Bits of my weekend

The weekend started for me on Thursday when we had a day off for Corpus Christi - it was back to work for a half day on Friday but that doesn't really count. I've had a bit of everything so far this weekend, shopping, eating, relaxing and partying; I bought some cute black pumps in Nine West and stripey sailor top in Pimkie and now the sun's coming out I restocked on Clinique's City Block sheer SPF25 - there's probably better sun protection out there, but for me this product is the only one that's truly oil-free - the rest just make me break out (if you are pale skinned they have a factor 40 too, but it's too chalky for my skin tone).

After shopping there were tintos de verano (red wine and lemon spritzers) and delicious little bites of battered cod at Casa Labra, on C/Tetuan in Sol with my dear friends C and K - it can be almost impossible to get an outside seat at this old-school Madrileño institution, but we got there as it opened and grabbed a table on the pavement.

And on Friday was my friend A's birthday, 36, but I swear she doesn't look a day over 28. I got all dressed up for the occassion in my 'lucky' leopard print heels which are possibly the comfiest shoes I own. We used to work for the same company, and have both been through a whole lot of trials and tribulations over the past few years so it was good to see her back on her feet and celebrating. As a gift I got her some smellies from my lovely l'Occitane - by the way they have a new peony range for anyone who's interested. Anyway, what started out as food and a little singstar (or whatever it's called) contest at hers ended up being an all-nighter - out till 6am at a townie club I hadn't been to in years called, ahem, Torero (bullfighter). To give you an idea of how long it was since I'd been to this place - last time I was there I was wearing red and white from head to foot and was accompanied by a gaggle of long-haired gypsy men - we are talking a long time ago. Thankfully times and fashions have since changed. I admit to being more than a little tipsy and dancing the night away to the likes of Lady Gaga and Ke-dollarsign-ha.

Thankfully my energetic moves burnt off most of the G&Ts and after a good night's sleep, I woke up at midday feeling almost spritely. 2 episodes of Glee later (I admit to having a huge crush on Mr Schuster) I managed to pull myself off the sofa, get showered and head off to the Retiro park on my own to practice closeups of flowers with my new camera.... However, my picnic blanket and the cool grass underfoot were too tempting, and no sooner had I entered the park I bedded down with a cornetto and a book (Tony Robbins' Awaken the Giant within - don't ask - I have a strange penchant for burly Republican motivational speakers which I will explain in another post) and spent the next couple of hours chilling. To be fair I did walk around and try to get a snap or two, but realised that there are no flowers in Madrid in summer as they usually get sunburnt to death. So I took a photo of the fake flowers on my balcony - I worry about the neighbours realising they're not genuine so I cunningly mix them in with real greenery ;-) Why I care about what the neighbours think I really don't know.