A MacFriendzie Weekend in Aurora, NY

This post is heavy with photos, but I am happy to share our weekend in Aurora, NY for the Artisan Craft Festival:

This was our "home away from home" last Thursday til Sunday, all planned by Tracey:

Nine of us spent the weekend in the Aurora area for this.....

....which was held on these grounds:

MAP

The fun began when I attended the Welcome Dinner on Thursday night which was held at the Aurora Inn:

It was fun to sit with Laura, Kendra and Susan, and their husbands, along with the Courtly Check Bears.  It was a lovely evening.

Here are a few fun things I shared with my girlfriends throughout the weekend:

I brought everyone a hand painted wineglass - no two alike, so everyone could identify their glass - a few broke throughout the weekend (long story!)

I wrapped each in a black and white bag and stapled a pumpkin on each one - so the pick was random:

Everyone needs a pair of checked sox - so I made "ice cream cones":

Each one was wrapped in a baggie....

After a few cocktails, this happened:

When it was time to play a game, I had two "would you rather" situation cards and two chocolates in plastic cloches for each one.

Each friend had to answer the "would you rather" situations and then we all chimed in!

Anne made a similar game called "Charcuterie Share".  Each had a scenario to discuss and a little treat:

We all brought a Mackenzie-Childs swap gift and played a dice game to "mix it up". I ended up with an Apron and a candle - I love them both:

I was in charge of breakfast the first day, so I made mini quiches and quick bread.

   

Making them in silicone muffin cups made them easy to re-heat in the microwave:

I adapted this recipe a little and baked them on a cookies sheets for 20 minutes at 350°:

I also made some cake balls, adhering them to plastic spoons with the chocolate....

....making them easy to eat, and then wrapped each individually:

We had lots of snacks, drinks and Ann brought more bread than could be found in any bakery!  No one went hungry !

Dinner one night was delicious Chicken Chili and pizza from a local joint (or was it Chilean Pizza?) and another night was a delicious pork and rice dinner prepared by Heather and Monica!  Check out the dinner table - beautiful stacks of MacKenzie-Childs enamel and spider napkin rings.  Colleen made sure we were all served in style:

These are the best women and we ate and drank well all weekend - Crystal prepared delicious bacon for Bloody Marys and Dawn brought pepperoni bread (a leftover was delish on the way home)!

#MacFRIENDzies:

We had a "party on the patio" on the Mackenzie-Childs grounds....

...and found more friends to join in on the fun:

And we met friends along the way that made the weekend even more special:

I made 6 of these for friends who I was meeting at the Fest - everyone needs a pair of black and white checked sox!

The Fest itself was filled with many booths of talented artists and craftsmen, lots of photo opportunities, food trucks, wine tasting, a mini 'barn sale' tent, pottery painting classes, floral arrangement classes and much more!  

EVEN tattoos:

The weather all weekend was perfect fall temps and sunshine!

The Farmhouse was all decked out in Autumn and Halloween decor designed by my dear friend, Linda:

My favorite room, the dining room, welcomes you as soon as you enter the home:

The table was set with Sterling and Courtly Checks and the most gorgeous fall centerpiece draped down the center of the table:

Our dear friend, Bill, led the pottery painting classes - - I painted a pie plate with a few checks and stripes, of course!!  He is our "go-to guy" for a lot of our questions about the history of many items!

Sunday morning was spent packing up the AirB&B, wishing each other safe travels home, and then one last trip to MacKenzie-Childs to make sure we didn't miss a thing!   

These fun magnets, ordered through Shutterfly, were the perfect "parting" gifts with the hopes we can all be together again soon:

The Traveling Totes were everywhere and we were able to get a great photo of all of together:

Sadly, we missed our friend Todd at this event and we were all happy to spend some time here, sharing a few stories:

 

Some of my favorite pieces:

       Mug                          Star Plate                       Heart Plate