Gilty Pleasures Elite Event at Townhouse

Wow…
This was fun and lovely and yummy and WOW ~ packed!
I had an amazing time, of course, and I enjoyed the snackity snacks from cupcakes to chocolate to popcorn.
I wasn’t too hip on the drinks, though… only because I don’t like sweet tea.
and on a side note:
Dear Townhouse Bartender:
I am SO sorry I wasn’t familiar with the fact that the Vodka was sweet tea vodka. Please don’t get persnickety with me. It won’t go well for you in the end.
That being said, the rest of the event was too fun! Even packed like sardines we had a great time! I always love when Annie Ray shows up with her come hither tauntings from that camera of hers!
Kelly and Kevin did a fabulous job and we had a great time!!!

When did Unilocal Elite Event officially become the party of the month? When the line to get in went across the face of TWO other bars.
Townhouse was a little small for this many people so it was packed and a little difficult to grab a drink. However the TH bartenders did a great job keeping their cool and helping out as many people as possible.
The people, sponsors and drinks were great as well. Hibiscus lemonade was yummy! I also partook in a Cheech and Chong which was basically a vanilla-​y margarita and pretty good. Annie Ray photog was great too!
Fun times and can’t wait for the next one!

Sometimes, we lose our way. Also sometimes, we lose count of how many cupcakes we have eaten. This happens to good people every day. It happened to me on solid gold Unilocal day.
Because the theme was Solid Gold, I took it very seriously. I donned a gold top, the kind that keeps on giving. Days later, my house, car, and places in other states I’ve never been to are still covered in gold glitter. I will never underestimate that shirt again. Unilocal has taught me that gold glitter is like sand. It will end up in your sandwich a year after you last went to the beach, and you will be like WTF.
So I drank too. I mean, priority #1 was the cupcakes, and Edison knew that so he got me some to tide me over while I waited at the bar. I got to see some cool kids while I waited. I like you guys. I missed KK though — why would you do that KK? Keri’s girls were trouble-​makers — did anyone see what she was wearing? Rawr.
Lorena and I had discussed a calendar business recently. Without fleshing out the details, we scheduled an impromptu photoshoot with Annie for that purpose. It coincided with Unilocal solid gold day. We’re sorry for multi-​tasking at the event, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Also, thank you Kelly.
Also, my sugar high is coming down now but I have chocolates nearby. It will be ok.

This was my first Unilocal Elite event and I was oh-​so-​happy. Thanks Kelly S., for putting together an awesome party!
The mixed sweet tea drinks were delicious (especially with Hibiscus lemonade), as was the wasabi ranch popcorn from Reel Popcorn. And of course, Annie Ray… sooo fun to look back through the photos from the night.
Can’t wait for the next one!

If I could write my feelings in three words it would be,
Garlic Pizza Popcorn
It was amazing. I’m sorry if alot of you didn’t try it, I greedily tried enough for you however. It was delicious. And spending a close evening (very, very close) with 200 of my friends was great, and somehow not too hot or stuffy, so yeah for Townhouse Central Air!
If I had another 3 words, it would be
Kelly is awesome.
Sadly I was only granted the original 3 words, but Kelly it was a tough one to choose, but I’m sure you understand. I mean it was popcorn that tasted like pizza! Are you following me here? Amazing.

Oh man, what a productive Friday morning thanks to another amazing Unilocal event (former adjective: sarcastic; later: factual). I think my deep razz yum yum (ordered extra deep, no razz) made me loopy or something because my planned night of casual indulgence ended much later at a karaōke bar with me singing A Whole New World with Valerie G. at the top of my lungs.
Townhouse, which I will need to visit again when there’s a tad more room, was a great host with their antique drink laboratory and overtly friendly staff. It’s nice to see that there’s a place on the west side now with a unique sense of taste and style… other than Rebel’s Honky Tonk next door of course.
Also, I beat Shelly L. at her own game in the raffle, she recently went pro in raffling but my skills at the Unilocal events were just too much for her to handle. Back to the amateurs for you.
Enough rambling and on to the thanks. Thanks Kelly, Kevin, Annie Ray and all the people who make these things so much fun, see ya next time.

Townhouse will not become part of my Unilocal-​discovered wheelhouse of local bars and restaurants.
And that’s too bad.
It was good to see you Unilocalers out as I have not been around much in awhile. Who the hell were all those people in there last night? It appears that Unilocal is supersizing.
Annie Ray: You are super-​amazing!

Sweet tea vodka and water?
Sugar mamas cupcakes?
Chocolate and more chocolate?
Hallucinogenic popcorn?
A group of badass people?
I came, I saw, I conquered
Truly an awesome event made more awesomer by the people attended
Cannot wait for the next epicurean meetup
How much did I drink?
Gabriel

I was disappointed with this Unilocal Event. Though it was a nice venue and the Unilocal coordinator is always energetic, there were simply too many people and so moving about was quite cumbersome in this smaller bar. Once we did get to the bar, my friend and I ordered the Deep Eddy Lemonade. Here is was the disappointment begins…
Our Deep Eddy Lemonade tasted like water with some lemons in it. We could have sworn there was very little to no alcohol whatsoever in there. The kind waitress ensured us that there was and «it’s going to hit you soon» but sadly nothing even nudged me. So, we decided to try their Deep Razz shot which, again, was a disappointing concentrated version of the lemonade. Some other Unilocalers that we met confirmed that their drinks were the same and so we eventually resorted to the bar menu for some drinks with actual alcohol in them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some raging alcoholic that needs Everclear to kick start the night. Nor am I bashing on complimentary drinks but if I were to promote MY product at an event like this, I’d do it properly. I’m not sure if Townhouse or Deep Eddy is to be faulted for this poor product sampling but either way it doesn’t bode well.
Beyond that, everything else wasn’t bad… as always Annie Ray was taking photos and she’s always fantastic so ultimately this event only gets a ²⁄₅ stars from me.
Cheers!

It was fun getting all glitzy and glam in gold for a night on the town with fabulous Unilocalers! Great seeing those who accessorized to get into the theme of gold guilty pleasures.
Speaking of guilty pleasures, those signature cocktails laced with Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka, dark chocolate nutty chunks from Art Y Chocolate, and precious cupcake minis from Sugar Mama’s provided for a sugar fueled charge in my veins. But after Saturday’s Cupcake Smack Down, I don’t ever want to see another cupcake for months to come. Nevertheless, I had to try the dreamsicle one that everyone raved about which met my quota for 2010. Side note: Sugar Mama’s are so irresistible that when I got my first cupcake and set it down on the table to finish my vanilla popcorn, someone jacked it in less then 5 minutes. Really? Who does that? Man talk about no shame or should I say guilt for their actions.
Aw and thank you so much Reel Popcorn for providing the salty morsels to take the edge off my sugar rush. Parmesan and cheddar are always crowd pleasers.
And if I wasn’t already having the time of my life socializing with fabulous old and new Unilocal friends in one of my favorite bars, the famous Annie Ray photo opt took place. Only she has the magic touch to make you feel like you should be in those fake photos that come inside new picture frames having a blast with your friends. Props on the huge oversized fun chair.
Thank you so much Kelly for all of your hard work with a smile and making me feel like a million bucks last night.

I parked in the dreaded Chase Bank parking garage, where I got away for only $ 7, amazingly, and I walked toward Townhouse. Stopped behind a few unknown Unilocalers, pathetically not dressed in gold (come on, guys!), and started a crowd of my own. Holly P admitted to me on Facebook that she (jokingly, of course) was «stalking» me in line, and I was glad to read it!
Finally, entry at 8pm.
ME: Hey, Kevin!
KEVIN: Hey, Catherine. Going up?
ME: Say what?
I ventured inside.
RANDOM UnilocalER: What floor are you going to?
ME: Huh!!!
I didn’t understand the relevance of this chatter (that didn’t actually take place) until about an hour later when Townhouse suddenly shrank to the size of an elevator. And I knew this would happen. When the magnificent Kelly sent out the email telling us to expect 200 of our closest friends at Townhouse, I knew we were in trouble. And those of you who are friends of mine on Facebook know I knew it. Kelly was unfortunately told 200 people was Townhouse’s capacity. Yeah, well… it’s a good thing Bruce Wayne wasn’t there and spied the Bat symbol in the sky; otherwise, he would’ve had to have gone outside to change his mind, let alone his outfit (not that I wouldn’t mind seeing the latter… the Michael Keaton version).
Nonetheless, I had a good time with tons of people I can count on to keep a party movin’ and groovin’. That sweet tea vodka hit the spot, and I had my first ever long island iced tea (I know, I have some growing up to do). Kelly and Kevin really know how to throw a great party, cramped accommodations aside.
I was as excited as Churchill on V-​E Day to see peeps like Keri B, Lisa M, Pete N, Ryan S, Darla A, Jennie C, Edison C, Whitney F, John R, Geoff H, Monica O, Lorena O, Jessica S, Jessica R, Conrad R, Amber D, Gabriel H, Yolanda G, Dej M, and Holly P. Finally got to meet Kris U and Rebecca L (wonderful lasses!), and got to see Jeanie D and Crystal A once again (hooray!). But where were my two favorite Unilocalers, Michelle C and Errol M? Where, oh where?
There they are! Only about an hour late, by my watch. Glad to see Michelle’s inexcusable d-​elitement hasn’t kept her from the parties. Though, I was sorry to see that Errol’s memory has nearly deleted itself…
ERROL: Hey, Whitney, it’s nice to finally meet you! I’m Errol.
WHITNEY: Hey, Errol! We’ve met before.
ERROL: What? No, we haven’t.
ME: Yes, you have.
Almost in the same breath…
ERROL: Hey, Holly, it’s nice to meet you! I’m Errol.
HOLLY: We’ve met before, Errol!
ERROL: What? No we haven’t! When?
HOLLY: We met at the Belmont event.
ME: Yep; I can verify that. I was standing right there when you guys met.
ERROL: ??? !!! ???
You know I heart you and yer handsome mug to death, Errol, but do yourself a favor and buy some Gingko. Even if that stuff doesn’t work, just pretend you’ve met everyone, henceforth, and you won’t suffer the embarrassing «but we’ve met!» reminder. After all, they’re wearing name tags, so it’ll be easy to fake it, buddy. But if you need me to re-​introduce you to Holly when you crash the W3 event on Tuesday, I’ll be happy to oblige.
Cupcakes were delicious, and I was amazed there were any left by the time I got up there. God dang, when Lisa M told me there were orange dreamsicle cupcakes, I charged through the crowd like a 110-​lb bowling ball. I didn’t wanna try the chocolate one with the gold shavings atop… but I did anyway. Screw you, pancreas.
The popcorn was decent, I guess, though I really thought the vanilla popcorn tasted only like caramel. Errol and I had forgotten there was chocolate until Kelly re-​announced it toward the end of the event. Thank you, Gabriel, for leading us to it!
[:begin poetry:]
And no Unilocal event is truly complete
Until Ryan S shows us his teat.
[:end poetry:]
Best gold costume definitely goes to the beautiful Yolanda G. Yolanda, your awesome gold top and super-​duper gold glittery eye shadow was top-​notch! And Ryan S’s and John R’s viking hats? Sweeeet. So many of my favorite Unilocalers looked absolutely stunning last night; I was so glad to see you all.
I, however, made a very poor shoe choice last night, as evidenced by my almost crippling back pain, but do you think I learned from it? Trust me; I didn’t and won’t. Sensible shoes are strangers to my closet. You’ll see me next month in Roaring ‘20s glad rags with high heels to match, and I’ll be grabbing my feet in pain as I’m Charleston-​dancing and drinking bathtub gin.
Annie Ray photos with me and Keri fighting over that fabulous rotary phone… I can’t wait to see those! And the ones later with me, Errol, Michelle, Darla, and god knows who else (once I finally managed to get on the damn chair)… can’t wait to see those, either! I wonder if Errol will remember those photos as well as I do?
Sorry, Errol… you set yourself up for this, and you know it. I’ll buy you lunch to make up for it.

Maybe my mom’s gold sequin belt of awesome power was too tight around my waist. But I just couldn’t relax at this event. It was way too crowded for such a small place, and I was actually pretty PUMPED to shake it on the dance floor to some solid gold hits, but there was no dance floor, no room to even do the running man in place. And from that point the rest of the night just got really confusing.
Did I just get a really nasty drink from a «mixologist»? Yes, Deep Eddy is no prize pig, but as a «mixologist» I would think that turning straw into gold was part of the program. And how could you have tasted my drink and thought it was OK to serve people? Is this some conspiracy by Townhouse to get people to buy drinks from their menu? I began thinking this more and more as I noticed that though it was only 8:20pm we were the only ones in the place drinking the free stuff.
And why did the chocolate taste like carob? Was it just me? Maybe the drink ruined my palette…
There were some positives to the night, the venue was cute, the cupcakes were as always delish, and the popcorn was darn tasty.
But despite the lovely edibles, the gold lights flashing away from Annie Ray’s camera were kinda giving me a seizure and when I came to I saw a lady walking around with a bottle of whip cream that she was spraying into people’s mouths. Am I hallucinating? What’s in my drink? What just happened?
I know these events aren’t easy to organize, especially every month. I really appreciate them and of course Kelly for putting them together, but this one fell a little too far from the tree.

I’m a little hungover today so I’ll keep things simple… I love townhouse. I love Unilocal,Kelly, and Kevin. I love sweet tea vodka. I love Annie Ray. I’m sure I would have loved the popcorn if I had found some not demolished, or the cupcakes if I wasn’t trying to avoid sweets. I love the parties being later because getting downtown at like 5−6pm for me is just impossible.
What I don’t love — the next day. What I wouldn’t give for today NOT to be a weekday. But it’s worth it (or at least that’s what I’ll tell myself). :)
Can’t wait for the next one!

Townhouse was such a cool place to hang out on a nice Thursday night. The bartenders were constantly whipping up concoctions that were both unique and truly delicious (OMG LOL WTF… that’s all I have to say about that). The Cheech or Chong did not meet my expectations, but no big deal. A few cupcakes from Sugar Mama’s (I will never question a vegan pastry again), chocolate from Arte Y Chocolate, some cool and funky popcorn from Reel Popcorn (Parmesan Garlic Pizza rocked!), and some Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka helped me get over the unbalanced drink rather quickly. The place itself was cozy, a bit small, but just plain fun to be in. The couches were comfy and the infused liquors at the bar were an interesting touch of décor.
Thanks to Townhouse for allowing us Unilocalers to hang out and to Kelly and Kevin for rocking our world once again. Keep ‘em coming!

This was my first event as a Unilocal eliter but I was pleasantly surprised that a free event could be so fun! Typically I find them a little stressful, you say the word free and people go bananas.
The event– Kelly and the crew did a great job, the snacks were great, Annie Ray was amazing and everyone was super friendly and fun. I got there right on time but still had a 20 min. wait. I knew I was waiting for free stuff and it wasn’t god awful hot so it wasn’t that big a deal.
The venue– I really liked this place! The bartenders were nice and helpful despite being slammed with 200 Unilocalers. While attractive in their own right, they were hired because they know what they’re doing, not to just look hot doing it (like next door at Honky Tonk Rebel). Deep Eddy Vodka is not my drink of choice (I don’t like sweet tea) so I tried out their tequila drinks. The Cheech or Chong was your typical margarita with infused vanilla tequila. Would have been awesome if you could actually tell there was any vanilla involved. I think when I did taste it, it was really me just trying really hard to. The super sweet bartender told me about the other options and recommended the Remember the Alamo. It was so yummy, not too sweet and strong! I will definitely check this place out again.

Solid Gold, Solid night of fun!!! Was venue overcrowded or was it actually an opportunity to mingle more than usual? All you had to do was turn around and BAM! Face to face with a new friend, and perfect occasion to chat it up with someone whose profile you admired for the past few months! Maybe I’m just a glass half-​full type of gal.
Glass half-​full is actually the perfect description of me last night. With the drinks flowing, I was never empty handed. The chocolate was divine, and the cupcakes were delish! Popcorn is one of my all time favorite snacks, so I loved getting to try all the zany flavors. Annie Ray worked her magic at the photo booth and to top off the night, I won a shot glass!

I was surprised there was still a line waiting to get in at 8:30, but it was no big deal. I don’t do flashbacks, but this event reminded me how fun it is to be young and foolish and jammed-​packed in a trendy bar filled with gold lamé. Incidentally, when you’re in a bar with clever Unilocalers, free drinks, and an inimitable Annie Ray booth, you’re gonna have a party — it still fascinates me that I know people and people know me, just because we read what each other writes.
Later on, as we were standing outside keeping Austin beautiful and deciding which after-​party venue to head to, it occurred to me I was in jeopardy of blowing off my mandatory Friday morning meetings, so I had to call it a night. Insert your favorite ode regarding parting and sweet sorrow here.
My favorite moment? Not the booze or the chocolates or the cupcakes or the giveaways, but the unexpected opportunity to deftly light the cigarette of a surprised Holly P. — just another archaic art form I happen to do well. Thanks, Kelly, thanks, Kevin — Unilocal rules.

How many Unilocalers can you fit in a phone booth? I think we broke some kinda crazy Unilocal record last nite. I can visualize any innocent bystander walking by would see arms and legs stickin outta the door and faces pressed against the glass we were so stuffed in there.
BUT that’s okay cause it gave me the opportunity to press the flesh with some of my favorite Elites: Mike W, Ryan, Geoff, Joel, Errol, Edison, etc. and on the female flesh side, Dej, Crystal, Molly, Catherine, Lisa, Yolanda, Darla, the Jessicas. MEOW…the list goes on and on. And I even got to hang with, eww, non-​Elites like Gabe and Michelle C. Hey, who let HER in???
Unfortunately I was on call for the hospital so was unable to partake in the booze (coughbullshitcough) but I was able to imbibe in whipped cream instead. And, what, those were vegan cupcakes? They were GOOD for me/​??? I woulda eaten more than one had I known that!
Annie Ray, as usual, was awesome! So personable. She just feels like a friend, even in such a chaotic environment. HER demanding that me and my hubby take pictures, not the other way around. Can’t wait to see those… wonder if she’d do an in-​home set?
Thanks again to Kelly for a great event and thanks for my castanipples (the castanets that fit perfectly in my shirt pockets) too!

Life moves pretty fast. If you blink, you could miss it. To recap:
Edison got compliments for wearing a silver hat to this gold-​only event, captured on film by Annie in the giant chair with various folks and tinsel and a telephone a la Lady Gaga which Monicha loved, while delivering Sugar Mamas’ non-​gluten-​free cupcakes to Dej who liked the chocolate one but not the peanut butter one, which Liz ate instead.
Yolanda made her eyelids sparkle and stepped on a glass like you do at a Jewish wedding only this one was by accident, while Joel requested Ryan show us his tits on the balcony above Krystal’s artisan chocolate display where Lisa’s keys might have been but probably weren’t.
John used his camera’s long lens to watch Michelle blow kisses at Darla but they probably hit Catherine’s leopard print dress instead of the lens over Jennie’s viking helmet that poked Keri in the head east of Errol and Jessica 1 and Jessica 2 who I don’t think knows Ingrid but ought to since she knows some pretty wicked cool stuff about bones.
Because the place was so crammed full of people the fire marshall should have shown, Conrad and Phyllis and Holly and Rachel and Tara and Kevin and Allison had no room to disco while Kelly did her raffle thing.
Although I don’t think Tara was there. Or Alex.
Drat.

Woo hoo! Excellent event.
Got to belt out 70’s and 80’s music at the top of my lungs off key with Gabriel H. I enjoyed chatting with many of my Unilocal friends and meeting some new folks.
I can’t believe the Townhouse held all those people. Great job Miss Kelly S… Event success.