happy halloween!

I have to say, Halloween has always been a holiday I've looked forward to. This year I won't be celebrating it, but I've really been enjoying facebook creeping on my friends back in the US :) Here in Madrid, Halloween isn't super popular. It's been catching on the last few years, and  a few discos and pubs have Halloween parties and some of the bi-lingual schools have Halloween parties. I'll probably spend my evening watching "Hocus Pocus" and reminiscing on Halloweens past. 

2011

bonjour Paris!

I'm off to Paris for a long weekend with a friend! I can't wait to see all the things I missed during my super short stay in March. See you all on Monday, I'm going to be stuffing my face with French bread, macaroons, and red wine for the next 72 hours :)

march 2012

another WIN for colorado!

It's no secret that Colorado is one of the best states in the country. The mountains, the breweries, the people, and the music scene isn't so bad either. There have been some memorable bands out of Colorado (3OH3!, The Fray, Pretty Lights, One Republic), but I think this band has got to be my new favorite. Apparently they've been around for a while now but just recently released their first album. I've been playing this song by the Lumineers on repeat for about 2 weeks now. They also played this song in the season finale of Hart of Dixie, which is a great show in case anyone was wondering. And I'm not ashamed at all that I watch it.

fray concert @ red rocks, summer 2007

rio marg, best margarita EVER

homemade banana bread

A few weeks ago I found myself with about 6 overly ripe bananas and a huge craving for banana bread. My grandma makes the best banana bread I've ever eaten in my entire life, but I have to say, mine was pretty dang good too!

I just used a really basic recipe. It's super super super easy.

4 ripe bananas, smashed up

76 grams melted butter

175 grams white sugar

1 beaten egg

1 spoonful of vanilla

1 spoonful of baking soda

pinch of salt

192 grams of flour

Preheat oven to 175 Celsius 

mix butter and bananas

add sugar, egg, and vanilla

add salt and baking soda

add flour

pour into a buttered loaf pan and bake for 1 hour!

*Yes, I know these are in metric system measurements. I've had to get used to them. I don't own a measuring cup and I'm pretty sure they are impossible to find here.

house hunters madrid... otra vez

Well, I found myself once again in the rat race that is finding housing in Madrid. It's a long story, but for the best and I feel confidant that I found an even better place than where I'm living now (which is hard to beat)! I wanted to share some of the things I've encountered while looking for apartments here in Madrid... which has been 3 times in the past 9 months so I consider myself somewhat of a pro.

1. The "must haves" are much different here than in the US. I remember apartment hunting in California and we were hoping for a washer and dryer, maybe a nice little backyard. Here, the number one priority is a window. I saw at least 10 rooms that resembled small dungeons, with no sunlight. I actually lived in one for almost one month.

2. I no longer have reservations about sleeping on someone else's sheets. Here, most of the apartments I looked at came fully furnished, and almost always included bed linens. And in the spirit of saving a few bucks, I have been happily sleeping on someone else's sheets for the past 9 months.

3. I calculate everything in walking distance. And how close to multiple metro lines I can get. I spend my days walking all over the city, to and from classes and to and from metro stops so it's important that I'm not too far away from things. The last thing I want to do is have to run 10 minutes home in the pouring rain with 5 grocery bags.

4. Roommates are crucial. I had never lived with strangers before moving to Madrid, and I will most definitely not be doing it back in the US. But here there is such a big community of other ex-pats everyone has to live with strangers. It's also been really important to me to live with at least 1 Spanish person so I'm exposed to the language on a daily basis.

5. Ovens are not optional! The first place I lived only had a tiny little hot plate. Even though I wouldn't call myself Julia Childs, I like having the option to cook and bake.

a beautiful sunday rainbow in my beautiful new barrio 

Happy Monday :)