Seen those new American Express commercials with the faces?

Ordinary objects flash across the screen, and when you look closely you see each resembles an unhappy face. This series is followed by an array of “happy” objects. Okay, Francois Robert’s book Faces chronicled quotidian objects in this way nearly a decade ago. But AmEx has taken this idea one step further by adding a little Bach, and it’s total eye candy. Pure Genius.

Anyway, got us thinking about just what it is that can transform a sucko miserable  day into something better. You know, the bus driver slammed the door in your face in the pouring rain; a defective lid caused coffee to drip all over your new Anne Fontaine white shirt; then, while you’re wet and coffee stained, your boss announces that the Excel spreadsheet you pulled the all-nighter working on had the wrong assumptions. What fixes such a shitty day? (Much as we like this commercial with the faces, the answer doesn’t seem to be a credit card. Budget, remember? )

For us it’s flowers. Yup. We’re simple bitches and we keep telling him that to satisfy us he just needs to find the right spot—uh, right shop, right flower shop, that is.

For our friend Margaret it’s a new pair of shoes.  She just loves going to the store and having the salesman slide the shoes in and out—uh, on and off her feet.

Helen, our manicurist, she swears by hand jobs—uh, hand massages.

What are your perk-ups? Tell us.

And (drumroll…) best Freudian slip wins a pair of—yes—slippers!            

Bring it, Bitches.