I’d like to say Happy Anniversary to my friend, Sandy Lawrence, who celebrated her company, Perceptive Marketing’s third milestone with about 200 of her close friends at Magic Island. See www.themagicisland.com for a glimpse of how special the venue is. I was on-hand to join in the festivities and it was a regular list of "who’s who in Houston businesses" in attendance. We were treated to a comedy and magic show, among other surprises throughout the night. My guest and I received impeccable service from bartender, Taber Moon (cool name, it sounds like a Rock Star.) Magic Island would be an amazing setting to celebrate New Year’s Eve in. Their Marketing and Sales Director, Leigh Ann Jaster-Fahid can help you indulge in exquisite continental cuisine, enjoy spectacular Las Vegas-style magic and comedy shows, play blackjack, have your fortune told and dance the night away, all in one exciting evening when you book a reservation with her at Magic Island, 713-526-2442.

Success In The City’s Christine Stillwell is hosting "Holidays Houston Style" on Thursday, November 4th, at La Colombe d’Or at 3410 Montrose Blvd. Tickets and information are available online at www.successinthecity.com or by calling 281-391-2636. The evening includes a fashion show and a holiday gift fair with over 30 gift tables and some of the proceeds go to a charity called "Creating Pathways." My dear friend, Ami Dave, of Soiree Designs and Opus is the Event Coordinator for Success In The City, so this event should be a huge one. Part of being a success is looking the part, and with all of the upcoming Holiday-oriented parties, I’m sure we all want to look our best for these soirees. I say let’s put our best foot, and hand, forward by making a visit to the The Upper Hand Salon. There are three Houston-area locations and all three are offering a 15% discount to Queen of Club newsletter readers on products or services, so make an appointment today!

Did you know that November 12th is National Happy Hour Day? That’s right, back in 1745 in a pub in Ireland, the first Happy Hour originated. This interesting fact was brought to my attention by Galloway (a.k.a the Mayor of Main Street,) Head of Security at Slainte Irish Pub. Well, it’s not as if I need an excuse to throw a party, but celebrating the 259th Anniversary of the day "Happy Hour" was created sounds like cause for a celebration. With that having been said, let’s celebrate and what better place to celebrate than my favorite Irish Pub, Slainte, at 509 Main? I’m inviting ALL of you, your friends, co-workers, whomever to a happy hour party in the Ruby Room, above Slainte Irish Pub. There will be a complimentary appetizer buffet and happy hour drink prices as well as some fun door prizes and giveaways every 30 minutes. This will commence around 6:00, and I’d love it if you can RSVP to let me know how many guests you are bringing. Send an email with your headcount (and tell me if you have any requests about places or events you’d like included in this newsletter) to houston_queen_of_clubs@yahoo.com.

The Queen is an animal-lover, having 4 four-legged furry children of my own. One of my favorite causes is helping those who can’t speak for themselves. If you’ve ever noticed the links page on www.slainteirishpub.com, you’ve seen the Paws for Change logo. Click on it and learn more about what Paws for Change is doing and how YOU can help. Their mission statement covers it all when they say "Paws for Change is an animal welfare foundation focusing on the education of companion canine owners, volunteers and professionals. We strive to bring about change by helping people from all backgrounds better understand the needs of canines specifically in the areas of training, laws/legislation, health/wellness, and rescue. Our primary goal is to help humans and canines build successful, long-term relationships through respect and understanding." www.Pawsforchange.com is also helping the Chongqing Dog Project in which they importing a rare Chinese breed to America.

The Red Lion Pub is celebrating its first anniversary this month. "Proud parents" Craig and Denise have worked hard to create an authentic pub that gives a true feeling you’re sitting in the United Kingdom, even though you are really sitting at 2316 Shepherd in Houston.

Visit www.redlionhouston.com to learn more.

When you visit what was named 2004’s "best bar atmosphere" by Houston Press, check out the Ladies’ Room. Guys, ask a woman to give you a report, I’m not instructing you to venture in there to see for yourselves. It is, by far, my favorite public restroom in the city. Oh, and it’s the PUB that was voted as best bar atmosphere, not the restroom.

The Holidays will be here before you know it, only 54 days left until Christmas. The Premier fashion party of the Holiday Season benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Young Leadership Board takes place at Macy’s on Thursday November 17th from 6:00 – 8:00PM. On Impulse is sure to be the fashion party of the season! An evening of fashion, cocktails, music, beauty and fun featuring Models on the Move, an interactive presentation of the holiday collections for men and women from Impulse designers Trina Turk, Betsy Johnson, Nanette Lepore, Seven for All Mankind, BCBG Max Azria and many more; fabulous cocktails compliments of Moet; beauty treatments from Chanel and Estee Lauder; and mini spa treatments from BioSilk Spa. The evening will also offer a 20% discount on all Impulse merchandise. It all takes place at Macy’s Galleria, Level Two (2727 Sage Road.) Tickets to On Impulse are $10, and may be purchased at the door. For more information or to RSVP, call 713-968-1879. The event’s Chairperson is Gina Rotolo, who is EVERYwhere and seems to be involved in EVERYthing. How does she find time to sleep?

There is a new club in North Houston/The Woodlands tucked inside Amerigo's Grille that one of my readers wrote to tell me about. Dubbed The Vespucci Room, it is now open on Thursday nights after 8PM and like the energizer bunny, it keeps going and going and going. The "seen on the cool scene" singles in Northwest Houston have invaded this venue and so should the rest of us. All martinis are $4.00 from 8-9PM. Might be worth the drive out to the Woodlands…see for yourself and let me know what you think about the place.

The "three musketeers" over at www.houstonnetworkingnews.com are hosting their first annual Career Fair and Business Expo at the Reliant Center on Tuesday the 16th. A fabulous line-up of speakers and seminars are planned for the monumental event, so don’t miss it. Contact R.D., Mike or Jason for further details, 281-778-6661. I’ll be at the Expo and at the Cocktail Reception afterwards.

Congratulations to Ann Lasher who recently became the Catering and Events Goddess at Vargo’s. Hey, any place where peacocks greet you in the parking lot is a-okay with me! Contact Ann if you want to plan an unforgettable wedding or celebration. Vargo’s is tucked away in the lush, lakeside Memorial-area at 2401 Fondren. There’s a new guy in town, Damian Luna of the National Pub Poker League, and he is bringing competitive poker to a pub near you. Visit www.nationalpubpokerleague.com and learn where you can play.

Auditions for The Bachelor were held at the Hyatt Regency on October 30th and Casting Directors combed over all applicants for the bachelor, and the 25 bachelorettes he’ll chose from, for a new season’s show. Stay tuned. If you missed the audition, you can get more information on how to participate at www.one2onemagazine.com.

On the topic of bachelors and bachelorettes, speed-dating events are all the rage in Houston right now. These are parties that allow you to unwind and freely meet other great singles who may share similar interests. These events are also an opportunity to gather in a casual environment and engage in "one-on-one" "dates" with other singles who, like you, may be too busy to meet great people by simply frequenting the bar scene. There are three companies that offer these events. Each "date" lasts a few minutes and gives you the chance to explore the likelihood of actually connecting with that person for a "real date" when you think the time is right. You select your potential dates by scoring "yes" or "no" on a scorecard. If there is a match, then each participant will be informed and the rest is up to you. Visit www.8minutedating.com, www.pre-dating.com or www.fastdater.com to see which one you want to try. For pre-dating, the dates are six minutes each, 8-minute dating lasts, you guessed it, eight minutes, and fastdater dates are three minutes long each. Houston’s most popular singles’ website is www.houstonconnect.com which is the biggest online singles site in this city, with a membership database of over 17,000. I have a friend who met his fiancée on www.houstonconnect.com and they are just one of many success stories of couples who found love online, or at a singles’ event or speed-dating party.

Look for HSM2 magazine to make its debut in the near future. Watch for details and events surrounding the new magazine at www.hsm2.com. The November issue of Envy Houston Magazine is one of Envy’s best so far! Find out where you can get your copy by emailing where@envyhouston.com or visit their website www.envyhouston.com. www.Clubsinthecity.com has a new look, visit the website to see what changes Joey Victorian made to the site. I’ll close this edition with big news about Six Degrees Lounge located 911 Franklin. There was a sneak preview opening for close friends and invited guests on October 29th. I was not able to attend, but was honored to be invited to by Managing Partner and "hot thang," Gary Murphy. Please meet me there on Saturday, November 20th for the Grand Opening. The new Six Degrees Lounge will open to the public and offer Houstonians a funky, fun, comfortable and eclectic environment to mix and mingle. Six Degrees will be open from 5 pm to 2 am Wednesday through Saturday every week and offers space to host happy hour parties, fundraisers and other private events. For more information, call Crystal at 713-228-2990. Tell her you read about Six Degrees in the Queen of Clubs. Please don’t forget to support the sponsors of this newsletter by signing up for their lists or patronizing their businesses.