Holaaaaaa lovelies!!!
Long time, no update. Sorry 'bout that. I've been running around trying to get my life back in order after my whirlwind of a mini Eurotrip I took over Christmas vacation. I'm hoping to get pictures and descriptions up and running soon, but I wanted to write a quick post to let y'all know you're not forgotten!! Love and kisses and hugs and pining for all the food and people from back home that I miss, Alisha
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Not this happens every week, but I love me some good alliteration. So there you have it: Wishlist Wednesday! As you may or may not know (certainly you do if you follow me on Twitter), it's getting quite cold here in Madrid. WINTER IS COMING. It's not quite bitterly cold just yet, but it's fast approaching. Given that I spent the entire last year living in Florida, I'm not quite sure how I will handle this. I can hardly stand to get out of bed and leave the house to brave the cold as it is, so when winter actually arrives, expect me to never surface again. Unless....... .....I had this coat. Definitely a Wishlist item if there was one. How cute is it?!? This the Women's Brooklyn Down Jacket by The North Face. It's a North Face, so you know it'll be warm and I also happen to think it's quite stylish. I love the faux fur removable hood and that the outer shell is waterproof. I also love the slim puffer design because though it would reach around mid-thigh on me, it won't be too overwhelming on my 5'4" frame. The belt adds a nice touch of subtle femininity. The color is perfect for traversing city streets because I wouldn't have to worry much about dirt showing. The color pictured, Graphite Grey, is my favorite, but a close second is Urban Navy. The catch: it's $279.00. It would be a good investment, for sure, but my broke self unfortunately cannot afford it. *crycrycry* If anyone wants to be my Secret (or Not-So-Secret) Santa, I'm a size Small. Also on the Wishlist, this book: I saw this on BuzzFeed the other day via a list of 33 perfect gifts for Harry Potter fans (link here to read). Once you get caught in that internet spiral, you can't stop, ya know? Linking led to linking, which led to me finding out that this book was released the 28th of October. Why did I not know about this sooner?!? Da igual, I now know. Formally titled Harry Potter: The Creature Vault by Jody Revenson. Link here to preview some of the absolutely stunning artwork. Click here to buy on Amazon. I love interesting table books. One of my favorites (well, currently, really the only in my collection) is Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty by Andrew Bolton (et. al.). The late McQueen was one of my favorite designers and this book features some of his most iconic pieces. It features snippets of interviews and conversations with McQueen himself about his work as well as an interview with Sarah Burton, the designer who's done an amazing job carrying on the McQueen legacy. The book itself is gorgeously laid out and I believe that it will stand the test of time and be revered forever. I already have this book (thanks to my amazing hermanita, Karissa) so it's not on my wishlist any more, but I highly recommend you add it to yours if you enjoy fashion and the interesting dichotomies between masculinity and femininity. Well, that's all for now, so I shall TTYL. And I know, I know, upload posts about what I've been doing with my life and free time like I keep saying I will.
Hasta pasta! A Spanglish dictionary is underway! Stay tuned!!
xxoox It's that time of day: new blog post time! What is this maddness?!? Who knows... Put on some chill music (Spotify's "Soft Pop Hits" playlist is fab) and grab a bowl of ice cream and a glass of wine, not unlike my current snack off choice , and let's ride. So yesterday was my friend's birthday (her name is Sima and you can check her stellar blog here). Turns out it was another one of her (and Deena's) friends' birthday as well. We were going to have a surprise for Sima at Deena's place, but she ended up going to a bar to help set up with her same-birthday friend. They were having joint party at a bar called Veinti 7. They rented out the bar and were able to bring their own homemade tapas in so that people could snack throughout the night. The bartender even hooked them up with discounts on drinks for everyone if you mentioned one of their names. Sweeeet! Some of the girls at the party were kinda rude (in my opinion), but all in all it was pretty fun. At around 2:30am, we wanted to go out dancing so me, Deena, and Sima went around the corner to a bar called Space Monkey, but the line was INSANE. After standing in a non-moving for about 20minutes, we decided to call it quits and head home to prepare for the next night (tonight). We're supposed to be going to this HUUUUUUUGE club called Fabric, so I will keep ya posted on that! Also, totally an aside, but of late I can't get enough of Ed Sheeran. #latetothegame, I know, but seriously. Also, I keep remembering just how fantastic Jason Mraz is. I've always liked him and I love rediscovering his work, both old and new. Another new favorite is You+Me. The other day when we were booking our Bilbao trip, Sima turned me onto them and they are fantastic. Originally was going to be a one-time/one-song collaboration between Dallas Green and Alecia Moore (aka Pink), but ended up turning into a much larger project. They just recently released a full length album, which I highly recommend checking out. It's sweetly acoustic and soulful. I personally would prefer to enjoy this beachside with a glass of wine, but Madrid isn't too bad. Win some, lose some, right?!? ;) Thank goodness for Spotify!
Ah, yes, familiar Fridays with menú del día. This one was from last week. I went a place called Aió (pronounced kinda like Ah-ee-OH, but really fast and smushed together). Its a stone's throw, if that, from Amargo. I had walked past it a couple of times and had always wanted to try it. Peep my journey below: The menu! I love that it changes daily (makes me believe more that a place cares about the food and the ingredients they are using). Most places have at least one meat option, one seafood or fish option, or one vegetarian option (though to be honest, Spain is a country where it's somewhat difficult to be a vegetarian and not eat the same thing over and over and over again. Props to my veggie friends!!) Also, one of the great things about menú del día is that if you aren't feeling super hungry, most places will let you get just one course, a drink, bread, and dessert or coffee for a slightly reduced cost. Let's carry on my wayward son, shall we? For my primero (first) course, I got "Pasta con crema de espinacas". It was penne pasta with a cream sauce and spinach and a healthy dose of cheese. Though I found this dish erring slightly on the side of too salty (slightly too much salt in the space plus the saltiness of parmesan cheese), I was really pleasantly surprised by the toasted pine nuts in the sauce. For my segundo (second) course, I got "Pollo a la cerveza con veduras". This was beer-braised chicken with veggies. The chicken was good and for the most part tender and juicy, but I found it somewhat lacking in flavor. I think it could've used a touch more salt (maybe from the previous dish) to help bring out some more of the flavors that were developing. My café (coffee)! I forgot to take a picture as soon as I got it because I was so excited for it. After eating all of that food and being out late the night before, I was quickly falling into a food coma and needed something to perk back up. I got café con leche AAAAAAAAND I asked the waitress to give me nata (cream, in this case whipped, as in whipped cream...) on top. I'm sure this is not a normal thing that Spaniards do, but I like my whipped cream, so I shot for the stars and was rightfully rewarded. After all of that, I was super stuffed and quite sleepy. I continued reading for a bit more before leaving to go home and nap. Also, apologies that these photos are slightly below my normal subpar photo taking abilities. I took these using an iPhone3, which sadly does not have the greatest camera. But, da igual, you get the picture. Also, I'm really unsure as to why I can't resize these pictures, so you're welcome for really large pics!
Al final Total cost: €9.50. Thoughts: Would definitely return again. Loved the ambience and the service. The food was good, though I found the first dish a little too salty and the second dish lacking in salt. I loved that the waitress managed to get me cafe with whipped cream on top even though the bartender gave her such a confused look as to why anyone would order that. It's Friday, so y ou know what that means: MENU DEL DIA!!! Today's menu, courtesy of my fave: Cafe Amargo. Buen provecho (good eating/enjoy)!Second Course: hamburger with goat cheese and fried berenjena (eggplant) slices and fries. The goat cheese was not overpowering as it tends to be. It was balanced with the eggplant and the meat as well. The fries definitely tasted homemade. I loved the varying sizes of the potato and they had a slight hint of garlic added to them as well. I ate most of the burger, but not all of it because I was saving room for........... DESSERT!!! My favorite meal of the day! This is arroz con leche (rice pudding) and it's one of my favorites when made well. Margo makes it well. Soft and creamy with a slight hint of vanilla. It's drizzled with sweet honey-esque sauce that hardens and turns into a thin candy. The white/pale yellow jelly near the front of the plate was a lemon jelly that perfectly complimented the sweetness of the dish. It was almost like a refreshing sorbet in the fact that it was more tart than sweet. Thank goodness I got some pictures up. This blog was starting to get reeeeeealllll dry. The meal was delicious. normally I like to go home to power nap and prepare for the evening (especially tonight as it's my friend's birthday), but I have decided to stay and try to write at least one more post and maybe play around with the layout/theme of this thing. Now to order another glass of wine!
Hasta pronto! 😘😘😘😘 |