Not the basketball kind of March Madness!  Not actually mad at all….it just sounded like a good name 🙂

I don’t really have much to share in the way of photos, but I still wanted to show you all what I did this weekend so that you can see a normal weekend here when it’s sunny and beautiful, and also because I love looking back on these “real life” posts.  It’s weekend like these that give me a little reminder as to why I love Spain and the Spanish lifestyle.  Sometimes, when it’s cold and dreary, I get bogged down with life.  Work, go home, sit inside, repeat.  But when it’s sunny and beautiful and I can sit outside and let time slowly trickle by (with a glass of wine or a coffee) on some terrace somewhere, I remember that this is real life and I am so lucky that it’s mine.

Anywhoooo, the weekend started Thursday as per usual.  I met Luis near his office where we did some….furniture shopping!  Que divertido 😉

But it was all good because I was rewarded with dark chocolate ice cream.  The first of the weekend so you can see why this weekend was awesome.

On Friday, I started the day my absolute favorite way! Body Combat!

And I’m finally getting the hang of the weird choreography in this release haha.

After a workout and a quick shower, I headed back to Luis’ off for a little mid-day date.  The best kind, imo.

Salmorejo, a cheeseburger with fries, and there was also a piece of fish that you do not see.

🙂

And then I had a date of another sort!  I met up with my good friend Kimber for FREE ice cream!  The ice cream was great, but the *free* was better.  We enjoyed our little cups and walked and talked for close to 3 hours.

I’m so lucky to have her as a friend.

After some much needed chatting, I headed back home to get ready for a potluck with the MuchBites crowd.  I haven’t really mentioned it, but I have been a contributing writer for MuchBites Madrid this year and it has been so much fun!  Not to mention, it’s given me the chance to be friends with a whole new group of wonderful people.

We were cracking up over stories and wine until two in the morning.  Seriously, is there anything better?  For the event, everyone brought something delicious to share, but as the hostess (with the mostess), I channeled my inner Raquel and made arroz con frijoles negros, pica dillo, ensalada y tostones.  There were these little goat cheese-eggplant bites, two delicious salads, an amazing caramelized onion and chicken dish, two types of mini cheesecake cups, and lots and lots of wine!  I also made a cheese plate which I was proud of:

Of course I cut the apple after this photo was taken.

Nothing makes me quite as happy as cooking for other people!

Clean up was a breeze, thanks to Luis’ help and by 3 am, I was sound asleep.  Saturday morning came toooo early, but I wanted to get up and head to GAP class to get my glutes in shape.  Summer is coming, you know!  So I did the class – with low energy – but I did it nonetheless.  

After class, I didn’t even shower (because I’m gross).  Instead, I packed a lunch and headed to El Retiro to sit in the park and get a tan with my co-worker and friend, Jess. 

It was nice to sit and catch up and eat and relax!  Eventually, I came home, showered, and finally passed out for a nap.  Ummm Saturday night, Luis and I had a beer, chatted, and PARTIED.  Haha… not really, we didn’t do anything, but we were both exhausted.

Sunday started on a verrrry high note:

The rest of the day included a little date with my good friend, Emily, then a long walk and some podcasts.  Speaking of podcasts, just started listening to Missing Richard Simmons and it’s SO good!  Each episode is only 30-ish minutes so it’s perfect for a quick walk.  Highly recommended!