Weekend Reads v. 5.4.2025

The Tale of Princess Soap.

Credit: master1305

The restrooms at work look like a holdover from a Stasi command center. Putrid green tiles cover the walls. The ceilings have brown stains from leaks – old or new, one never knows! One of the three sinks is invariably out of order. You push a pedal with your foot to flush the commode. It’s all just a bunch of bleh.

And so, when I walked into that abysmal bathroom to find jewel-toned bottles of soap adorned with the names of Disney princesses sitting atop the somewhat functional sinks, I felt an instant pep in my day.

Who left these beautiful soaps in the bathroom for us?

Turns out one of my kindest colleagues left the princess soaps in the bathroom. She’d visited a bathroom at the opposite end of the hall (the east side) and discovered those women had quite the set up in their loo. Mints and soaps and whatever else those East Side ladies could dream up filled their baskets of bathroom goodies.

My kind colleague rightly noticed that we West Side ladies could use some bathroom niceties, too. And so those pretty princess soaps entered our bathroom as an effort to start our own version of Westside Story – but in a bathroom and with less dancing. Her plan worked! People were all abuzz about the princess soap in the women’s restroom on the West Side.

I quickly found myself a student of the Bath & Body Works soap line. Specifically, I found myself enrolled in the course about a line of foaming soap in varying fragrances designed to “harness the power” of a Disney princess. Quite a few of the 5^th floor women already had a favorite princess soap at home, I learned through conversations in the hallway. My very kind colleague told me she felt a huge rush of joy hearing so many women share their excitement over having our very own assortment of princess soap in the West Side bathroom.

It was all delightful and smelling like “seeing your kindness and effort pay off” until the day it wasn’t.

Apparently, someone decided they liked the princess soaps a little too much and Took.Them.Home.

The princess soaps were quickly replaced by soaps from The Dollar Store which, less face it, lack the pizazz and inspiration of the princess soaps. They also felt greasy which made for awkward handshakes.

My colleague learned about this theft in the most poetic way possible: she overheard the lady with sticky fingers confess to another lady while they were all washing their hands with inferior soaps in our Stasi styled bathroom.

When my very kind colleague shared the sad news with me that the princess soaps had been kidnapped, we both took a moment to wonder what in the world is wrong with people. But then my colleague rebounded and said, “I was so delighted to hear how happy people were to walk in and see those beautiful soaps that I am going to keep making our bathroom nice. But maybe I won’t always stock the princess soap. Those aren’t cheap.”

We explored ways to take her effort to spread joy one step further. We weren’t just competing with the bourgeois East Side ladies now. No, we were sparking joy in a very dim place. Could we hang small photos or encouraging phrases on the walls of our dreary bathroom? What if we kept a reserve of princess soap on-hand just for Our Department to avoid tempting ladies from Other Departments from stealing our treasure?

Yes, that would work! We’d lean into kindness in the hope that maybe the temptation to just swipe princess soaps would eventually dissolve and joy would remain.

This was how I found myself in a Bath & Body Works on Tuesday night of this week stocking up on princess soaps.

It feels good to see people enjoying the thoughtful updates my very kind colleague adds to our bleak bathroom. To support her effort brings me joy! So maybe there is something a little magical about those princess soaps? Or maybe I’m just experiencing the magic that is human kindness. Its power to cut through even the dreariest of situations never fails to amaze me.

Dressing for an imperfect body.

Why is women’s gear pink? No one asked, but I’ve always preferred purple.

Tips for making gorgeous container gardens for your front stoop or patio.

This vegetarian, one-pot soup has a surprising ingredient that gives it a perfect balance of salty, sweet, sour, and spicy. Talk about a soup that packs a punch.

This “couple coaster” seems perfect for me because I always seem to be enjoying more than one drink at a time.

Will always bookmark a travel guide for Mexico City. Have you ever been? It’s such an amazing city!

The question of how a person will spend all that time saved by using AI is a good one. Specifically, when that newfound free time centers around how a person can be more present among other people. This essay raised that question in the context of faith, and I found it convicting and enlightening.

“Artificial intelligence is not inherently evil, but it is unique in that it blurs (or, in some cases, obliterates) the line between what is real and what is false, with no simple rubric for the average user to distinguish between the two. It also asks us to sacrifice things that are sometimes frustrating, but useful—learning to wait, figuring out solutions, engaging with obstacles—in order to gain a life without friction. Which is not life, but a fantasy, an un-reality moving us closer and closer towards disembodiment.

Technologies of convenience and speed are one thing; a complete takeover of the lived human experience is another altogether.

As I write this—seated in the cafe of Barnes & Noble, surrounded by stories birthed from actual living brains—I am reminded that, in terms of human history, books were a new technology not so very long ago. Gutenberg’s printing press was an advancement that altered the course of centuries, bringing about the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and the rapid dissemination of ideas throughout the West. Because of its widespread impact on political, religious, and social thought, there were almost certainly people who decried its creation. An increasingly literate population becomes an increasingly engaged population, after all, and there were many whose power would have been threatened by the sharing of previously esoteric ideas.

Advancements in technology create new questions, as well they should: How does this serve our needs? What value does it add to our communities? How can we use this tool for the maximum benefit of everyone?” (Source)

Kinda curious to try a three-years diary.

Has anyone tried this hummus? Curious if it’s worth the hype.

What women supposedly will be wearing this Spring (and Summer).

A new season is upon us, and that feels like a tiny reset. Are you doing anything to usher in Spring this weekend? Hope whatever you do is exactly what you want to be doing!