stubborn accomplishments

i've never been one for sweets. they're too cloying and make my jaw ache and my stomach turn. but i adore the way they look, little dainty chocolates and tarts, cupcakes, and pies and the like. they're aesthetic is painfully adorable, sending my voice to a baby pitch as a pinch at invisible decadent cheeks.
the process of making sweets is also exciting to me. much less experimental, much less improvisation than cooking, more strict measurements and technique. the process for sweets is very opposite of me.
which is why i occasionally indulge in the challenge
it's much like Art to me, i get stubborn and pigheaded and burn with a determination to get it right, to produce something admirable for consumption, whether with eyes or mouth (or both).
most recently i delved into french macarons, titillated by the idea of meringue making, a sensitive - and arduous if done by hand, like I did - process.
my first attempt at macarons was abysmal, they were deflated, sad, sticky cookies that, while tasting good, we're all but ruined by their pitiful appearance.

this photo is of my second attempt (with a few alterations).
if there had been any witnesses to the victory dance i did in front of the oven when i saw these little lovelies i would be thoroughly embarrassed.
luckily that's a memory that only me and my little macarons share.

i still want to try a few more times at getting these just right so i can spoil friends and family with delicate delicacies.
but till then i'll rejoice in another baking conquest.