parties

Garden Glam

Houston CityBook invited hundreds of friends to celebrate its one-year anny at Hermann Park’s Centennial Gardens. The evening started out warm, and guests, donning garden-chic attire, admired a display by IndiGo Autos before cooling off with Merchant du Vin brews, Foyt Family Wines and cocktails courtesy of Qui Tequila and Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co. Exec Publisher Lisa Holthouse gave remarks, thanking expert party-planner Claire Sullivan Jackson and her team, between moving performances by the Houston Gospel Choir, which garnered national attention after they sang in shelters during Harvey. Partygoers then made their way to the main lawn, where an impressive spread by Jackson & Company, including a quasi-art installation of hundreds of pre-filled Champagne flutes — and another cool concert, by the electric violin foursome Phat Strad — awaited. By night’s end, a cold front had swept through the park, leaving everyone feeling cool.

Mike Charlton


Elizabeth Purpich and Natalie Annette May
Special
dining

Just in Time for Spring, Patio-Happy Hamsa Debuts Sunday Brunch

Shane Dante

Brunch at Hamsa

ON A PRETTY spring Sunday, the retractable wall of windows by Hamsa’s bar open onto its patio, filled with cool people, fab food and immaculate vibes. The Rice Village Israeli resto just debuted its inventive new brunch menu, and people are already raving. Recently nominated for the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur, owners Itai Ben Eli and Itamar Levy continue to retool their modern Israeli cooking for the discerning Houston foodie.

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Food
sponsored

Thrive & Inspire ’24: Michelle Reyna Wymes Says Synergy Among Her Team ‘Something Very Special’

Hallie Keller

Michelle Reyna Wymes, Owner of The Reyna Group

WHAT'S THE SECRET to running a successful business? It is so important to stay present every day. With the fast-paced patterns of today’s society and ever-evolving technologies, I stress to our agents how important it is to continue to learn. If one reaches a point at which the ego takes over or burnout sets in and progress takes a back seat, things will get stuck. Regardless of what field you are in, I believe in starting with the basics to set and strengthen your foundation. I treat everyone we work with from our contractors, clients, to our inspectors with respect, patience and care.

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