InstaRecap

What better way to play catch up than a look through some of my favorite Instagram pics? More or less, this is what life has been all about the last few weeks.

1. Newest Obsession: KIND bars. I have one in my bag at all times. Not just are they good for you but they taste good too.

2. A quiet Sunday pre-studying calls for tea and a good read. I highly recommend The Sweet Life in Paris, especially if you like to cook and bake. And of course love Paris. 

3. The Royal Caribbean "Royal Shuttle." It made taking the grimy subway bearable and made me wish I was away on a cruise.

4. My usual "view" when at school. All work, no play (even if you see Twitter in the background...)

1. Breakfast for Lunch: Chorizo and Almond flour pancakes. 

2. Doris Day Pandora for sleepless night.

3.4. Spring/Summer shopping! 

(watch from Target, nail polish from Urban Outfitters, hat from H&M, top from Kohl's (LC by Lauren Conrad).

1. A custom request bracelet that I need to make for myself.

2. The Brooklyn Promenade.

3. Normally these life like statues freak me out, but I love her high fashion take on it. 

4. Spring cleaning closet finds. Italy, I miss you!

Even though I usually wait until April to begin any kind of spring shopping/cleaning, I just couldn't help myself. When the temps flirt near 70 and are typically in the 60's, its kind of hard not to. I spent the better part of Saturday cleaning out my closets and tossing clothes. Garbage bags full. Now my closets are empty (ish) which means I need to go shopping (aka I will lay in bed, open up a couple of tabs and then "shop.") Please tell me I'm not the only one who has already gotten started on spring cleaning? 

Hope you all are well and that you have a great weekend!! 

Koala Tea

via 

Now I know what Charlie Sheen meant when he said he only had "one gear, GO!" OK I probably don't know exactly what he meant (ifyaknowwhatimean), but it is literally how I feel. So much is going on, and as much as I try to balance everything out, some things have fallen to the wayside and (unfortunately) blogging is one of them. From the time factor to the physical factor, I just can't do it. 

If its one thing I promised myself as a blogger, it's that I would only post quality posts, nothing forced or half-assed. I hope I can get back to blogging, even if it's just once a week, but we'll see. 

In the mean time, you can follow me on Tumblr or on Twitter or on Instagram (@fleurdelyss). 

Hope you all are well and I hope to be back soon!

Alyssa

Adventures in Macaron Making

PART I

challenge chal·lenge something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort, etc.: Space exploration offers a challenge to humankind.


Macarons are a challenge. Which is why I was so determined to give them a try. 

For the last two weeks, I have read recipes, watched YouTube videos, and done everything I possibly could short of flying to France to learn about the technique of making macarons.  Last weekend I felt I was ready and decided it was time to attempt the elusive treat.

As I set out to print the recipe I would follow, I came across a new recipe that was so different from all the other recipes I had read. This new recipe skipped most of the "classical" steps seen in the other recipes such as no aging of the egg whites, no drying out of the batter before baking and not adding the sugar in batches to the egg whites. Since it seemed to have so much success (IE it had such pretty pictures...) I decided to abandon everything else I had read before and follow this new recipe. 

It all seemed to be going well. I made sure to measure out all of my ingredients and tried to pay attention to the batter and "macronage." But I think even before the folding of the dry ingredients with the meringue, I don't think my meringue was stiff enough.  The batter consistency didn't fit the profile of over mixed or under mixed so I continued on. As I filled the piping bag and started piping them out (for which I also used the wrong tip) the batter wasn't runny, but it wasn't holding either. But pipe away I did. I even made sure to whack the life out of the baking pan (to remove air bubbles) and as a result, none of the cookies broke. Plus one for me!

I baked the cookies in about three batches. The first came out resembling macarons the most with little "feet." Batch #2 and #3 well, there are no words for them except HUH?

So on the macaron front, they are an epic FAIL! But on the delicate almond cookie front they are absolutely WINNING because they are delicious! I will surely be attempting macarons again, and this time I will surely be sticking to classical wisdom... 

It's Carnaval!

As the countdown to Lent begins, many places around the world are celebrating with one last party: Carnaval!  It's no secret that I left part of my heart in Nice, so of course the carnival I want to experience the most is the Carnaval de Nice. Sure, Brazil is the biggest and most talked about celebration, but it's a bit too much T&A for me. Nice is the original, and nothing beats the original.

The Carnaval de Nice is comprised of the carnival parade, the flower parade, a parade of lights, in addition to lots of other entertainment from around the world. In looking at pictures from the past few years, it is amazing to see all the effort and work that goes into all the floats and costumes in conjunction with the overall theme (This years theme is "King of Sports" for this years Olympics.) 

*images of the carnival parade, flower parade and parade of lights via nicevarnaval.com

"For over 15 days, the city hums to the rhythm of this genuine, fairy-tale event … get a passport for the celebration and let the magic do its work … come and forget the dullness of winter and take in the sun on the French Riviera!" 

Oh Nice Carvnaval website, how I wish I could...