Pixie Dust

One of the best things about living in Adams Morgan is the continual
sense of being surrounded by things as-of-yet undiscovered. The
neighborhood continues to reveal its nuances, and, perhaps to the
surprise of some, I'm finding that there's more to this place than
bars, clubs, and absurdly large slices of pizza (though admittedly,
about 96% of the joints along 18th Street fall into one of the three
categories.)

Happily, though, the other 4% can hold their own. As evidence, I
present one of my favorite recent discoveries, Miss Pixie's Furnishings & Whatnot, a thoroughly charming treasure trove of antique and vintage furnishing and...whatnot. With an eye for the feminine, the ornate, and the fabulous, Miss Pixie's pink-painted walls house a whimsical - yet, well-edited - collection of furniture, kitchenware, art, and all sorts of other knickknacks.

I'm not sure who Miss Pixie is, but she has impeccable taste, with sort of an Anthropologie meets Charlotte York vibe, only less expensive (on both counts). On my first trip, I found a sweet little mustard-yellow end table, with an even sweeter price tag in the double digits. More recently, on New Year's Eve, upon realizing that I had no champagne flutes, I headed over to Miss Pixie's and scored a vintage set of four for $12.

Unlike some antique emporiums, Miss Pixie's is not overly cluttered. In fact, browsing the neatly displayed collection feels pleasantly like wandering around your most stylish friend's apartment, whose furnishings just happen to be for sale. Plates of chocolate chip cookies add to the coziness factor, as does a sales staff who remembers faces and names.

Chatting with the uber-friendly sales assistant on my last foray, I found out that Miss Pixie's neighbor, the beloved lounge/coffeeshop Tryst, actually buys most of its furniture from Miss Pixie's. (I'm actually typing this post from Tryst, in case you're wondering whether all those yuppies on their iBooks are actually writing things of substance or just typing emails to Mom. Ok, so I did that too. Hi Mom.)

And, um, all this writing about Miss Pixie's is making me wonder what new stuff she's got in the store, so I think I'll finish my latte, close up the iBook, and head on over.

Good to know:
Miss Pixie's is located at 2473 18th Street, in the heart of Adams Morgan. It's Metro-accessible, well, you know the drill, dear readers...Dupont or Woodley on the Red Line. Take yer pick.

Photo of 18th Street (Miss Pixie's is the store with the pink awning, naturally) by Flickr user Eye Captain.