comida

Whilst I continue to melt in the blazing hot Spanish sun in Madrid, there are few things I enjoy more than escaping into well air-conditioned cafés dotted around the city centre. Since I have been doing this a HELL of a lot, I thought it would be a nice idea to share my tasty experiences and big up some gorgeous places I rather like and would recommend to those living here or merely just travelling through.

Having friends who live a bit deeper into the city centre than me, I often find myself in the typically trendy area of Malasaña, dashing desperately into various establishments due to this area of many narrow, cobbled streets and traditional tall Spanish buildings trapping in all of the heat from a sunny day and thus eliminating any chance of a welcome breeze.

This of course is not an entirely negative thing, as it equates to sampling what Madrid has to offer in the way of a few of my favourite things; a good tea or coffee coupled with something yummy and sweet. And this particular area of the city does not disappoint.

One specific street, which I will certainly be mentioning in the future, is home to an array of delicious eateries and places to stop and cool down with some kind of tasty treat. Calle Corredera Alta de San Pablo, admittedly not the most elegant of streets, plastered with graffiti and inhabiting various garishly outfitted Chinese convenience stores, is actually a miniature goldmine for those wanting to sample something a little different from the typical Spanish offerings that are found on Gran Via, and areas as such that attract a high concentration of tourists.

This little gem, Afri's Cookies, had always been a place I'd wanted to try out since moving to Madrid, but I've only just tried it out recently when a friend of mine and I needed a sweet fix.

It's a small, bright, modern café, where you can perch onto one of a few stools at a wooden bar which faces out onto the street (and one of the many eye-catching stores commonly referred to in Spanish as chinos), listening to the dulcet sounds of indie and folk music whilst reaping the benefits of the air-con (amongst other things OBVS).

Being a proud British citizen, I think it's paramount that biscuits are of utmost importance when considering ones tasty treats, especially living overseas and not having quite the same variety of biscuits on offer here (oh how I miss the humble fig roll). The soft baked cookie offering of this establishment, therefore, adheres to this biscuit-shaped criterion perfectly.

Something, however, to which I wasn't particularly accustomed (for some horrifying reason) is the ice-cream cookie sandwich, which is the pièce de résistance of Afri's, a true rarity in the city. For those other poor folk not terribly well versed with the ice-cream cookie sandwich, it is admittedly rather self-explanatory and is shown in all its glorious goodness below; my choice was controversial, opting for what could potentially be regarded as the "healthy" ice-cream option, a very aesthetically pleasing raspberry sorbet (but then destroying any hope of a low-calorie snack by being brutally squashed and sandwiched between two chocolate chip cookies, YUM). What it lacked in its ability to make consuming it even remotely elegant, it certainly made up for in sheer enjoyment; a delicious treat.

For round two (eek), we required some sort of bev, which ended up helping to wash down a few more of Afri's offerings. Paired with an excellent (and very reasonably priced) café con leche (the Spanish equivalent of a latté), these beautifully soft and delicious cookies, in a range of flavours, really hit the spot.

We decided to go for four different flavours and share them between the two of us, and the lovely owner even offered us a knife to cut them all in half for OPTIMUM sharing precision; (clockwise from top right) White chocolate and raspberry, Corazón de Nutella (interior anatomy of said cookie shown below), Kinder chocolate and Corazón de Dulce de Leche. They were all pretty divine but loving all things fruity, I was a big fan of the white chocolate and raspberry; a killer combo. The Nutella-filled cookie that I couldn't help but capture was also rather dreamy, albeit a little sickly, but for Nutella-philes - of which I know there are many - this is sheer perfection.

We found the decision making process rather difficult, though, as each cookie looked equally delicious! You can check out the entire range of flavours on the Afri's Cookies website, where you can also purchase them online. I highly recommend popping in if you happen to be in Madrid, whether on a trip or living out here, as it is quite a novelty in a city surrounded by - albeit lovely - traditionally Spanish sweet offerings, and it's always nice to find somewhere to avoid melting in the sun at least for the time it takes to sample a few cookies.

In the meanwhile, I'm making a conscious effort not to walk past too often as I fear it may be detrimental to my wobbly bits, and (hopefully) soon I'm going to need to squeeze back into my skinnies, eek...and on that note, hasta luego!
eleanorrosemary x

sweat

Well, this is embarrassing.

Of course what I'm referring to is yet another one of my hiatuses, this time lasting a bit too long for a legitimate excuse. Having said that, I should probably stop making excuses anyway, especially as my new(ish) life in Madrid has been rather bloody lovely! However, what I naively chose to ignore when I decided to relocate was that during the summer months, the services of a (highly talented and sickeningly humble) English teacher are not readily required, or not even half as much as during the academic year, and despite having a busy May and June, July and August so far have, in stark contrast, been quiet on the teaching front.

In theory this should have given me too much time to get back into the blogging swing of things – especially as the high street here is pretty spectacular – but one overwhelming factor with moving to Madrid, that I also rather naively chose to ignore, is that it's fucking sweltering. Apparently this is no problem for many a European blogger who all seem to look like beautiful shining bronzed goddesses, (I just don't understand how this lady does it) whereas yours truly, the “English rose” (which by the way is THE worst, backhanded compliment ever, because you're essentially highlighting the cruel fact that instead of getting tanned, one just gets gradually more pink), is more reminiscent of a pre-pubescent, post-Sports-Day-hater-of-all-things-Sports-Day who is decidedly swollen and sweaty. Hyperbole, admittedly, but you get the vague gist that the outfit has potential until stepping into the disgusting heat of inland Spain.

In the meanwhile, I took a little trip back home to Shrewsbury which was absolutely lovely, and picked up some new Doc Martens, which have made a brief appearance on my Instagram, if you fancied looking at my feet/things I put on my feet. I've also been getting slightly over-excited about AW14, and have already a purchased a lovely quilted pleather skirt and bubblegum pink jumper in the ridiculous sales which, at this rate, I will NEVER BE ABLE TO WEAR.

Winter clothing is just so much more fun, sigh. #whenwillthissummerend

I am so ungrateful.

Whilst I fervently try to stop whinging, hasta luego!
eleanorrosemary x

madrid!

I'm finally back in the blogosphere!

Yes, it has been almost two months, but this is mainly due to the fact that my poor little netbook decided that enough was enough, and that spewing endless pop-ups at me was a much better idea than simply complying to my minimal needs, and I've only just received a brand-spanking new shiny beautiful lovely laptop (if you hadn't gathered, I'm rather enamoured with it at the moment, the honeymoon phase admittedly) and so I can finally lead a normal existence again. I can't blame my detachment from the blogging world solely on my netbook kicking the cyber bucket, though.

During this ridiculously long hiatus, I have: left my fairly soul-destroying - but actually at times enjoyable - job at a bar in my hometown of Shrewsbury; I have upped sticks and moved myself to Madrid; bagged two jobs as a teaching assistant in a bilingual primary school and a private English teacher with an academy; got myself a sweet ass flat just out of the city centre; met some lovely people from allllllll over; been inordinately sweaty for the vast majority of the time, yet had goosebumps in 20 degree heat; fallen over quite dramatically twice in the Metro due to attempting to run upstairs in Birkenstocks (not recommended if you would like to keep your toenails); realized that upon stepping off an escalator in the Metro I'm filled with fear, and usually have to jump off the last step to avoid the inevitability of getting sucked into the mechanism and dying a most horrifically painful death (or not); spent a great deal of time on public transport, namely the Metro, as you may have gathered, or the Cercanías which is a train service that only runs in and around las afueras of Madrid and often fills me with joy to find that I will be boarding a double-decker train (which is quite frankly the only way to travel), and I have mainly made multiple boo-boos in my habitual attempts at Spanish, although patience is a virtue, I have been reminded, so until my Spanish is up to scratch, I can just practise as much as possible and try not to make many faux-pas. (Example: as much as the Spanish word "embarazada" looks and sounds like the English word "embarrassed", it actually means "pregnant"; something I won't forget in a hurry.)

As well as all of this, I have of course been sampling the excellent array of high street stores lining Gran Vía and beyond, which I will share in my next fashion post.

Needless to say, I'm loving it out here and although I occasionally miss my family, friends and home comforts, it's a wonderful way of life, and I'm certainly not ready to join the British workforce because, to be perfectly honest, Spanish sunshine tends to trump British rain.

If anyone out there wants to know anything about Madrid or has just moved here too, hit me up! In the meanwhile, I've got some rays to catch so hasta luego!
eleanorrosemary x

pvc

Tee: H&M . PVC skirt: Lavish Alice . Black tights: M&S . Platform boots: Topshop

I've finally braved my face being uncovered, but I'm still not convinced; I just pull the silliest faces waiting for my camera timer! Anyway I think the emphasis of these shots are on this crazy yet absolutely gorgeous PVC skirt from my new favourite brand Lavish Alice. This beauty was an absolute bargain for £5 and, although the fit isn't perfect (I had to get a size 8 for it to be around my waist and I'm usually a 10-12) and it is a little bit out there, with a plain tee and accessories I think it's a lovely transitional piece. I'm in love with this oversized, light peachy pink t-shirt from H&M which is going to come in very handy in Madrid when I'm a sweaty mess. Needless to say, the new skirt may not get as much airtime until it cools down a bit in Autumn time...

I'm sure this won't be the last of my Lavish Alice purchases, though, as they have both cool and unique separates, like my two new PVC skirts, as well as a new gorgeous jersey section, coveted by many a fashion blogger. They also appear on ASOS regularly so I always have a few of their items in my ever-expanding wish list. It is definitely worth checking them out if you haven't already!

I'm trying not to purchase anything new as I'm very aware of how little allowance I have on my flight in 11 days (eek!), but I will be requiring a few little summery jersey pieces, so I feel a mini Primark haul is on the horizon...in the meanwhile, hasta luego.
eleanorrosemary x

sandals

Since I only have a matter of weeks before I move to Madrid, I've had to try really quite hard to hold myself back from all of the gorgeous transitional season knits, and instead focus on the fact that I'm soon going to be sweaty and with a rather minute selection of clothing from which to choose. Luckily, though, high street retailers have started to get excited about the prospect of summer by bombarding us with every style of sandal you can imagine.

I've never been one to get excited about sandals, as I'm more inclined to wear a crappy little flip-flop or a trainer/pump, but that was until now.

Arizona suede sandals: Birkenstock (found here) . Zebra crop top: H&M . Culottes: New Look

There has definitely been a bit of a Birkenstock renaissance this year, with "geeky" footwear and 90s vibes being key to a summer ensemble, so I thought I would see what all the hype was about.

I decided to go for the black option, as the idea of a suede sandal really appealed, and after seeing sooooo many people wearing the white ones, I thought I'd veer slightly from the popular choice, and I love them! They have been taking a bit of getting used to, but now I find them a great fit (I went for narrow width as my feet are strangely slim...) and cannot wait to shoop about in Madrid in them.

I'm not sure how I feel about these culottes; I don't think they're the most flattering shape but they're very light, cool and comfortable, so will be great when I'm feeling the Spanish heat but not wanting to bear all. This sheer zebra print crop is a lovely fit, great value and isn't too sheer either (although I felt like wearing something that would show through, just to be bat shit crazy).

White flatform sandals: Bank . Cat tee: Primark . Pink jeans: Primark

I realise that I potentially slandered white sandals just moments ago, but these Blonde + Blonde sandals from Bank were a bloody bargain, and are a bit different from the Birkenstock vibe.

Unfortunately they're synthetic leather and although the footbed is comfortable, it's not as hard-wearing as the trusty Birkenstock, but the flatform makes them a bit more edgy, potentially more of a transitional day-to-night shoe, and the ankle strap means they're not so sloppy on your feet. They actually feel very light on your feet, too, despite the thick, black sole (which I think is a cool contrast to the shiny white straps).

The cat tee is fairly inexplicable for someone with every animal allergy under the sun, who also falls into the category of your typical "dog person", but it's colourful and cute, and makes me feel young and carefree teamed with my trusty (yet disgustingly tight) pink skinnies.

Hopefully Madrid won't hate me in either animal-inspired outfit, but tough mierda if they do! And on that note...hasta luego.
eleanorrosemary x

azul

Admittedly I have been lagging ever so slightly on the blog front, and I have had a rather busy month, but that is no excuse. Especially as during my free time I have made a few cheeky little purchases...

White tee: Primark . PVC skirt: Lavish Alice @ Asos . Sandals: Bertie . Sheer socks: Asos . Necklace: H&M . Watch: Mondaine

It is officially three weeks and one day until I relocate to Spain (eek!) so my recent purchases have been distinctly Summer inspired, including multiple sandals (and I mean multiple), which I will happily write about in due course (but check out my Instagram if you really cannot wait) and some versatile pieces to slip into the capsule wardrobe that I will be forced to work with, due to my measly 23kg allowance. Perhaps the skirt doesn't fill the brief of versatility but it is bloody cute, PVC, animal print and gorgeous shades of blue, which inspired a very cerulean outfit.

I've finally found a socks and sandals ensemble that I feel like I would have the confidence to wear out and about, so now I just need to wait for el sol español to make my pallid legs a little more presentable. Or for my gradual tanning lotion to hurry up and develop. In the meanwhile, I hope everyone is making the most of the little British sun we are getting, and hasta luego.
eleanorrosemary x

semana

I've finally been given more shifts at work which is great for my dwindling funds but I haven't had quite as much free time for blogging. Luckily I've been able to quickly document my outfits for each day of the week with my makeshift tripod, camera timer and expertly balanced iPhone (megalolz), so here they are.

MONDAY

Tea dress: Lowie . Platform boots: Topshop . Trench coat: Laura Ashley

Tea dress: Lowie . Red and pink wedges: Primark



TUESDAY

Denim pinafore: Primark . Slash neck top: New Look . Glitter top socks: H&M . Dr Martens: Ebay

Denim pinafore: Primark . Slash neck top: New Look . Glitter top socks: H&M . Dr Martens: Ebay . Trench coat: Laura Ashley



WEDNESDAY

Roll-neck tee: H&M . High-waisted jeans: New Look . Platform boots: Topshop

Jacket: H&M (in sale, similar here) . Roll-neck tee: H&M . High-waisted jeans: New Look . Platform boots: Topshop



THURSDAY

Shirt dress: ASOS . Desert boots: Tesco . Leather bag: Pieces at ASOS



FRIDAY

Black fine-knit tee: H&M . Blue jeans: Republic . Platform boots: Topshop . Necklace: Primark . Leather bag: Charity shop

As mentioned in the previous post, I went on a minor shopping spree to Birmingham where my new favourite (Wednesday) jacket was purchased from the H&M sale for a bargain £15, and a fair few other H&M buys as I was unfortunately disappointed by Primark's SS14 offerings. I'm chuffed with my new (Friday) necklace though for just £4, and I got a cute, button-down, floral midi skirt for £10, which I'll blog about at some point in the near future. I'm absolutely loving everything H&M at the moment though, from their crisp whites and blacks in the expansive monochromatic collections, to their cute, uber European basics like roll-necks and Spring/Summer knits.

It feels like I haven't bought a dress in ages, as I've been focussing more on separates to mix and match with each other, but this cute smock dress (Thursday) from the ASOS sale has satisfied my need for a comfy one-piece, suitable for both Spring layering and a cool cover-up for my inevitably sweaty Spanish summertime.

Ooh, Happy International Women's Day everyone! I will celebrate this special day by making a new wishlist as it is also PAY DAY! As it's been vaguely sunny of late I've been rather more snaphappy so check out my Instagram if you fancy..! Pásalo bien, y hasta luego.
eleanorrosemary x