Madrid part 1 with the Clark Family

Look who's here! I'm an expert at hauling luggage all over kingdom come.

Chinese food!

My magazine debuted while my family was here! How fun. :)

Clearly this photo was pre-haircut. My bangs are out of control.

We tried to go shopping but it started to pour rain...

"Guys there is a Starbucks right around the corner here."

Around the corner-ish... we were soaked.

Harry Potter and dinner!

Charlie Chaplain was getting a *little* too close.

(This is the Royal Palace, by the way)

Twinsies and twinsies.

Plaza de España

We did some other things... which I don't have pictures of. And it rained. A LOT. Which was a bummer because it doesn't typically rain very much in Madrid. However, we still had an amazing time. Then we rented a car and drove south.

tonight

I had a much needed night of tea, Coldplay, and google chat.

I'm back! Sort of...

Hello long-lost blog! Ok not exactly long-lost... but whatever. It's been awhile. Since I last posted... I had a few busy weeks in Madrid, followed by a few amazing weeks with my family. LOTS of pictures! I'll post some soon, I promise.

Buck

Last weekend, we watched the documentary Buck, about the life of Buck Brannaman. It was incredible. So good that we watched it twice in 24 hours. I mean, if you like humans and/or horses, you will love it. Seriously. My favorite was his foster mom, who is the cutest little lady you have ever seen in your life. I want to be her when I grow up.

“Until I was 30, I dated only boys. I’ll tell you why: Men scared..me. Men know what they want. Men own alarm clocks. Men sleep on a mattress that isn’t on the floor. Men buy new shampoo instead of adding water to a nearly empty bottle of shampoo. Men make reservations. Men go in for a kiss without giving you some long preamble about how they’re thinking of kissing you. Men wear clothes that have never been worn by anyone else before […] At this point you might want to smack me and say: “Are you seriously just another grown woman talking about how she wants a man who isn’t afraid of commitment?” Let me explain! I’m not talking about commitment to romantic relationships. I’m talking about commitment to things—houses, jobs, neighborhoods. Paying a mortgage. When men hear women want a commitment, they think it means commitment to a romantic relationship, but that’s not it. It’s a commitment to not floating around anymore. I want a guy who is entrenched in his own life. Entrenched is awesome.”

-Mindy Kaling

Pumpkin Carving

I carved one of my pumpkins while we watched last night's Husker game and ate Moroccan tomato soup. Happy Fall Day!

Beware: Not for the faint of heart (or stomach)

Stacy and I went to a market yesterday that I hadn't been to yet. It was pretty great. It was a market market. Stace described it as "a little bit gritty." Packed full of people of all ethnicities, terrible lighting, absolutely incredible looking vegetables, and any kind of animal part you could want.

chicken feet...

snouts, hooves, ...innards?

sheep heads...

HUGE carp

Special offer... heads!

It's the kind of place you expect to see Anthony Bourdain running around with a chicken foot hanging out of his mouth.

Last year at this time: Pulgogi Festival

So, if you've been reading my blog for more than, ya know, a year, you've seen these pictures already. But seeing as it's October, and fall is arriving a little later (and a lot less beautiful) in Madrid, and this year's Pulgogi Festival was last night... to say I'm feeling a little nostalgic would be an understatement.

I would recognize Rosie's toes ANYWHERE.

As per tradition, there are almost no pictures of the master chef and hostess extraordinaire, Patti Clark. She is the brains behind this holiday that we love more than Thanksgiving.

I had a few tears yesterday afternoon, but tried to keep myself busy. Erin went with me to track down a Korean restaurant and eat some pulgogi.

The Pumpkin Patch

Ok, so it's not really a pumpkin "patch" per se... just a frutería in Chueca. BUT it has pumpkins!! I've been wanting pumpkins for awhile now and Jenée found some. So after her run (and after Sam and I played cars) we went to check it out.

leg warmers

Look what I finished the other night!

Now I just need to finish Amiah's :)

Ordered these guys today. I’ve had the same pink glasses for a few years now and thought I might like to have another option. :) Hopefully they don’t look stupid or touch my eyelashes… but for $12, (yes DOLLARS! That’s like 9 euros… less than a menu of the day) it’s worth the risk.

Future Husband

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is my future husband. I don't know his name yet but he has amazing hair and an amazing beard and an incredibly guapo face.