We started rotating hosting dinner every month with our friends the Thomases and the Birds. Our first Dinner Party was at the Birds and it was delishhh!
The ladies: me, Jess & Meghan... in height order, ha!
The guys decided to play PIG, minus the basketball and court, with a pingpong ball and glass vase instead! Not sure what was going on in the picture below, but it was part of the game.
The appetizer was courtesy of Jessa, and Oh Em Geeeeee it was delicious. She has been cooking through the book, Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist. I have been reaping the benefits of her quest as she has shared many delicious recipes with me, and these Bacon Wrapped Dates did not disappoint. Needless to say, after having this delicious appetizer, I added the book to my Amazon wish list. (See what I did there? Easy link to the list for Donna and Mom, haha!)
Meghan made a risotto, with steamed veggies and goat cheese and we ended the night with home made ice cream (also on my wish list now as a result of this dinner - I have no shame!).
As you know, we love dancing Salsa, and it was so fun to give our friends Nate and Lauren a little intro lesson. They caught on quick!! (Sorry for the blurry shot!)
Kara, who was my roommate for three years in College lives in Brooklyn and is a Doctor at SUNY Downstate. She has a busy busy schedule, so it's always great to see her. On this particular Saturday morning, we enjoyed a Rooftop brunch at 230 Fifth as we celebrated our friend Alana's birthday. One of my favorite things about living in the City is that we get to have regular visitors and it was so nice to see Alana who was visiting from Florida.
Kara and a sweet shot of the Empire State building behind us.
Me and the birthday girl!
AKA for life! (Alana, Kara, Andrea!) The palm trees on the rooftop are from Florida, which was such a nice touch, since we all met in Miami.
Later that night, we volunteered at Ronald McDonald House and made dinner for the families.
Brett and Robby... where's Erin? Hah!
Oh, there she is... Couldn't see that lovely smile.
Me and Erin
Robby and Ali! Going to miss this Southern Belle when she moves to ATL this month.
After church the next day, the guys did their annual Fantasy Football Draft. So I thought it would be fun for the ladies to get brunch. We went to Yorkville Creperie, which had such a great ambiance and delicious, filling crepes!
Mmmm! Nutella filled crepe with strawberries and bananas.
After Barry moved downtown, we have kept our tradition of weekly "family dinners" going strong. We get to see him every Thursday. What a fun surprise that he brought cupcakes from Two Little Red Hens.
They are definitely as good as they look here (Brooklyn Blackout, Peanut Butter Fudge Swirl and Boston Cream). We all decided that Brooklyn Blackout was the winner. After our dinners, we usually meet up with everyone at Biddy's Pub for trivia night. (So fun!) We've won a couple of times so far!