12/13 DC International Holiday brunch

Filomena Restaurant in Georgetown has one of the best and most beautiful brunches, especially during the holiday season. Our friends and supporters joined Juliana, Rita and I to celebrate the season and our fabulous year thus far. The food was amazing and the decorations were some of the best I've ever seen. Some of our guests included Mrs. DC International Erika Parkhurst, Miss Maryland Galaxy Nicole Almodovar and our former Mrs. DC International 2009 Diane Lebson.

12/07 Pearl Harbor Day Wreath Laying Ceremony

Pearl Harbor Day is a very important Day in our history. Every year at the Navy Memorial there is a ceremony performed by the US Navy in observance of the lives lost that fateful day. It is short but definitely worth viewing. After the ceremony everyone was invited into the memorial museum. There is nice room there with portraits of all our US presidents that served in the Navy, the directors are very engaging and the exhibits are interesting well put together. There are also rooms that can be used for events. This was another District jewel that I was able to enjoy.

12/03 Mayors Annual Turkey Giveaway and Union Station Christmas Tree lighting ceremony

12/03 was a busy day for me. That afternoon I volunteered at the Mayors Turkey Giveaway. Thankfully that was a fairly mild day with the occasional wind gust. The giveaway was designed to assist the needy and elderly of the District during the holiday season. People were lined up in side and in several lines outside the DC armory. I got the chance to talk to some of the people that came out, and tried to encourage them through the long wait. The volunteers with the Mayors office are amazing people and always have a need for more.

That evening I switched gears and got dressed up for the Union Station Christmas Tree lighting ceremony. The Norwegian Embassy has been decorating Union Station for the holidays for 13 years. This is Norway's way of thanking DC for it's assistance during World War 2 and to acknowledge the participation of Norwegian Americans in the war and how they aided the US army and stopped a potential ambush by the German army. Present were representatives from the Army and the Norwegian Embassy as well as the Mayors office. Special Guest General Casey, Secretary of the Army was present to give awards and highlight the importance of the occasion.

Fresh Cupcake Social

September 24th My dear friend Kim had a fun and delicious cupcake social at her Georgetown boutique called Fresh. I have been shopping at fresh for at least 5 years, and almost always do my seasonal shopping there. The cute and chic cocktail dress I wore to the couture show was purchased at this store. As a favor to a friend (and of course a fun opportunity for me) I attended the event and modeled some of the new merchandise. This social was in part sponsored by Red Velvet Cupcakery which has a location in Georgetown and offered it's support to a community friend. There was a dj, an open champagne bar, and dozens of bite sized cupcakes. This social in particular was to celebrate the opening of the purse/bag room. All the vegan bags you could ever want in all colors and different styles, and of course I own one of the first bags she sold in her store, and have been carrying it for years. There were photo ops in front of the Fresh sign and on the "pink carpet". It was an amazing.