I’m fading so this will be a quick look back at three beautiful things from the past week:

1. Today was St. Nicholas Day. I awoke to find my shoe overflowing with great bounty, including fun new stripey knee socks and a Christmas tshirt.

2. Saturday morning, we were out the door early to run pre-party errands. By noon, we’d crossed the surprisingly line-free Costco and Target off our list, had returned a library book, and had dropped off bags of clothes at Goodwill and were en route to Poolesville to cut down a tree.

(Corollary: Remembering the night before how thin our usual tree farm had been last year and thinking to check their website. They had taken 2012 off to let the trees grow, and while they’d pointed to other resources in their county, it wasn’t as helpful for those of us who drive a couple hours out from the District. We opted to stay closer to the city and headed to the farm where we pick apples and strawberries.)

3. Our annual tree-trimming party was a great success, even if we were still cleaning when the first guests arrived. (We are always still doing something, but this was a new low.) We listened to music, doted on babies, hung ornaments, and ate a huge amount of food ’til nicely late into the evening. The party’s success was in large part due to generous friends who did not mention our obvious shortcomings as housekeepers and to my mother, who also did not mention my shortcomings when she knew us well enough to insist on making a lasagna this year to send back with us (as well as the tin of traditional spritz cookies that I assured her we could make do without this year since our time was crunched). It’s nice to have people who love you and know you so well.

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