Why the hell does anyone wake up at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday when they don't have to?
For the same reason they don't go to sleep when they need to -- because there are better things to do than sleep, such as roaming about the city to find a steal, a nibble and a delicious wine to guzzle er sip.
I start the day by showcasing on facebook my finds, from the previous day's treasure hunt at Value Village. THIS VV is hands down the best VV I've EVER seen -- and I've seen plenty.
VV is a WALMART sized second hand store with everything under the sun (bad fluorescent lighting). This is the place to find everything you ever wanted but didn't know you wanted. It's also a great place to find things you would never want (lice, influenza, scabies, hepatitis). I highly suggest bringing antibacterial wet wipes, hand sanitizer and an air tight suit if you have one!
I'm being mildly sarcastic as usual, but really I do recommend hand wipes because your hands will get dirty rummaging through everyone's used crap treasures.
That's another thing. If you really want to find something -- you gotta roll up your sleeves and be willing to get dirty. Treasures aren't going to always jump out and find YOU. Although, sometimes this does happen. Like this retro skirt that caught my eye as I was rounding the tight corners of the very small aisles that are always too crowded. I found this, or rather it found me, in the vintage section! It's a thick polyester cream colored skirt with gold threads in the pattern. It's funky and WARM (like me haha) for the winter. I love it!!
.jpg)
Later, I hop in my car and by mistake find the Georgia Avenue Thrift Store. I have driven past this shop at least a half dozen times since I've been here. It's right across the street from the Walmart I shop at. However, I've never noticed it until today.
It's in paris as I like to call this particular part of D.C. because of the giant radio tower thingy there which resembles the Eiffle Tower in Paris, France. Other than that, the area bares no resemblance. It's an OK part of town, but going there at night is perhaps something to be avoided unless one desires to sell crack, start hooking (or pimping) or something like that.
NOTE: It's a fine place to be during the day unless you're participating in any of the aforementioned activities and then my recommendation is to wait until it's dark.
I had a good haul from the GATS. Some very nice bath towels, a cool stool, lamp and shower curtain were among my many findings.
Lets not forget the CD's! I never pass up the music section at a thrift store. I always find some oldies but goodies and also some artists I've never heard of that turn out to be surprisingly fantastic (or horrible). I recently bought an album by Gaelic Storm. I'd never heard of them before, but for 99 cents, why the hell not! It turns out they are awesome!! If you love Irish-y music with violins, fiddles and drums plus some great singing then I highly suggest you check these guys (and gal) out! So anyway, I bought Sheryl Crow, Dido and K.D. Lang albums as well as the soundtracks to Swingers and The Thomas Crown Affair (LOVE THAT MOVIE).
All of my treasures came to a grand total of 40 bucks.
Shopping, especially rummaging at a thrift store, works up an appetite. So, I decide to head back to my part of town and see what interesting place I can find to eat at.
Jetties on Farimont Avenue in Bethesda won my attention (mostly because it was closest to my parking space). They serve sandwiches, salads and soups. It's a laid back atmosphere with a beach-y kind of vibe. The reggae music was nice and almost made me feel like I was back in Diego Garcia. If it hadn't been for the 50 degree weather outside and the fact that I was covered head to toe in clothing, I would have thought I was at the Yacht Club.
I orde the Smith Point sandwich (they also have build your own sandwiches). It has roast beef, havarti cheese, thin red onions, tomatoes and horseradish sour cream on pumpernickel. Let me tell you, it was delicious! First of all, the roast beef was sliced paper thin as were the onions. All of the contents seemed to be one with each other as were the flavors! The horseradish sour cream was not overpowering at all (it sometimes can be) and the bread was fresh! The Pumpernickel, I must say, is a brilliant choice for this sandwich. It added to the symphony of tastes -- with the meat and the cheese, those tasty onions, that delicious horseradish sour cream! The Smith Point makes it's point -- SANDWICH PERFECTION is possible!!
I finished my tasty sandwich and walked a little further down the street to find all kinds of shops and restaurants. This part of town really has a lot to offer and a quick walk-through gives me some ideas for my next adventure.
It's been a long day, but before heading home I make one last stop saving the best for last - the Cork & Fork.
As I step through the doors I'm a little overwhelmed by the wine selection, but only because all I know of wine is that I like to drink it. Beyond that, I'm clueless. A very nice lady who works there asks me if I need any help. I tell her, "I'm just looking for wine." Brilliant, of course I am you idiot, I think to myself. I'm in a wine store! She must think I'm an idiot now. But then, she's VERY French (lovely and French), and the French think all Americans are idiots. Anyway, I confess to her I really don't know much about wine as if she hadn't already gathered that. She then asks me a few simple questions which were easy enough to answer even with my limited understanding of wines.
"What kind do you like," she said.
"Red."
"What kind of food?"
"No food," I say. "Just sipping."
With that, she leads me to the perfect bottle of red wine. See. It's perfect. It has sunflowers on the bottle!
She must have intuitively known that I, like my mother, choose my wine like I choose my books -- based on the cover, or rather the picture on the bottle in this case.
As I part ways with Cork & Fork, and the lovely French lady, she tells me "Let it breathe and it will be fine. Enjoy Madamme."
As I'm leaving I tell her "Will do. Thank you."
Somehow, I don't think she was talking about the wine.
No comments:
Post a Comment