Today marked the first time since August that we’ve had back-to-back sunny days in D.C. Who wouldn’t call that beautiful?

Three more beautiful things from the past week:

1. We return from Crafty Bastards and the D.C. State Fair with four jars of jam — two peach, a plum, and blueberry lime.

2. Sam is in town for a conference. He spends an evening filled with laughter with us.

3. Our volleyball team wins its first game of the season tonight (before dropping the next three). I’m having a blast so far and am so glad I signed up.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your life this week?

When I emerged from the Burrow this morning, I was surprised to discover it was sunny. Not peeking out from between clouds. Not trying to burn through the haze. But actual blue sky and glowing orb sunny. People looked happy and, frankly, kind of dazed. It’s been that kind of week down here.

The reappearance of the sun is not the only beautiful thing from the past seven days. I offer you three more here:

1. When stopping in at one of the local shops for some bread, I find a bag of sour jelly pumpkins. They are coated in sugar, which is a good thing, because they make my eyes water with how sour they are. Neither Rudi nor I can pass the bag without snagging one.

2. Forced to leave the office, but not quite early enough to catch a yoga class, I instead head to a nearby nail salon and get a pedicure. I have to look through every bottle in the shop, but at last find the color I want — my favorite shade of purple.

3. Rudi and I head to Georgetown for a date. We dine out on the patio of a French restaurant we’ve been meaning to try for years. We explore the newly finished waterfront park, complete with fountain you can play in (the other half of the park opened more than a year ago). And we see Moneyball, which, to my great surprise, turns out to be an excellent film. It is not just for number nerds (my expectation), but also for lovers of the game and fans of a good story.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world this week?

It’s the Thursday before the National Book Festival. Only two more sleeps! Why, no, I’m not excited at all. Why do you ask?

Before we consider the lengthy list of authors who are coming to D.C. this weekend just to read to me to promote their latest books, let’s look back at three beautiful things from the past week:

1. Four fat pumpkins adorn the front steps of a nearby townhouse.

2. The project I am in charge of at work is rapidly coming due. I suggest an aggressive (and somewhat painful) timeline to the members of my team this week, and no one disagrees or says it can’t be done or complains in the least. And, as of tonight, it looks like we’re on target to meet our goals for this week.

3. I spend the afternoon at the teahouse. I sip chai and snack on naan and chutney and read my mystery novel.

4. [It’s good to break the rules sometimes…] Because I am home alone, there is no one to suggest that I ought not to bake a batch of oatmeal scotchies at midnight. The batch comes out of the oven crispy and slightly caramelized — perfect for eating with tea.

How about you? What was beautiful in your world this week?

It has not been a great week, which makes it even more important to find those moments of beauty tucked between the rest. Here are three of them:

1. Saturday night Rudi and I have an excellent date — one filled with laughter and chocolate. A comedy show at the new Riot Act comedy club is followed up by dessert at Co Co. Sala.

2. On Friday night I wander into Target in search of a more modest yoga top and leave with a purple, stripey cardigan. Years of fall back-to-school shopping habits have not worn off.

3. One of the deal websites is giving away free scoops to our local ice cream shop. The owner jovially calls everyone cashing in the deal a mobster. My dish of Oreo ice cream is particularly creamy and ends with a big chunk of cookie.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world this week?

We’re getting a lot of rain in the mid-Atlantic this week. We’ve been lucky, because although I did discover water seeping into the Burrow in the middle of last night, we caught it early and our solutions have held so far. That said, though, I wouldn’t mind if we had a little sun to help things along.

Here are three beautiful things from my mostly rainy week:

1. A young family of four passes us on the sidewalk. After they’re out of earshot, Rudi and I look at each other and burst out laughing. The toddler had been riding on the back of the stroller, rubbing his sibling’s head like a crystal ball. The baby looks delighted.

2. I decide the tub needs cleaning. After a shameful amount of work (and enough Soft Scrub to later strip the top layer of skin off my right hand), the tub gleams white.

3. Our walk leads us down to Georgetown, where we head to Leopold’s to see if they have any empty tables on their patio. The waitress finds us one next to the fountain, with the caveat that if it starts raining we can’t move inside. We eat savory morsels and drink cool beverages and then find ourselves delicious pastries befitting a holiday afternoon. It’s not until we’re paying the bill that the sky opens up. We walk home under our umbrellas, laughing at our good fortune.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world this week?

It’s been a quiet week in the Burrow. But we’re heading into a holiday weekend and the ceremonial end of summer (which will continue on through most of September, so don’t fold up your beach chair just yet):

1. After a year of not doing yoga, I get to two classes on consecutive days. By Sunday, the muscles in my back ache, but in a good way. Secretly, I am relieved to discover I still have muscles in my back.

2. A man wheels his BMX-style bike past on the sidewalk. It looks like it has been touched by King Midas, as it is spray-painted gold, right down to the tires.

3. Practically up until the day we buy the tickets to go, we have never considered Iceland as a vacation destination. But there’s a deal and the allure of the Northern Lights, and suddenly we’ve booked a weeklong November holiday in Reykjavik.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world this past week?