Boooo!!!

Thursday, October 30th, 2014
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Halloween comes but once a year.....even in Saudi Arabia. Luckily......there was a party and I got to dress up. Not really a thing in Saudi culture.....but the expats still take it pretty seriously. I had to order a costume online.....because you cannot buy one here. This was my first Halloween here though so decided I needed a real costume and not just something I threw together from random pieces in my closet. 

I was happy with my costume....I even had a sword.

The only thing missing on this night was the pumpkin carving but a good night had by all. (I came in a very close second in the costume contest by the way.)

Julie

Red and White All Over Again

Friday, October 24, 2014
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Well it is that time of year again.....time to buy a red dress, get my hair done and head to the Canadian Embassy for the Annual Red and White Ball. Last year was a lot of fun so I was very much looking forward to the event this year. I decided I would go with a long dress this time around. The Embassy is undergoing some very delayed renovations so the usual spot around the pool and on the tennis court was unavailable. However, the CCOR (Canadian Club of Riyadh) were able to decorate the front lobby and entry of the Embassy up very nicely ( I helped) and it looked great. Of course only a few pictures (so no pictures of those decorations) but certainly a view of the dress.

Pretty simple dress.....but went with red again.

I really liked the back.....and the little train.

One of the groups of us heading to the ball. A lot of Canadians in this group but a few imports as well.

Lola was my date again. This was actually her last ball as she was heading back to the UK (for good) in a couple weeks. Thanks for the photobomb Omar.

With the hockey boys. They do clean up pretty good. So left to right is Bashir, Chris, Jason, Derek, Bruce, Darren, Chris, Happy, Bruce and Darryl. And that's me and Omar in the front.

As always, it was a fantastic night at the Canadian Embassy. Sometimes I wish we had a ball 2 times a year.

Julie

A Red and White Affair

Canadian Embassy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Friday, October 4th, 2013

Well Ball season is about to go into full swing again (it never actually ends) but this year is was a little bit early. Due to some planned renovations at the Canadian Embassy (they have been planing them for like 7 years now and they still have not happened) the Red and White Ball had to be held early.

I missed the ball last year as I was in Canada at the time but this year I wasn't going to miss it. Most people who attend try to wear some red or white or both and I had neither so went on the hunt for a red dress. Not easy to find here in Riyadh so I decided to try ordering one online. I've had mixed luck when buying stuff online but found a nice site that sold pretty cheap dresses and found one I liked.  The site allowed custom measurements (because all dresses are made to order) for a really small fee so I did some quick measurements and sent for the dress.

Due to complications with billing and shipping etc, I had the dress sent to Mom and Dad. Mom checked it out before sending it on to me and was pretty impressed with how well the dress was put together. It was a bit tight in a couple places (next time I'll let someone else measure me) but I was very happy with how it looked.

And the dress...and hair. Debi helped me find a hair style to go along with the dress.

The back of the dress. Nice and simple.

Ready for the ball.!!!

It was a very nice evening (as always no pictures I'm afraid). Quite different than some of the other balls I've been too. Total Canadian touches to the night including all the red and white decorations and nanaimo bars for dessert.

Already looking forward to next year's event.......unless the Embassy renovations actually happen.

Julie

Hmmm.....Looks like it's Ball Season.....Again

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Thursday, May 30th, 2013 and Thursday, June 27th, 2013

Well it appears that Ball Season is starting again. I kind of felt like Holiday Ball Season had just barely ended and now here we are again.

In May it was the Eccentrics Ball at the British Embassy. I once again was Lola's "Plus One" and it really worked out in our favour. When we arrived to check where are table was, we were surprised to see that we had been seated at Table 1.....and there was a "Sir" at our table. Turns out that Sir was the British Ambassador. So how did we end up at the British Ambassador's table? Well, a nice man named Luke ( I can't remember his title but he works at the Embassy and is usually the MC at these affairs) was checking out the table arrangements and decided there were too many men seated at his table. He then went through the guest list and found that Lola (well Nicola given the company we were in) and I were attending together. Apparently after asking around, we came highly recommended as a couple of very nice young ladies who would be perfect for the head table. I have no idea who recommended us but I won't complain at all.

Hmmm......yes I guess we really are a couple of very nice young ladies. Any head table would be lucky to have us.

Being at the head table certainly has it's perks. We got the best table service, we got extra wine and food and when it came time to pull out an after dinner cigar, I was told to put mine away and save it for another day. Instead I managed to get a custom rolled one (that I assure you is normally well out of my price range). It was pretty fantastic. And as usual the night was a whole lot of fun.

Little more use out of this dress......probably one of  the best purchases I've ever made.

Lola and I with our friend Wendy.

The end of June saw the Caledonia Society hosting a ball. Now this is the Scottish society so you can imagine that there were a lot of men in full kilts and such (even though it was really, really warm out, but they do come with their own air conditioning if you know what I mean.)

No head table selection for us this time but I did manage to win a few door prizes and as always it was a really fun night. Unfortunately Lola and I have been unable to track down the photographer who was taking pictures that night so you are stuck with the few selfies I took.

Showing off my new earrings (Swarovski Crystal) and my hair.

My new dress for the occasion. Would you believe I paid $30 for this on Amazon? I was just glad it fit.

We'll get a rest from Ball season for a few months but it'll start back up again in the fall.

Julie