Wednesday, May 7, 2014

7 Photos from Saturday

We got a slow start on Saturday because I was really tired and reluctant to do much. But eventually, we went to Logan Circle to check out Meet Market, which is on the first Saturday of every month. It was pretty small, but they had a good mix of vendors, so if you should find yourself in the area, it's definitely worth checking out. We stopped to talk to my pal Beth who was selling there, and then decided to walk a few blocks to check out some shops.

First we went to Miss Pixie's, which is a (mostly) vintage shop on 14th street. It was fun to browse in here, but I would not describe their merchandise as "curated vintage," as much as I dislike that phrase. (Side rant: does anyone remember when "curated" actually meant something specific and implied expertise in a certain field or area of study? It has been so misused/overused that these days it means something akin to "stuff I like" and anyone/everyone is a "curator.") Anyway, Miss Pixie's is mostly a hodgepodge. Sometimes they have great vintage pieces, and sometimes they have used IKEA furniture.

Also, they claim to have reasonable prices, but that probably depends on your perspective. If you're from DC, you'll probably think their prices are ok, maybe even cheap on some things. If you're from pretty much anywhere else, you'll probably think it's expensive. (I found an industrial metal cabinet with drawers that I liked, but not enough to buy, for $500, a mid-century dresser that was ok-looking for $600, a dining table that did not look vintage for $645.) Anyway, it's definitely worth a look if you're nearby, but I would recommend educating yourself about how to identify authentic vintage pieces and what they should cost (or know what you're willing to pay for them) before you buy.

I bought these three tiny black and white photos for $1 a piece. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but they needed to come home with me.

We also went to Home Rule, which is a tiny one-room shop stocked with super cute and colorful kitchen and bath things. If we had more cabinet space and money to burn, I'd buy half the things they sell here. I will definitely be back.

We decided to walk to U Street since that was the closest station to where we'd ended up on our walk, but we totally forgot that Funk Parade was happening and ohmygod so many people. Peter and I are really good at ending up right in the middle of events on accident. I wish I'd remembered, though, because there were a couple of things I would've really liked to have seen, like the artists painting murals. Anyway, we pushed our way through the crowds...and let me tell you, my favorite place on earth is to be right in the middle of a crowd of sweaty people who've been day drinking...and finally made it to the metro. Whew!

We stopped at Silver Diner for dinner on the way home (I had a jack cheese omelet and hashbrowns, and Peter had huevos rancheros something-or-other for those who are curious), then we went home to play with our Roku. We got a Roku streaming stick about a month ago, and we're still adding channels and figuring out how it all works. We actually got a Roku back when they first came out (maybe 2008?) and it was terrible; the picture quality was blurry, like watching TV without my glasses on, and it would buffer constantly, so we sent it back. I was wary of trying Roku again, but everyone kept raving about it, and Peter really wanted to try it--he wants to dump cable when our contract is up--so we did. So far, it's much improved from the first version. But one drawback to Roku I have noticed is that sometimes the audio and video do not match up, which is annoying. Also, it's not great if you want to watch live events like a baseball game, for example. I'm sure no one reading this post is a sports fan, haha, but your only option is to pay for a subscription channel like MLB.com, and then you have to wait a day to watch your home team play (some nonsense about in-market blackouts and giving priority to local broadcasters). It is nice to watch Netflix movies on our TV though, and if they could improve the sound/video lag that sometimes happens, it would be perfect. (It's not our internet connection because it doesn't happen on the computer or other devices, only Roku).

Anyway, all in all, it was a good Saturday filled with a few treasures, some nice people, and a healthy dose of the unexpected. Oh and did I mention a corgi? :)

By the way, has anyone else got Roku? Any channels you can recommend?

7 comments:

  1. Love those little photos you bought they are adorable. And I have to say I've never heard of Roku before but maybe that's because I'm from Britain, idk?
    Lauren | OhHay Blogs!
    xxx

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  2. Sounds like a fun weekend. Love the 1st and 3rd shots of the lights and umbrellas :)

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  3. Ugh, I hate it when secondhand/vintage shops overcharge for things that don't have any real value. There's one store like that around here that used to be pretty reasonable, but then they moved to a bigger location (which I assume came with higher rent) so ALL of their prices went up. It was so disappointing.

    As for the dropping cable but still watching sports conundrum, we're football fans and keep cable around for that reason. There's really no good way to watch otherwise, unless we go to a bar and then you're expected to buy a bunch of food/beer anyway. So I don't know. We have it packaged with our internet, but I'd like to get the bill lowered.

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  4. Looks like a well spent saturday, I absolutely love the shot of the tops of those rowhouses.

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  5. I love the el corazon print! We have a thrift store over here that sells some really cool stuff, but their prices seem to be crazy high lately :-(

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  6. That's really not cool that the vintage shop may have Ikea stuff in it if it's suppose to be vintage. Your weekend sounded fabulous. We stayed in most of the weekend and went to a friend's place for dinner late on Saturday. I really love your photos of the houses there.

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  7. Looks like a fun Saturday! Love the pics that u got:) Love the pic of those shops:)

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