Embassies of the World Ball Post Script

A quick P.S.

Last year I was pretty unhappy with our "portrait" from the Ball because they made me sit down and because I was about 21 weeks pregnant (so nothing looked or fit right but it wasn't obvious that I was pregnant yet).

Well, here's my redemption! I wish the dress didn't blend in with the wall...but at least they let me stand! And I certainly felt better this time!

Embassies of the World Ball - 1 March 2014

Last weekend Scott and I attended the International Women's Club (IWC) "Embassies of the World Ball." This event is the IWC's major annual charity so they go all out. Various ambassadors agree to host groups for dinner at their residence or embassy. We loved it last year (shout out to Scott's friend S for encouraging us to go!), and chose to do the dinner and ball again.  It's a really neat opportunity to meet the ambassadors and their staff up close and personal.

Program from the IWC Ball

This year, we were at the Egyptian Ambassador's Residence which was really cool. Also this year, I'm NOT PREGNANT, so I felt a lot less queasy and way more confident about my appearance. We knew more people and I could actually join the toasts, which of course was great!!

All spiffed up. Nanny R took our photo before we left.

There were probably about 30 people in total at the Residence and the mood was festive and relaxed. Last year it was just 8 guests, so it was more intimate but also pretty quiet/formal, so this was a fun difference. The Ambassador gave a very nice welcome speech.

Egyptian Ambassador giving us his welcome speech.

For dinner, they served us a big Egyptian buffet and it was delicious! There were several salads, fish with some type of tomato salsa on top, sliced meat with long-grain sauteed rice, and a phyllo dough casserole with seasoned ground beef inside. For dessert, they had some kind of flan-like thing (I'm not a flan fan, so I didn't try it), something that seemed like runny bread pudding with raisins (delicious even though that sounds less than appealing based on my description) and little square pieces of cake that must have been soaked in honey. Everything was so good and so flavorful, compared to the usual Russian fare! A rare treat.

After the dinner we moved on to the Ball, which was at the Metropol Hotel right by Red Square and the Bolshoi Ballet.

LED-lit trees near Red Square (stairway to underground passage in foreground)

Bolshoi at night

Metropol atrium where the Ball was held

AWO friends (L->R): me, Scott, Ann's husband, Ann, Harolyn and Corky Rose

Guests mingling. 

Look at us, all matchy-matchy!

Martini bar

V, S, and Scott

And of course I can't forget to include one last parting shot of my fabulous white coat - only in Moscow does this work! :)

This is me LAST YEAR; I could barely squeeze into the coat.

And here's THIS YEAR; I felt a lot less "puffy!" :)

Embassies of the World Ball - 23 March 2013

"Ball Season" in Moscow! 

Scott and I have a friend (I'll call him S) who is really "into" going to all the charity balls around town and we've heard a lot about them for a couple years now. There are actually a series of balls that happen every spring in Moscow, each sponsored by a different organization, each benefiting a charity.

So when the American Women's Organization (AWO) started promoting the International Women's Club's (IWC) annual ball, we thought it might be fun. The IWC ball is supposed to be the most formal, and you have the opportunity to get a ticket that includes a small dinner party at a participating embassy before the actual party. I'm a member of the AWO and we have a couple of women who volunteer on the IWC's special events committee so of course they want to get as many people as possible from the AWO to attend. Besides, one of my favorite things is getting dressed up for black tie events and then people-watching all the outfits...and I already knew I had the perfect outerwear! A little more on that later. :)

We asked the organizers if we could be assigned to the same embassy as S and his date (I will call her N), and the four of us were placed for dinner at the Hungarian Embassy. Cool!

Dinner turned out to be so so great, and I think it was the highlight of the night for me (besides getting all dolled up for a fancy evening). It was just really a unique opportunity to participate in an intimate dinner (there were only 6 couples in total at the dinner) with the deputy ambassador to Hungary and his wife! Wow. What a cool experience.

The meal had several courses but first, the non-pregnant dinner guests all got to do some Hungarian wine tasting! Our host was quite knowledgeable about wine, and explained to us that Hungary is large enough geographically to support a number of different wine regions. He then walked everyone through each wine and why it was special. Yum.

The subsequent meal was delicious, all prepared by the Embassy's authentic Hungarian chef using imported Hungarian ingredients! The elegance of the dining experience prevented me from taking any photos of the food, but trust me: each course was beautiful and flavorful. We did, however, manage to save the menu.

Of course the ball afterwards was fun too. It was at the Intercontinental Hotel, about 2 blocks from our apartment building. The theme was "Ooh La La Paris" so there were (not-so-subtle) French touches everywhere.

There was even a professional photographer taking pics of all the ball attendees, with a very archaic-looking setup. Why do the ladies have to sit?? And what's with the fake flowers?

When we got our photo back I told Scott I didn't like how I looked (he certainly looked handsome) - all fat and round and seated submissively next to my dear husband - and what does he do? He posts it on Facebook for everyone's entertainment! Ugh!! So while I originally wasn't planning on sharing it with anyone, that ship has sailed so there you go.

Back to the party. The IWC had found a great 5-piece band who played covers of recognizable songs and a couple French opera signers kicked off the night. I'm not an opera aficionado so I have no idea how good the singers were, but it was a very nice touch.

Scott, N and S at the ball.

Before we left the party, there were a bunch of raffle prize giveaways which unfortunately we didn't win but here are our ticket stubs, proving our participation in a good cause. :)

Last but not least, I said I had the perfect outerwear for this ball. Oh yes I did! I wore my spectacular cream-colored fur-edged coat! Boy did I fit right in with the IWC crowd with this number...I'm so glad it still fits, too!

Me in my fabulous white furry coat! How can you not have fun in a coat like this?!

All in all, we had a fantastic evening. Great company and fun people watching, tasty food, good music and a chance to dress up, all for a good cause! Sometimes, Moscow ain't too bad.