Because everyone should see NYC at Christmastime.

Guess where I was last night?

Give up?

I spent the evening at a swanky event at the Lola in New York City. SO. FUN.

Hosted by Barbara Jones and Catherine Connors for Sole Society, a group of mom bloggers gathered for a fashionable evening of shoes, champagne, and chocolate.

I mean, hello. Shoes, champagne and chocolate? Yes please!

When I received the invite, I immediately wanted to go. It’s a lot to travel to NYC for a 2-hour event, which requires babysitters and train tickets and allowing time for traffic and dinner. But I love New York at Christmastime, and I was well overdue for a jaunt to The Big Apple.

Plus, you know, SHOES!

So around 3PM, Cecily, Melissa and I met up and hopped a train to Penn Station. Let’s just say, there was no shortage of conversation.  (Or self portraits.)

When we stepped off the train, New York was a magnificent site. I could have sat down and just gazed at the city lights for an hour, but there was no time for that. We hoofed it toward the Lola, looking for a place to grab dinner.

Can I also add? The weather was PERFECT. Just cold enough to feel festive, but mild enough that we were perfectly comfortable strolling the city streets. Barbara and Catherine couldn’t have hand-picked better weather for their event. We had to stop for another self portrait because we’re bloggers and that’s what we do.

After stopping at 3 or 4 restaurants (yes, it was quite the saga!) we landed at Lulu & Me — a restaurant that, as it turns out, had just recently opened. The owner was gracious and visible, which is always fun. We chatted for a bit, and although they were experiencing some oven troubles, we still enjoyed a yummy dinner. (They also provided us with a free round of drinks for the inconvenience. Bonus!!) Here’s an article about the new restaurant. I’d say we chose well!

Of course I took a picture of my dinner. Cause that’s another thing that we bloggers do.

I really want to know how to make this at home! It was pork tenderloin with a pesto drizzle and a side of shallots, squash and mushrooms — an interesting and surprisingly delicious combination of flavors. And the presentation was lovely.

After that, it was on over to the Lola to find out more about this Sole Society. Turns out, it’s like a Shoe-Of-The-Month club. (Beats Jam-Of-The-Month any day! Bonus points for anyone who can name the movie reference.) Click on the How It Works video on the bottom right for a quick explanation, or click here – but basically, for $49.95 a month, you get a new pair of shoes of your choice from a selection picked for your style and preferences. You can skip a month without penalty, and shipping and returns are free.

We were immediately steered over to the shoe display where we were invited to try on shoes and choose a pair to take home. Melissa and I dove right in!

We both went right for these gold platform pumps, which where surprisingly not uncomfortable. I’m not sure how my feet would feel after teetering around on them all night, but they didn’t feel as precarious as they might look. Plus, they are just pure awesome and would take any of my standard black-and-denim evening outfits from ordinary to stunning in no time.

The rest of the evening, we chatted and twittered and just generally enjoyed a fancy night out without needy little people attached to our elbows.

Plus, ya know, the champagne and chocolate didn’t hurt either.

(No, those drinks were not both mine. In fact, neither were mine; I grabbed the photo from Barbara’s Twitter stream ’cause I liked it.)

We hung out as long as we could without missing our train. In fact, it was a bit of a stressful walk back to Penn Station. We had no luck hailing a taxi, and we were pushing it to get there in time. Melissa set the pace, while Cecily and I tagged along behind, and somehow we managed to arrive just in time to join the line of people boarding the Philly-bound train. And before I knew it, I was at home in bed with visions of shoes dancing in my head.

Only one question remains, where shall I wear my snazzy new pumps!?