The Springers Go to Washington D.C. and The White House

You know how I joke about not having anywhere to wear the clothes I make? Well, that recently changed. My husband, was nominated for a presidential Customer Service Award and was invited to the White House for the ceremony.You can read about the award here on the The White House Blog. We are so proud of him and decided to support him in person at the Nation's Capitol. 

We were thrilled with his nomination, but we did not know if he would win the award. We were so nervous and excited for him.  That excitement made the 21-hour road trip bearable. Yes, we drove. We arrived in Washington D.C. in one piece.  

The reception was held in The Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House at 2 p.m. and the attire was business casual. For myself, I chose my African inspired maxi skirt with a scoop neck long sleeved tee. I needed an outfit that factored in a knee brace and the flat shoes I have to wear because of a hula hooping injury.

Family photo after the ceremony. Pictured with Beth Cobert of the Office of Personnel Management   

For Little Miss, I chose Mccalls 2590 it is a floor length circle skirt dress with a fully lined bodice and an invisible zipper. I made it up in blue satin with a multicolor print satin sash.

                    

This was probably the best tasting cake we have ever had! We dug into it to celebrate the fact that Justin won an individual award! 

Amazing! We are so proud of him for all the work he does for Veterans!

The entire experience was utterly surreal. There were extensive background checks before our travels. There were multiple Secret Service checkpoints to enter the event and for our West Wing tour later in the evening. We needed an authorized escort while in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The most difficult thing were the restrictions on our cameras. We were having once in a lifetime experiences, but could only rely on our memories to capture them. We did manage to lean over the barrier in the Oval Office to steal a kiss.  

                       

Given this once in a lifetime experience, we decided to take advantage of the city sights. We went to the museums and saw the sights. I will highlight just a few because you don't need 632 pictures of my family making silly faces in special places.  The days were overcast and rainy, which made it perfect for us to have many places to ourselves.

The Jefferson Memorial 

The Washington Monument 

Arlington National Cemetery 

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 

  

The Lincoln Memorial 

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial 

The Capitol Building 

The White House in my multi-color reverse applique cardigan  

The Washington Monument from the World War II Memorial 

In the National Portrait Gallery wearing my Reversible Ankara Cape.

We had a great time celebrating Justin and seeing Washington D.C. I am so glad we joined him. With all the fun and excitement, do you want to know the most amazing thing? I survived without my sewing machine for more than a week!

Hope your Holidays were memorable and fun.

Happy Sewing,

Bianca