This weekend included sleeping in on Saturday, but getting up early today.

I went to Georgetown, as I do many weekends, to visit the library and to get a snack. I swapped a few books out and stopped at a boutique that was having a going-out-of-business sale to buy a baby gift. I wandered into a couple new shops without picking anything else up before ending up at Chaia‘s new digs. [Sarah, I forgot to tell you tonight to check them out!] They’ve been making veggie tacos at farmers markets around town for several years and finally have their own permanent space. Their crispy Brussels sprout taco was quite tasty, as was the hot chocolate and gingersnap I picked up from perennial favorite Dog Tag Bakery across the street. I started one of my library books on the way home and was so enchanted I finished it tonight.

I scrubbed our bathroom. It took two days, which is utterly pathetic. The load of laundry I did didn’t take nearly so long.

I sent out the invitation to our holiday party. If you’re local and would like to come and I didn’t invite you, please let me know!

I bought tickets to a holiday concert as well as one for a Holiday Happy Hour at the library’s maker lab.

And we celebrated our friend John’s birthday. He turns 50 later this week, so lots of people showed up. It was nice to catch up.

And now the weekend is over and we begin again.

You can tell fall is coming to a close because the ginkgos have turned golden and are starting to lose their leaves. They always turn last as a group and always right around Thanksgiving. I imagine one day next week, that entire street will be carpeted in yellow.

Things I’m hoping to do this weekend:

1. Attend my friend John’s 50th birthday party.
2. Go to the library.
3. Collect some leaves for the compost bin at the community garden.
4. Build a website for an Advent Blog Tour. Also, promote said venture. (Would you like to take part? Leave me a comment.)
5. Do a deep clean of the kitchen and the bathroom.
6. Send out the invitations to our holiday party.
7. Wash my handknit socks (and do some other laundry).
8. Sort my clothes and shoes to gather a pile for Goodwill.
9. Bake some bread. (I have a breadmaker; it just requires my pulling it out.)
10. Buy tickets for two holiday-related events.
11. Read.
12. Knit.
13. Sleep.

How about you? What are you planning for the weekend?

It’s Thursday, so it’s time to reflect on three beautiful things from my past week:

1. If Starbucks didn’t launch the gingerbread latte trend, they at least furthered it significantly, and people understandably look forward fondly to this time of the year for a tasty seasonal beverage. We tea drinkers have gone neglected, though, with even their Joy tea disappearing last year. This year, though, they’ve introduced a gingerbread chai tea latte, which is delicious.

2. I try a new-to-me dessert from Chatpat, our vegetarian Indian food truck. Ras malai is a farmer’s cheese served in a fragrant, herb-infused cream sauce; it’s not too sweet, but very tasty. (Do you sense a theme?)

3. The weather has been especially mild this week, allowing for short sleeves and no jacket several days in a row. Temperatures are about to drop again to more seasonal averages, so it’s been nice to have one last warm streak for the year.

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

I admit that I’m a sucker for needing to try any new apple variety I come across, so it may not be a huge surprise that Apples of North America, a coffee table guide to nearly 200 of them, was an impulse grab at the library a few weeks ago. Plus, it’s National Non-Fiction November and it’s good to learn something new.

I’ve also added the audiobook of Anne of Green Gables to my routine this week.

The blob of knitting is the ribbing and first couple body rows of Foliage. It’s not mindless knitting yet, but I have hopes for it becoming less focus-requiring in the near future.

Yarning along with Ginny at Small Things.

Carole used to do these posts every once in a while, and tonight I’m just coming up blank for something to share that won’t take ages to compose. In the interest of posting something here, washing the dishes, and getting to bed in the near future, I’m sharing three things about three random topics:

1. Places I’d Like to Visit
• Hawaii
• Someplace where I can see the Northern Lights or the aurora australis
• Costa Rica
2. Things about My Cats
• Posey has, since this summer, started using the tub to poop in. It doesn’t happen all the time, but happens often enough that it’s a problem.
• We got some long, heavy-duty twist ties with our new Christmas lights, and Corey has adopted them all. He likes to toss them around and carry them around the house and up onto the bed at night. When he’s carrying them, he kind of looks like he has a handlebar mustache.
• Jeremiah is in a playful mood right now. He’s been tumbling in the tub (where Posey has not pooped today) and chasing the rings from the glass milk jug lids and instigating games of chase with Corey.
3. Things I’m Looking Forward To
• Our friend John’s 50th birthday party this weekend.
• Seeing friends and family next week.
• The apartment being clean for our tree-trimming party in a couple weeks.