Sign The President's Birthday Card

He will be 49 on Wednesday August 4.

What were you doing at age 49? Or what do you hope to be doing by the time you are 49?

I had radically changed my life by age 49, gave up my design business, ended a marriage, overcame an illness, moved from New York to California, learned to dance tango, and found the love of my life, Alberto. It started a few years earlier than my 49th birthday, but I was well on my way to reinventing myself for the next 49 years!



Go HERE to sign birthday card for President Obama, and leave him message.

Mrs. O Sets The Table

Here's a little something to look at and read about while you're waiting for the turkey to cook.


While Michelle Obama is the brains behind it all, there is an official White House florist to execute her ideas. That honor has been bestowed upon Laura Dowling.
The White House scrambled to say “yes indeed, Laura Dowling began quietly working at the mansion last week. Apparently, the Parisian trained Alexandria, Virginia florist was the front-runner for the prestigious position, after trying out with two other designers.
I would love to know what the try-out involved and who the other two designers were. Laura has a blog, but she hasn't posted since September. I guess she's been busy.

Laura Dowling White House Floral Designer

Visit her blog and her web site

Paris will not be the focus of Dowling’s first big gig. Rather, food, flowers and guest list will be India-inspired for a state dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Nov. 24. On a technicality, the event will be called a “state dinner”, even though the largely-symbolic title of president of India belongs to Pratibha Devisingh Patil.

Laura's advice for designing an event:

- Choose an earth-friendly theme — such as a garden-style party, a woodlands fête, or a seaside soiree.

- Celebrate your event outdoors. That’s a challenge out of season but we will adapt.

- Select a color scheme that incorporates earthy shades of green and brown. Punctuate with bright colors of early spring. This is not the strategy in the photos, where monotone pales are gorgeous. We forgive.

- Choose linens made of natural fibers, avoiding plastic or disposable items that crate waste.

- Fine vintage items at the flea market or thrift store for sustainable reuse.

- Make your own centerpieces and decorations using locally grown, sustainable materials, including a wtreath made out of vegetables, an herbal topiary tree, or green bouquets set in natural containers of leaves, moss and twigs.

Hours before guests arrived and in keeping with tradition, Mrs. Obama previewed the glamorous table settings in the State Dining Room. That's often the venue for such dinners, but not this time.

Preview in the State Dining Room

Instead, in an effort to show Singh how much the U.S. values relations with his country, the Obamas decided to serve dinner in a huge white tent on the South Lawn, with views of the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial through clear panels.




It wasn't your everyday tent: This one had chandeliers suspended from the ceiling and beige carpet on the floor.



President Barack Obama, in his dinner toast, said the setting conjured images of India, where special events are "often celebrated under the cover of a beautiful tent." Singh, in turn, told the president he was overwhelmed by the Obamas' hospitality and said the president's election last year had been an inspiration to millions of Indians.




Guests were seated 10 apiece at round tables (there were 338 for dinner) draped in green apple-colored cloths and napkins, offset by the sparkle of gold-colored flatware and china, including service and dinner plates from the Eisenhower, Clinton and George W. Bush settings.


Floral arrangements of hydrangeas, roses and sweet peas in plum, purple and fuschia evoked India's state bird. Magnolia branches native to both India and the U.S. adorned the tent's inside walls, along with ivy and nandina foliage.




Mrs. Obama brought in award-winning chef Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit, a Scandinavian restaurant in New York City, to help White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford and her staff prepare the largely vegetarian meal. Singh is a vegetarian.

Samuelsson said being chosen to help whip up dinner was both "overwhelming and humbling."

The culinary offerings included potato and eggplant salad, arugula from the White House garden, red lentil soup and roasted potato dumplings or green curry prawns. Pumpkin pie tart and pear tatin were for dessert; the pears were poached in honey from the White House beehive.


The Obamas want this dinner to make a statement at home and around the globe.

An official at the White House said, "Well, I think this is their first State Dinner, so they are inviting the world into their home by way of the Prime Minister of India and it really is the time to put that outstretch hand of America here at home," Schwartz said.

"The Obamas have been traveling quite a lot this first year, which is very exciting. It's good for America. It's good to be involved. But this is the first time these honors are given here at home. The people's house right behind me," she added.

"Is it customary to honor the guest of honor - in this case the Indian Prime Minister - with the food or in another way?"

"Absolutely. What happens, about two months before now, one of the delegation members have come over from India, they sit down, they talk about the likes and dislikes of the Prime Minister and the spouse and any food allergies. In this case the Prime Minister is a vegetarian."

"And then the White House wants to highlight the best of America," she continued. "So they're bringing Marcus Samuelsson into work with the White House chef, Christina Comberford, who is fabulous in her own right and she still will oversee the entire dinner. But Marcus Samuelsson will definitely add a little zing."


The Obamas chose from the White House's historic china collection to set the tables for their first state dinner.

Selections include:
Service Plates: Castleton China, New Castle, Pa., (Eisenhower administration, 1955)
Service Plates: Lenox, Trenton, N.J. (Clinton administraion, 2000)
Dinner Plates: Lenox, Kinston, N.C. (Geroge W. Bush administration, gift of the White House Acquisition Trust, 2008-2009)

I gleaned all these photos and tidbits from various news web sites, the best being CBS News HERE






Once upon a time when I was about Laura Dowling's age, I had the honor of doing flowers for another First Lady. We were both alot younger then.
You can read about it HERE.

And of course, a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from Alberto, Cholo, and the Visual Vamp.

The King of Hats

Easter morning! What fun! Baskets, egg hunts, Easter bonnets! Easter parades! Church! Family dinners! I love it all!
I have been a hat wearer all my life. And among my most favorite hats, along with Philip Treacy or Eric Javitts, are those that the African American lady wears to church or for special occasions, the hats we affectionately call "church lady hats."

The younger Mr. Luke Song who took over the family business
that was established in Detroit by his parents 1982

Mr. Song of Detroit is one of the best milliners of this type of hat, and one of his hats was made famous when Aretha Franklin wore it when she sang at President's Obama's inauguration.




I HEART Mr. Song's hats. They combine expert engineering, with whimsy, fantasy, and glam.



You can order the Aretha hat in any color. The Aretha hat is on back order, but I think you can still get in time for Mothers Day. Mr. Song says that Mothers Day is like their Christmas, the biggest sales holiday of the year. Queen Elizabeth allegedly has ordered a Mr. Song Hat.
You can order any Mr. Song from the huge color chart he has.




He has several shapes he works with, such as this modern accordion shape.





The beret is another silhouette he offers, and it is very uber Chanel.



This pink hat is his ode to Audrey, a style he calls Tiffany.




I think a Mr. Song hat would be perfect for Derby Day! Maybe you could ask him to add some huge cabbage roses.




The little cloche styles reminds me of Our Lady of Hats Isabella Blow.



I love the detailing, and the way these strands hip around the hat.



The prices range from $50. up to nearly $400. This green hat is on sale, and I am going to get it. You can shop on line for a Mr. Song Hat HERE


"In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it, the photographers will snap you..."

Once again, Happy Easter, and I hope you enjoy your day with friends and family.

The hatted Vamp at a wedding last summer

Fill Them Up

Day six of my full time job. So far so good. House guests still here, so we've been going out every night, or teaching our regular tango classes. Surprisingly I haven't hit the wall yet ha ha.
Today is perfect day to clean up the yard, but it will have to wait.


Even Mrs. O is in the gardening mode as shown in my morning paper.

I promise more substantial posts this coming week.
Happy Weekend!

The President Gets A Zulu Coconut

The president of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club presented President Barack Obama with a hand-painted, personalized Zulu coconut in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon, marking the 100th anniversary of the black Carnival club and the election of the first African-American president. Read the entire story HERE

Okay, okay, I know most of you are not familiar with the exotic and quirky customs of my beloved New Orleans. In fact I was not familiar with them either, and as a damn Yankee I still do not understand everything.
And yes, our President Barack Obama was lovingly given a Zulu coconut by a delegation from New Orleans.
Now what may you ask is a Zulu coconut? Well, it's the most prized Mardi Gras favor bestowed upon you by a rider on a float in the Zulu parade, the first parade that rolls on Mardi Gras morning.

Zulu is a prominent organization here, and since this year it celebrates its 100 year anniversary, there is a big exhibition mounted by The Louisiana State Museum at the Presbytere, a beautiful exhibition space in The French Quarter.

Our friend Jessica, who is a prominent textile restoration expert, installed the exhibition, and invited us to see it with her.

The Presbytere is one of three major buildings facing Jackson Square, the other two being St. Louis Cathedral and The Cabildo.

Jackson Square is charming park, with fixtures from early last century still in use.



Anyway, back to Zulu and those coconuts.
You can see how they hand make each one of them.

Zulu's members mask wearing black face. It's an interracial club, so everybody wears it.
In a racially charged and aware city like New Orleans, the idea of black face was very confusing to me, not to mention the horseback riders in other Carnival parades who wear hoods and masks that look very KKK to a Yankee know-nothing. But everyone here assures me it's all in good fun, and perfectly acceptable.

In fact the NAACP tried to disband Zulu in the 1960's, but its members stood fast and the club prevailed. You can read all the history on the Zulu web site and figure it out yourself.

The costumes they wear are fabulous, and the show featured many great ones.

Even the footwear is ingenious and beautiful.



The costume that White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers (and New Orleans native) wore when she was queen (1988 and 2000) of Zulu is a highlight of the exhibition. You can read more HERE.

It is a wonderful exhibition, something you will see only in New Orleans.

The President was very happy to get his coconut, and knew a great deal about the history of Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. Of course the delegation was even more thrilled.

President Obama expressed his gratitude for the coconut, commented on its smaller-than-expected size, said he would find a "real special place for it" in his office, and said that he would love to come to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
Who knows, maybe he'll be king of Zulu one year!

And Michelle his queen!