You head down to my favourite part of the city, to eat and drink yourself silly with the city's finest independent business and then finish off the day buying lovely new shiny things for yourself.
This is the 3rd Independent Birmingham Festival, and for this one, we are back at The Bond in the heart of Digbeth.
We made a decision to arrive fairly early, as we are experts at eating, and also know that you run the risk of having to queue if you arrive any later than an hour after doors open. Queuing is fine at the best of times, but today we had Small with us, and no one wants a Hangry 4 year old on their hands.
First up Food and Drink:
Low n Slow was first up with the Belly Pork, bone marrow potatoes and lemon slaw. Thinking the Small wouldn't be interested in this, both me and the BestieFerLyfe lost half of our meat! The rub was delicious, the potatoes soft and the slaw the perfect crunch.
Bake: It is no secret I have a love of all things cake, and Bake is my happy place! These purchases were for later in the evening. This time around I opted for the Raspberry Layer cake and a Creme Egg Brownie (for the fella). If you take anything from this blog post, it is that you have to try something from these guys at least once in your life!
Jam Vs. Custard: doughnuts had to be purchased to appease the Small and fill the gap between savoury dishes. I went for the maple glazed ring doughnut, with a sneaky Custard filled for my partner in crime. As ever a good set of winners, with an oat sourdough being purchased for super sarnies at home.
Peel & Stone: As we edged later into the afternoon, it was time for Small to make his choice. Being 4 years old he zoned in on pizza goodness. Not only did he get to pick his toppings, he also got his first taste of work experience when he hopped over to see the pizza oven and give a helping hand turning the pizzas!
ABOVE Presents: Knowing who is involved with Above Presents (both Smultronstalle and Tilt), we were excited to grab a couple of their fine beverages. Both were most excellent. One being the Rhubarb Season and the second contained Gooseberry (and I cannot remember the name: never a food blogger I shall be!)
Moving on...Shopping:
Inside the Market Hall was a feast of some of the city's finest sellers. I was excited to chat to the guys behind MiniMini for our love of all things childrenswear and boys in leggings, and Small was very excited to see Windy and Wild as she made the tiniest most delicate origami birds and boats (we still have his bird and he is still obsessed!)
When you buy from a market like this you get to chat to the people behind the product and that is one of the reasons I fell in love with my new purse. Deborette Clarke of b18 leather not only makes the most lovely leather items but runs workshops for us non-crafty humans too. After having the same purse for nearly 12 years, I finally invested in a beautiful soft leather pouch. Family and friends can expect lots of gifts from B18 over the coming year!
The guys at Spectacle Emporium had some of the finest frames I have seen in a long time, and if anyone wants to splash out on a gift for me, this is the place to go.
My personal highlight of the day.
GorillaBots.
Never did I think when we headed over to the Hare and Hounds stage to find somewhere to scoff out pizza would we be exported into the magical crazy world of Intergalactic Robots.
With cardboard heads, party popper mishaps and flying balls we didn't stop giggling for 20mins. Whilst I'm pretty sure my 4-year-old isn't their demographic, he hasn't stopped going on about it since and if you ever want some fun with your funk, then these are the guys for you.
We could have easily eaten, drunk and purchased so much more, and I reckon with the next event at Aston Hall we will make a day of it and leave the cars at home.
This day is everything I love about my city.
Finally; don't forget to grab the latest Independent Birmingham card for 100's of discounts from our cities finest.
Support Local. It does good things for your soul.
*Every penny spent at this event was my own (and the BestieFerLyfe!)