The Plains Art Museum Gala

Ever notice how ‘What the hell’ is always the right answer? -Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn, honey, I know exactly what you’re talking about. I will pretty much skip anything and everything I should be doing in favor of a great party.

So when a friend offered me tickets to , one of the biggest fundraisers in town, I was all in. My first calls were to Liz and Robyn. In addition to being two of the most fun people I know, are also on the short list of friends who could have come up with a semi-formal outfit and a matching hat (since the gala had a hat theme this year) on a few hours notice.

Since I momentarily forgot which side my hat – which might, technically, be a fascinator, I’m not sure – was on in the first picture, here’s a close-up. Isn’t my ridiculous ’80s hair wonderfully distracting?

If you’re interested in learning how we made/cobbled together our hats, just leave a comment in the comments section and your wish is my command.

So, I fully intended to be a serious fashion blogger at this event. I planned on taking artsy photos and getting witty little interviews with the artists in attendance – I had a notebook and pen in my evening bag and everything!  But, true to form, I was totally distracted by the other guests (hats are a great conversation starter) and the fantastic food and wine.

Robyn and the candied bacon got along famously.

Then it was off to tour the art auction and the galleries.

We ran into our beautiful and talented friend Megan…

who was also wearing a lovely hat….

…and met this guy, who insisted on taking a photo with us. Apparently, shoes were optional at this point.

Oh, did I mention we made our local paper? I went to work on Monday and discovered a picture of the three of us against this pretty brick wall in the variety section and giggled as I drank my coffee.

Then the rest of the evening passed in a lovely rush of chatter and color as we danced to soul standards and ate way too many fantastic desserts.

I love it when party photos get a little blurred like this because this is how parties look in my memory.

I went into this event not sure what to expect and was thrilled to find it was a great time. It had all the elements I think a great party requires: good music, a diverse guest list (with a few wild cards thrown in for good measure), lots of drinks, something to talk about and plenty of dark corners for intimate conversation.

What about you? What’s your secret ingredient for a great party? Do you dress for a party’s theme or do your own thing? What’s your favorite gala or dress up event? What do you love about this particular party?

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