess Vera, Kohl's; Coat: The North Face, Sports Authority

Bag: Delia's, Dolls Kill

Skirt: Wild Fable, Dolls Kill; Tights: Isadora, Zulily; Boots Penny Loves Kenny, Amazon

Top: Bar III, Macy's

Bag: Apt. 9, Kohl's; Zigzag bangle: Strawbridge & Clothier; Chartreuse bangle: Mixit, JCPenney; Maroon bangle: Iris Apfel for INC, Macy's; Striped bangle: Target; Brown ring: Charlotte Russe; Chartreuse ring: Claire's

Hair clips: Wild Fable, Target

Mystery Necklace Number One; Neon necklace: Carole, JCPenney

Jeans: Mudd, Kohl's; Boots: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon; Yellow bangle: Silver Linings, Ocean City; Green and orange bangles: B Fabulous; Blue bracelet: Cloud Nine, Ocean City; Rings: Seahorse Designs, Etsy

Clip: SHEIN

Plenty of Pineapples Necklace, Mystery Necklace Number Two

Next to the scrunchie, no hair accessory had a grip on the late '80s and early '90s quite like the hair clip or claw.  Once confined to the realm of hair salons, these fantastic plastic pretties topped the heavily hairsprayed tresses of trendy teens the world over.  (Well, maybe not the world over.  It would be tough to rock such an obtrusive ornament under a ski cap in Antarctica.)  And in recent years, they've made a comeback, allowing us to look, once again, like we're on the verge of a totally awesome blowout.  It's no wonder that I've taken to wearing one or two or as many clips as I can cram onto my head at a time.  Of course, collecting them is half the fun, especially when it means storing them in an era-appropriate Caboodle.  

Last weekend, for my nephew's trampoline park birthday party, I happily hauled out my rainbow-striped clip from SHEIN:

And although I stayed out of trouble -- and off the trampolines! -- I got to enjoy some '80s atmosphere in the form of a Care Bears claw machine and a larger-than-life Rubik's Cube tower.  As did the husband, who gamely posed next to the Rubik's Cubes.

Because you can't go wrong with kitsch and color and claws.  

Those '80s ladies were on to something.

Sailing into Spring, What a Wonderful Thing

Sweater weather might not be quite over yet.  Still, I couldn't help but snap a pic of the sundress section of my closet.  Also, the buoy raised canvas in my living room.  

They make me think of fireflies and lemonade and other sweet spring summer things.  

Not (real) boats, though.  I get seasick. 

City Pretty: In Good Company

Skirt: H&M

Green and yellow bangles: B Fabulous; Red bangle: XOXO, Ross; Blue bangle, So, Kohl's; Pink bangle: Silver Linings, Ocean City; Ring: Wet Seal

Top: Self Esteem, Macy's

Saguaro Stripe Barrette Brooch

Top: New York & Company

Skirt: Amazon

Bow: Carole, JCPenney; Blue bracelet: Cloud Nine, Ocean City; Maroon bangle: Iris Apfel for INC, Macy's; Red bangle: B Fabulous; Yellow ring: Making Waves, Ocean City; Red ring: Nordstrom; Brown ring: Charlotte Russe; Belt: Hand-me-down from my mom

Top: New York & Company

Skirt: Material Girl, Macy's

Checkerboard Cherry Barrette Brooch

Shoes: 2 Lips Too, JCPenney

Bag: Current Mood, Dolls Kill

 

Top: New York & Company

When the husband took this first pic of me, he said that I looked like The Nanny on an acid trip.  And even though I don't condone drug use, I couldn't help but laugh.  Because the striped cravat blouse, rainbow cactus brooch, and poufy hair did indeed remind me of the Flashy Girl from Flushing if she were under the influence.  Which makes sense because all three blouses in this lineup are from (to me, anyway) Queens-themed New York & Company.

It wasn't until last spring that I started shopping there in earnest.  I couldn't believe that I hadn't started sooner.  They have so many affordable, brightly colored, polyester tops -- my favorite kind!  Best of all, my new shirts inspired me to make some new barrette brooches.  The Saguaro Stripe one started out as Striped Swallow but never quite took flight: 

The southwestern style worked better, I think.  I love the idea of a black cactus against a rainbow, a kind of stylized version of what the desert might look like at sunset.  

Then there's Checkerboard Cherry, which is pure '80s.

And here they all are together, the for-sale ones and the just-for-me doppelgangers, in -- what else? -- checkerboard formation: 

It's all a little magically messy and messily magical.  In other words, as perfectly imperfect as Topher Grace riding off into the sunset with Scarlett Johansson.

Which means that I'm, ahem, in good company.

Shannon Cannon

When I heard that Molly Shannon had written a memoir, I thought, oh, that'll be hilarious.  And it was, crammed with all the outlandish childhood and SNL anecdotes you'd expect.  But Hello, Molly! is so much more than a punchline.  It's ultimately Molly's story of her relationship with her dad.  Her mom and baby sister were killed in a car accident.  Four-year-old Molly and her older sister were also in the car, and their father was the one driving.  I'm going to pause to let that sink in for a moment because it's extraordinarily heavy. 

But -- and I cannot stress this enough -- Hello, Molly! isn't a downer.  It's the bittersweet, clean kind of sad that makes you appreciate life and remember that everything happens for a reason.  Like This is Us, plus comedy.  In other words, it has a good tone (and you know how much I value that).  Molly describes the highs and lows of life with her dad -- and her struggles to make it in showbiz -- with the straight-from-the-heart candor of a coming-of-age novelist.  She always sees the best in everything, even when audition doors are slammed in her face and her father acts more like a child.  Because it all really happened -- and made Molly the lovable, no-holds-barred performer we know today -- it's much more engaging than fiction.      

Of course, you can't talk about Molly Shannon without mentioning Mary Katherine Gallagher.  Or, as Shannon calls her, MKG (not to be confused with that other Irish icon, Machine Gun Kelly).  Shannon created the character while she was at NYU, almost a decade before she crashed into Studio 8H at SNL.  And it turns out that everyone's favorite painfully earnest, awkward Irish Catholic teen is based on Shannon herself.  Shannon joined SNL in 1995, so I remember the MKG years vividly.  And the sketch that stayed with me the most is the one where she's reenacting a scene from A House Without a Christmas Tree.  Not only is it cringeworthily funny, it's heartbreaking, showing Mary Katherine at her most vulnerable, reminding you that she's just a kid from a dysfunctional family who wants the world to love her.  After learning about her life, it rings even truer.  

Raw and sweet and hysterical, Hello, Molly! is an American tale (and no, not like when Fievel goes west; although, on second thought, maybe?).  It embodies timeless themes that readers hold dear: Midwestern girl makes good, optimism in the face of incredible odds, and an unorthodox but unbreakable father-daughter bond.  It's universal, its magic extending far beyond SNL.  At the end, I felt like hers was a life well lived (not that it's over yet!), brimming with love and adventure.  

No doubt about it, she's a Superstar.