Mr. Buckley's

Mr. Buckley's is a cafe I found on my way to Broadway Market and I told myself; I have to have to pass by here again for brunch or something. I went there with a friend one day purposefully and all I remembered is that the seating area was up a little staircase that you could see from the window. 

Walking in I hoped they had good food, and drinks. I had a simple ice-coffee for drink, and looking through the menu which wasn't too cheap but neither too pricey I chose the brunch skillet. I didn't want anything with bacon, because I knew I was going to have it again soon. So this was the healthy option. After all there were potatoes and cheese, it couldn't be too bad; the dish had all the major food groups. 

Once it arrived I was really excited to dig in, because they actually serve it in a skillet. And I did, I think I barely talked to my friend throughout the whole meal just because I was so busy eating the food. I think its the kind of place you can even go there alone and relax waiting for an amazing breakfast. Maybe I'll do that next year. I really recommend it, just so you can have a slightly different breakfast experience. It will be a taste-y one, and the staff is really nice too. 

Here's their website: http://www.mrbuckleys.com/

Hackney City Farm

Walking towards Broadway Market one Saturday, my friend and I happened to see a sign for "Hackney City Farm". I was a little shocked, a farm in a city, what? Really? Yes, a farm in a park in east London. We followed the people with children, and the signs and walked into an area which was the farm. There were chickens running around everywhere, a house for the donkeys, a house for the rabbits and guinea pigs and a house for the pigs. 

The chickens were let out to walk around freely, and so were the ducks. The donkeys, sheep and goats were in a larger more open space grazing and enjoying the warm weather. And the cute little guinea pigs were in their homes rolling around in the hay. Children were making animals sounds, or chasing chickens. Couples were looking at the different animals and walking around.

I don't know what it is about farms, but somehow everyone seems to love seeing the animals interact with each other and the big city seems so distant. I'd probably go there again, just to try to pet a sheep, I got so close to a lamb at one point! 

Here's the farm's website: http://hackneycityfarm.co.uk/

Nails at Swapaholics

At the Swapaholics event there was also a Nail Salon. It was just a little table with a lot of nail polish and two really fun women. I chose to get my nails done because I had a date that evening and the nail polish I had on was really badly chipped. It took me forever to choose the colours I wanted painted, because I knew I wanted to have an accent nail that would have more detail than the others. 

I ended up choosing a bright pink and a gold glitter. Lately I've been really into pink and purple more, maybe its because most of my winter clothes are blue and I'd like to think the weather should be warm now. Anyways, these two hilarious women entertained my friend Kristin and I for well over an hour and our nails turned out really well. 

Kristin is a nail biter, so we were hoping that putting nail polish on her would make her stop (sadly, it didn't). 

The nail artists are: ColourRiotNails and Lalafornailart, they both are reachable on twitter and instagram under those names!

Swapaholics

Googling cool things to do in London multiple times I came across "Swapaholics". Its a group of people who organize clothing swaps. You show up, hand in your clothes that you no longer want, and depending on how many items you get then you get a paper with that number written on it. You can browse through everyone's clothes and pick out what you like but you can only take away a maximum of pieces, the number of pieces you leave with can't exceed the number you showed up with. Until the free for all in the last 30 minutes of the event. 

My friend and I arrived pretty early so we were able to be-friend one of the ladies working there who happened to have the same name as me. We were able to browse a lot before other people showed up, and I was able to find a few cute things. They also set up that during the event there would be live music. It was a guy and his acoustic guitar. He sang and played, performing really famous songs, which I happened to quietly sing a long to. 

I really liked the experience of trading clothes because everyone kind of felt like a mini community. It was fun  and I'm definitely going again. I just need to collect up some clothes I no longer want. They do these events every few months around London, this time it was in Hackney, but previously it has been in Earl's Court. 

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

The Deli Downstairs

The Deli Downstairs is a really cute organic shop in Hackney, near Victoria Park. In the summer they have red stools and tables to eat outside. Its decorated really well, with space for all the different types of food, the meats, sauces, cheeses, vegetables and even other food. 

Its not cheap, cause no organic store in London is. Its just the kind of place that give you a really good vibe, and makes you want to buy their food. There are loads of different organic brands that they carry as well as having un-labelled fresh fruit and vegetables, but pretty much anything you need or want is there, and you definitely leave without any guilt. 

What I really liked about it is the amount of fresh cheeses they had as well as their own pesto, hummus  and tapenade. All their food really looks incredible. I want to go back to buy fresh pesto, cause I hate hate hate eating pesto from a jar. 

Here's their website, if you want to go enjoy their incredible food: http://www.thedelidownstairs.co.uk/

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

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.