While Aspen is certainly the center of the universe for many playcationing Houstonians, it is also the preferred destination for a handful of familiar non-profits seeking to do meaningful friend-raising among the high-altitude Texans. First up this summer, was the Nature Conservancy of Texas which arrived last week to share its message on Texas' most important natural resource — water.

Clayton and Shel Erikson opened their Aspen home to the group that included more than 100 guests from Louisiana and Colorado as well as Texas. The Nature Conservancy's state directors for Texas and Colorado, Laura Huffman and Tim Sullivan respectively, led the spirited discussion on the challenges of maintaining fresh water resources for both states.

Applauding their efforts were Mindy and Jeff Hildebrand, Jana and Scotty Arnoldy, Kay and Ned Holmes, Colleen and John Kotts, Denise Monteleone, Sara and Bill Morgan and Rick Terry.

The Nature Conservancy considers this outing as a jumpstart on the annual conservation luncheon in Houston in the fall.

Now it can be told

For weeks, we've been hearing whispers about makeup artist Edward Sanchez' next adventure in the beauty realm. Now, news lands in our email regarding a late-August opening of Vanity Lounge, the popular personality's new business venture with Diane and Michael Caplan.

It's officially the Edward Sanchez Vanity Lounge and the shop will be fashionably located next to Katsuya in West Ave. A team of artists will serve both men and women with makeup application, Vanity Lash dipping, threading, eyebrow contouring and more.

Sanchez has lined up a number of hard-to-find skincare lines for the shop including The History of Whoo, O HUI, Bio Elements, Elisha Coy and Primal Elements. Those will be offered along with makeup lines including FACE Atelier, Ellis Faas, ModelCo, Franché and Besame.

To good health

Applause, applause for Dr. Gary Brock and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who succeeded in convincing Gov. Rick Perry to declare June as Scoliosis Awareness Month in Texas. As one of the state's few pediatric orthopedic surgeons, Brock, along with Dewhurst, has been keen on drawing attention to the disease and the benefits of early protection. A number of other states have also adopted the scoliosis message making June awareness month.

In acknowledgement of that accomplishment, Dewhurst was in Houston recently to present the official declaration certificate from the governor's office to Brock. They met at The Health Museum for the presentation that was attended by Dr. Kenneth Mattox and by David and Patricia Dewhurst's daughter Carolyn. Her presence acknowledged that scoliosis is an important health issue, particularly for girls.

Yukking it up in NYC

That would be Cindy and Ron Soefer, who texted daughter Julie Soefer (the fab photographer) from their dinner table at New York's Casa Mono Sunday night. The text was so entertaining that Julie posted it on her Facebook page. We thought it fun enough to share.

"Mario Batali sitting next to us. Mom going fuckin' nuts. Adam Levine from Voice with him. Mom taking picture without flash." Julie's response: "Omgggg!"