You know what’s even better than making great connections online? Finding out that those people are even greater off line!

Tonight, I attended a lady bloggers dinner organized by the fabulous Jeanette of J’s Everyday Fashion. It was a great day to get together with J — she just launched her new site Shop J’s Closet today! Look how gorgeous this site is:

I’ve missed the past couple dinners so it was so great to get out again and chat with some like-minded ladies.

As we all started to gather at the bar, it was so fun to recognize each other by faces alone, even though most of us had never met in real life.

And when you bring bloggers together, it’s never not OK to whip out the cameras … especially when you realize you have the same camera. Right, Paula?

You’d think a bunch of bloggers who already read about each other’s lives almost every day would get together and strategize over SEO, hosting, WordPress v Blogger (OK, there have been some of that. WordPress forever!). But instead, we just got to know each other on more personal levels and it was such a fun night!

I hate to generalize, but I sometimes think it’s much harder for women to make other lady friends as they get older. But not with this crew! All 10 of us had a fabulous time laughing, eating, talking about our SOs, kids and pets, and there may have been a Patron shot or two. It was totally Craig’s (with a C, in case you’re wondering. He made sure we knew the difference) fault.

Dinner was at the new family-style Italian restaurant Matteo’s on International Drive. I’m always skeptical of most things on I Drive but this was very good. Starting with a pretty kick-ass sangria from the bar, everything was great. We ordered a few platters for the table and I got to say, the lobster ravioli and the Chicken Matteo’s were excellent. Whatever was in that sauce for the ravioli was nearly plate-licking worthy. Since I was amongst new friends, I resisted the urge to lick my plate, but it was tough! I compromised and dipped my roast veggies in it instead. Delish.

And what blogger get together is complete without the group shot?

Trust me, if you don’t already know them, you MUST start reading these ladies’ blogs. They are, starting in the back row: Michelle from Crazy Running Legs; yours truly; Paula from Eat: Watch: Run; Christine from Cook the Story; J from J’s Everyday Fashion; Katy Widrick; and Jamie from Work Your Closet. Front Row: Julie from Peanut Butter Fingers; Colleen from Lady Ballers; and Bess from Central Florida Top 5.

What a fun night! Can’t wait for the next one. And these gatherings are open to all, so if you live in Central Florida and you want to join us next time, just leave a comment, email me or tweet me, and we’ll add you to the list! I can’t promise that Craig will be there but I can promise a good time!