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!

The Old Shoreditch Station

While waiting for some friends one day I finally decided to get some coffee at the Old Shoreditch Station. I've walked past it countless times and I always wanted to go in, we were just always doing something else at the time. From the outside you can see part of their menus written on their windows. But from the second you walk in it looks really spacious. There are cool quirky details in every corner, and none of the lights above the bar match. 

There are really relaxed couch-like seating areas lining the whole window and small coffee tables in the middle of the room with chairs. There's also another room behind the bar, which is a lot brighter and has bigger tables for groups. The day I went there it was really grey, but I'm pretty sure they always have the lights turned on in there. Its nice because you get to see the people walking by, as well as enjoy your coffee in a quieter environment. 

I felt so relaxed when I was there I didn't want to get up from the couch. Sadly I had to, but I think I'm going to try to go back there and enjoy reading a book while drinking some tea sitting on those couches. As my friend Kristin says, "sometimes you just need to do nothing". 

Here's their website: http://www.jaguarshoes.com/?page_id=88

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/

Apollo Cinema

 

 I was dying to see The Great Gatsby film, and I had to see it the day that it came out because I promised one friend I'd go with her and she was leaving the next day for a week and I knew I wasn't going to last that long without seeing it. So we went the The Apollo Cinema near Piccadilly. Do not assume its the cinema towards Leicester Square, because then you'd be wrong like we were. We were so scared we were going to miss the start of the film so we ran all the way to the Apollo. 

The interior of the Apollo is nothing like the exterior. The exterior is this beautiful old building. Inside, you want down starts to get to the different cinema screens, and you can buy your ticket at the food stand. The stairs are lined with blue neon lights and the bathrooms are gold and blue. However, the inside of the screen where they played The Great Gatsby had some cool crossing lights, and really comfortable red chairs which do not have a huge armrest like other cinemas. 

Overall I really liked this interpretation of the film and I was happy I was able to see it there in 3D on the day it was released. It was a really good day. 

Here's the cinema's website: http://www.apollocinemas.com/films-showing-piccadilly-circus.aspx

Leon

I've heard the name mentioned several times, but I never went into a Leon "restaurant" before May this year. I just didn't know what to expect. It looked really nice from the outside, with picnic tables and two ping-pong tables. Walking in you can tell its a chain restaurant due to the long counter, the huge number of seats and the menu shown in photos on light up screens above the counter. It took me a while to choose what I wanted, and the desserts aren't written on the screens, but I chose a chicken mix and a raspberry lemonade which seemed like a good combo. 

I sat down with my friends at a quirky table, and started noticing the cute little details placed around the venue to make you feel more at home and more like "Leon" has a story. Munching through my green salad with broccoli, quinoa, and some chicken I decided I liked the atmosphere. Everyone was busy, but somewhat cheerful, maybe its just cause it was a sunny day. The trays given to us all had cute different fruit designs, and there were books, magazines and board games laying around in case you wanted to stay and do something. 

The dressing on my food was a little over the top, but I really enjoyed the experience of this chain restaurant, because it attempts to be a little different and quirky and not everything is the same inside. I don't know if I'll order the same thing again, just because their fried mackerel looks really yummy too.

Here's their website: http://www.leonrestaurants.co.uk/

Sadler's Wells

On the 16th of May my friend Daniella and I were lucky enough to go see the ballet at Sadler's Wells in London. We chose to see this ballet because it was advertised all over the tube, and it was based on a story we both know very well, The Great Gatsby. With the release of the film this year we thought it was only appropriate to see the ballet as well for a full cultural immersion. 

Even though there was a huge struggle getting everyone to stand so that we could get to our seats everyone attending the ballet was super friendly, the couple sitting next to Daniella recommended we go to a cute french style restaurant near Piccadilly Circus which I still intend to go to. Once the music starts everyone goes silent and the ballet begins. After each scene the whole crowd claps every dance move is elegant, graceful, and perfect. 

It was like a community of art lovers, the art just happened to be movement. Everyone was so friendly and happy to be there and its rare to find moments like that around London where everyone happens to be in a hurry to do their own thing. I really enjoyed going to Sadler's Wells and it was worth the money I spent on the ballet (36 pounds). I'm going to constantly check their website until they show something else I'd love to see. Here's their website: http://www.sadlerswells.com/

Spitalfields Market

Spitalfields Market has something going on every single day. The actual infrastructure is called "Old Spitalfields Market" and on each side of the square there are a few permanent shops, as well as some restaurants. But during the day, until around 5pm, there are street markets. On Thursday the market specifically has vintage stands which sell everything from clothes to home decor, and old cameras. Every stand has some little story linked with each individual item on sale. 

If you have time you should browse slowly and talk to each of the sellers and get to know the products you're interested in. I generally try to avoid that because I spend ridiculous amounts of money when I start to like someone, I tend to feel like I have to buy their stuff. I go there for the atmosphere because everyone is somewhat creative and interesting and at some point everyone is willing to tell their story. 

I tend to buy small postcards for my room because I like to imagine what was going on when the photo was taken and where this place could be. Spitalfields Market, like other markets in London, for me is an escape a way to submerge myself into a different life just for a moment. 

Here's the market's website: http://www.spitalfields.co.uk/