It’s been an eventful, stressful, hopeful few months. And I don’t want to tempt the Fates by assuming anything. But a dream I’ve had for a good 10 years has gotten a lot closer to materializing. And for that — and for whom I’m so fortunate to have by my side throughout all of this — I am abundantly (fully) thankful.

Did you know you can buy art from Yakoff Smirnoff?

My workfriends are so awesome. I’ve been hemming and hawing all week about whether to take tomorrow off for my birthday or come in to take advantage of an unusual dearth of meetings and actually get some work done. So they totally surprised me today with an assortment of Kickass Cupcakes (mmm, chai and black forest and mojito and Green Monster [with Guinness goodness baked right in] and berry cheesecake and other deliciousness).

Tonight I’m dragging Summervillain to This American Life — Live!, a nationwide simulcast of the TV show, at the Fenway Theater. This is proof of how much he likes me.

In more ways than one! Hickory Dickory Dot, with a bonus toy mouse for Claire Grace. It took 3 weeks to make, although most of it was completed in two knitting-intensive weekends.

Edited to add: The pattern comes from the redoubtable Anny Purls.

Today’s article in the New York Times’ Style section on how toothbrush design has changed in a way that toothbrush holders can’t accommodate nearly made me pump my fist in the air while I was eating breakfast. Every time I buy new toothbrushes, I spend frustrated minutes trying to find a brand that hasn’t blimped out the handle. Reach toothbrushes used to be some of the last holdouts; the handle was narrow up to a modestly flared grip where, ostensibly, your thumb would or should rest. It fit easily in the ceramic toothbrush holder in our apartment’s bathroom, yet kept the bristles high and able to air-dry. Lately, though, even the Reach handles have bloated to compete with other brands.

I’m not about to spend $100 on the Novis bracket, which holds brushes by the neck, and the funky designs from Umbra both take up real estate around the sink and would get nasty in the bottom right quick.