White House Fruits and Veggies

Photo credit: Jason Reed / Reuters Today Mrs. O will be joined by a group of 5th grade students from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, D.C. to dig and plant the White House vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt's victory garden. The garden will include a medley of vegetables, berries and herbs that the students will help to plant, harvest and cook. To see the full plan, click here. The garden is part of the First Lady's cause for healthier eating. As she described to the New York Times:

“A real delicious heirloom tomato is one of the sweetest things that you’ll ever eat,” she said. “And my children know the difference, and that’s how I’ve been able to get them to try different things.

“I wanted to be able to bring what I learned to a broader base of people. And what better way to do it than to plant a vegetable garden in the South Lawn of the White House?”

We wonder if Ms. Alice Waters had a hand in this? In last Sunday's edition of "60 Minutes", the slow-food movement leader made a timely case for a White House vegetable garden.

"I have been talking nonstop about the symbolism of an edible landscape at the White House. I think it says everything about stewardship of the land and about the nourishment of a nation," Waters said.

Asked if she thinks she'll achieve such a garden at the White House, Waters told Lesley Stahl, "Well, I'm very hopeful. I've always liked the idea of doing press conferences at the compost heap."

All very exciting, with a promise of Spring no less. Of course, we can't wait to see Mrs. O's take on gardening gear. Update: It proves to be quite a chic take indeed: a long black wrap sweater, paired with one of Mrs. O's signature belts, leggings and black patent leather boots. The official word from Mrs. O and the White House blog:

"This is a big day. We've been talking it since the day we moved in," said the First Lady as she and two dozen local students broke ground on the White House Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn of the White House.  Those students will be involved in the garden as it develops and grows, producing delicious, healthy vegetables to be cooked in the White House Kitchen and given to Miriam's Kitchen, which serves the homeless in Washington, DC.

Photo credit: Joyce N. Boghasian / White House

Off the Shoulder Elegance (Updated)

Update: Mrs. O's off-the-shoulder dress is a custom made design by Narciso Rodriguez in burgundy wool flannel.

A Model of Style and Substance

Photo Credit:  Reuters/Kevin Lamarque As we wrote yesterday, Mrs. O is hosting a series of events today in celebration of Women's History Month. Mrs. O welcomed a star-studded cast of guests to the Diplomatic Room at the White House this afternoon, as the group prepares to visit with students in the Washington, D.C. area. The First Lady looks particularly chic today, wearing a Zero + Maria Cornejo jacket in Evening Raffia, paired with slim black pants and a new floral brooch. (The jacket, which Mrs. O also owns in a blue wool, has been worn before, featured here.) "This was one of my dreams," the First Lady shared in her remarks. "I couldn't have imagined this a year ago. But as we started moving towards this trajectory and it became increasingly clear that Barack Obama might be the next President of the United States and as I started thinking about the kinds of things I wanted to see happen, this day was one of those things. Gathering an amazing group of women together and going out, and talking to young girls around the country. This is part of that dream." See the full remarks below: Update: As part of the day's events, Mrs. O visited with a group of junior and senior high school students at Anacostia High School in Washington, D.C. Students asked the First Lady a series of questions, covering everything from her background to her make-up.

“There’s no magic to being here,’’ Mrs. Obama said. “What I want you to know is that my parents were working class people. I had a mother, for example, parents, who told me, ‘You don’t worry about what anybody else says about you. You don’t worry about that teacher who you think is not treating you fairly or what your friends are saying.' All that matters is where you are and where you want to be.’’

Read more about the event at The Caucus.

Where is Mrs. O?

Prepping for a big day tomorrow, we imagine. Per the Chicago Sun Times, First Lady Mrs. O will host a series of events tomorrow in celebration of Women's History Month. Twenty one women including a star-studded cast of Alicia Keyes, Sheryl Crow, Debbie Allen, Bobbi Brown, Dominique Dawes, Fran Drescher, Phylicia Rashad, Alfre Woodard and Kerry Washington will join the First Lady in visiting schools and speaking to students in the Washington, DC community tomorrow.

The focus of the talks will be on the students' career goals and their achieving dreams. Later the group will return to the White House for an evening dinner and entertainment. In other news, the Council of Fashion Designers of America announced yesterday that First Lady Mrs. O will be honored with the Board of Directors Special Tribute Award at the June 15 gala this summer.

"The board wanted to give her a serious award. As part of the award, we will establish a grant in her name to support young talent, because she has really epitomized that," said CFDA executive director Stephen Kolb.

When asked if the First Lady would attend the event, Kolb added,

“I am sure she has a lot of invitations, but we can only hope and try.”

Read more at WWD

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An Emerald Beauty

Ooh, this looks exciting. President Mr. O and First Lady Mrs. O are both in St. Patrick's Day green. Mrs. O's dress is sleeveless with a bateau neckline, a bit reminiscent of the pleated taupe dress worn during the DNC. We recognize the green bow pins worn at the shoulder. These pins were last worn at Mary's Center in Washington, D.C., and before that, for the second presidential debate.

Update: We are still waiting for a clear photo of Mrs. O's dress to surface. In the meantime enjoy this video of the President's St. Patrick's Day remarks, which also includes a few shots of the First Lady.