Earlier this week, I was lucky enough to be invited to a blogger event, sponsored by Treat, a new greeting card company by Shutterfly!  Treat wanted to treat (repetition intentional) some local Cleveland bloggers to a girls night out and share with them us they had to offer. A blogging friend who I just started talking with online, Heather from CafeSMom, was asked to host the event.

What a great event! Heather selected DC Pasta, one of the restaurants by local chef Dante Boccuzzi, and not only was the food amazing, but it was also great to learn all about Treat and meet some other great ladies.

I know, the suspense is killing you.  What is Treat? What did I eat? Here are the details:

What is Treat? Treat is the new brainchild of Shutterfly. Yes, I may be in love with Shutterfly and have used them for the last few photobooks  and other miscellaneous goodies I’ve purchased, but I’m falling in love with Treat as well! They offer customizable greeting cards that you design via their website. After the card (with or without photos) is designed, you pay for the card plus the stamp and they can mail it out for you directly or mail it to you if you want to include a handwritten message. What else is cool about Treat?

• Your first card is FREE if you use the code FREETREAT! So there’s really no reason not to try it out.
• You can pre-design and pre-order cards! If you’re like me, you remember friends’ birthdays the week in advance, and then the day of you forget to actually call/mail that card (Sorry Caitlin! Your card is in the mail!) – Treat can help you out! When you design a card, you can select the mailing date – so you could literally design all your birthday cards and select the dates at once and forget about them until they’re mailed out a few months later!
• You can import your Facebook friends and have Treat remind you when their birthdays are! No more forgotten birthdays. You can also select which friends you want to send cards to so you don’t get a reminder for all 1,000 of your friends. When you log in, it will tell you which birthdays are coming up and give you the option to send a card (or, as you’ll see below, send a belated birthday card… Sorry Katie… but Happy Birthday today!)

A reminder tells you who to send your next card(s) to!

I’ve already made one card and mailed it out and can’t wait to make more! If you want to learn more and try it out for yourself, visit their website, and don’t forget to use the FREETREAT code.

What did I eat? DC Pasta was great, and Brad, our waiter was awesome. He helped many of us choose what to order. We were treated to a variety of appetizers, including  a plate of colorful and delicious olives, some prosciutto, and various marinated vegetables, including sundried tomatoes, eggplant and artichoke. As a bread lover, I appreciated the steady supply of bread, along with a white bean hummus-like dip.

For my meal I ordered one meatball plus two taste size pastas. That’s right – for $5, they give you a “taste” which is actually a perfect child’s size meal. It was great – I’m always debating between multiple menu items, and this time I didn’t have to settle – I got both! I ordered the Lunache  e Polipo (toasted garlic, snails, octopus, parsley, chile flakes, broccoli) and the Ruote alla Puttanesca (wagon wheels, olives, anchovies, capers, peperoncino, tomatoes), along with a side of a Ricotta Meatball (a meatless, roasted ricotta ball). Everything was delicious – the Lunache was spicy and the Puttanesca was salty, both qualities I love in a meal. Oh, and for dessert? A tall helping of pistachio gelato!

Thanks so much to Treat for treating us ladies to a great night out and thanks to Heather for organizing!

Photos, below – top left, Heather shares with us some info about treat. Second row, my awesome food and the great menu. Third row, a treat from Treat – my goodie bag with some free cards and stationary.

Disclosure: Treat provided me with a free meal and will be providing me with a complimentary year-long subscription to their site. As always, thoughts and opinions are 100% all mine.