Dessert and Dinosaurs

That outfit from work does make you look like a period fairy, K.  I'm not sure how I like it for a waxer, but then again: I'm not a pro.

I was able to attend a fancy soiree this past weekend, and had a fantastic time, if for no other reason than I got to wear this beautiful dress I've been hanging on to since the summer.  I bought it in Qatar knowing full well it wasn't appropriate for the local culture, so I shelved it until I got home.

Me in the Gem Room

 

The party was hosted at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and it was beautiful.  The entire museum was lit up in blue and packed with food, wine, dessert, and people chatting.


Looking down from the second floor

 

 

 

Dinosaur room (including delicious flatbread)

 The MNH is the busiest of all the Smithsonian museums, and I've only ever seen it swarmed with school groups and tourists, so I absolutely took advantage of the free reign we had to explore some of my favorite exhibits which I had almost all to myself.  I beelined for the dinosaur exhibit.  Once you got past revelers swarming the bar, the exhibit was practically empty.




Bar + dinosaurs = badassery

Do you see any people around me?  No? That's because there were none.  I was (obviously) shocked

Another couple highlights were seeing the hope diamond and ocean room.  Adding people in formal dress made the exhibits that much more interesting.

And best of all, the event gave me an excuse to be out after a light snow.  At night, especially down PA Ave in Penn Quarter, it sometimes feels like you have the city to yourself.

One note:  A big draw of the evening was the open butterfly exhibit; usually you have to pay to get in,so everyone wanted to try it out.  But I have a (totally rational) fear of butterflies over 3" as that is when they start to resemble giant flying bugs.  I respectfully declined, deciding that running screaming from the museum would not look good to my colleagues.