As I have to go further and further afield to find new places, my explorations have been taking me to the Petworth neighborhood lately, where I’ve noticed this cute hardware store on Upshur Street. Faced with a hardware store errand today, I decided to forego my local hardware store and head to Annie’s.

What a fun place!  I mean there are hardware stores, and then there are hardware stores where you can by multi-colored duct tape, socks with cats on them, spaghetti scoopers, and Craftsman 2.0 AC AMP Multi-tools, as well as your Halloween carving pumpkin and Christmas cards. Yeah, I pretty much think if it’s not at Annies, you don’t need it.

Indeed, Annie’s reminded me of the hardware store of my childhood where you could find everything from yo-yos to cookie sheets to riding lawn mowers:

Yup, fun for the whole family, including Lola, who was allowed inside and went absolutely crackers, scrambling up and down the aisles, snuffling ratchet sets and plumbing fixtures, alike, though she showed a special fondness for the potting soil. Now I know where to take her for entertainment on rainy days.

Nice to meet you Annie!  We’ll be back!