Friday 21 March 2014

Here comes the sun

Spring has well and truly arrived in Madrid. We have had a couple of weekends with sun and 20 degree weather. In fact, in England this type of weather would be called summer and the whole country would have stripped naked but that's beside the point.
A place to go for great ambiente is La Latina in the afternoon on these types of days. I went with my work friends the Saturday before last to introduce my friend Lucy to them. She's a fellow year abroad student who came to stay - check out her blog here.


It just gets busier and busier so be prepared to stand up and push to get into the bar. However, basking in the sun with a tinto de verano or clara con limón in hand, who really cares anyway.

Wednesday 19 March 2014

White&one

This is a shop I came across when having to kill a bit of time while getting some photos developed on the street behind my house - and I've gone back again and again. They have their own collection but they also sell pieces in the shop by other designers, for example for a time they sold beautiful flower crowns by Cucullia.

Their signature items are these quirky blouses and shirts with appliqué or sequinned over-sized pockets. This is there website where you can find their pieces to buy online, and I follow both their Facebook and Instagram pages to make my news feed that bit more exciting and inspirational.

One thing I really like is the presentation in the shop, with little plants, uplifting messages and novelty items which transform the small space into something quite unique. I was in there about a month ago looking for a 21st present for my friend Ruth when I snapped a few of these on my iPhone. I ended up getting her a baby blue shirt with a dark sequinned pocket. I hope she can wear it and think of Madrid and of me.







Tuesday 18 March 2014

Entrena el alma

It has been ages since my last inspiration post so here you go my dears. I just hope I can make the most of all that Madrid has to offer in my time here.

Sunday 16 March 2014

Birthday-day

Happy Day Bakery is such a sweet place to go if you're in Malasaña (pun intended). There's only one table with three chairs which was perfect for us but not ideal if you're in a bigger group. Their costumers are mostly people on the move, ordering or picking up cupcakes. They also sell Betty Crocker cake mixes and icing there... mmm my favourite.

We went on my actual birthday day after brunch at Carmencita then a wander down Fuencarral, including seeing some - interesting and free - exhibitions at Fundación Telefónica.


Cumpleaños

TWENTY ONE! My party was such a success. We had dinner at Makkila, about twenty of us. The food was absolutely delicious and the company, wonderful. Afterwards we went to my flat for my cake and some drinks. I won't bore you with photos of everyone and everything - just a few. Trust me, I have tons though. I am one of those people who photographs everything down to her sushi or the sky (see my instagram for evidence).

Wearing my new dress from Herself.


College sister Ruth came up from Malaga for me!


The boy.


Some of my girls.


Good friends always know how to make you laugh, really laugh.


My birthday cakes from Mamá Framboise (which I told you about here). Blueberry cheesecake, carrot cake and a blondie.


Cumpleaños feliiiiiiiz.


Maria cries with laughter.

Thursday 13 March 2014

Mother Raspberry

On a rainy Sunday we had a girly tea to try my potential birthday cakes and I fell in love with Mamá Framboise. The rustic, French style of the place is very endearing, with pastel decorations, chalkboards and long wooden tables where the colourful cakes and macarons brighten up the place. I must say, everything is very good value with the smallest ones at one euro then the next size up at three euros. There are various other treats on the menu and you can also order whole cakes which was my reason for wanting to try the place out for my birthday.
The only downside? It is very popular, especially on weekends so be prepared to queue... However, it will be worth the wait.

So, back to my story. The others got thick molten chocolate while I went for Colacao - I will be so sad to leave that baby when I go back to England - and then we just tried lots of different little cakes.






You may be wondering whether I ended up ordering my birthday cakes here and the answer is yes, yes of course I did but you'll have to wait for my next post (about my birthday) to see them.

Tuesday 11 March 2014

Wasabi ice-cream

Have I given too much away in the title? Well oops if I did, but anything in this post about Bar Tomate is probably just framing the fact that I tried something so innovative and downright random. I repeat - wasabi ice-cream...

First of all Bar Tomate, a part of the Tragaluz group along with Luzi Bombón (another favourite of mine in Madrid), is situated in Chamberi, just across la Castellana from where I live. I have been for dinner a couple of times but bearing in mind that they open at 8.30am and that the menu includes daily specials, tapas and main meals as well - I imagine it's great at any time of day.

At first I thought it would just be another of those restaurants that are quite typical of Madrid. Ones that serve tapas in a stylish setting, like Lateral, Más que menos or Morao - which while I do love, can get a little repetitive once you know every dish on the menu like we do. However, Bar Tomate's menu does have something different to offer. The menu spans from well-composed salads and tuna tartare with avocado for those in a green mood, to little squids, steak with bearnaise sauce and pizzas from their wood-burning stove. 

My parents took the two Helenas, Ger and I out to dinner there the weekend they came to see me. We had a really great time.








The men and I had steak tartare with wasabi ice-cream. The idea of wasabi (essentially a Japanese horseradish equivalent) with steak tartare is actually a very good one and some might think the gimmick of wasabi as an ice-cream is a step to far, but I actually found it meant the wasabi wasn't over-powering and a small amount complimented the spice of the seasoned meat. Also any place where the dish comes with both french fries AND bread - I'm sold.