Concours d'Elegance

What is the secret to a Long, Happy and Successful Marriage?

 When it's important to Him I let him win. 

When it's important to Me, he lets me win. 

This was a question someone asked me this weekend, when they learned that we were celebrating our anniversary. I hadn't given thought to this question before, but I think this answer is what helps keep us together. 

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This weekend was our 23rd Wedding Anniversary. As a wonderfully generous gift, our friends, Greg and Ronnie Riley, invited us to attend the festivities of the Concours d'Elegance at the La Toretta Resort Hotel and Spa overlooking Lake Conroe.  La Toretta Lake Resort

Several years ago Greg, an avid car enthusiast, an accomplished automobile historian and author, had the brainstorm idea to, "Bring the Concours to Texas."  

Once the thought formed in his mind he could not shake the idea that Texas was deserving of the enormity of such an event, and Texans themselves could pull it off. Nearly 18 months in the making, the first annual Concours d'Elegance of Texas took place in 2012, making this years event the 3rd annual. In this short time the event has earned a reputation of excellence for itself, with people traveling across the state and beyond to attend. 

Concours d'Elegance is a French term meaning, "a competition of elegance" the term originated in the 17th century when French aristocracy paraded their best horses and carriages in the parks of Paris. Of course, eventually the carriages became horseless, so the gatherings evolved and became a celebration of fine motorcars and the elegant lifestyle.

When we were invited to attend We didn't  know what to expect, so I set about to do some advanced research and I found this mission statement on their website:

"At the Concours d'Elegance of Texas, our mission is to showcase the finest examples of automotive art and engineering in an elegant setting, and the entire weekend supports three wonderful charitable organizations. It's a weekend experience dedicated to striking and unusual vehicles, fine dining, and renewing old friendships - all served up with old-fashioned Texas hospitality."

Now I have to tell you, I am not much of a car person. I mean, I like to look at them, as much as I admire art,  but I know absolutely nothing about them. To put this fact into perspective I will let you know my favorite car at the show was a soft mint green. I know the name of this particular car, but only because it was lettered in chrome on the side. I like it best because it was the prettiest. 

My husband, on the other hand, is a great fan of anything with motors. Cars, motorcycles, boats.. Trucks. 

Lawn mowers.

Man things.

As far as weekends go, this was setting up to be a major win for him.

He was as excited as manly possible! I was excited for him, happy to be out of the house "adventuring" for our anniversary, and thrilled (as always) to hang out with our friends.

Actually, I thought it was a great way to celebrate 23 years together! 

On Saturday night we attended the Cowboys & Cars Strolling Charity Dinner/Dance.

The tables around the pool were decorated with beautiful centerpieces; tall metal towers decorated with teal colored fabrics, and softly sparkling string lights. Teal and deep purple peacock feathers topped the structure, reaching several feet overhead.

 The landscape too, was decorated with sparkling string lights artfully woven into the bushes and sparkling blue balls lined the pathways. Adding to this magical display, the pool had floating balls filled with light that changed colors during the course of the evening. 

After cocktails and drinks, we were served dinner. It was delicious, and added to the elegance of the evening. Of course I have to show you the food! The potatoes were mixed with scrumptious chunks of lobster meat! It was devine! 

How I even thought about dessert is beyond me 

but WHAT could I do????I had to eat that! 

Don't worry folks! Jersey Girl is always prepared, I had an elastic waist. I'm not ashamed to tell you!

As the dinner ended and the desserts and coffee were served the charity auction began. Some of the items up for bid were a Babe Ruth signed baseball and several pieces of art inspired by Rolls Royce and Bently, by famed automotive artist, Art Firzpatrick. 

Leading Lady

The highlight of the night was the auctioning of a piece called "Leading Lady". This fabulous piece of art is a tribute to Rolls-Royce, and stood as the marque of the event, gracing both event posters and the cover of the event program for the car show.

The three charities that benefitted from the event were Montgomery County Emergency Management, Holy Angels, and Next Gen Education Programs. For information about these worthy causes, visit the Charities page at Concours d'Elegance Charities

The Concours d'Elegance of Texas

The following day was perfect for the car show, The Concours d'Elegance of Texas, sponsored by the Gullo Family. The weather was warm and the breeze was light. With a forcast of sunny and 87, we were delighted! 

We arrived to find about 100 classic and antique cars displayed across the golf course, grouped by class and style. 

My husband Glenn naturally gravitates toward the muscle cars. He admires performance! His favorite of the day was this 69 Challanger

He just couldn't get enough of this car, and we found ourselves visiting it several more times through the day.

My favorite was this adorable Nash Healy

Seeeee how pretty that is?? 

I could really see myself zipping around town in this car. In fact, I can even visualize the bags of groceries stacked in the passenger seat. Love the idea that there is no room for more than 2 in this car! so cute! 

Now I have no idea of the stats of these cars. I barely know the names of them. If you're interested in the man-facts you can visit Greg's blog directly, at Garage Deluxe Or of course, the show page at Concours d'Elegance of Texas

Midway through Sundays activities we sat down with Greg and Ronnie for a BBQ lunch served on the Golf course overlooking the displayed cars. Greg was busy with details of the awards ceremony, and Ronnie was volunteering in the hospitality tent, but they took a break to recoup with us.

 The luncheon was casual, with open seating that allowed us to interact with other attendees. What a strange, coincidence-filled life I'm living! I say this because no sooner did we sit ourselves down at an open table then we were joined by 3 friendly car enthusiasts, One of them a woman originally from Philly and another from Islin, New Jersey! We had a great time talking Jersey and Texas with them! We also discovered during the course of our conversation that the Jersey Girl was employeed as a personal chef on a private yacht! What a blessed job to have! She and I commiserated over the state of bread in the world and agreed that if you're a jersey girl anywhere in the world and you want jersey bread then you either have to go home to get it or learn to make it yourself!

After the lunch we separated from our friends, both of them had to return to their hosting duties, and Glenn was anxious to continue exploring the cars

He was so very happy!

In all, the weekend was a wonderful success for the show, the charities, and my anniversary celebration.

It was a win for him, and I'll be sure to add it to my secret tally, but in all honesty, it wasn't a loss for me! I hope we make attendance an annual anniversary activity, and I hope to inspire some of you to check it out next year too!