After the harsh, grating reality of Mother’s Day Out yesterday, where, at one point or another, eleven out of the twelve kids were screaming, today was refreshingly quiet. I did run to the mall in early afternoon (I can’t even remember the last time I’d been to the mall!), and discovered that a new Italian gelato place had just opened up. Figuring I deserved a little splurge, I bought myself a small cup and had them fill it with Mango, Peppermint, and…Mediterranean Sea Salt Caramel! Talk about delicious! Soooo yummy! It wasn’t hard to make my selections, but it probably should have been. Staring into the glass case at all those creamy, undulating waves of gelato, drizzled or sprinkled with decorative garnish, I wanted to elbow the lady in front of me, who it seemed was doing her darnedest to sample everything.

If you have a Pacuigo near you, I seriously recommend you try it out. Look at all the flavors! (Although they only have a select number any given day, but still!) I plan to dedicate myself to researching all the yummy-sounding ones, which for me, is almost all of them. Black Pepper Olive Oil will most certainly be an exception.

Today, just by chance, I discovered the room I would have loved to have had as a little girl…or teenager. Heck, I’d love to have it now. On my way to Walmart, traveling a back way to avoid some traffic, I happened to notice a stand-alone model home sitting off by itself a ways from a very nice neighborhood. With only a stint in Walmart to look forward to, I quickly turned, parked on the street and started up the path.

The house was a two-story and lovely. High ceilings, spacious rooms, filled to bursting with upgrades. And also filled to bursting by the interior designers–knick-knacks were everywhere, and the walls were pretty well covered with art. I took my time, looking through all the rooms and imagining how my life could fit into this house (although we are NOT thinking of moving). And then I stepped into my dream room. It was decorated for a little girl, with white lace and flowers and bows, really rather tasteful, but not my particular style. But then I noticed the little alcove to the right of the bed. The archway had a vague Moorish style, and they’d mounted sheer curtains that would close it off from the main room. It was furnished with a little table, two chairs, and a lamp, and it was set for a tea party. I envisioned a day bed or a comfy chair and a wide bookcase. I envisioned a reading nook and was enchanted.

And then I noticed the creme de la creme! In the closet, on a wall dedicated to bookshelves (!), there was a sign. It said, “Push to see our secret room.” Of course I pushed. And there, behind the future wall of books, was a secret hideout, a very spacious forgotten room with no windows. How brilliant is that! I didn’t check, but as long as it had an air-conditioning vent, I could hole myself up in there for hours! It was a magical, what-if kind of moment.

And then I went to Walmart and the magic promptly died.

I’ve done this tag before (although I can’t remember if it was page 56 or some other random spot), but I’ve been tagged by the lovely Kate Diamond, so I’m doing it once more.

The rules are as follows: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your journal/blog along with these instructions.

Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the closest. Tag five other people to do the same.

Here’s page 56 of the closest book on my desk.

“Well, if that’s his only condition, then it’s not half so bad. We can wait a year. It will be an awfully long year, but we can wait.”

“Freddie,” she gripped his hand, gratitude inundating her heard, “you are so good to me.”

Anyone…anyone?

It’s Sherry Thomas’ historical romance debut Private Arrangements, and it’s very, very good.

I tag Liza, Virginia (time to see if she’s picked a book yet!), Angie, Barrie, and Sarakastic.