Vibe Cuts

On the 21st of April I got my haircut. But you see, it wasn't just a plain haircut, I got my haircut in the street on Brick Lane in East London. The group of people doing the haircuts are professional hairdressers and they really do know what they're doing. It seems a little sketchy and uncomfortable at first, but I think any time you cut your hair it makes you a little uneasy. 

The hairdressers belong to a hair salon near Liverpool Street Station named Johnny's Place (http://www.jonnysplace.co.uk/). I got my haircut from an Italian girl, she asked me what I wanted and I showed her where I thought it was appropriate to cut. Unlike a normal hair cut, they don't wash your hair in a sink in the middle of the street but they have spray bottles where they dampen the hair in the area it needs cutting. A woman near me got lots of different layers cut into her hair so her hear was almost fully wet, whereas my hair only got wet at the bottom. 

After a couple of snips here and there my hair was done, and I was really happy. This street haircut cost me 25 pounds, a lot cheaper than my usual hair dresser in London. If you feel daring and you need a trim, I really recommend you go to Brick Lane on a Sunday and get your haircut. Its fun and it will always be a cool story to tell. 

Holland Park

When I was a child I frequently went to Holland park, I have gone to that playground at least 50 times. There were always so many squirrels and there's a section with peacocks, but not only that, my childhood friend Zoe lived near there so we would walk her dog in the park every time I went to her house.

On Tuesday, it was sunny and I had planned on spending the day alone therefore I went to visit the park. Walking through i got so many flashbacks of my childhood, especially of me running through the park with my friends. 

I think I sat at a bench for an hour just soaking in the good weather and happy atmosphere.

It was so nice to see people enjoying the sun. Even though in my opinion the English get a bit too excited when they see a ray of sunlight.

Overall, going to the park is a great way to spend the day outside without spending a lot of money, grab some food and a blanket and you're set for the day. I really hope it stays sunny for a while longer, I have way too many summer clothes.

Butchery Bingo

Every Monday the Shoreditch butchery has a bingo night. There's a 2 pound entry fee if you don't book a table. I recommend you go in a group its more fun that way.

A man with a beautiful purple wig, wearing a neon green leotard and sequins platform boots hands you the bingo cards and explains how we'll be playing the game. He also lets you know that there will be swearing and sexual language throughout the games. He's very charismatic and his banter is one of the highlights of the night.

If someone on your team gets a bingo,you all scream "bingo" and someone heads over to the podium. If your numbers are all right then you win prizes and a round of shots for your table. The full game of bingo is played 3 times throughout the night, giving you 9 chances to win something.

We first won cocopops, then a mixed CD, a notebook, and finally a glee board game. In total we won 6 rounds if free shots too. It was insane.

The interior of the place is so cool and edgy, its as thought they converted a location into this tribal theme but leaving etched art in the walls too.

I can't wait to go back another Monday!

Here's the venue's website: shoreditchbutchery.co.uk

Broadway Market

In Hackney, near London Fields every Saturday there is a market called Broadway market.

You can buy clothes, food to eat on the spot and food to take home. 

There are stands with traditional French cheese, different types of organic olive oil stands, salami stands and fresh juice stands. One of the best things is that you get a sort of sense of community between you, the traders and the people in the crowd.

I have gone there two Saturdays in a row, the first time buying cheese and hams, the second time I bought a playsuit and organic olive oil. In the summer you can go to London Fields and sit in the park while enjoying your food. There are two coffee stands who make incredible freshly brewed coffee for a reasonable price unlike the chain coffee shops.

Overall I was really happy to be there, and nothing is too expensive, it's more price-y than your local Tesco but its worth it for the quality and difference in flavour. I can't wait to cook with my olive oil.

Welcome to Wonderland

On Friday the 19th of April I had a great day. I went to The Breakfast Club for lunch, then The Love Shake for a milkshake, and in the evening I went with my two friends Daniella and Kristin to paint pottery at this super cute pottery place in Hackney. 

The place is called Wonderland Ceramics and its decorated with an Alice in Wonderland theme. There are images on the walls that are from the book and the tables are painted red for the queen of hearts. The best thing about it is that there are so many different pieces that you can paint so if you don't want to paint the same boring old plate then you can paint a garden gnome or cuff links or even a cute box to keep your things.

Each item you paint costs a different price depending on its size, my plate was 11 pounds but there were a few items for cheaper around 7 pounds but also a bit more expensive pieces for about 18 pounds. I think the price is worth it cause it covers all the paint costs and the firing too, especially cause in the end you don't just leave with something practical you leave with a memory of a time in your life. Usually people bring their children to paint but one of the joys of painting is that anyone of any age can do it.

Its run by a French woman, and she glazes and fires all the pieces you paint. Last night was set up as a "late night painting" session, so we got there at 7 and painted until about 9 when the store closed. With pottery painting it takes so much longer than you think because you have to double coat everything you paint so that the colour stands out more. In about a week's time we're going to go back and pick up our pieces and see if they turned out ok. I'm really excited to go back. 

The ceramics studio's site is: wonderlandceramics.com

Lichtenstein

On Tuesday the 16th I went to the Tate modern to see Lichtenstein's work. I really enjoyed it. I played a game with myself to see where there were flaws in his patterns and designs. It was nice that they divided the rooms by the different movements in his work. 

There was a room for landscapes and another on "art about art" which had pieces done in styles similar to other artists of his time. The exhibition took about an hour and a half to walk through. Some of the rooms were too small to see the works well especially because his pieces are all extremely large, so I didn't get to feel the full power of many of the pieces. 

His style was very repetitive and after seeing a few displays the interest of the viewer was a bit lost. I think his work would be shown well integrated with other artists of his time. The exhibit costs 12.20 pounds for students and about 15 for others. I don't know yet if I want to become a Tate member or not.

Below there's a picture of me with pop art make-up on based on Roy Lichtenstein's work.

Asos, Internet Phenomenon

I've become a huge online shopper over the past few months. Its really bad for me because I've become a frequent buyer so they email me almost everyday, and I always find something I like. Generally I only order from places that have free shipping because I like only purchasing a few cheap items. My two favourite English stores are inlovewithfashion.com and asos.com , both have a variety of products and they reflect on my style.
Asos actually means "as seen on screen". I'd like to think that since their a company with only an online market that their clothes are comfortable and they are true to size. My only problem with Asos is that they run out if my size really quickly. At inlovewithfashion both the s/m and the m/l fit me so its not hard to find what I like. Overall I should probably stop shopping since I already have a lot of clothes but its my addiction.

David Bowie Is...

On Tuesday I went to the Victoria and Albert museum to see the new David Bowie exhibit. It was really interesting, the displays were somewhat interactive and some of the displays had screens that changed over time.

The exhibition was sponsored by Gucci and Sennheiser. Sennheiser supplied audio devices for each visitor, the music or audio track would change depending on where you were standing in the gallery and which display you were looking at. Some of the tracks were just David Bowie's songs whereas others has clips of him speaking at interviews.

The collaboration with Gucci allowed there to be several displays showing the clothes he wore on stage when being his different alter egos. There were clothes from each of his tours. The Alexander McQueen union jack coat and the first outfits he wore as Major Tom, and Aladdin Sane. Each of Bowie's characters showed a different part of who he was and is. My favourite segment of the exhibit was the explanation Bowie gave on why he made an album in Berlin and what Berlin meant to him. He focused on the fact that Berlin made him lose himself and find himself at the same time. Having been to Berlin before I understood what he meant, especially because of all the historical context in the city.

I really recommend you go see it. It does cost 9 pounds for students and 14 for people without a student card but its worth it. He was just such an influential person, especially in the fashion and music world, it would be a shame to miss out.