Hi friends!  Comin’ at ya a little late this week since I feel like I have been running around with my head cut off!  “Why do you feel like that Tamara? You barely even work!”.  Yes, that is true, but I have a lot of things I do that I don’t get paid for that keep me very busy and I’m probably an idiot for putting so much time into them, but alas, here we are anyway- telling you about my life, not getting paid to do it, and still wanting to do it and feeling obligated to do it and love doing it.  That was super rambly, but I just drank a pumpkin-spice latte I made for myself with espresso, homemade almond milk, pumpkin and spices, all blended up with my little frother so I’m feeling pretty energetic.

This past weekend was a long weekend thanks to Día de la Hispanidad, which gave everyone a day off on Friday, which meant Luis was home!  Let’s back up to Thursday….

Thursday

After class on Thursday, Luis picked me up and we went to the center of Madrid to return some expensive shoes and drinks beers.  Fun, fun, fun!  We went to this bar (no clue what it was called) that was absolutely packed with people, thanks to the beers and very affordable seafood.  I didn’t participate in the seafood, but I did in the beers…   

Friday

Since Luis was off on Friday, we packed it with fun things…starting with a run alongside the parade for día de la hispanidad.  

We saw horses and lots of people, but it was hard to see much else…. at least it made for interesting things to look at while running.

After that little run and some mediocre ab work, we got changed and headed to Lavapiés to have brunch at Pum Pum Café, which we have wanted to try for awhile, but there is always a long line.  Verdict (imo): It’s completely overrated.  The prices are fair, but the tables are tiny, they jam you in there, service is slow, and Luis makes better shakshuka….see further down in the post!

After brunch, we walked around for a bit and briefly stopped in Mercado San Fernando (where we ate more…haha) and I was overly stuffed when I met up with my roommate from last year, Leanna!  She is one of the few survivors here in Madrid and I am so happy that she is here.  We chatted for a couple of hours and then headed our separate ways- mine of which was home to make some goodies with Luis.  He has been wanting to try to make a bunch of baked goods and even talks about taking classes, but has never actually baked anything, so I told him that he could make bread and can do it himself.  Haha…. he read a few recipes, tried to watch some YouTube videos, ended up getting so frustrated and acted like a child.  It was kind of funny, but I ended up helping him and look what he made!

It’s delicious, too!  

Meanwhile, I worked on a new Bruja’s Bakery product coming soon, and let’s just say I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT IT!

Saturday

Saturday morning started with breakfast and nothing too fun…just cleaning, laundry and some organizing before I headed out to do a couple tours.  I had 2 tours back to back with the same person…………………………………………………………..and while it wasn’t terrible, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t happy when it was over.  A long day called for a fun night, so Luis and I met up with my friend Sarah!  I haven’t seen her in months and I’m so glad we are back together in Madrid.

^after they did fake shots of absinthe.

Sunday

Sunday was a good day!  Luis told me the night before that he had a surprise brunch for me and considering his culinary skills (so I thought) begin with chicken in a pan and end with boiled pasta, I thought I was in for a nice omelette.  I left him in the kitchen chopping vegetables and went to edit some photos until he called me in and said breakfast was ready.  I nearly dropped dead when I saw he had made….

SHAKSHUKA!  And an absolutely delicious one at that!  I mean, look how beautiful it is!  It was full of different vegetables and so pretty to look at.  And the most impressive part: he didn’t use a recipe!  He had watched YouTube videos and then told me that he ‘made it based on feeling’!  I told him to quit his day job.

After that lovely brunch, Luis headed to the gym and I went out for a run while testing his new headphones I got for him (lol)

They’re the Airpods, and while they certainly are not cheap, I really really like them! I think I should test them more often…you know, for quality assurance purposes 😉

That afternoon, I had yet another tour with a lovely family from the Netherlands.  We had to do much of the tour ‘backwards’, since places were closed for the siesta and it was quite the chilly day, so we bundled up!  Loving the cooler weather, though.

I ended the night with a glass of vino with Lee!  This is the first time we have gotten together since we have both been here and it was soooooooo nice to sit and talk to him and to feel like I have a piece of ‘home’ here. (Yes Mom, I do really mean that!).

And that’s all folks!  It was a super fun weekend and although it’s only Tuesday, I am very much looking forward to this upcoming weekend!