Cool, Neat, and Splashy

It’s been a while since I’ve remembered to post three beautiful things from the past week. So long, in fact, that I can’t remember if I am supposed to be doing it on Thursday or Friday. But, given that it is already Friday, let’s just all agree that’s what I planned, with apologies for two list posts in a row. I did mean to get a regular post in there, but it’s still in draft phase.

Anyway…

1. After more than a decade of being slightly put out that what is, to me, the traditional first day of school (the Wednesday after Labor Day) is too warm for fall-y, back-to-school clothes, we finally had a nice, cool day for it this year, which brought a smile to my face.

2. Over the course of my four-day holiday weekend, I gave my apartment a reasonably thorough cleaning. And despite (or, perhaps, because of) Tuesday’s post that basically outed me as a slob, I’ve kept it quite tidy. I could not be happier to have only a light bit of maintenance to do tomorrow.

3. One of the upside of the rainy week we’ve had is that everyone’s galoshes are making it back out of the closet. The whimsical designs cheer me up and I know mine make me more willing to stomp just a little in the puddles, which is always fun.

Engaged, Rescued, and Dyed

I’m on the train, en route to meet my sister-in-law to borrow her car for the weekend so I can get to Binghamton for my high school reunion. Time will tell if that will make my next list of three beautiful things, but in the meantime, here are three from the past week:

1. My friend Farin officially got engaged over the weekend and is now planning a December wedding in Cairo. I couldn’t be happier for her!

2. I somehow mistakenly made an appointment to get my hair cut & colored for the wrong week — after the reunion. My stylist took pity on me and fit me in between her other clients, so I won’t have to show up with hair that hasn’t seen scissors in six months or foils in 18.

3. In related news, I couldn’t be happier with my decision to get my hair highlighted again. I’ve been growing it out for ages in the hopes of learning to love my natural color, but I don’t, and am so much happier with a little blonde thrown in.

Magic, Hooky, and Free Time

It’s starting to look like my weekly three beautiful things post wants to live on Fridays, since that’s the only time I seem to get to it. (Maybe because it’s the end of the work week and it seems like a nice time to look back?) And so, without further ado, here are three beautiful things from the past week:

1. In the three years I have lived in my apartment, I have never been happy with my inability to get my tub clean. It was stained when I moved in and had resisted my every effort to return the porcelain to white. On a whim, I picked up something called a “magic eraser” at Target on Sunday, and holy crap! Armed with elbow grease and this extremely flimsy-seeming sponge, I finally got the stains out of the tub. It was like a miracle!

2. I had tickets to a rare Nationals day game (12:35 pm) yesterday and got to play hooky from work. Now, I enjoy hanging out at a ballgame as much as the next person, but it’s amazing how much better the entire experience seems when it takes place during business hours — the beer is tastier and the half-smokes are yummier, I swear. And when it’s combined with excellent companionship, perfect weather (in DC! in August!), and a come-from-behind 12 to 8 win for the Nationals, it makes for an outstanding day.

3. My office’s annual tradition of half-day Fridays in August started today, so I’m writing this from the pedicure chair at my neighborhood nail salon — at 3:15 in the afternoon. And that is clearly a beautiful thing.

(Forgive any typos… Still no spell check on the WordPress iPhone app.)