Allie in the South of Spain

Welcome to my third 30 before 30 list update. I am still slowly but surely crossing things off as I accomplish them and think I am on track to complete the majority before my 30th birthday (which is still a few years away yet). I am also excited because Jose and I have plans to be able to tackle a few more before we head back to Michigan this summer, such as number 7 (we would like to walk part of the Camino de Santiago in July) or number 23 (my sister and possibly my parents might visit us this spring). But onto the things I have been able to complete since my last update: 1. Go on another cruise. 2. Learn to cook Indian food. I have been playing around with recipes and finally found a super simple way to make chicken tikka masala (which I wrote about here ). It is my favorite Indian food and I am happy to say that I have also discovered an Indian restaurant here in Seville that I am excited to try out! Now we don't have to head to Portugal for our fix. The finished product...

My dog is needy. Like if I am sitting down in my apartment he needs to be on my lap needy. Like if I am standing doing something around the apartment he tries to jump into my arms to be carried around needy. Lately though I find that if I am distracted with something when I am home in the mornings before work, when I realize it, he has disappeared. This is not like him but now I am on to his game. When I am not paying attention he jumps into the bed where he knows he shouldn't be. I will find him cuddled under the blankets. I have started to take photos as evidence. As you can see from this last picture, he sometimes has the decency to try to look surprised that he has been caught even though he knows he isn't supposed to be there. Cooper usually sleeps in his crate with his blankie that he is loves. He is really comfortable and often will go in by himself at night without any prodding on our part. Would he prefer to sleep in the bed? Certainly as is evidenced ...

Last weekend I mentioned that Jose and I were headed to the state-mandated sales to try to find some work clothes that desperately needed replacing. We live pretty close to an outlet mall so we figured we would be able to take advantage of some great prices. Unfortunately this was not the case. We were quite disappointed in both the selection of clothing being offered as well as the discounts. Needless to say, we didn't end up leaving with much (I bought a pair of pants and a skirt for a whopping total of 12 euro). It was a bust. View of the outdoor market Since Jose still needed some new work wear we decided to try our luck at one of Seville's big outdoor markets that are set up on the weekends. I wrote about one trip we took there to do some Christmas shopping  here . These markets are not for the faint of heart. They are loud, crowded, sometimes smelly (mostly thanks to people smoking). This particular market is located on a big open parking lot. Vendors arrive early ...

I don't normally share recipes here on my blog but I recently learned to make my favorite Indian food (and it was super simple!). Admittedly it is a bit different from a traditional recipe but I used what I had and could find easily. First I made my spice mix, using about a teaspoon of each: For those of you who don't read Spanish those spices are: cinnamon, ground cumin, curry spice, ground ginger, cloves and paprika. These were easy to find in my local grocery store. Other spices that might be used in tikka masala (coriander for example) I wasn't able to locate. Side note: I used whole cloves because I already had them which means you have to be careful while eating and pick them out. The resulting mixture that I set aside: Next I cooked up my chicken. I used 2 big boneless, skinless chicken breasts. To this I added a few chopped garlic cloves and half a large onion. The first time I made this recipe I also used a few chopped tomatoes. (Today I didn...

Today Jose and I visited the Gran Hipodromo de Andalucia, a horse racetrack that we can actually see from our apartment's balcony. Each Sunday during January and February they offer free races and we have been talking about going for a while (we could basically walk there). Today we finally did and it was worth the visit. Though we can see the stands from our home, I didn't realize how large the actual track was. It's huge! The weather cooperated and we bought a few beers while waiting for the races to begin. They have one every half hour or so. Though we didn't partake in any betting (because we are pretty clueless) it seemed as if a lot of people did. There were lots of families there, enjoying a Sunday outside in the sun with (free) entertainment. When the race actually began, the majority of the people moved to the barrier to watch the horses as they galloped past. It was pretty exciting to watch them run by, but I had a hard time getting a good photo as you ca...

The latest pile ready for donation The 2-4-1 principle is an easy idea that helps to simplify things in your home. The plan is that for every new item you bring in, you should get rid of 2 (hence the 2-4-1). We don't follow this principle too strictly in terms of regular items, we aren't pack rats and don't have an apartment overflowing with stuff. Instead, I use this practice with our clothes, when something new comes in it is more than likely that 2 will go out. We always have a basket with clothes/household stuff to be donated. When it gets full, it is taken to our local drug abuse rehab center. I first wrote about the 2-4-1 principle  here  and have been trying to apply it (especially) to Jose and my clothing purchases since. We donate quite a lot of clothes every season but honestly haven't been buying much to replace them. In fact, besides some work-out gear and new jammies that were gifted to me for Christmas,  I haven't bought/received any new clothes...

While sometimes it seems like all we hear in Spain is bad news every day: economic crisis, unemployment, corruption, daily protests, there are in fact good things happening as well. It often seems easier to focus on the doom and gloom (which is probably an easier sell for the media outlets) but it is nice every once in a while to hear something positive. Here are a few things which are going right here in Spain: -In 2013 Spain reached an all time record for organ transplants and leads the world with 4,279 operations last year. According to the National Transplant Organization, Spanish citizens who are in need of an organ are the most likely to get one in the whole world. The number of bone marrow donors has also doubled in the past year. This data speaks well not only of the health system here but also of Spanish people in general, that they choose to become organ donors and give the gift of life to other people. It's pretty amazing! ( article in Spanish) . -Spanish people a...