Over the holidays, we acquired this very whimsical and somewhat ironic canvas for our home. We moved in last Spring and our walls have been mostly bare as we took our sweet ol’ time to find the perfect piece to add to our home decor mix (translation: I was too lazy and not particularly motivated). While vegging on our L-shaped sofa one lazy weekend afternoon, hubby forced me to select one from amongst the selections he found online once and for all. There were so many to choose from but somehow, this one seemed to be the one. It bore the same shade of baby blue on our feature wall and all the finishes I chose for our home. The subject matter is both masculine and feminine at the same time so it perfectly represents our very different interests and hobbies. He has the “stereotypical” male interests like sports, MMA and cars. And as for me, you already know I’d happily spend it in the kitchen any day baking sweet pink cupcakes and cute macaron bears. So wouldn’t you say this piece is the perfect compromise for us? And that PINK BOW! It’s everything!
I’ve been thinking a lot about dreams and adventures lately and I do appreciate that most of us can’t pack up and fly away easily but we can still have mini “adventures” everyday if we wanted to! It’s just that simple and exhilarating feeling of the unknown that awaits you. Here are just some very simple and perhaps even “silly” ideas I put together. But you get the idea 🙂
♥ Bring yourself out to lunch and walk instead of drive, even if it’s a little “far” away. Enjoy the scenery and get a little exercise at the same time.
♥ Buy yourself that little trinket that you deemed to have “no use” but yet it makes you smile every time you look at it.
♥ Make the initiative to DM and meet up with that Instagram friend whom you get along so well with online but have never met in real life.
♥ Buy your husband flowers. Just so he can say, “But why?…” You can giggle inside but tell him it’s because he’s special. Perhaps it will also be an UNFORGETTABLE reminder for him to get flowers for you next time. Plus you basically get to enjoy the flowers yourself this time haha.
♥ Go to the bakery and order that incredibly delicious looking dessert that looks like it has 1000 calories. Eat it alone without guilt or drop half the “burden” off to a best friend 🙂
♥ Fill up your gas tank and don’t stop driving until a certain time. Stay and explore.
♥ Look up a recipe for something exotic or gourmet and make it for a weekend dinner. Open a bottle of wine. Even a cheap one will do 🙂
♥ Buy some craft materials and make some handmade cards to send via snail mail to friends who live in the same city. It will help you channel your creative side plus the good feelings come back to you later when your friends receive your card gushing with surprise.
Having said all of that, today I want to share these dreamy dreamy (yes, I said it 2x) Over-the-Rainbow macarons with you. They were inspired by the new canvas and the possibility of endless adventures to come. Wishing you an adventurous day!
XOXO,
Mimi
♥ORIGINAL Best French Macaron Tutorial can be found here ♥
♥ MIMI’S OVER THE RAINBOW MACARONS RECIPE ♥
Makes 12 Cloud Macarons
♥ INGREDIENTS:
– 130 grams almond flour
– 130 grams icing sugar
– 90 grams castor sugar
– 100 grams aged egg whites
– 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
♥ EXTRA SUPPLIES (besides ones needed for regular macaron making):
– Blue Gel Colour (Sky Blue & Teal from Americolor)
– 2 Cloud Templates (Remember to use BOTH templates – top & bottom shell)
– 4 Strips of Rainbow Gummy
– Mini Marshmallows
– Edible Glue
– Cleaned Egg Container
My macaron towers immortalized on my mantle against the feature wall.
A boozy Irish Cream filling that's perfect for celebrating St. Patrick's Day with.
- 70 grams granulated sugar
- 40 grams Baileys Irish Cream
- 1 whole egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 155 grams room temperature butter
- Set butter out at room temperature.
- Whisk egg and egg yolks together until incorporated.
- In a small pot, heat up the Baileys liqueur and sugar on medium heat until the mixture starts to steam and you can see a few bubbles rise up from the sides of the pot. DO NOT allow the mixture to come to a full boil.
- SLOWLY pour 1/3 of the liquid mixture into the egg yolks and egg mixture while whisking vigorously to prevent cooking the eggs.
- Then take this egg mixture and pour it back into the pot with the liquid mixture. do it SLOWLY while whisking vigorously.
- Put it back onto the stove on medium heat. Stir to prevent eggs from curdling. Cook the mixture until it reaches 160 degrees. Take off the heat immediately.
- Pour mixture through a strainer into a mixing bowl. Use a spoon to push it through.
- In a stand mixer, using a balloon whisk, whisk the mixture on medium speed until it is cool to the touch. It will look lighter in color and the volume will have increased but it will still be runny.
- Change to the paddle attachment. On slow speed, add butter a little at a time. Once incorporated, beat on medium speed until fluffy.
- There is enough filling to fill approximately 24 cloud macarons. This recipe was scaled to the smallest amount possible while using 2 yolks and 1 whole egg so there will be a little leftover filling which you can freeze for use at a later time. Hand whip it before next use.
- Alcohol will remain in the filling. Take caution when serving to children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. Always remain vigilant when heating up alcohol as it can cause a fire.
Small Batch of Edible Glue for Applying the Rainbow Gummy
♥ 20 grams icing sugar
♥ 1 1/2 tsp. of meringue powder
♥ water in a spritzer bottle
Combine the dry ingredients in a glass bowl. Spritz the water onto the dry ingredients a little at a time and then blend everything together until you reach a thick consistency. When you pick it up, it should not flow easily off the spatula. If it’s too runny, add more sugar. A spritzer is great for controlling the amount of water you are adding at one time.
Complete Video Tutorial & Template
Remember to PRINT BOTH templates out. One for the TOP and one for the BOTTOM shell.
Tri-Color Unicorn Macarons
Since we’re talking rainbows… you can’t forget about UNICORNS! Here is a tutorial for unicorn macarons which will look so fitting next to these rainbow macarons:
Other cuties you might like
Chinese New Years Mandarin Macarons with Mandarin Jasmine Ganache
February 7th, 2016
Magical Tri-Colored Unicorn Macarons with Green Tea Swiss Buttercream
January 5th, 2017
Christmas Macaron Bear Tutorial with Template
October 25th, 2015
Painting my own Macaron Pottery at Bella Ceramica in West Vancouver
February 19th, 2017
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Macarons & My Canada 150 Story
July 1st, 2017
Mimi says
Reader’s work using this tutorial. Thank yo so much for tagging me!
Mimi says
Reader’s Work with my recipe. This is by IG@Dessoy
Natalie says
So cute!!!
Mimi says
Thank you so much Natalie! I hope you get a chance to make it too.
XOXO,
Mimi