An Accidental Birthday Party Turns This Heights Real Estate Office Into a Scene — Getting Fabulous for Fady

Fady Armanious wasn’t planning on celebrating his 39th birthday in any significant way. After all, arrangements were already in the works for his big 4-0 in Marrakesh in 2022. But friends kept asking. And so it was that on Sunday in Houston, more than 50 amigos gathered on the rooftop terrace of Boulevard Realty’s office in The Heights to salute the gregarious Aries.

Hosting the merry throng was Bill Baldwin, Fady’s partner and owner of Boulevard Realty. Caveat to all guests: Don’t come if you aren’t feeling well. Bring your mask. Keep your distance. However, with 93 percent of the guests boasting COVID-19 vaccinations, caution was tossed to the rooftop breezes.

It was a gregarious gathering, a first outing for many who had been carefully adhering to pandemic precautions. There were air kisses, elbow bumps and even hugs as this festive clutch of partygoers embraced the rare in-person fellowship, compliments of Moderna and Pfizer.

It was quite the al fresco fête. Summer frocks in bold colors and bright florals, linen shirts, the occasional Bermuda shorts, hats and more hats ruled the fashion scene as one might expect from an event celebrating Tootsies creative director. An avowed fashion peacock, Armanious dressed in his favorite color — yellow. An avant-garde yellow jumpsuit by Haider Ackermann and Valentino sandals embellished with brown leather flowers comprised his ensemble.

A variety of yellow flowers in various containers and knick knacks from the Armanious/Baldwin home lined the single table that stretched the full length of the terrace. The multi-talented birthday boy acknowledged that he and his design buddies had arrived at 7 that morning to decorate the party scape. As Becca Cason Thrash, one who is noted for her grand fêtes, exclaimed on first seeing the festive tableau, “This looks like I could’ve decorated it.”

Indeed, the gathering had all the markings of a brilliant bash: the DJ, the California umbrellas, the flowing wine, the presents stacked high on a side table. and the four-course lunch  provided by Height’s hot spot Mastrantos, which happens to be a ground floor tenant of the three-story building on Studewood.

PC Seen: Hallie Vanderhider, Richard Flowers and Angel Rios, Elizabeth Stein, Kelley Lubanko, Tony Bradfield and Dr. Kevin Black, Amanda and Terry Boffone, Roslyn Bazzell Mitchell, Phoebe Tudor, Stephanie Fleck, Sergio Morales, Beth Muecke, Tarek El-Bjeirmi, Carrie and Sverre Brandsberg-Dahl, and Melissa Juneau.