Kahaila

Before Christmas time my friend Matilda set up a make your own head-band workshop, where a group of people from her class and a group of outsiders got together to make any random type of head piece. I was going to attend a Great Gatsby themed party, so of course I went along and made something, or rather, 4 things. 

This workshop was held at the back of a cafe called Kahaila on Brick Lane. My flatmate Charlotte calls it her favourite place on Brick Lane. It's a cute home-y coffee shop that offers a variety of food and drinks, and cake. The indoors is similar to my flat in the sense that they have the same brick walls as we do. But not only that, they have these amazing wooden tables which are really worn out, but not in the sense that they're about to collapse but in a beautiful "I have lived" sense. 

One of the beautiful things about Kahaila is the artwork hung up inside it. They have temporary shows of different art from around the community. Oh and I forgot to tell you, it's a charity coffee shop. Which means they give all their profits to supporting local community projects. So stop by, grab a cake, enjoy the art and feel like you're doing something to help others while enjoying your self. Their sandwiches are good too.

Here's their website: http://kahaila.com/

The Trafalgar Chelsea

When walking around Kings Road in Chelsea, you may get bored and need a drink. Go to the Trafalgar. Not only do they have drinks but they have amazing french fries too. We stopped inside to get away from the cold and grab a drink while resting our legs. Sadly with these winter days you feel like its ok to have a drink at 4pm, “hey, its already dark”. I indulged in a large glass of rose and sat in a comfortable armchair with no intention of moving again for a while. 

They play relaxing music low enough for you to have a casual conversation and not have to yell. There are so many tables that you don’t eavesdrop on anyone else either. They have about 10 different beers on tap, I challenge you to taste them all! They also do a discounted beer of the day. 

I really liked having a break there, sometimes everyone needs a little pick me up after a day in the cold. If you live around there I really recommend an afternoon in the pub with friends. 

Here’s their website: http://www.thetrafalgarchelsea.co.uk/

Tulum Tacos

In Shoreditch there’s a little “food village” with a collection of different pop-up food stands. I recently went to Tulum Tacos and tried their Churros with a side of Corona. My friend chose to go for the Nachos which also looked amazing. When walking into the tent type room, we looked at all the different stands, but this one stood out to us the most. I quickly scanned over the menu and knew that the Churros was what I wanted most. 

They made the Churros for me right there. Frying them for about 10 minutes and heating up some amazing chocolate sauce. Also, it was the first time I had cinnamon on Churros, and let me tell you, it tastes like heaven. The open space is great for sitting down and relaxing with a beer in hand and having a chat with friends. They’ve put little outdoor heaters everywhere which is also great because that way you don't have to eat with your jacket on. 

I’m contemplating going back for a full meal, and trying food from another stand but always ending my meal with those amazing Churros. They were seriously the best I’ve had in a very very long time. 

Here’s their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.660167014013168.1073741825.146616148701593&type=3

Brunch

Having brunch is one of those things you see in movies that you wish you could do every weekend (or every day if you're me). Sadly, we only realistically have time for brunch once in a while. One day after spending a lot of money on constantly eating out my friends and I decided to have brunch at home and make it ourselves. 

I brought the fruit, Kristin made the pancakes, and we did it all at Daniella's house. We put some relaxing music on, each of us helping out for our yummy meal. Someone set the table, someone cooked, and someone cut the fruit. Within minutes everything was ready and we were all enjoying our breakfast-y meal together.

One of the many joys of brunch is that it can last as long as you like. Our meal lasted about an hour or so, but I think that's only because we were all so hungry, and the fruit we had looked really inviting. I think its really important to stay home and regenerate once in a while. Having a lazy day with a few friends is good for you. It helps you be social and recharge your batteries. 

I'm already planning the next time I have brunch, bacon and eggs? Yes please!

Oxjam

This passed weekend my friend Niko's band (MOKSHA) played in Shepherd's Bush at Belushi for Oxjam. Oxjam is a day of music in association with Oxfam. All the proceeds of the event went to Oxfam. You had to pay a 10 pound fee for a wrist band which gave you access to 4 venues. In each venue there was a different line up for the day. 

We arrived there about 5 seconds before MOKSHA started playing. The bar wasn't full, but there were quite a few people that were looking forward to listening to some live music. We ordered beers and took a seat to take in the music without spending the whole time staring at the band. They held their own very well. And the singer (Luke) introduced each song well. 

My favourite part of their performance was a cover of "Ain't No Sunshine" which really impressed me because it was so different from all the other interpretations of the song. When they finished their set the next band started setting up and the organisers went around offering a £1 shot for charity. The mood of the whole event was very relaxed. It was the perfect thing to do on a Saturday afternoon. 

This was the website for the event: http://www.oxjamshepherdsbush.com/

And this is MOKSHA's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mokshamusiclive?fref=ts

Elbows

 

When going to pick up my pottery from pottery painting we stopped by a cute cul-de-sac nearby. There was this adorable little french style cafe called Elbows. It wasn't too windy so we decided to sit outside. I walked in, assuming we had to order at the bar, but we didn't. They then brought us out menus and asked us what we wanted. 

I ordered a chicken and avocado sandwich and a latte. And my friend Daniella got a mozzarella and tomato chiabatta. Both dishes arrived with salad, but it wasn't one of those ugly boring salads, this was one I actually ate, and usually I hate salad. This salad had beetroot, tomato, cucumber and zucchini mixed in with the salad leaves. 

It wasn't an expensive restaurant, I think I paid about 9 pounds including a tip for the really good service. It was a really relaxing lunch, the kind you have when you want to have a picnic in the park but its too crowded there. Its in such a nice area and it gives you a sense of community in a crazy place like London. 

Here's the link from tripadvisor, since the cafe doesn't have its own website: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186338-d3277754-Reviews-Elbows_Cafe-London_England.html

Brighton Beach and Pier

My friends and I wanted to go to Brighton during bank holiday weekend but staying in a hotel Sunday night turned out to be really expensive. So, we decided to make our bank holiday longer and stay in Brighton Monday night instead. We took the train to Brighton from London Bridge, and 20 minutes before our train was supposed to leave the announcement says that our train is cancelled. So we start freaking out, but thankfully during the time we were queuing at the information desk our train was no longer cancelled. So we were able to arrive in Brighton at 11am on Monday.

First thing we did was walk towards the beach. After all, living in a city makes you miss the seaside.  We sat at the beach for about an hour before the wind started making us shiver. I think the fact that there were people laying in their bikinis made me feel even more cold. We then started walking towards the Pier. We stopped at several cute little stands which were selling different beach memorabilia and we went into an adorable pottery shop. 

Once we arrived at the Pier we noticed how crowded this little beach town was. We walked on through to the end of the Pier stopping to look at people on jet skis under us. We decided to take advantage of the fair, and bought 30 tokens and rode on some rides. The scariest ride was "Crazy Mouse" because you were pretty much in a little car over the sea. 

After that I stopped for some traditional fish and chips, because I still hadn't had any since I moved back to the UK. It was incredible. We continued strolling along the beach front until about 3pm when we then headed to our hotel to check-in and leave our bags. 

Vintage Tea-House

Its very common in English culture to be surrounded by tea. Originally I think people drank it to keep warm but now everyone is accustomed to it. Generally you drink tea with milk and sugar here, and I had never done that before arriving in the UK. Tea for me is to drink when you're sick, its supposed to warm you up to make you feel better. Here the tea culture is very different, and a great cup of tea some how always comes with a good dessert. 

At the Shoreditch Vintage Fair there was a tea room set up on the lower floor. The two rooms set up with ordinary cafeteria tables were covered in floral table cloths and decorated with vases of flowers as well as the occasional sugar bowl and milk jug. Everything was super cute, and all the cakes looked incredible. 

I chose to have a slice of the Banoffee Cake as well as my own cup of tea. Every tea cup had a different floral pattern and the cutlery given was traditional metal spoons with delicate engravings. It reminded me of being a little girl again. One of the other great things of this pop-up fair was that there were so many different types of people, families, bloggers, and several people just out on a walk wanting to come in for a cup of tea or a cute little cup cake. 

I'm really looking forward to the next time they have a Vintage Fair in the Shoreditch Town Hall just so I'll have the chance to try another slice of cake, or maybe a cupcake! If you fancy some tea, or cake go to: mabelsvintagetea.co.uk