Live Life in Style X Absolut Elyx Martini Class

Last night I had a wonderful chance to spend a Girls' Night Out with my good friend Shalanda Turner of Live Life in Style and a few other bloggers for a private event with Absolut Elyx at the Federal Grill here in Houston. Shalanda hosted it, and myself and six other ladies got a chance to learn how to craft the 'Perfect Martini'. It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot! It was a wonderful time. I had never had a martini before, so it was a great experience to actually make my own first wet martini. It was pretty good!

We learned how to make a classic traditional martini using the Absolut Elyx vodka instead of gin. Elyx is the Absolut line's luxury brand, and is an extremely smooth vodka. In our lesson, we learned about the history of Absolut, and the traditional recipe for a wet or dry martini. I opted for wet, which is a shot of vermouth and a shot of vodka. More vodka makes for a drier martini. I garnished with an orange peel, since I hate olives.

You can learn more about ordering martinis from this Huffpost post here.

After the cocktail mixing, we retreated to a couched area and had yummy appetizers to munch on along with our newly crafted drinks, and got to get to know each other better. 

There was a lot of talk about blogging, and a lot of laughter! 

I think in the end, while big fashion events are great and I enjoy them very much, I prefer these smaller, intimate events. It's these events where you get to make friends and build relationships with people who enjoy similar things as yourself. I hope that there will be more in the future! 

Below are some of the pictures I took! Enjoy!

Such gorgeous accessories to mix our martinis in! <3 

Shalanda, looking as fabulous as ever!

We also got these cute little pineapple pins - so sophisticated and chic!

Cheers!

We created our martinis in a rather un-James Bond fashion: Stirred.

So much great food!!

Chic polaroids to accompany our amazing event!! <3 

Until next time! 

Little Black Dress Dinner with the Houston Fashion Bloggers

This past Sunday I had a chance to get to know some of the wonderful ladies of the Houston Fashion Bloggers! It's a great group, and I've been enjoying meeting new people and reading new blogs. It's been a challenge getting involved in the fashion world of Houston, TX... but I'm steadily growing more comfortable and gaining new friends. 

I had a grand time at Birraporetti's, an Italian restaurant with a bit of an Irish flair in Downtown. I got a scrumptious shrimp fettuccine alfredo, my all-time favorite dish! It was delicious, and the spinach fettuccine was uniquely yummy.

The girls introduced themselves, and we all mingled and chatted about various things. How we met our significant others, what we like blogging about, jobs, and more. It was casual and fun, and all of the meals the girls got looked amazing. After dinner, the waiter brought an impressive dessert display! Birraporetti's is great, you should visit if you're ever in town!

I myself got the chocolate mousse. It wasn't overpoweringly sweet or filling, the perfect ending to a great dinner!

After some more chatting and mingling, we decided to recruit one of the waiters to get a picture of all of us! I didn't get a picture on my phone, but the Houston Fashion Bloggers did upload a picture to their Facebook and Instagram! I'm so happy to be a part of this group!

The ladies I met run the blogs at:

Weird Black Girls

Live Life in Style (HFB Founder)

Morning Ink

Style by Patty

Glow MOnAT

Pretty Pink Living (HFB Chair)

Within My Style

Ms. Chimee

and Courtney Forey (HFB Intern - Blog Upcoming)

Photo copyright of the Houston Fashion Bloggers via Facebook and Instagram.

After work today, I started sketching and drawing the ten of us ladies in the Little Black Dresses we wore. Can you tell who is who?

I'm hopeful for the opportunities this Blogging group will lead to, and I look forward to every moment!

The Culturemap Stylemaker Awards

Those who have been following me on Instagram or Facebook know that I've been preparing for this event for a while now. I worked on 100 cards for the swag bags! 

Well, the event came and went, and I must say I had a blast! Tootsie's definitely is a great place for a great event! Culturemap Dallas threw in all sorts of awesome goodies. Food, wine, entertainment - it wanted for nothing. I saw familiar faces and plenty of new faces and there was plenty of fabulous to go around! 

The highlight of the evening for me was a sketch artist named Benjamin Vincent who drew your portrait. For once I got to be the model instead of the drawer! He did wonderfully, and I loved watching him work! We got to chat about the industry, and I suggest you go check out his website right now: http://www.benvincent.com/

I look so fab!

The nominees for the Stylemaker Awards put together 2 outfits, one for a party and one for brunch, and all six put out some awesome outfits both for men and women! I was stunned by how awesome everything and everybody looked! 

Everyone who came out to the event looked their best, and it was definitely a Fashion Night Out!

The Winners of this event were Melissa Rountree and Maleiah Rogers, and rightfully so! Their looks were unique and fresh, and both utilized one of my favorite designers right now: Lublu KP

After the stylemaker show, Tootsie's put on a show of their own. It featured plenty of warm knits, fur, fringe, boots, and more! I loved every bit of it! It was awesome seeing such high-end fashion at work, and I made sure to get some sketching in for myself! 

I can't wait for more events this Fall season especially ones at Tootsie's. I also can't wait to use and utilize the amazing goodies I got from my swag bag! 

The card I got I gave away to a friend who didn't get one, but I hope the other 99 people who got bags enjoy my illustration cards!

I wore one my recent favorite dresses from Target, and a pair of heels I found at Ross. Budget-friendly meets fashionable - who knew?

The blazer originally was going to be worn in case it got too chilly, but it never did! 

Essential Energy Networking Reception with guest speaker Steve Kemble

Tonight I had the wonderful experience of going out to a networking reception with Essential Energy! They're an amazing group of women from various professional backgrounds, and they have a meeting every month! I was invited by my friend Eneida Hatch, who's the store manager at Lublu KP here in Dallas. 

It was great meeting so many women, and some whom I may hear from in the future for paintings or other illustration services! How cool is that? 

They had a guest speaker there as well, Steve Kemble from A Daily Dose of Sass. I'm definitely checking out his social media and blog, because he was a hoot! He is hilarious to listen to and had some wonderful pointers about throwing your next party. 

After his speech, there was a brief Q&A, and then some ladies came up and introduced him to some adorable baby skunks (they're too young to stink yet)! They were rescued after their mama was hit by a car, and were the hit of the night! Everyone was taking pictures with Steve and the skunks, and I got a picture with one, and so did Eneida! 

It was a great time, and I hope to attend the next networking event with Essential Energy next month! 

Here's a few pictures from the evening: 

Eneida looked fabulous in her Lublu dress! And the skunk was adorable, too!

I got a picture with one of the little guys as well!

I'm hoping there will be more events in the future! And they'll all be covered right here at Eva Duplan Illustrations.

Fashion Shoot with Friends

Tonight I had a wonderful time hanging out with some awesome ladies! The ladies from the blogs I'm Getting There, Ware is the Vodka, Old World New Girl, and GenPink all came out to Addison Circle for a fun fashion photoshoot. We met at Astoria, which had a nice white wine selection for their happy hour, by the way. We chatted, got to know each other a little better, then were off to explore the area and take pictures. My camera is just a little point-and-shoot, so bear with me. 

Sevi and Valery pose for a quick pic before the other ladies arrived!

Addison Circle is full of interesting shops and little parks. It's quaint and relatively quiet. I definitely look forward to visiting again! 

We began in a little side park and enjoyed the tree cover and a cute little fountain, surrounded by a stone wall. 

Set our bags down to take pics and pose!

It was great meeting Addie! She's so chic!

Valery is looking fabulous in all denim!

From there we took some street photos in a little alley way. It was fun, and my first time going out and taking pictures in the road. Definitely weirded a few people out as they drove down the road, waiting for us to get out of the way!

Sevi's faux romper look was cool and fun!

I think this is one of my favorite pictures of myself... 

The apartments at Addison Circle are gorgeous!

We continued onwards, enjoying the scenery and kept taking pictures from time to time. We eventually stopped at the main park, where we cooed over a puppy we met, chatted and laughed some more, and took more pictures!

I enjoyed meeting Elysa! A truly sweet and lovely lady!

Valery looking cool and collected, as usual!

Working it in a midi skirt!

Everyone had such pretty outfits, from faux rompers, all-out denim, chic pencil skirts, and a maxi dress. It was a great mix of different styles! 

I wore a midi skirt from eShakti, a shimmery purple top I found at Ross, some cute white wedges from Payless Shoes, and a fair of feather earrings a friend of mine made for me. 

Haven't done a photoshoot in ages, it seems. 

All in all, a great Girl's Night Out! And I look forward to many more to come!

Manicures, Champagne, and Cupcakes

Tonight I had the pleasure of joining the Southwest Blogger Society out at a lovely salon out in Preston Center called Bellacures! We had complimentary manicures, champagne, and a deliciously gorgeous spread of cupcakes of various flavors. I had a Red Velvet cupcake that was just divine!

Gettin' my nails done!

Sooo yummy! Cupcakes were provided by Fluellen Cupcakes.

The best part of the Blogger's Night Out, of course, was the fellowship with the amazing ladies that I've met these last few days. They are hilarious, fabulous, and I am happy and eager to call them my new friends. 

From Left to Right: Valery, Courtney, Stephanie, Me, Sevi, and Jordan

All the fabulous ladies who came out to Bellacures tonight!

The evening was wonderful, and I definitely hope to go back to Bellacures for another manicure or even a pedicure. It's a wonderfully relaxing atmosphere with great people. They even have a mascot named Louie! 

Louie just couldn't help but beg for a piece of cupcake!

There were magazine spreads along the walls interspersed with inspiring and encouraging quotes, my favorite being "Don't let anyone dull your Sparkle!" 

All in all I had a great time, and I look forward to more get-togethers with the ladies at the Southwest Blogger Society!