If we are a bacon nation (oh, we are!), the T-shirt on the upper left provides an excellent state of the union for this week’s Bacon Nation-themed Live By the Book feature. Our country’s bacon mania is so broad-reaching that not only can you taste bacon in many forms (see the aforementioned cookbook by Peter Kaminsky and Marie Rama), you can bathe with it, dress in it, pick your teeth with it, ride on it (yes, that’s a bacon skateboard), and even wrap yourself in it (see the bacon bandages). See, bacon does make everything okay.

Go ahead, pig out.

So we folks at Wednesday Cute have been featuring a lot of “baby animals being cute” videos lately. But can you blame us?! They are so cute!!

This baby elephant just wants to snuggle. And who are we to deny him? Get over here, buddy, and let’s hug it out! (via)

He doesn’t know his own size—and that is CUTE. He’s like the world’s largest Snuggle Puppy! Have fun out there, little guy; maybe someday you’ll find a snuggle buddy your own size.

–Avery, who would cuddle with this elephant any day

This week, in celebration of Easter (or at the least the commercial version with bunnies, eggs, and chirpy little chicks) and in anticipation of spring (sweet, sweet springtime!), we’re back to our Live By the Book series with some egg-cellent offerings from The Fresh Egg Cookbook by Jennifer Trainer Thompson.

Egg potholders, egg flower pots, a chicken purse (I saw someone wearing this bag — twice! — in the past week), the egg barbecuing machine (shaped like, not for), a heart-shaped egg frying “stencil,” and the best in farm-to-sidewalk fashion: a pair of good, old-fashioned rubber galoshes. Could we be any more egg-cited?!?

Leave a note in the comments (your best egg-themed pun, please) to win a copy of the book!

This week in Wednesday Cute: slippery seal babies!!

Here is a seal pup trying to wriggle its chubby little body up onto a surfboard! It’s almost four minutes of baby animal goodness. (via)

A highlight begins at 0:37 (did someone grease the board?!), and it only gets better when the little guy gets its face all up in our business (1:28, 2:16, 3:24!!). We’d say we wish the poor pup’s buddies would be more helpful, but then we wouldn’t get to watch him slither and wiggle all over the place.

And hey, if you’re feeling down or frustrated, just take your inspiration from this resilient fellow: He didn’t give up in the face of adversity, even when it looked like the whole world (or at least the surfboard) was conspiring against him. Go get ‘em, champ!

–Avery, whose feelings about baby seals can be summed up as follows: <3

With St. Patty’s Day around the corner, today’s Live By the Book is inspired by The Good Luck Book by Stefan Bechtel and Laurence Stains. From head to toe, from suspenders to bow tie, and from here to the end of the rainbow — it’s oh-so-easy being green! Or, of course, you could just Leprechaun Yourself.

What’s your good luck charm? A four-leaf clover, a rabbit’s foot, a horseshoe, a penny? Tell us in the comments, and you will be entered to win a copy of The Good Luck Book!

Guys! Guys! Hey, you guys! It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for some Wednesday Cute!!!

My Modern Met has assembled a collection of animals and their mini-mes! That’s right: There are animals that are adorable in their own right, accompanied by their adorable, smaller doppelgangers! Folks, we’ve got proof positive of Cute Overload’s Rule of Cuteness #7: A thing, accompanied by a smaller version of that thing, is always cute.

• And a bonus item: From the Huffington Post come these adorable kids’ letters to the Tooth Fairy, in which they express their hopes, their fears—and their desire for more cash. Dream big, kids!

—Avery, who thinks the ultimate pairing would be a tiny turtle with its even tinier turtle twin. 2 cute 2 handle!!!

Are you tempted to stay inside this weekend? To curl up with a good book? Well, you’re in luck, because, after a particularly dreary week, we thought it would be a good time to round up some hibernation fare for you. Oh, my little lambs, hunker down and get these books read, for soon we will be roaring into Spring!

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The world was all atwitter when Joe went shopping at Costco before the holidays. Workman was all atwitter because we spied a copy of Arlo Needs Glasses by Barney Saltzberg in his cart!

We also spied stacks of The Miracle Ball Method by Elaine Petrone and the 10 Button Book by William Accorsi on the table he shopped at (along with that copy of Arlo that’s headed for the cart!). Do you know someone who got to unwrap a copy of Arlo last month? (These kiddos certainly had fun with Arlo recently!)

Have you spied any Workman books in action? Tweet or Facebook a picture to us, and you could win a new book!

One thing we know about our readers is that they like to be in the know. From making the computer work to making candy, from cooking gluten-free to cooking for a hungry giant,  from determining what sort of birds are visiting the backyard to what sort of monsters might be invading your desk. This pint-size reader from Brooklyn just wants to know what lies ahead…

Do you have a Workman reader in your household? Send us pictures! (Or post them to facebook.com/workmanpublishing.) We love to see our books in action!

Forget “Black Friday”….it’s all about a Red-and-Black Friday in Workman and Artisan Editorial today! Christmas is still a few weeks away, but Netta, Liz, Suzie, Megan, and Judy all got the holiday memo. Maybe we’ll all go caroling around the office later. Thankfully, at least one of us will!