October 26th
I jokingly told Nai the day before that I have a history of getting upset whenever I plan to bake something cute for an event (perfectionism at its finest), and, true to form, I proved myself right. I woke up already off-kilter after a couple of nightmares left me feeling unrested and agitated. Later in the morning, Nai and I started baking for our Halloween party that we were hosting in the evening. I had ambitious plans to make sugar cookies with eyeball sprinkles—powdered sugar frosting and melted chocolate pupils—but quickly realized I should’ve prepped them the night before to give them time to set. Adding to the chaos, we made a quick trip to the store for wax paper but somehow came home with plastic wrap instead. Cue more frustration.
Needing a break, we headed to the park to browse clothing stands for thermal gear for my Patagonia trip. I didn’t have much luck, but Nai found a cute yellow dress, and I snagged a gold-and-black velvet tank top. We stopped at a pasta place for lunch, sat in the sun, and I finally let myself cry it out. As we talked, I realized what had been building up: I’ve been feeling stuck with my Spanish lately, like I can’t remember basic things and always forget the words Nai explains to me.. And while it doesn’t bother me every day I think it’s been building and really getting to me. I really appreciate Nai for listening to me and talking through everything and after that chat I was feeling much better and like I at least knew what the issue was at that point – (I’m telling you something about baking always brings it out of me…)
Later, I baked and decorated the cookies, which ended up working better without the sprinkles anyway. I made a thick powdered sugar frosting and used a chopstick to paint it on, adding melted chocolate centers for the eyeballs. They were far from perfect but actually turned out pretty cute! Nai made a coffin-shaped cake with a gold sprinkle cross and cupcakes topped with Oreo bats. All the treats looked adorable together—and tasted just as good.
For the party, we dressed in witchy-ish outfits (mostly dark clothes with fun details—mine included star tights and my mom’s vintage cat earrings!). Once the guests arrived, we served witches’ brew—a gin and berry cocktail in a cauldron-like pot—and went all out with Halloween details, which felt extra special since Halloween isn’t as big here as it is back home.
The night was full of chatting, snacking, and getting to know Nai’s friends. Before we knew it, it was after 2 a.m., and we were heading to Bresh, a famous Argentinian party now held worldwide. The Halloween edition was packed full of people with costumes dancing and having a good time – us included. By the time we returned home, our feet were aching, the sun was rising, and the world outside was starting a new day as we finally crashed into bed.
