Cookies & Capitalism

It’s been over a month since I last brought everyone the latest from the Spanish capital, and so I’m back again with a roundup of the past few weeks of gallivanting. This has involved plenty of food, the odd spot of exploration, and a bit of cheeky post-pay-day spending…

The first spot of leisure took the form of a few hours spent with Bogar at Parquesur, a large shopping centre in the south of the city. The two of us had spent most of the weekend lolling around in my flat, and so come Sunday afternoon we were itching to be anywhere which wasn’t my flat!

After browsing around my typical haunts and picking up a book detailing the many facets of Spanish grammar, I treated myself to a “pizza slice” made entirely of sweets! Or, at least, that was what I thought. It turned out that the “pizza slice” was actually padded out with a styrofoam base – I felt ripped off after spending 6€ on what I assumed would be a solid slice of sugary bliss!

Before the realisation that I had been royally conned.

Once I’d stopped reeling from this blatant injustice, the two of us stopped by the lakeside eating area for an evening meal of ramen and green tea. After this we headed back to my flat, and I headed off to bed in preparation for another busy working week.

The following weekend was a rather relaxed one, with plenty of lounging around my flat culminating in a couple of glasses of wine in the city centre with my friend Jhosef, followed by an evening spent chatting away late into the evening in my flat.

Later that week, me and my colleague Blanca had arranged to meet up with an ex-colleague and friend Soyoung, who’s wedding we’d been along to (and had a fabulous time at) earlier this year. The three of us had some lovely drinks and food together in the old La Latina district of the city, which was beautiful in the evening light when we arrived, and then lively as ever as we left in the dark!

After another Friday at work, me and Bogar started the weekend off properly, as we met up for breakfast out in a little neighbourhood bar. After this, I headed home and whipped up a batch of something decidedly sweeter – some homemade cookies! Following a recipe that I’ve been developing and perfecting for a few weeks now, I think I finally hit the sweet spot between crunchy and chewy.

Quick note: If you’d like me to start posting some of my own recipes for sweet treats and quick dishes which are perfect for living alone, let me know in my blog feedback form!

The day after signalled another day trip for me and Bogar, this time to IKEA. I’ve been wanting to pick up a few last luxuries for a while now, and so when I got paid last month I decided that it was finally time to make my house into a home.

After buying way more plants than I meant to and irritating the taxi driver by filling his poor car with the big leafy monster you see in the photo above, I finally kitted out my flat with the coffee table, rug, and some extra greenery that I’ve been fancying for a while. I think that it’s come together quite nicely since I first started decorating!

I also finally got round to attaching some wheels on my TV stand, which I installed so that I could pull it out to face me whenever I sit on the sofa. After a sudden eureka moment, however, I also realised that I could wheel the whole setup into my bedroom and watch some TV there! It may have brought back memories of televisions on trolleys from primary/high-school days, but nothing says home quite like some telly in bed on a Sunday morning!

This all brings us to last week, where me and my ex-colleague Elena finally got round to meeting up for some drinks and a catch-up. We ended up heading into Lavapiés, one of my favourite areas of the city, where we had a delicious pizza meal from NAP Pizza – a place definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in Madrid!

With that, I think I’ve brought you just about up to speed with the various frivolities that I’ve been indulging in. I’d love to share more details from work, as it’s been an intense but exciting couple of weeks, but confidentiality means that I can’t give too much away. Just know that there’ll be plenty to see in the future!

As I write this, I’ve just waved goodbye to my auntie and uncle who came to visit for a few days, and so the next post will naturally be dedicated to what I got up to during their few days in the city. I’ve to stop typing now, as I’m running out of time before I’ve to leave the house for some food with a friend. No rest for the wicked!