Thing 123: Dog Days

Oh my, I am behind on this entry. The Dog Days were three weekends ago, and if you want to go you'll have wait a whole forty nine weeks. But if you missed it this year, you will want to check it out in forty nine weeks because it's pretty great.

Mid City's Dog Days is a giant sidewalk sale, with several dozen participants from 'mid-city' -- basically the Logan Circle/U Street area. (Who knew I lived in 'mid-city'? Not me...). The merchants along P Street, 14th Street and U Street basically clear out their inventory, mark everything down, and put it outside to peruse. Logan Hardware was selling cheap gadgets, PULP had bins and bins of cards for $1, Miss Pixie's marked all their furniture in the store down 25%.

Over at ACKC, where I was working on the first Dog Day, there was madness. People were streaming in for chocolate, cold drinks, a caffeine fix. Everyone seems to take the opportunity of beautiful weather and cheap prices to get out and stroll the neighborhood, sampling new businesses and loading up on bargains.

The next day, on the way to brunch on U Street, the Boyfriend and I took a good hour to walk slowly up 14th Street, popping in to the different stores. I didn't buy much -- a few cards at Pulp, a couple gadgets at Home Rule -- but it was great to explore local businesses along the street and see what they were offering. We joked with the workers from Garden District about their bronze avocados, and who the potential customer for such a product might be. We talked mandolins at Home Rule. And perhaps most interesting of all, I learned of a real estate company cum art gallery The Urban Art Group, which can sell you a house and decorate it, all at the same time.

It's too late to partake this year, but next year, when the weather is at it's hottest, head to mid-city for some good deals and some new shops.

One year ago: My plan for the Perfect 3 Day Weekend -- just in time for Labor Day!