Monthly Archives: February 2009

Perpetual Dilemma

The Senator and I are heading out to a ‘Black Tie’ event tonight. Well, actually it is a ‘Red Tie’ event and it benefits the Oklahoma A.I.D.S. Care Fund. On the invitation it states that the event is ‘black tie’, so naturally the men are encouraged to wear a tuxedo. This is a very simple dress code for them to follow. I’m sure that even my 7th grader could figure it out!

OK, so the invitation says black tie and the gentlemen automatically know what to wear. They will all look the same too. However, this simple dress code does not apply to women.

I happen to absolutely LOVE women’s fashion. There is such a variety of color, fabric and style. It is always fun to check out who is wearing what and wonder why they chose to wear what they did.

For me, though, I fret every time we have to attend one of these events. Not because I have a lot of fashion hanging in my closet, but because the dress code instructions for women are not clearly marked. Does black tie mean long or short? How dressy is the event? And, for this event in particular, do most women wear red? If so, will they be in long or short red?

This is a real problem for me people ….

Fat Tuesday!

Last weekend my Senator and I went to a Mardi Gras party at a friend’s house, and it was some Mardi Gras party. In fact, it was the real deal as these friends herald from “the deep South”. They had imported food, cups, king’s cake and of course tons of Mardi Gras beads.

In speaking with our host and hostess we learned all about the history of Mardi Gras. She had even printed up a copy of it which she gave to all the guests as party favors. You learn something new every day.

My favorite tidbit however, was the cape hanging in the corner. This was her cape that she wore in a Mardi Gras parade. It was homemade and had a colorful applique of a giant catfish sewn on the back. Our hostess explained that one was supposed to choose items that represented their interests to adorn the back of their queen’s cape with and she liked to fish. Hence the catfish. Not real “queen” like, she went on to explain, but then that was half the fun of it! We like her…a lot!

Here is what else we learned from our Southern friends: Mardi Gras, translated from the French means “Fat Tuesday.” Fat Tuesday falls on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the solemn forty days prior to Easter. Since Easter is a movable feast day, Mardi Gras changes every year and can be as early as February or as late as March 9th.

Carnival is a period of feasting and celebrating before the fasting days of Lent. Carnival starts January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany and ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday. Carnival is a Catholic celebration and is licensed by the Catholic Church. Carnival means “farewell to flesh.”

King cake is only eaten during the carnival season. King cake is a French pastry made traditionally with cinnamon and colored sugar and is oval or ringed shaped. Now they are made in several flavors. King cakes have a bean or a baby doll hidden in them. The person who finds it buys the next cake or throws the next party. King cake is always decorated with sugar in the colors of carnival which are purple, gold and green. Purple symbolizes justice, gold symbolizes power and green symbolizes faith.

More than you wanted to know… but you can”t say you didn’t learn anything today!