It’s the first day of #LeoSeason!! A happy birthday to all of the wonderful Leos I know! Stop by and wish Kathleen over at Labyrinth a happy birthday, Leo season, and Labyrinth anniversary! A happy birthday to Jackie at Buffalo and Bergen, whom I miss. Say happy anniversary to Summit to Soul! A happy birthday to ex-THIHer Jon Penndorf! Am I missing more late July and August openings? Should I be celebrating more birthdays? Tweet at me and tell me! You can reach me at @thehillishome, obvs, but you can also tweet at @themadamemeow. I shall retweet the joy!
We’re not going to get into the dirty details of why we are getting a baseball season, but hey! It’s Opening Day! If you don’t have ESPN like me, tune in to 107.6 The Fan online or follow the gameday play-by-play summary on the official site. Atlas Brew Works opened their lovely socially distanced patio so you can feel like you’re kinda close to the action and from what Fritz Hahn reported earlier today, it’s not awfully crowded. Good job, everyone!
The second thing I recommend doing from home in this #LeoSeason euphoria is #treatyoself. Sure, it’s not October 13, but we’re in the middle of a pandemic and we need some pampering. I recently spoke to Marie of Blue Fern Travel (formerly Carpe DC Tours) and she told me about her COVID pivot: The Black Box. As a tour guide who organizes food and drink experiences among other kinds of tours, she had contacts with several Black-owned businesses around the DMV area. When the Black Lives Matter movement took up the spotlight back in June, she wanted to help. And so a luxurious box of premium goodies from Black-owned businesses, thoughtfully put together was born: The Black Box! For just $99, you can get a gorgeous bouquet from Lee’s Flower Shop, a cool mask from our friends at Bailiwick Clothing Company, four cans of District-brewed Sankofa beer, a tin of My Last Good Nerve tea from Calabash tea (one of Marie’s favorite blends), a thoughtful book for young readers from author Christine Platt and a pair of earrings from Sio Ceramics. You need this. I know *I* need this for the tea alone. While you shop for your box, support Blue Fern Travel with private distillery experience? Call or click here to find out more.
You can go get empanadas at Wundergarten at NoMa, which is honestly the most delicious news I’ve heard in a while. My advice would be to get them carryout with some of the amazing beers they carry, but you do you.
Not a baseball fan? Thirsting for a tough conversation? Tonight at 7 pm, Capital City Symphony is holding a special Zoom seminar on racism in classical music. It sounds incredible, no pun intended. Register here.
Hit the summer sales at Summit to Soul and Howl to the Chief! STS is having a 20% off summer event, while Howl offers free delivery within Ward 6– handy for when you’re stocking up.
The beauty of doing things from home is that you can try things across town from the comfort of home. The gorgeous Dunbarton House invites you to do yoga virtually. Sign up here and bow to the divinity within us all.
Artomatic is back and virtual! The event started Monday and will continue for a whole month filled with all kinds of artists in different media. The performances will happen on Instagram Live, YouTube and more. Click here to find out more.
The U.S. Botanic Garden has a cooking demo on Wednesday, July 29, with Tambra Raye Stevenson. The demo is free and you can find more info here.
Whatever you do, have fun, be safe, and WEAR A MASK! Do it so we don’t have to keep wearing a mask for years, will you? Be kind and GO NATS!