A fancy little dinner party

I have quite a few pics to share with you now, so in the event that I am feeling too tired/lazy/hungover on Friday, just consider this your Photo Shoot Friday a few days early. Cool?

Last night, Liza's friends Erin, Joyann and Natalie hosted a fancy dinner party in honor of her birthday. It's so funny that we celebrated our NYC birthdays separately this year. We do have different friends and lives here, so I suppose it's only fitting. Liza has made amazing friends here over the years, and as hard as it is for me to admit, she's a big reason why I also have great friends in this crazy city!

Erin had us over to her apartment. What do I see as soon as I walk in? A wine bar! Score! The girl knows how to make her guests feel welcome ;)

Her West Village apartment is ridiculous. Ri.dic. It's so beautiful, we all commented that we felt like we weren't even in New York--which, is a good thing. Everyone needs a little escape from the big, bad city now and then.

As we sipped/chugged our wine, we noshed on prosciutto and cheese with toast and crackers. Mmm.

Liza's pals all chipped in and got her these Jeffrey Campbell boots they scored on Shopbop.com. (Kate is the Fashion Director for the site--you'll meet her in a sec). She had mentioned several times to me that she just had to have those boots--it was such a sweet surprise!

Look at this beautiful table setting. I felt like such a grown up for a change last night, and I loved it! 

Here's the hostess on the right with (another) Erin. If I had to guess, I'd say their dinner conversation had something to do with Erin's recent engagement—congrats, girl!

This pear salad was the perfect way to start the meal. It was almost too pretty to eat!

Here's Marsha and Kate at their own little table for two. So cute! Love the hat, Kate!

Natalie served up the main course: chicken with shallots. Love the haircut--I forgot to tell you that! Nat's having a going away party on Friday because she's moving to Beirut soon! Tear.

The chicken was paired with spinach and white beans and butternut squash. So, so good. Erin's hubby is one lucky guy!

The birthday girl with her bestie, Joyann. (Yeah, I just said bestie. Got a problem with that?) Looking good, ladies!

Here are Jenn and Tiff, the usual suspects, with Lindsay. Remember Linds from this post?

The best way to end a delicious birthday meal? Chocolate cake! Natalie made it from scratch—it took her six hours to bake! Now that's dedication, y'all.

I got a huge piece, but only ate half--that's all I could fit into my belly! It was so good and moist. The recipe and instructions are a bit long, so I'm putting it in the comments section if anyone wants to check it out!

Erin's pooch, Buddy, came out to play as soon as we were done eating. Isn't he the cutest? Ya know how some dogs just look like they have a personality--kinda like a person? Buds totally has that type of face!

We ended the night with Gossip Girl! And more vino. Everything was PERFECT. In case anyone is wondering, I stayed behind the camera lens due to a total hair disaster yesterday. It was not pretty. I did get mucho compliments on my American Eagle fur vest though, so that was a plus!

Has anyone else been to a fancy little dinner party like this one? What have you done recently that made you think, "Wow, I feel like an adult!"