Kate Spade + MACARONS

photo by eric linebarger

A few weeks ago, I attended the Kate Spade Kansas City grand opening party.  Hosted by Meg Biram of mimi+meg, it was a vibrant, swanky affair.

Meg Biram, Jessie Artigue | photo by eric linebarger

One of my dear friends Alison came with me, and we had so much fun sipping pomegranate champagne cocktails and perusing the bold-colored items in the striped store.

photo by eric linebarger

Oddly enough, one of my favorite features of the new store was the area that held the boxes and bags for purchased merchandise.  Form meets function perfectly in this design feature.

I really thought it was a fun piece of art until I got a closer look.

Here I am with Jessie of Concrete Catwalk.  She's moving to Hoboken, NJ any day now.  We barely met this summer, and I'm sad to see her go so soon.

Hand-lettering artists were on-hand from Hallmark (headquartered in KC) to personalize the party favors - Kate Spade tote bags!  I'm in love with Tobe of Because It's Awesome 's nail polish.

photo by eric linebarger

Here's the stylin' feet of the design duo Carrie & Morgan from Ampersand Design Studio.  [I MUST get some fuchsia suede pumps.]  I love their work, and it was so nice to finally meet Morgan!

I walked away with this lovely little guy in a bright fuchsia color.


NOW.  For my favorite and most memorable part of the evening.

I had my first macaron.  At Kate Spade.  Serendipitously enough, they were made by Morgan's mom!

photo by eric linebarger

I've probably never tried one of these just due to the mere fact that I don't believe I've ever had the chance.  And I've never sought them out, nor understood the craze, because they look like meringue cookies.  Who wants to eat a dry, airy cookie, let alone two at the same time?


And then I saw this photo.  Just. before. this. party.

I'm sure she has no idea, but Amanda from Kevin and Amanda totally changed my world with this one photo.  How many people actually show you what's on the inside of a macaron after biting into it??

That is DEFINITELY NOT a meringue cookie.  Look at how soft and moist it is!  Look at that thin shell!

The universe aligned, and a mere few days after seeing the photo that spiked my desire to get my paws on a macaron, I was presented with a plate full of various flavor profiles to try.

I ate two.  Both plain vanilla bean.  I wanted to eat every last one.

photo courtesy of au bon macaron

I've listed some links to recipes below, but if you don't want the stress of creating your own at home (these babies are the epitome of pastry precision), check out Au Bon Macaron, and place an order for the holidays.

Or for your afternoon snack.

She has all colors of the rainbow and flavors like eggnog, cranberry, peppermint, pumpkin, and - the one that sounds the best to me - lavender honey.  Wouldn't those be just perfect with afternoon tea?

Keep your eyes peeled for my own experience making these - I plan to tackle them in the next week.  You know, just another way to keep myself entertained while The Stallion's away.

If you're ready to tackle macarons, the two posts below are the ones I'd trust the most (it's what I'm going to reference).  Hélène was going to teach us how to make macarons while she was in town for her photography seminar, but, we were tired.

Macaron Tutorials/Recipes:
Halloween French Macarons - Kevin and Amanda (great step-by-step photo tutorial)
Macaron Recipe Index - Tartelette (scroll down to find the macaron section; Helen has tons of recipes, and she's French! She really knows what she's doing)