Ah, Labor Day!

One of the things I love about Labor Day is that - if you're a white-collar worker, anyways - you don't have to actually labor. At least, in theory.

After two days of fun (shopping with my mom and sister Saturday, the Nasher Sculpture Center on Sunday), I spent most of Monday - Lack-of-Labor Day - running errands and laboring around the apartment.

What sort of labor did I perform?

1. Cleaned the bathroom. I discovered just recently that I jettisoned the old toilet brush when I vacated my Oak Lawn apartment for the parents' home, so I bought a new brush and went to town at home. I also wondered why anyone would consider spending $25 on a toilet brush when you can buy one for $2.99.

2. Tied down electronics cords. Some of my electronics are perched high atop a book case, and the cords I have are incredibly long - a holdover from my O.L. apt when my TV was 10' away from the case holding my DVD player, VCR, and antenna. So I had to snake my cords down the back of an upright on the bookcase and tie them down with little white zip-ties. This necessitated a trip to Home Depot. Employees at Home Depot are unfailingly helpful if you are a decently attractive woman in a tank top with no accompanying male in sight, by the way.

3. Non-physical labor. Mental labor, I mean, such as balancing my credit card entries, ordering a battery charger for my Nikon, and learning some new stuff via mentalfloss. Just for the record, no, I didn't lose the battery charger. I put it some place safe where I would easily be able to find it. And then forgot where that place is. But it's safe, and it's there. Honest.

4. Stained scratched parquet. When the movers brought in my love seat, they sat it down and pushed it across the room. They scratched the floor in two places, as a result, so I bought some stain at Home Depot and carefully applied the stain to the scratches. Hopefully it will pass muster when I eventually move out.

And now, for those of you who are design nuts like myself:

HIE THEE TO AGAIN ON HENDERSON STREET.

It's owned by a woman who owns Again & Again up the street on Bonita. She takes vintage furniture, recovers it, and sells it alongside other great finds such as Knoll dining tables. It's amazing and the prices are beyond belief.

I'm not saying it's inexpensive, per se, but compared with comparable pieces at places such as Mecox Gardens and Design Within Reach, they're a steal (Knoll table for $3200? Yes, please! Mid-century sofa in Kravet linen? Si, por favor!).

Fortunately, I don't have any money to spend on furnishings, so that prevents me from cramming my relatively small apartment with unnecessary casegoods.