Pasaportes! Registro Civil! Nacionalidad!
Well it's lonesome in this old town
Everybody puts me down
I'm a face without a name
Just walking in the rain
Goin' back to Houston, Houston, Houston
-Dean Martin
It was the perfect time to take a little quick getaway to Houston. Lin's mom had a little bit of a health scare so we were anxious to spend some time with her. We would also help her celebrate birthday ninety-two and celebrate the 4th of July in a different city so it all lined up perfectly and we packed the car, and took off with our two dogs. (I packed my faves and even got to catch up on some reading while Lin played chauffeur.) We also needed to visit The Spanish Embassy and Houston is the closest Embassy to Oklahoma where we live. Killing 4 birds with one stone sounds good to me! It was so nice to just get away. I love being in cities where I am anonymous and can just take a break from it all! It keeps me sane.
Visiting The Consulate was challenging. More challenging then expected. Everyone at the Consulate only speaks Spanish and I realize how truly bad my Spanish is at this point. It's really time to ramp up the lessons and start practicing. Moving to BCN is soooo stressful and I am so ready for the stress part to be over so I can actually just concentrate on being excited about this huge next chapter of my life. It's currently keeping me up at night. And the paperwork...OMG, the paperwork. Lin can go on a retirement visa and has the ample amount of funds in his account required. I am a different story. I am trying to decide If I want to re-enroll in school or even work part time teaching English to families. This would make the process easier on me. Having my blog get to a strong milestone where it can at least earn me 60,000 a year would strongly help.I know I will quickly get there, it's just going to be an overnight process. So I am really working lots on building my blog and brand and I need more hours in the day! The Consulate said Lin could marry me and this would all be solved in like two seconds. I was laughing and he was sweating. And it was wildly entertaining for the audience. So time will tell! We are definitely going, it's just a matter of getting all of the documents sorted out and we have interviews with The Embassy in November. Send good vibes. I am soooooo overwhelmed and when I get this way,I just shut down. Horrible habit, I know.
So we are really going to ramp up our Spanish speaking, even watching tv in Spanish. I am also currently submerging myself in the culture. I am reading blog posts from Spanish bloggers and getting acquainted with them. That part is lovely because I can predict some fun future collabs and I will actually arrive in BCN knowing some people. We share a lot of the same interests and passions too. Fashion is incredibly important to me and they are very connected! I am keeping up with the news there and am horribly devastated for Victor Barrio's family. I think it's terrible how he was being mocked on social media. He was a brave bull fighter and as much as we may disagree with that sport, that sport is such an artistic way of life over there. It's something that they take a lot of pride in and I simply do not feel he deserves any disrespect. I am sad for Lorenzo the bull too. It's just a tragedy.
I recently stumbled on a blog called Our Year In Spain and it's simply beautiful. I cannot stop reading. An Austrian family with European heritage decided to shake things up and spend a year in Granada. All though I will be living in Barcelona, I am so excited to spend time in Granada! I have been seeing and hearing some wonderful things. I am also so excited to see Madrid and visit Southern Spain too. It's hotter down there though and you guys know me.....but my friend Andi spent a whole summer there writing her first book and her interview will be on the blog soon! It's stunningly breathtaking and I am thrilled for you to see it.
I am so eager to share my Houston adventures with you. We went to some amazing new places so be on the look out for that soon!
I did have a wonderful 4th of July relaxing poolside with family and good healthy food. (I started the day at the fabulous River Oaks Soul Cycle studio so that's never a bad way to start any holiday) Ohhhh and home-made ice cream! The Three Sisters version is a little less sinful from what I understand!
Ohhhhh...I am practicing commands in Spanish with Melvin and he clearly does not understand. He is not allowed on this family heirloom. Giving him the command in Spanish and he ignores me time and time again. I obviously say "down" in English and he obeys so we all four need to ramp up the Spanish!! HA!
Have any of you been to Spain? What are your favorite places and why?!
Xo
Sam