Paris: Week 1

Thanksgiving is over and it's back to the humdrum of daily living, although for me it's all of a sudden not quite so humdrum-ish.  One early morning during the holiday break, I had a talk with my mom where she asked me to take a look at my life and evaluate whether I was doing all the things I'd dreamed.  I've long talked about moving to Paris, studying and working for a couple of years, and she reminded me of that dream.  She asked if I had forgotten about it and what I was waiting on to make it happen.  She encouraged me to go, to move to Paris.  I thought on it the rest of my time at home and I realized it's not something I can turn my back on.  I know it is something that I want to do.  I also know that if I don't do it soon, it will probably be something that I will always look back on and wish that I had done.  So, I resolved to do it. 

As soon as I made up my mind to do it, I knew I would have to ask for help, something that for me is a huge deal. I talked to my friend/life coach, Lauree of Simply Leap, and I asked her to help me.  I asked her to hold me accountable and to help me get from point A (DC) to point B (Paris).  Lauree kicked right into coach-mode. She asked me to come up with a list of items/steps that would help my goal become a reality. And we made a plan of attack that included me coming up with items each week that would help me get closer to Paris and then meeting with her at the end of the week to go over my progress, i.e. which goals I had achieved, which I had not, talking me through any fear or anxiety, and making more goals for the next week.  Armed with this plan, I feel able.  I feel ready to take the next steps.

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The Great Case Race 2011

The event was entitled "The Great Case Race 2011" and was held in a condo building in downtown DC, right off 16th St.  The original objective was for 12 people to taste 12 bottles of wine, but end of the night tallies revealed that 45 people tasted 48 bottles of wine.  Nice.  I was invited by my good friend Lauree O.  and told we needed to bring a dish as the event was to be pot luck style.  From my previous post, you know that I brought chocolate peanut bacon bark (it was delicious).  I arrived a little later than most of the party patrons but immediately got acclimated to the festivities and dove right in and began tasting. 



There was a solid array of wines, both red and white.  I started with the reds, working my way from medium bodied to full and once the wines became too heavy/"oaky" for my palette, I made my way back to the whites.  While tasting, I also mingled with Lauree and her friend from college, Peter. During our mingling (which was mostly walking back and forth among the tables sampling cheeses and the delicious chocolates donated by ACKC Cocoa Bar), Peter stumbled upon a sassy pair of red shoes that had been abandoned by their wearer. He then proceeded to model them for our cameras. 

As you can see, he was quite darling. After Peter's sashay in the ruby slippers, we continued walking about sampling cheeses and breads and fruits.  I was especially fond of the grapes.  How ironic/awkward...me hovering about the grapes at a wine tasting.  Go figure.  In the midst of all our tasting and sampling and mingling, I noticed a newly acquired friend, Ashton, whom I met at a Brooks Brothers' event a few days prior. With Ashton was a lovely girl, who was made even more lovely by the Alexander McQueen skull clutch she brought along with her and casually discarded on a nearby bench while she mingled.  Upon spying the clutch, I told her I needed a moment in private with it and proceeded to hold and caress and photograph it. 

Alexander McQueen Skull Clutch



I didn't want to let it go. :(

The night continued pretty much in the same manner, although, once I discovered that clutch, I didn't want to move too far away from it.  So I sat right next to it, only getting up to get more wine.  My reluctance to move could have also stemmed from the fact that my shoes, while quite fashionable, were quite painful.  And unlike the red shoe abandoner, I refused to take my shoes off and let everyone in the party know fashion had gotten the best of me.  So I sat next to the McQueen clutch and silently prayed that the Uni-verse deliver one equally as lovely to my doorstep, post-haste and that Lauree and Peter not want to move to the other side of the room where I would have to stand.  

Fashionable but painful.

The Uni-verse answered one prayer and I continued to sit, we also continued to chat and drink taste.  Towards the end of the night, we were notified that the evening's donations totalled over $1000 and would benefit an organization, known as 'Hole in the Wall Gang', a camp for ill children. Along with cheers, that elicited more drinking tasting until finally there were only 3 bottles of wine left.  

The damage.



An announcement was made that the party needed to dissolve or we could take the 3 bottles of wine and relocate to the roof. Most chose to head home or to other venues. The rest of us, steadfast in our glorious wine-induced haze, headed up to the roof to enjoy the remaining wine and a crisp fall night overlooking the city.



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