Michelle's First State Dinner for India

The George W. Bush China Service

India, a democratic superpower has over a billion citizens with its own arsenal of nuclear weapons and the shared disgrace with America of being one of the top three polluters on the planet will have the distinct honor of being the first nation to receive the full ceremonial honors from a state visit.  No doubt, difficult topics will be discussed by the heads of state.  Yet, it is Michelle Obama who is going to hold the spotlight as she chooses, flatware, table coverings, floral design, china patterns, glassware, the menu(s), entertainment and music, seating arrangements, invitations for teas, luncheons and the attendees for the historic first state dinner on November 24th while choosing a never before seen fully formal gown to be discussed for eternity.  Believe it or not, the gown actually helps settle the detailed choices of color used in the State Dining Room's or the East Room's table decor.  Either room may be used and the East Room would hold more elegant diners, but makes the after dinner entertainment space a new challenge.  If Michelle Obama is a last minute dress chooser - oh dear. (Photo of Obamas going up the Grand Staircase back to the residence after greeting Ambassadors to the US.)

Her staff has been on the case since May.  No rest for the weary as November looms large in the Obama White House cultural portfolio.  Michelle Obama received kudos for her first turn as an international hostess with the G20 heads of state and their spouses.  Her choice of a gift for the event was rare and a keepsake.  The huge state dinner is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving which makes it doubly rich for grand and gravy leftovers.  That Wednesday the president should pardon a turkey - lately the saved pre-poultry birds have dined on some incredible tranquilizers before meeting the president due to some of the wilder pardon photos.

This is what Michelle Obama gave as hostess to the G20 spouses.  It is an exclusive porcelain tea set mirroring the Lincoln china in the White House with US national flower (American Beauty Rose) at the bottom of the teacups made by a one hundred year old Illinois company.  The little vials of honey and the larger container is honey produced directly from Michelle Obamas world famous Kitchen Garden, Photo courtesy LA Times

Mrs. Obama must also make Blair House ready and work with the State Departments protocol experts on name pronunciation, food requirements, allergies and taboos, complete with full black tie etiquette.  A briefing book has already been compiled and the secret invite right now is for the under two dozen friends and staff that get to attend a tasting menu featuring choices for the meals.  Her residence staff is theming floral pieces for all of the bathrooms and a host of contract workers need to be ready to produce the pièce de résistance of an elaborate multi-course meal for at most 140 people.  It will be the hardest ticket to obtain in Washington DC since the inaugural.  All those people who have spent time sucking up to the first lady's friend and Social Secretary while writing puff pieces about her are about to find out if the investment was worth it.

In February 2009, the Obamas had a trial run at a high level black-tie event for the US governors.  Here they dance in the East Room to Earth Wind & Fire playing live.

The East Wing communication staff will arrange a day of photo spray for the press to see Mrs. Obama in front of a fully set table complete with hand crafted calligraphy table cards while explaining which China pattern she is choosing to use.  The menus for each setting will feature the salads, American vintage wines, entrées and desserts all in the same calligraphy style.  It is usually a keepsake from the White House along with the invitation requesting the honor of their presence.  That is definitely still a secret, but the Wilson China has made a debut.  Part of the decision is made on which full sets of China are available in the right colors for a state dinner - Ronald Reagan China in a bold red, the George W. Bush set - never yet used in a green with basketweave pattern, the Clinton China with the golden rims and 24-karat gold images of the White House dead center, with which full set of flatware is available.  The last first lady to purchase a full set of gilded formal flatware, late 19th century reproductions from Kirk Steiff of Baltimore, for elegant entertaining in the White House is Barbara Bush.  Her daughter-in-law also purchased large sterling silver serving pieces.

The stunning table arrangement here is the 2007 white tie setting for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.  White tie is usually reserved as a royal honor.  This was an excellent use of the William Jefferson Clinton china service by Laura Bush.  This table is set to handle five courses rather than the usual four for a state dinner.

Formal arrival ceremony

The newly re-elected fourteenth Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Manmohan Singh and his lovely wife, Gursharan Kaur will receive the full ceremonial honors of arriving at the South Lawn.  After a troop review and opening remarks, the couples will go through the Diplomatic Reception Room and usually share some time together before the spouses go one direction and the heads of state another.  After a luncheon, the next arrival will be on the North side of the White House in view of the world's press as they are formally greeted by the president and first lady in formal attire on the red carpet.  They will go upstairs and have a moment to share in the Yellow Oval Room in the private residence.  Just before dinner, Ruffles and Flourishes will announce the president and first lady as they descend the Grand Staircase with their honored guests to stand and welcome each invited guest in the Entrance hall as the President's Own plays and photographers film. There are vast differences in height so the images will need some thinking through by the professionals.  (Gursharan Kaur with Michelle Obama from April in London during the Obamas first meeting of the G20.)

Prime Minister Singh, President Barack Obama, Mrs. Gusharan Kaur and Mrs. Michelle Obama at the arrival for the working and spouse dinner.

Michelle gives welcoming remarks at the dinner party held on a patio at Rosemont Farms for the G20 spouses.  Photo courtesy the White House

Can't wait for November 24th.  All of the public ceremony is usually covered in full by the wonderful station I love, C-SPAN.

UPDATE:  The latest Obama State Dinner post is here... State Dinner Tuesday with the Obamas

White House Christmas Starts in July

First ladies get a bit of a throbbing lump in the stomach around this time of year. The rest of the East Wing Staff in the first year look at each other askance as they discuss Holiday Greeting Card themes, who gets a card, then start looking at the Holiday Party Schedule on top of their day to day activities. A theme ties all of the decor together and it has to be chosen early. President & Rosalynn Carter sent out over 60,000 cards and the numbers have only increased since the 1970's.The Obamas choice is a closely guarded secret. For Laura Bush's last year she chose a Red, White & Blue holiday theme. Sometimes events inspire the cards, as the tragic circumstances of 9/11 had Laura Bush select a scene for her first card featuring a Psalm and the hall from the residence in the White House. Laura Bush's choice of a deeply Christian message in the 2007 card caused some controversy. (2001 Christmas Card from the George & Laura Bush)

Many of the most magical scenes and beautiful times at America's First House begin right after the president pardons a huge turkey in the Rose Garden. The first lady dresses up, not too much, after our national day of giving thanks and stands in the driveway to receive a Christmas or Holiday tree that goes into the Blue Room because its the official one. Next, the family scampers off for a couple of days while hordes of pre-screened festive volunteers turn into White House elves with direction from the Ushers office and decorate more than a dozen trees, the State Rooms, the Truman Balcony placing garland, ribbons and bells everywhere. Pat Nixon resuscitated the use of wreaths as decorations for the Holidays.

Bo's curiosity is going to be quite hard to control. It's almost a sure bet that when President Obama lights the National Christmas tree, which is seen from The Washington Monument and the Truman Balcony, that it will be Sasha pushing the button.

(The stately tree arrives trussed up on a holiday style sleigh ususally led by horses, I think Clydesdales.)

The selection of the tree is political. From which state does it originate (can't have one state furnish the tree year after year complete with much care to ensure it is not an old-growth tree. Like a sports team, the trees are scouted for height (usually 20 feet tall), color suitability and the density of its branches to take the weight of lights and many handcrafted and heirloom ornaments sent to the White House for just this holiday. Mamie Eisenhower decorated 27 trees in 1958. Jackie Kennedy introduced the idea of theming the decorations. For the Carters last year in 1980, it was a Victorian Christmas. In 1994, Hillary Clinton had great fun with the Twelve Days of Christmas. A catalog of each of the ornaments must be made. But the incredible dinners, bountiful buffets and cookies need planning as well. The tremendous amount of floral work need careful scheduling as the refrigerated room to keep blooms fresh is rather small. Add to the fact that the Chief Floral Designer, Nancy Clarke, retired her pruning shears in May, brings more tension to this first Holiday. If asked, many retirees with special skills return to help out during this time.

The Cross Hall glammed up for the 2008 Red White & Blue theme. The door with the seal above it is the blue room where the majesty of the official tree reigns. Photo courtesy the White House

For under $17, excluding shipping, the official 2009 ornament will be sold exclusively via the White House Historical Association. Grover Cleveland is the object of this years version. President & Mrs. Frances Cleveland had toddlers in the White House for his second term. Snow capped rolling lawn with frosted trees gazing at the majestic South portico is the view on the ornament from an eastern angle. Margaret Huddy is the watercolor painter chosen to render the images. This is the second ornament to feature the nineteenth century during the Clevelands terms in office. President & Mrs. Reagan did a modest engraved gold angel blowing a trumpet in 1981. That marked the first time ornaments were offered to support the WHHA. The ornament selected is always featured on the tree in the Blue Room.

Christmas parties are traditional for staff, Congress, the press and family among meeting diplomats and other soirées. Tours go up as the rooms are filled with elaborate gingerbread houses and holiday treats. As this year will be the first for the Obamas in the grand old house, planning the first one is a full time event. There is no question that it will get lavish press attention and television time as well. Sasha & Malia have already put sleds to good use on the South Lawn, but this year will see their imprint on the decorating. It's all in the planning and the volunteer elf army.

Update: Michelle's First White House Christmas Tree - it explains the selection process and shows other First Lady's Christmas trees.

Gardens of the White House

Today and tomorrow the White House is holding a garden party of sorts with a first come, first served Spring Tour from 10 am to 4pm. Beautiful timing as the colorful blooms are experiencing a peak blossoming period with cherry trees filling in handsomely. Very picturesque were the Obamas, with one member of the family on a leash, as they took a very public frolic across the rolling South Lawn on Tuesday. The day before, that same White House Lawn hosted the Easter Monday Egg Roll with almost 30,000 pairs of feet, big and small, running and rolling across it all day with scads of green picket fences marking paths. (Top L Photo from Lafayette Park showing North Portico, Top R - Rose garden, Photo Malia Obama out for first public dog walk/run)

As the tour goes through the boxwood hedges of the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, dedicated as a floral tribute on April 22, 1965 by our first Environmental Activist First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, in honor of all of Mrs.Kennedy's award winning work in preserving the history and artifacts of the White House, the precision and and the layering of the gardenwill be awesome. It is quite the spot for First Lady tea parties. Mrs. Hillary Clinton turned it into a statuary art project surrounded by hollyhocks.

Little known is Jackie Kennedy's other excavation project at the White House. The beautiful Rose Garden as the outdoor green Oval Office we all know today shows her and the president's landscape design work. Caroline used to ride by on her pony Macaroni as the bulldozers ripped the area out to compose the garden. So in a manner, on the White House's East Wing, The Jacqueline Kennedy Garden is an elegant balance to the majesty of the Rose Garden outside the West Wing. The white cast iron Rococo Revival bench shown often in photographs of the garden has held residence in the spot since a decade before President & Mary Todd Lincoln took up residence.

Mrs. Obama's new circa 2009 Victory Garden will not be a feature on the tour. It can be glimpsed on the tour, but probably a little better opportunity is the wrought iron fence as its closer towards the fountain. I would love to get in the dirt in that garden and discover the secrets of the White House compost pile. But hidden before Michelle's new Garden is the child friendly and charming Children's Garden. Malia & Sasha, maybe Bo, will get to do the honors soon of placing their prints next to the other children and grandchildren of presidents for posterity. The Children's Garden is the invention of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. It sits between the Tennis Court and the basketball half court.

(Photo courtesy of White House Museum/Erinzone)

First Lady Needs New Chief Florist

Beautiful flowers unfurl visual music all their own. Nancy Clarke, White House Chief Florist, has let her tremendous talent with flora and fauna sing to White House guests for the last six presidencies. Just in her early sixties after 31 years at the White House, one really important event she is looking forward to is the birth of her first grandchild. In May, she will officially retire, leaving the new First Lady and her staff to interview replacements. There are no shortage of high end DC floral designers eager to take up the challenge and try to fill the chic ceramic pots of their predecessor. (Nancy Clarke)

(Photo of President & Mrs.Carter at State Dinner for British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.)
The Social Secretary is ultimately accountable for ensuring the mix of arrangements allows for a modern culture while honoring historic moments that blend contemporary and classical. One item noticed by the First Lady as she toured European palaces and historic residences last week were the floral arrangements and the bouquets she received. When Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II greeted President & Mrs. Obama in her private parlor, there was a simple and stunning spring arrangement of pink and white posies full to the brim on the side table beneath a master artwork. The First Family sees the little touches and warmth that floral arrangements make in the residence's formal and informal rooms. They have yet to experience the floral center pieces that burst forth augmenting the rare Monroe candelabras at State Dinners with a Head of State present. The Obamas had their first run through for a state dining occasion in February with US governors invited for the full treatment and dancing afterwards in the East Room with Earth, Wind & Fire. (Michelle Obama's first trip to the Residence are on November 10, 2008)

Chief florist is no small job as new arrangements need to daily freshen the entire White House and that includes all of the guest bathrooms as well as the Oval Office. In the background of many official White House photographs are testaments to Nancy Clarke's floral design experience from the Carters to the Obamas. The White House Christmas and Holiday decorations are spectacular. Thanks in no small ferns, due to the planning and resource management of the Chief Florist. The Florist Shop has huge needs with very little space, especially refrigeration capacity, as the displays are seen by all of the guests being entertained during high traffic times.(Bush 2007 State Dinner as selected by the First Lady)

Yes, with every new administration there is always turnover. First Lady Hillary Clinton sought a new White House Chef not long after coming to the White House. Laura Bush did not make wholesale changes to the East Wing until after her husband won a second term, then replacing the Executive Chef Hillary had selected, the talented Walter Scheib with a promotion to the current incumbent. Nancy Clarke has been there through it all and is ready to watch another do magic with the gossamer petals while paying close attention to the details of protocol and customs.

The State Dining Room during the Clinton Presidency

Job Well Done