What a fun night with blogger friends! 
There’s a wonderful group of friendly, intelligent, and enthusiastic bloggers in Boston, and I’m so happy that I’ve been able to connect with such an amazing bunch.
The evening started with a shopping event at Mint Julep in Harvard Square. The boutique hosted an event called Shop to Give, which donated a percentage of each purchase to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Middlesex County.
Mint Julep was well-prepared for the event with festive holiday decor, treats, and drinks.
The spread of food and drink was SO impressive! 
It included a variety of mini Sweet cupcakes.
Champagne served with floating, fresh cranberries.
A fantastic cheese platter with fruit.
Chocolate-covered stars and gingerbread man holiday cookies.
And goodie bags of candy (mostly chocolate!) to take home. 
I absolutely love Mint Julep. I pretty much want one of everything in the store.
Elina, Lauren, and Melissa shopped, nibbled, and sipped with me at Mint Julep. We really enjoyed the event, but we didn’t end up buying anything.
After the shopping event, we headed over to Noir in the Charles Hotel for a blogger meet-up. The nice folks at Noir offered to host us and sent over a whole slew of appetizers free of charge. Thanks, Elizabeth!
Our group of 10 shared a number of dishes:
TOMATO & GOAT CHEESE FLATBREAD WITH BASIL, BABY ARUGULA AND BALSAMIC REDUCTION
ITALIAN STYLE FLATBREAD WITH BASIL PESTO, PROSCIUTTO, SALAMI, CAPICOLA, AND FRESH MOZZARELLA
I started with a piece of the Tomato and Goat Cheese flatbread pizza, which was excellent. The goat cheese added a nice, strong flavor as well as a wonderful texture, especially mixed with the tomato and arugula. I was a big fan!
In addition to eating a piece of flatbread pizza, I dominated the hot dips– specifically, the SPINACH, BACON & GRUYERE DIP WITH TOASTED PITA. It was SO addicting. I could not stop eating it! I definitely have a Gruyere “problem.” 
I also had a few bites of the MAC & CHEESE WITH TORTILLA CHIPS, which seemed like an amazing idea for a dip, but it was a tad on the runny side.
To drink, I ordered the Dirty Harry martini, which was made with blue cheese-stuffed olives, Reyka vodka, and a splash of olive juice. It was pretty awesome.
Blue cheese-stuffed olives are really something special!
Boston bloggers at Noir!
And here I am with the lovely ladies of We Are Not Martha!
Fantastic night. I’m pooped. See ya in the morning!
Thanks, again, Elizabeth and Noir!
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
Spinach, bacon and gruyere dip?!?! Sign me up!!
Ahh, I have a Gruyere problem too
Aww, it’s times like this I wish I still lived in Boston! Looks like so much fun! And the food looks to die for!
Oh my goodness! Those dips sound incredible! I would be addicted as well..yummm! I am not a huge fan of olives so I don’t think I would have liked that martini so much but I think anything with blue cheese has to be incredible! Fun night!
Flatbread pizza looks amazing! Glad you lovely chicas had fun
Those bracelets in Mint Julip are too cute… maybe look on ebay for a cheaper one!
Wow. Tina. Mint Julep hosts this wonderful party, so you essentially just go for the food, not even bothering to buy a single item that could act as a Christmas gift or even a gift to yourself? Complain about prices, but you spend so much on groceries and special food items… I’m just saying, they went out of their way for a charitable event & you could have at least contributed to their cause.
Looks like a great time, I’ts always fun meeting up with fellow blogger’s and readers.
Great meeting you tonight, Tina!
Those cupcakes are purrrty! So cute! & I like the idea of cranberries in champagne
You and Melissa are the fastest posters ever
Love it! Thanks for organizing! Had a fabulous time!
Looks so fun! I kind of want to go to blogger meet up but I don’t think there are many bloggers in my area…
Are these all girl events?
Thanks for the awesome event!! It was great seeing you and meeting some new bloggers too
We’ll definitely have to do it again soon!!
Love the colorful, holiday pics. Looks like a fun night!
I would love to join in a blogger meet up sometime in Boston. It is a beautiful city and I’ve actually tried many places because of reading them on your blog.
Looks like a really fun night!
Thanks again for setting up a fun get-together, Tina! We should all meet up again soon.
The decorations and food looks soooo good.
@Leslie: Wow – way to be judgmental. Tina just gave Mint Julip awesome FREE publicity, and if she didn’t want to buy anything, she doesn’t have to. You have no idea what her financial situation is. Normally I try to stay out of ridiculous comments like this on blogs, but your comment was totally out of line and someone should call you out on it. I know Tina is way too nice to do so, so I’m going to do her a favor. You have no idea what you’re talking about and you should apologize to Tina, truthfully.
I love the decorations!!!
Yay, it was such a fun night! I’m going to do a video tour of my condo for the blog as you suggested. Should be fun!
I love blue cheese stuffed olives in martinis! So yummy! Looks like a fun evening.
I love both Mint Julep and Noir (esp. for their happy hour specials!) . Wish I could have met up but I totally will next time. Have a fabulous Friday everyone!
Ok, quick note – I am IN LOVE with dirty martinis. And it’s great to see you drinking them here. It’s my husband and my favorite drink. Have you ordered the Dirty Sue mix to make them at home?? If not, you HAVE to – you can purchase Dirty Sue from their website or cheaper at Amazon. Yum!
Looks like a great time and yay for Boston bloggers!!
i never had a desire to move to boston till I read this post! Can we be friends and go to fab shopping events together?
I am with you on the gruyere problem… it’s just so melty and delicious!
Gosh darn it! I totally forgot! I’m so mad at myself right now! This week has been crazy busy. Oh well
I’m so bummed right now though, for real.
wow! looks like a fabulous night!
jenna
ahhh totally wanted to go but was stuck at work…looks like an awesome night!
Boston looks loike sucha Mecca of wonderful food! I hope I can make it up there someday!
I spotted some Trader Joe’s peppermint bark in one of those pictures! Us girls at my work are absolutely NUTS for that stuff! mmmm….
Those mini cupcakes look sooooooooo good!
What fun!! You’re ALMOST making me want to live in a big city.
I agree with the other comomenters – your post makes me want to be a city slicker.
Boston is such a great place!
what an awesome night – mac and cheese dip sounds crazy good in theory.
I love the pictures. What a fantastic night!
Mint Julep is owned by girls I went to high school with in Vermont! I’ve always wanted to stop in! Maybe when they open a DC store!
I have to say I agree with Leslie, unless there was some kind of donation made to go in…
I love Mint Julep. Went there back in February. Such a cute shop!