Friends celebrate with Pulitzer and Polo

Polo, Pulitzer and Party

Ashley Gruters celebrated her 33rd birthday March 11 with her gal pals at the Sarasota Polo Club. The girls spent their Sunday afternoon tailgating while watching the Polo matches. The party was hosted by Ali Miller. To honor the theme of the celebration, guests were asked to wear Lilly Pulitzer. “The sun came out and it was the perfect birthday outing as we sipped on rosé catching up on life,” Gruters said of the day. Happy birthday Ashley!

Expecting a new Floridian

Doug and Erin Christy announced this week that they are expecting their first baby! Baby girl Christy is due September 2018. The Christys, both natives of Florida, say they are proud to be adding another Florida native to their family. Erin got creative with her instagram hashtags, using "#FreshfromFlorida and #OrangeBlossomSpecial." Congratulations Doug and Erin!

We still need your help!

Don't forget, voting for our featured stand out couple is still open. 

Our Black Tie Season Standouts magazine commemorates the long busy season, looking back at the philanthropy and socializing moments. 

To help us out, visit YourObserver.com/BT to see the six couples in the running and make your vote.

Voting ends March 28. Look for the magazine in May for our story about the winners!

Tidbits:

Colorful costumes ... Although there were a lot of creative and colorful costumes at Ringling College of Art and Design's An Evening at Avant-Garde: In Color!, only a handful could win the costume contest. The winners of the best representation of theme contest, chosen by Cliff Roles, were Sherry and Tom Koski and the Willis Smith Construction group. Put on purple for a cause ... JoshProvides hosted an interactive dinner on March 15 at Michael's On East. The dinner, which JoshProvides says will be its newest signature event, was just in time for International Epilepsy Day. CEO Andria Bilan reminded guests to wear purple on March 26 in support of epilepsy awareness.