Last night I was lucky enough to be invited to the very best dinner party I've ever been to. For drooling purposes I'm putting in a photo (slightly blurry) of the menu I kept as a souvenir. Philippa and Dave were the hosts and dozen or so of us were treated to an incredible meal prepared by a professional chef as well as the company of 2 special guests. First was Shawn Westfall, an instructor from the DC Improv comedy club and school. He took all of us through a few fun improvisational exercises that culminated in some hilarious skits made up on the spot by small groups of us during breaks in dinner. The other guest was painter Adam Stennett, whose work "Thirteen Fish and Two Mice" our hosts just purchased for their collection (you can see it on his website). It is a spectacular painting in person (6 feet square) and it was great to hear him talk a bit about the piece and then have dinner with him. Both Adam and the painting were featured in Esquire magazine in May (along with some very expensive clothes he didn't get to keep).

The other guests were fascinating people as well: a playwright whose production I saw in May, a yoga instructor, a marriage therapist, a TV executive, etc. I can't say enough good things about the evening -- every detail was perfect and I left very full of great food, champagne, wine, and conversation.