ANGELA B. PAN

I try to go to events and things with no expectations. That way you won’t be disappointed when it doesn’t turn out the way you want. But I knew from the very beginning that Ball for the Mall was going to be an evening that would be hard to forget. In the end, Andrew and I had the best time ever.

I know my words won’t do it justice but the evening was magical. Andrew and I ubered to the Mall and as soon as we walked up to the tent, I saw one of my images greeting all the guests at the front door. If that was the only place my image was displayed, I would have been the happiest girl in the world. Before I could do anything else, I pulled out my phone so we could take pictures.

The event was held on 12th and Madison Dr, right in front of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The weather was absolutely perfect. I didn’t even need a jacket. Which was amazing because they also had an area blocked off for a special monument viewing station.

As Andrew describes it, the interior of the tents was as if it were a gallery showing of my work. There was a huge blown up piece behind the band, an ever bigger piece behind the bar and all throughout the dinner a slideshow of my work. Little signage and even printouts of my work made it feel even more special.

Obviously I had to take pictures of the delicious food we had. I really wish I had taken pictures of the appetizers that were being passed around. My favorite was this lobster bite drenched in butter. YUMMM.

In between speeches and dinner being served, I asked Andrew if we could sneak to the front of the venue to try to take some pictures of the displays without people around. Not sure how this even ended up happening but it is so awesome. LOL. The image behind me was definietly my favorite out of all the ones that were displayed.

Thank you so so much, Trust for the National Mall for an unbelievable evening. It’s something that I’m going to treasure for a long, long time. It was an absolute honor to be there and an even bigger honor to have had my work featured at such a spectacular event. Thank you xoxo

I did it! I said I would and I did. I finally visited Dumbarton Oaks garden and parks. Also managed to get Andrew to come with me too! I don’t know how that happened because it was a super hot and humid day when we went. It was 90 degrees but felt like it was closer to 100 with all the humidity. By the end of the visit, my dress was completely stuck to my back from sweat.

T O T A L L Y  W O R T H  I T.

As soon as I walked in, I felt like I was in Paris again. The gardens was all so beautiful and lush. Every tree and bush was manicured so beautifully. There was something so incredible to see in every corner. Its hard to say which part was my favorite. Can say it all was my fav? I definietly know I want to go back soon and spend more time there. I was also thinking how pretty it would be when it’s all covered in snow. *heart eyes cat emoji*

Anyways, this is the first building you see once you walk in. It must be used as an event space or something like that because it was completely empty. It was so beautiful to me to see it like that because it made the plants and ivy stand out even more. The light from the “roof” was the thing that attracted me the most to this little corner, but I love that empty vase. It makes things look a lot less perfect which I really enjoy. The whole time we were walking through the garden I asked Andrew if we could get remarried in this space. Not sure how he felt about that considering we got married less than 5 years ago and I’m already planning our second wedding.

Whatevs. We’re doing it!