It's true. Great stuff happens in threes.

Still reeling from the four-hour televised marathon of William and Kate’s wedding and the happy demise of Osama bin Laden, the big news today in Dallas is almost enough to make my head explode.

Trader Joe’s is coming.

According to the Dallas Morning News they’re planning 10 stores in Texas beginning with the Dallas area sometime this year. I got so excited I immediately sent an email to Trader Joe’s corporate office and requested a location with a lot of handicapped parking in Rockwall, not too far from the Howdygram’s headquarters in Mesquite. (Mesquite itself is out of the question because we’re “dry” and Trader Joe’s sells liquor.) Then I sat down and wrote out my first shopping list, which includes all those unforgettable private-label products I haven’t been able to buy since I left California four years ago, such as Trader Joe’s stuffed bell peppers, homemade mini-pizzas, couscous salad with raisins, Greek yogurt, the best cottage cheese on the planet, giant frozen sea scallops, eggless egg salad and bruschetta in a jar. And oy, their FRESH TAMALES! And their CEREAL and FIVE KINDS OF PITA BREAD! And REAL KOSHER CHICKENS!

The amazing thing is, barely a month ago I wrote a post about how much I miss Trader Joe’s, which means somebody VERY VERY IMPORTANT must be reading the Howdygram. Thank you, whoever you are.

In other news, I’m damn excited to announce that it’s ESTHER WILLIAMS MONTH on Turner Classic Movies and you should tune in on Thursdays throughout May to see her films. My personal favorite is Thrill of a Romance with Van Johnson (see photo), but I’m not sure why.

Thank you for reading this.