No, of course I didn’t actually take a day off. I spent a good portion of it writing, and will spend another portion of it writing later tonight. But I did take a couple of hours off to do some things that were restful and fun.

First, I decided to go to Sister Thrift, in Burlington. Here I am about to go thrift shopping, and the store itself.

I know this may seem silly, but I decided to take some pictures of items I did not buy. (So if you want them, hurry and get them!) Here, on the right, is an adorable purse with two lime green fish on it. I have no idea who made it, and if I were the sort of person who liked cute purses, I would buy it at once. But I have no use for cute purses. My purses are always functional, black or brown, unless they’re evening purses. And then they’re usually something like silver mesh from the 1930s.

Here, on the left, is an Eileen Fisher dress that was lovely, lime green underdress and a blue overlay. But so not my colors. What I bought instead is the skirt on the right, an Ann Taylor cotton summer skirt. I hate trying things on, and usually I don’t bother because I know my size and I can tell visually whether something will fit. But this was a size 0P, and the P changes the sizing. (I don’t usually wear petites.) So I tried it on, and it fit just fine, even over jeans.

I didn’t even bother trying on this dress. It was loose enough that it was going to fit me no matter what. Here it is on the left on a hanger in the dressing room, and on the right on me, after being washed, at home. It’s a cascade of burgundy silk velvet, incredibly soft and comfortable, and I’m seriously considering it for an ICFA banquet dress. It’s in the final three. (I think it looks like something the pre-Raphaelites would paint.)

On my way out, I saw this silver leaf pin. It was pretty tarnished, but I knew it would clean up nicely. Here it is as I found it in the thrift store and after cleaning, with my other jewelry.

While I was gone, guess what had come in the mail! Virginia Lee’s Moorland Melodies. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and it’s currently in a portfolio flattening out, because of course it was mailed rolled up. I’m very excited to have it framed. And then I wrote and wrote and wrote. And then, before dinner, there was a family trip to Burdick’s in Harvard Square.

There were demi milk hot chocolates all around, which I think is the perfect drink and the perfect size. And shared pastries.

And that was it! Tonight I will be writing, writing, writing again. But it was nice to take at least some time off, to get out, see and taste new things. I need that, at least every once in a while.