Maria and Lori's Blog: DC And HRC

We drove down to DC last weekend so Lori, who is on the Board of Governors, can attend her national meetings AND so we could attend the National Dinner yet again this year. Maria did the driving since Lori was still cane'd up. Cooper slept for the majority of the trip. A quick and uneventful drive down 95.

That evening, we headed to Carmine's for dinner with some friends. Why did we choose Carmine's? Our very good friend Arlene is the general manager of the new DC restaurant, and she single-handedly opened the place. Well, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but we are going to run with it!

Friday's dinner with Rebecca and Patty was a lot of fun, and so great to FINALLY hang out with them! Arlene was just perfect. And we got a little Suzanne and Lucca time in as well! Afterwards, we headed to the Ren Hotel bar to meet up with John and some rowdy Dallas girls. All in a day's work.

Fast foward to Saturday. Lori finished up her meetings, the three of us were back to the hotel, babysitter for Cooper was on her way, and we were getting ready for the dinner. Then? Tragedy struck. Maria got her outfit out of the closet, AND THE PANTS WEREN'T ON THE HANGER. That is right. She left them in NYC. Genius, huh?

Plan? Maria got on her makeup, did her hair, and then put on her fancy shoes with her jeans. Headed to 7th Street, and an area very close to the convention center where the 4000-person event was being held that evening. Went in to Ann Taylor. Found a saleswoman named Camille. SHE WAS AWESOME. Maria was in the dressing room, and Camille and Lori kept throwing pieces of outfits over the door. Found some dressy black pants, a great top, and a cool necklace. Done! They were cutting the tags off Maria while we were at the register paying. Ran (well, lori hobbled) to the convention center and arrived while people were still milling around the silent auction items. WE RULE! Now we could breathe. Breathe, and drink.

Ok! The dinner! The group Batala were awesome!