What Do You Covet?

I'm on my third week out here in L.A., the second week of the television critics press tour. And I'm ready to go home. My husband and oldest son left on Sunday, and it already feels like a million years ago. So I'm going to distract myself by creating a little fun for us. 

As most of you know, my new book Take It Like A Vamp helped launch the new Covet line for Entangled Publishing. I thought it would be fun if we talked about things that we covet. In the book, Nick covets Casey in a big way. He knows that she would be great for him, but he's worried that he won't be good for her.

In this regard, we are talking about something we eagerly wish for, or that we want more than anything. I don't know about you, but I have big things I covet, but there are much smaller pleasures that make me just as happy. 

1. Sparkly finger and toe nails. I don't know when it happened as I've always been about pale pink on the nails. But now, I love glittery, bright colored nails. I can have a really bad day, look down at my nails and my mood will change. 

2. I covet music. It's another thing that can change my mood in an instant. I use music and songs as incentives to write. I finish a chapter, or 30 pages, and I get to buy music. 

3. I covet books. Losing myself in a good book is my favorite escape. My day job as a television and film critic makes those mediums a job. And while I write books, I don't have to deconstruct and write about them. So having a few hours to lose myself in a book is heaven for me. 

4. I covet sleep. You guys know how hard I work. Even when I have time to sleep, my body won't let me. But I live for the day when I can sleep for eight hours straight. :) 

5. I covet time with my kids. My boys are older, and it's tough to get us all in the same room at the same time. We had thought we'd make this L.A. trip a family vacation, but the youngest went off to Italy. Then we bought a puppy and someone had to stay home with her. But I'm determined when I get home that we have some awesome hang out time before the youngest goes back to college. 

6. I covet all things shiny. I love jewelry. For almost 20 years I had a habit of wearing very nice jewelry, but it was the same stuff every day. My wedding rings and diamond studs. But I have renewed interest in accessories. I can't get enough.

7. I covet shoes. I've never been shy about my love for shoes, but now I'm a bit more adventuresome in that regard. For years, I was all about comfort. But these days I'll suffer some pain to wear an awesome pair of shoes. :) I went a little nuts earlier in the summer buying designer shoes. I discovered that Manolos and Christian Louboutins run small, so many of those will be on sale on Ebay soon. But I brought more shoes on this trip than I ever have before. I'm five foot one, so give me a platform or a good wedge and I'm a happy girl. :) 

8. I covet the beach. I never get there, but I covet it. I would love to have a little cottage on the beach where I could write and listen to the water. I love the ocean, which makes me wonder why I choose to live 400 miles away from it. I hope to fix that some day. My ideal home would be on a cliff overlooking the ocean, something like out of Practical Magic. 

9. I covet time. There are not enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do. It's one of the reasons I push myself so hard. 

10. I covet friends. I have the most incredible group of friends. I adore spending time with them, and like a little kid, I'm always kind of sad when we have to part. 

So tell me what you covet and you might win a copy of TAKE IT LIKE A VAMP today. I'm giving away 10 copies this week. And remember to sign up for the VAMP SQUAD where you could win an iPad 3, jewelry, t-shirts and lots of other fun stuff. :) (http://www.candacehavens.com/index.php/secret/) 

Tell me what you covet, I really want to know.