Late Christmas

The sales have started, the Christmas decorations have been packed away for the year and now many might be wondering how to lose those extra pounds gained over the holidays.  So due to the speedy disappearance of the holiday season I thought that perhaps now would be the perfect time to share something I love about Christmas.

As I’ve gotten older the excitement (dare I say hysteria!) has certainly faded away and it has become more a time of yummy food and family, especially as I spend most of my time nowadays in far off lands.  But something that has not changed is my love of Christmas decorations.  When I was little my favourite activities were putting out our ceramic Christmas village each year and decorating the tree.  Indeed, the ornaments on the tree are also things I hold quite dear.  Many have special memories attached to them, as gifts, ones I’ve made myself or ones that I’ve attached certain meaning to.

Here are a few of our more recent additions:

I’m sure you’ll recognise those famous ears and this one does come all the way from Walt Disney World and Germany in Epcot to be exact.

This beautifully decorated egg was picked up in Salzburg, Austria in the famous Christmas shop.

An absolutely adorable birthday present from a friend.

The star on the top of our tree made from old Christmas cards – my 2009 crafty activity!

Toledo

Way back in November, I decided to take a trip out of Madrid.  So I hopped on the high-speed train and was in Toledo in an amazingly fast 30 minutes.

Toledo is the perfect place for a daytrip away from Madrid but I definitely could have done with more time there, indeed certainly incentive to go back (which I did a few weeks later with Dad…)

I did however buy myself two delicious marzipan fruits which were well worth it!  Apparently Toledo is the Spanish home of marzipan and as a huge marzipan fan it was necessary for me to get my fix!

While wandering around Toledo and getting lost (!) I happened to casually glance up and saw one of those little things that although on the whole is probably very normal but at the same time a pleasant surprise – tiling on the underneath of a terrace.  I looked at a few others as I wondered around and when I realised that others didn’t have any decoration I had that feeling that can only be compared to when you find one last cookie when you thought they were all finished.

1/1/2011

The first day of a New Year is always a little bit odd.  I have found that generally the day is spent being lazy.  But unfortunately, by the end of the year I never really can remember what I did on the January 1st.  December 31st I remember totally, but the day after, the start of the year, is a distant blur, a confused memory.

Honestly, today is no different, a trip to the supermarket, is not perhaps earth-shattering.  Today is a filler day and why shouldn’t it be?  Everyone partied last night saying farewell to 2010 and all that it gave us and so the following day we spend it in bed.  So tomorrow perhaps or even the day after, we will start 2011 “properly” and by the time December 31st rolls around we have a year, that will no doubt be filled with its ups and downs to bid farewell to.

But I also want to label today a “laying the foundation” day – perhaps a day to send emails to those people you haven’t really spoken to in a bit, or to do some cleaning and for me too a bit of packing…

So 2011 has arrived… bring it on.  Now time to figure out those resolutions…!

One month in…

I have now been in Madrid for a month and I can certainly say that the past two weeks have absolutely flown past.

This week I can certainly say that autumn is starting to hit – with the clocks going back, although providing us with an extra hour in bed, it has meant that its darker earlier and this is certainly noticeable.  Plus, between last week and this week, we’ve had RAIN!  Something that I had only seen in drizzle form during my first week here.

On my way home from work last Thursday, I saw one of the loveliest sunsets and so I thought I would share it… Sadly my camera isn’t the greatest but hopefully this gives you even a small taste of the lovely hues of orange and blue!

 

Madrid

After being in this city for almost two weeks I still feel that everyday I am discovering something new. Even more impressive, these new discoveries seem to appear under my nose.

For instance, tonight I found a street that was simply lined with bookshops – definitely a daytime browsing spot. Even the other night we found the most lovely bakery – where not only was the pastry tasty but they were friendly enough to help me with my Spanish.

The more I see of Madrid and all of it’s hidden gems the more I understand why it’s a living city. There’s so much beyond the surface.

More madrileño posts in the next coming weeks!

dancing and crisps?

I saw this advertisement this morning and thought it was quite hilarious so needed to share…

 

french toast

I’ve become a bit of a cooking lady and this afternoon, feeling slightly peckish at home I was going to make scrambled eggs on toast but I then found a recipe for french toast (essentially the same ingredients!). My french toast turned out quite well I feel for a first time effort so I’ll share what I did:

I’d say a good ratio would be one egg to one slice of toast (probably has a lot to do with the size of the bread).
- Whisk together two eggs, a dash of cinnamon, a few glugs of milk.
- Pour this mixture into a shallow bowl.
- Place the slices of bread into the mixture and leave for a few minutes. Make sure to flip the bread over half way through.
- Then melt butter, along with a bit of oil in a pan.
- Add the bread and let cook for a few minutes until golden brown. Flip over and repeat.
- Serve with butter and syrup.

The recipe I based my efforts on suggested that if you’re making quite a bit pop them into a nice warm oven until you’re ready to serve.