This week, I stared danger in the eye and conquered my deepest fears. I faced the raging infernos of Hades as well as plagues of biblical proportion. All for you, dear friends!

Now, anyone who knows me knows that air-conditioning is my best friend. So to find me at an outdoor party in the middle of summer would be preposterous, right? But when the party is at the beautiful San Antonio Botanical Garden, the heat never seems to matter.

So I gleefully attended the “Art in the Garden” event with all the other “cool” people.

Among the crowd were Blue Star Executive Director Bill and Ann FitzGibbons, Botanical Society Managing Director Candace Andrews, Botanical Society Board President Joel Erben, Mike and Lyn Belisle, Bettie Ward, Nancy Cook Monroe, Mike Monroe, Mark Randol, Anne Morris, Jesus Moroles, Libby Tilley, Dianne Powell and Milton Guess.

Co-sponsored by the San Antonio Botanical Society and Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, this annual event coincides with Contemporary Art Month. This event featured a cocktail reception and a chance for Botanical Society members to preview sculptor Susan Budge’s new exhibit, “Myths, Magic and Mysteries.” Budge is an internationally-exhibited contemporary artist whose distinctive, colorful, large-scale ceramic pieces can be seen in numerous permanent collections and outdoor public spaces around the world.

Also on display at the garden is the work of James Surls, a nationally-known sculptor. Surls works with wood, steel and bronze to create visually compelling sculptures that are sophisticated and sometimes edgy. He was named Texas Artist of the Year in 1991 and received the Living Legend Award from the Dallas Contemporary Art Center in 1993.

And after I spent an evening outside, I threw caution to the wind and actually ate some tomatoes! (Gasp!)

Local socialite/accountant Charlotte Milner looked salmonella in the eye and laughed. Then she threw a “Fried Green Tomatoes … and Martinis” party at her home of the brave.

That afternoon, all my new southern-fried friends feasted on Charlotte’s delicious fried green tomatoes and washed them down with martinis made by the martini master himself, Gil Hernandez. And some of the other brave (and hungry) souls that afternoon included Rob and Helen Eversberg, Blanca Uribe-Hernandez, Richard and Lou Ann Mathews, Liz Medley, Sarah Quirk, Brian Howard and Cynthia Baker.

And, just in case anyone is wondering, martinis make you feel much worse than tomatoes.

Trust me.