There are some extraordinarily inventive event planners out there – a whole new generation of people with fresh ideas and great execution, and from time to time I want to share the beautiful work that so many of them are doing. Ritzy Bee Events is an event design, planning and production firm specializing in custom wedding experiences in the Washington DC area – and also happens to be one of my absolute favorite blogs. With fifteen years of event experience […]
My first few weeks as White House Social Secretary were pretty overwhelming. It wasn’t simply that there were so many people to meet and things to learn; there were events almost every day, and the next day, and the next week, and the next month. It was like jumping onto a racing treadmill, catching the pace, and then speeding up as fast as the machine would go. And, of course, there is the WH way of doing things: after decades […]
It’s not the thought that counts; it’s how thoughtful the thought is… The other day I was wrapping a few hostess gifts and thinking they needed a little pizzazz. They were perfectly acceptable gifts, but it’s not enough for me to give a gift; Ineed to see that the giftee really, really likes it. There’s no pleasure in giving something that elicits a meh. Gift-giving can be a source of anxiety in modern life. Too many people confuse the cost […]
At the White House, calligraphy is used to create and address invitations, place cards, menu cards, escort cards, holiday cards, proclamations, programs, certificates, and pretty much anything that involves paper and a pen. There are three full-time calligraphers, who work out of a big room in the East Wing which has a nice eastern exposure for lots of natural light, and they rarely have a moment of leisure; along with all of the beautiful words they bring to life, they […]
There’s a saying that you learn good manners from those who have none. I was reminded of this on a recent plane flight. The big passenger seated in front of me fell into his seat like a dead weight, launching the open bottle of water on my tray table into my lap. As he organized himself, he stretched his head backward over the top of the seat, leaning back so my face was less than a foot away from his […]
