Grown-Up Playdate {Macaron Make n' Mingle}

Happy Spring, everyone!  I am so close to packing up the snow boots, snow pants, parkas, and shovels, I can taste it!  This has been such a long and cold Winter.  Karen & I  will be sharing a ton of fresh ideas this season. But, in the meantime  I wanted to share the sweet way we decided to say good-bye to Winter and hello to Spring!

For me, each new season is a clean slate.  And, this is certainly true of Spring.  I find myself to be the most creative this time of year. I don't know, maybe it has something to do with the vernal equinox but, a couple of weeks ago, I purchased that copy of Martha Stewart Living with the technicolor stacks of macaroons on the cover claiming,  "Gorgeous macarons you can make at home".  Well, if Martha says I can do it, then who am I to say they are wrong? This sounded like a perfect idea for a Make N'Mingle!

Macarons have always intimidated me a tiny bit.  Maybe its the maringue cookies, or the multiple step baking directions.  Or the delicate nature of them, or the fact that they seem to cost so much at the farmer's market.  I needed macaron moral support team; so I rallied a few girlfriends, promised them champagne and snacks, and picked up all of the ingredients we would need to make a few different flavored batches.

I'm not going to say that everything went according to Martha's plan.  Yes, we accidentally made almond butter instead of almond meal (thank you Trader Joe's for selling bags of already ground almond meal). And maybe we accidentally made hazelnut butter as well (which we obviously turned into an "I-Don't-Need-A-Reciple-Chocolate-Hazelnut-Spread".)  We may have even had a taste test to see which knock-off Nutella worked best (homemade won!) I may have had to rip the bowl of salted caramel filling out of Karen's hands.  

What I do know is that somehow, five ladies got together and created an assortment of macarons that were out of this world delicious. Everyone went home with plenty of macarons to share with their loved ones (if they lasted that long). These tasty, little, pastel-colored pillows whispered "welcome, Spring."

{Make n' Mingle}

Celebrating Christmas is something relatively new to me. It's not like I had evil parents, it's just I'm Jewish, and my husband isn't. What this means is I've basically idealized Christmas for most of my life. Growing up, my family's tradition was to either go on vacation, or go to the movies. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not complaining about a lack of Christmas in my childhood.  Believe me, I had a rather remarkable childhood.  Yet, to an outsider, the whole Christmas thing is kind of magical: families bundling together around a fireplace, opening up gifts wrapped with care and love that were delivered by a jolly old man.  In my dreams, Christmas was a simply wonderful day. 

The Holiday Season is a busy time with my family: we have five birthdays, Christmas, and Hanukkah.   With so much to celebrate, it can all get a bit overwhelming! In the month of December alone, Chuck celebrates Hanukkah, Christmas, and her second birthday.   

As I grow older (and slightly more cynical), you begin to realize the commercialism associated with Christmas.  

There has always been something a wee bit wondrous about a handmade, homemade holiday. I tend to go into craft overload this time of year. Based on my Pinterest feed, I don't think I'm the only one!  I always find myself pinning all kinds of things that would be fun to make 'some day'.  Last year,  in order to combat a bit of the commercialism, I decided to make that "some day" happen. I invited a bunch of my ladies over to the house for a little Make n' Mingle.  The premise is pretty simple: you bring your craft supplies, some adult libations, and some treats.  We sit around my dining room table  craft, talk, and help each other out.  

Alone, I can't sew my way out of a paper bag.  Yet, as a group, we managed to sew my daughter's Christmas Stocking last year.  I was so proud of this stocking, that I may or may not have created a Facebook post entitled  "This is how proud of I am of my stocking" and another update that states "bite me Pottery Barn Christmas, my daughter's stocking is made with love." I pulled it out of the box this year, and was amazed that it was still in one piece!  I hope she uses it for a long long time.  And, although its not as fancy as a Pottery Barn Stocking, I hope she appreciates all the thought and planning that went into it. 

This month, I would like to focus on handmade, homemade holidays.  Will my daughter receive a toy that came from a store?  Of course!  But, I would like to create something for her that came from me every year. 

The point of Make n' Mingle is not so much what we make, its how we make it.  We make it together, with friends, sitting around a table, sharing ideas, telling stories, enjoying a cocktail (or a beer if you're Karen).  It's a lot like an adult playdate! 

Want to see where we get our ideas?  Follow our Make n' Mingle Pinterest Board!  Follow Allyson Noel Make and Mingle! on Pinterest<>