Hola Madrid!

This weekend we went on a multitasking citytrip to Spain's capital Madrid. I say multitasking because 1. to see Lolo's good friends 2. run the semi-marathon of Madrid (not me, of course) & 3. spend a few days in Madrid without being stuck within the 4 walls of my hotel room (last time I got really sick after 20 minutes in the city.

 The city welcomed us with a bright 27°C, so we strolled our way through the centre, stopping at Plaza Mayor, passing by the puerta del sol, and walking to the royal palace and the catedral de la Almudena right next to it. After this big walk, we went for lunch at the San Anton Market (El Mercado de San Anton), a true hotspot for local gastro lovers. It is a modern foodie paradise, consisting of tapas bars and it even has a rooftop bar and restaurant. We enjoyed a few hours there! :) To get rid of the calories, we took a walk through the less touristy areas of Madrid (advantage of having friends here that can show you around) to discover the real Madrid.




We had no choice but to pay a visit to the famous Chocolateria San Gines for a chocolate con churros (or porras - even bigger ones). A little paradise for Olivia - eating all the chocolate with a spoon. Chocomonster!


 Sunday the boys ran the semi-marathon of Madrid while the girls and kids went to discover El Parque del buen retiro, a beautiful city park with a pond, fountains, a cultural centre named casa de vacas (we went to a cool expo there) and the beautiful Palacio de Crystal. The sun was out and it was just beautiful there and perfect for a sunday morning walk.






 After the boys were showered and our sunday walk, we went for lunch at this amazing food hall - Platea. Located in a former theatre, this gourmet food market has it all, the charm of an old theatre (there was even a jazz band playing), all sorts of good and interesting food, fancy drinks, nice seats. We had some oysters, crab, croquetas con serrano, sushi, soup, delicious cured ham and local cheeses and to top this, Lolo's friend took us to this perfect dessert spot called Mama Framboise , where I had a very yummie caramel eclair and there were even gold dusted macarons. This is the life!





 After this lazy Sunday lunch / tea time, us girls went to a musical, while the boys watched the kids-  We saw Priscilla, reina del desierto in the Nuevo Teatro Alcala, it was good fun and very amusing - even if your Spanish is a little rusty.
 After the musical we met up for dinner at the restaurant La Gran Pulperia for our favourite thing: pulpo! Ow yes!
We had a very good weekend with friends, good food, sun and new discoveries.
We could not ask for more. Madrid - finally!
PS: no, Olivia never took her sunglasses off

More citytrips?
Berlin Click!
London here, here and here
Paris Click
Amsterdam click!

Finding the adult style


I have never found it easy to develop a personal style. Especially the last couple of years, with so much happening like - going into your thirties, becoming a mother, not going out every week anymore, I don't really know what to wear anymore or even what suits me and my new life style. I tend to go for comfort, and luckily that is also what is trending at the moment - so that's good. I used to be all about skirts with matching shirts, heels, accessories, -very girlie girlie, if i look back on it now, I definitely moved on from that. At the moment my style is more minimalistic. 
The problem is that I still think of myself as being a girl, instead of a woman - but is that a bad thing? Is it because I'm still young at heart (that's lame) or am I just in denial? 
Do my clothes reflect who i am? To be honest, I don't really know. If you google 'finding a personal style', they always say you should try to find your style archetype (a famous person who's style you fancy). I have thought a great deal about this (that's exaggerated), but quite frankly I cannot come up with somebody who's style I would copy and who I can relate to. 
The things I pin onto my style boards on (the ultimate time waster) pinterest show a certain coherence and it has helped me in defining what I like and do not like. 
If now I would just succeed in creating the perfect closet with great outfits you can wear again and again, instead of my impulse retail therapy purchases,  I would probably look a lot better styled and cooler. 
But hey, that's me. And the most important is that I feel okay with being 'me'.
After all, happy girls are the prettiest (Audrey Hepburn said), so maybe all the rest doesn't really matter that much.
My style board on pinterest
 







Sunday, roses, cake & old friends


Sunday is cake day at The 3L Syndrome and last sunday we made a apple-pecan-cream cheese bundt cake to welcome my long time friend for a long overdue afternoon of catching up, being really amazed by how big each other's kid has become (Last time we saw eachother neither of us had a baby) & reminiscing about old times and talking about new times.







Spaghetteria Lisa Maria

 Yesterday evening I hosted a little girlie get-together with some spaghetti bolognese and some wine. I made the sauce in the afternoon with lots of veggies and let it simmer in the oven for over 3 hours. It is always nice to have the girls over, Olivia also likes it when the aunties come to play. When the new mommy of the gang arrived, Olivia seemed very interested in the baby for the first time.
She imitated what we were doing with her dolls and requested to hold the baby in her arms. She even made sure the baby had her dummy and everything.
 Two mommies got a little emotional! So sweet!