kaleidoscoping chaos...: Well, Hello Dolley, You're Looking Swell Dolley!

And Happy Birthday to you Dolley Madison! In my quest to have something fun to do no matter how quirky - I stumbled upon an event I thought we just could not pass up because we...

We love history (especially American)!
We love women named Dolley!
We love being outside in nice places when it is gorgeous out!
We love all things President and First Lady!
We love treats!
and we even have a soft spot for fashion (well, Vera, Jonah and I do...)

Here is the ad:

The Dolley Madison Birthday Party and Fashion Show at Dumbarton House from 1pm -3pm. (see here)

Get a jump on commemorating the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 at Dumbarton House on Sunday, May 20 at 1:00 p.m. with a free birthday party in honor of Dolley Madison!

What better way to honor this nineteenth-century trend-setter than a special runway show featuring Federal-era fashion similar to that of Jane Austen’s Regency era?

Following the show, specially-trained volunteers and Rangers from the National Park Service at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine will be wearing accurate reproduction clothing representing the society familiar to Dolley Madison - from high society ladies to merchants to washerwomen, they are all there!

Bring the kids (there will be children’s activities, too!) and brush the dust off of history with this exciting family-friendly event. Tea, punch, lemonade, and Dolley’s favorite vanilla and caramel “Dolley Cake” will be served.

This event will run from 1-3PM and is FREE to the public.

I was very excited because we had planned on going to Eastern Market in the late morning to shop for some furniture and hang out. I figured this would be perfect to stop by around 1;30pm take a walk around the gardens and then have snacks with Dolley and her crew!

One problem... I had confused Dumbarton Oaks (see here) with Dumbarton House (see here). I thought we were going to this wonderful park with never ending gardens... About 10 years ago, someone took me on a first date in the summer to Dumbarton Oaks. At the time, I was really impressed with the date idea and the gardens were awesome. We walked, talked and then went for ice cream. It was a fun date but the guy wasn't for me. Here we are years later, and I am mixing up the Oaks and House up - not such a big deal, but I did have my whole crew in tow...

It wasn't that bad of a mistake. Apparently, I am not the only one who has made such a mistake. The woman working in the gift store said I was at least the fourth person that day who asked her the same question, "How do we get to the famous gardens?" Turns out that Dumbarton House is in a garden (just a very small one).

The event took place in the Ballroom, which opens up to a patio. The fashion show was on the patio. The Ballroom had lots of tables with crayons and coloring pages of the fashions. And there were TREATs! Just as promised! The Punch and Lemonade were delightful. And the Dolley cakes! We loved the Dolley cakes (Martha Stewart's recipe here - they gave out recipe cards with a smilar recipe on it)

We even managed to watch a bit of the fashion show. Vera seemed to really like watching the people walk by in different outfits. Jonah was a bit underwhelmed. I tried to explain to him that they were wearing fancy clothes from a different time period - that we should look at how differently the clothes were from that time period s compared to what we wear today. His response, "but mom... I am wearing fancy clothes too, I am wearing my Thomas shirt from when I went to see Thomas... that is very fancy." I couldn't argue with that.

Of course I bought a little coloring book at the gift shop. Which was very helpful in explaining the whole Dolley Madison connection. It seems that in 1813 the Charles Carroll family bought Dumbarton House. The Carrolls were good friends with First Lady Dolley Madison. And when the British invaded Washington, D.C. in 1814, Dolley stopped at Dumbarton House on the way out of town. (from Dumbarton House: A Coloring Adventure)

I also learned from the fashion show that Dolley Madison loved dressing up, hosting parties and eating sweet treats! Clearly my kind of girl! (You know she would have had a blog about it!)

A little off beat Washington adventure on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon with tasty cakes. I'll take it!