Staycation in Washington D.C. & All Black Date Night Look

Last Christmas, hubby and I surprised our kids with a family staycation in the Nation’s Capital.

We only live 30 minutes from Washington DC but with our busy work schedules and kids sport activities, we never take the time to know our city which is world-renowned for its Smithsonian Institute museums and art galleries.

We booked our family stay at the historic Willard Intercontinental hotel which is always so beautifully decorated during the holidays and close to the White House, museums and so many good restaurants. The rooms are quite spacious and have a nice historic charm. Next to the hotel is Café du Parc, an authentic French brasserie where they served yummy croissants and French pastries as well as lunch and dinner.

We had so much fun being tourists in our own city! Here’s what we got to visit and see during our two days visit:

• The National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse, located right across the White House and close to Lafayette Park and The Pathway to Peace walkway surrounding the National Christmas Tree featuring 56 state and territory trees decorated with hand made ornaments that are unique to each tree
• The Renwick Gallery, a few blocks from the White House, focuses on American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to the 21st century. Great gallery for kids who get to see what can be created with crafts
• The Rodarte Exhibit in the National Museum of Women in the Arts, open until February 10th. The exhibition showcases the Mulleavy sisters most pivotal design collections including the famous “Odile” hero tutu worn by Natalie Portman in the movie Black Swan. It’s was so fascinating to learn about their creative approach to fashion design and deep impact on the fashion industry
• The Nutcraker at the Warner Theater which was celebrating its 15th anniversary of Septime Weber’s much loved production set in old historic and wintry DC. Our daughter was glued to her seat the entire time!
• The US Botanic Garden, located right on the grounds of the United States Capitol. This is probably one of my favorite museums in DC. It’s pretty much a living plant museum with a greenhouse hosting huge tropical trees, flower and fruit plants such as coconut, coffee and orchids. It’s too bad that photoshoots are not allowed in the Garden!

Whenever we go on a family trip, hubby and I always plan to go out for drinks alone and leave the kids behind. It’s so important to make time for each other, especially during the holidays. For our late date night, I was by inspired by Rodarte’s Black Swan tutu and wore this black pleaded skirt, sheer bodysuit and black sock booties. I did feel like a ballerina!

Hope your enjoyed this post!

As always, thanks for reading!

A bientôt ♥