Today we bring back fabulous Veteran forum member and scientist Tanya who used to live in Boston, but now lives is Maryland. This is Tanya’s third YLF gathering! She did a wonderful job covering one of the Manhattan gatherings last year, which is why I asked her to tell us about the recent rendezvous in Washington DC.
On a very hot and humid day in July, four YLF members met in Washington DC for yet another fabulous gathering. Maya and Lisa traveled all the way from New Jersey to meet Steph and me in the heart of Georgetown. We chose to start off the day at a little French cafe called “Le Madeleine” situated in one of DC’s most interesting shopping areas. Maya and I already knew each other so it was easy for her and Lisa to spot me. None of us knew what Steph looked like though, but luckily she recognized us!
Relieved that we had found each other, it was time to indulge in the Cafe’s tasty offerings. A lot of compliments were exchanged since despite sticky weather conditions the style quotient was very YLF-worthy. Maya sported a typical all black New York look with a beautiful dress, sandals and funky necklace. Lisa looked wonderful in a beaded striped top and skinnies. Steph had us all impressed with her gorgeous Stella McCartney sky scraping heels which perfectly complimented her white denim skirt and purple top. I wore a ladylike silk blouse and pencil skirt with edgy gladiator sandals.
The conversation flowed easily as we touched on millions of topics, from fashion and clothing, to our line of work. We decided to spend the whole afternoon shopping and off to the Cusp we went first. The Cusp is owned by Neiman Marcus and is a hip, contemporary store that targets younger customers. We had a lot of fun pointing out hideously ugly items to each other which soon became the tradition in all the subsequent stores we visited. We each tried on lots of items, but eventually left the huge store empty handed. Exhausted by the clothing fittings we decided that the only way to recuperate was to indulge in famous Georgetown cupcakes. The sugar did its job and we happily resumed our shopping adventures.
A whole whirlwind of stores followed, including Urban Outfitters, Zara, Benetton, Club Monaco, H&M, Intermix and a few more. We all found plenty of things to try on and thoroughly enjoyed giving each other feedback and recommendations. At Aerosoles and Camper shoe stores we saw quite a few pairs of cute shoes with low heels. Consignment store Second Time Around was a huge success: Maya found a perfect cropped denim jacket and black shorts, and Lisa a pair of great fitting Joe’s jeans that were already the perfect length. Lisa also scored a beautiful blazer at Zara, while Steph found a lovely blouse and some quirky headbands at H&M. I was lucky to spot a gorgeous grey silk tunic at Club Monaco that followed me home.
After 5 hours of shopping we were very tired, but would have continued were it not for the fact that Lisa and Maya had to catch the train back to NJ. We were all in awe of Steph’s ability to keep up the pace in her uber-high platform sandals. Steph must have magic feet!
The gathering was a great success and the day flew by so fast that it caught us by surprise. It was a blast to spend a great afternoon with these amazing women. This was my third YLF gathering, each one more south then the previous one: first Boston, then New York, and now Washington DC. Despite being a YLF Veteran at these gatherings, it never ceases to amaze me how easy and natural it is to bond with women I have never previously met other than through the internet on YLF. I am already looking forward to the next gathering and wonder where it will be. Hopefully in NYC again to meet Angie and Greg!
