surprise dinner parties: my new favorite "almost" date

 in nyc, formal (ish) dinner parties are all the rage. 

my friend, j, put together a small group of 2 couples, a bachelor, two bachelorettes and a fabulous gay guy (diversity was key for ease in what could have been an awkwardly obvious 2 on 1 bachelor date).
mostly everyone had different professions and some people even hailed from other countries.

j made all the arrangements.
i only knew i was to meet at grand central station and to dress as if i was going to the roof of the soho house.

done. i had fabulous shoes.

i love surprises and meeting new people. this was really up my alley.

 we hopped on a train... to where?... i didn't know....

 about 40 minutes later, we arrived in dobbs ferry at sunset.
it was gorgeous-not the best setting for the aforementioned fabulous shoes, but i handled it.
sister can work a 5 inch stiletto in any condition!

 we ate at a darling little place on the river. pictured above with my girl, brandi
and watched the sunset and the city from afar...

we ate a lot of great food, shared interesting stories and went around the round table asking one question that everyone had to answer like
"what was your worst job."
"if you had to switch lives with someone living or dead, who would you choose?"
etc...
i knew my dinner mates in a way i probably wouldn't have in any other situation.
it was completely interesting and very very fun.
then back to nyc.

you should try it!