Visiting Picturesque Towns!

Living in Cheltenham - on the edge of the Cotswold's - means we're very lucky to be surrounded by lots of small town's that are no more than an hour away. They're the best places to visit when all you want to do is get away from reality for a little while. They're full of a countless amount of individual shops and cafés and even just wandering through the pretty little town or alongside the river is the loveliest thing to do. 

Even if it's only for a couple of hours, visiting a nearby town that I've never been to before or I can barely remember visiting previously, is one of my absolute favourite things to do. Walking through a new place and not knowing where we'll end up - what shops we'll discover or how we'll find our way back has a certain excitement about it. 

Evesham!

When we visited Evesham in the summer we were lucky enough to be able to enjoy not only the super hot weather that the weekend produced, but also the Medieval Festival (celebrating the 750th Anniversary of the Battle Of Evesham) that we didn't even realise was taking place that day. We took the riverside walk into the town where we found a small café to have lunch in, before we took the route via the Bell Tower back towards the Medieval Festival. Once we arrived there we looked around the stalls that made up the majority of the Festival, they included things like medieval jewellery and costumes but there were also food tents that sold local ales, hot drinks, cakes, Burgers, and they even had a Spit Roast. It was also really cool to see the adults and children dressed up in their medieval costumes and sat around fires outside of their Camps - along with the big white tents that all the stalls were placed in, the dressing up aspect really made the whole event more realistic as they had horse's and jousting events happening too.

Clevedon!

Recently, we've also visited Ross-On-Wye a small picturesque town that has a bustling high street - so it was great to visit to do a bit of shopping but also to visit their market which was held in a really old, historic building. We've been to Clevedon, a beautiful seaside town near Weston-Super-Mare that has a lovely sea front walk which ends with the Clevedon pier, which is nice to stroll along and visit, even though it was a bit pricey to access. Bourton-On-The-Water, is somewhere we visit a few times a year but the lovely stroll through the village and having lunch in a different café everytime we visit, never gets boring. Although Bibury has a lack of shops and restaurants to choose from, their small walk around the village is really beautiful and I always love visiting the trout farm as it brings back lots of memories from my childhood, of when we use to spend days there feeding the fish.

Stratford-Upon-Avon!

The most recent place we've visited is Stratford-Upon-Avon, the last time we visited there was a good 6 years ago, so we could barely remember where we'd been and what we'd done. But it was fun to try and figure out where we'd been previously and suddenly recongise different parts of the town such as the River Avon. This time we decided we'd walk through the town - something we new we didn't get to do previously - so we took the time to visit completely unique shops such as The Nutcracker Christmas Shop (who doesn't like christmas??) and The Enchanting World Of Wizard's Thatch (Ok it sounds strange but it was honestly the coolest shop, I was so mesmerized by everything in there and I even bought some unique Alice In Wonderland playing cards). We also managed to find Shakespeare's birthplace which was really interesting to see. The old Tudor buildings in Stratford were really amazing as wel;ots of the modern day shops and cafés such as Costa and WHSmiths were placed in these historic buildings and although they were modern inside, just walking past them made the whole town seem more historic and interesting as it was obvious that the buildings had stories to tell.

I love visiting all these different places, especially as they're smaller towns that not everyone knows about, I'd definitely recommend visiting somewhere new, it's weirdly therapeutic. If you want to see more photos of my trips to different little towns visit my Instagram by clicking here!

"At least once a year go someplace you've never been before"

Until next time,

Alice x

Continue Reading...

Pantomine!

Our local Panto this year was Cinderella, and although I haven't been to the panto for years now, when my mum said her Women's Guild were booking tickets to go, me and my sisters jumped at the chance. Cinderella has been my favourite Disney Princess since I was little, and I especially wanted to go and see this show. We went to the panto on the 8th of January and although we were a little bit later going, it was still a full house.

The "Comic Lead" was a circus clown called Tweedy. He played a character called Buttons who was "only given his role just before the start of show as the actual comic lead fell ill". However, this was cleverly done as it meant whenever he walked on stage and shouted "What's my name?" the audience had to remind him of his characters name and reply "Buttons". Buttons was definitely my favourite character, even as an 18 year old girl, I found him absolutely hilarious. Ok so some of the stunts he pulled where he repeatedly did the same 'silly thing' again and again did become annoying even if they did entertain the younger audience members, but for the most part, the jokes he told and the stupid things he did were really funny. My favourite parts were actually when him and William Elliot - who played the Baroness aka Cinderella's mother - made a mistake or created an off-script joke (some of which even made them come out of character because of the hilarity of it). You could tell the actors had done the pantomime together in previous years because of how comfortable they were with improvising jokes whilst their characters were interacting.

I also liked how they included little bits about our town to make it seem as though the story was set in Cheltenham rather than a big city like London or Birmingham - For example the ugly step sisters said things such as "Lets go shopping up Montpellier" (the more expensive shopping area of Cheltenham) - it made the show seem more familiar and relatable and set the show in the present time rather than in the past. They also put there own twist on popular songs such as For the First Time in Forever from Frozen and Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran which I think also helped make the panto more modern.

Towards the end of the show they got some of the kids up on stage and asked the whole audience to join in with one of their original songs "These are Talented Shoes" by singing along and copying their hand actions. I think this was a really nice touch to get the audience interacting with them one last time and it was something both children and adults could take part in.

The fun nature of the pantomime has definitely made me want to go next year as well, it makes you feel like a kid again and you aren't embarrassed to join in with the silly activities as everyone is joining in around you anyway. Visiting the theatre isn't something I get to do as often as I'd like because of the costly price of tickets, however whenever I do visit it always reminds me how much I enjoy going to see different shows.

Our local Pantomime has finished now, however, you can look into your local Christmas panto towards the end of the year - it's definitely worth your time and money and it's a great way to enjoy the Christmas or new year spirit with your loved ones.

"Madness, mayhem, laughing till your tummy hurts, that's what's best about Pantomime"

Until Next Time,

Alice x

Continue Reading...

The Clothes Show Live 2015

Although the Clothes Show Live takes place at the beginning of December each year I've only just become available to write about it due to working a lot over the Christmas period (that's retail for you). The dates of the clothes show vary each year however it always runs for 5 days at the NEC Birmingham and always includes a weekend.

For the past few years my cousin has invited me and my sisters to go to the clothes show with her however we've always rejected her offers due to the expense of travelling and tickets. But, this year we decided it was time to take a visit and see what all the hype was about and we weren't disappointed. We had booked the 3pm time slot to go into the fashion theatre and watch the official clothes show catwalk so we knew we had plenty of time to look around both before and after our viewing. As soon as we arrived we bumped into Jake Quickenden from the X Factor and after having a quick photo with him we carried on looking around the many stalls and booths scattered around the huge room. We also searched out the paparazzi pen and the celebrity signing area (where celebrities came at different time periods to meet with fans) and the two smaller stages - image catwalk and the olympus pen style studio (where interviews and catwalks were taking place). We later returned to the celebrity signing area to meet Louise Pentland - none other than Sprinkle Of Glitter - we were kindly given a free poster and once we got to the front of the queue we were able to buy her book, so she could sign it (which of course we did). We weren't allowed to take any "selfies" but one of the lovely ladies on her team offered to take photos for each person meaning we still got some (well A LOT) of photos with her - which was really nice. Louise herself was so amazing and genuine she made sure to stop and have a proper conversation with each of us whilst thanking us for making the time to see her and asking how our day was going. If I had the chance to meet her again I definitely would and meeting her has made me love her YouTube videos even more. 


After meeting Louise we lined up to go into one of the photobooths, which was placed inside an old fashioned car (which was super cool). We got four photos and two prints for £5 which wasn't too expensive (especially for a photobooth anyway). After this we carried on wandering around stopping at various stalls whenever we spotted something that interested us. I found a navy blue coat for £20 - which was a total bargain considering how much you would usually pay on the high street. Me and my sister also purchased the Barry M goody bag for £10 which was definitely worth the money. Inside I got 6 Nail varnishes varying in colour, 2 eyeshadows, 2 lip glosses and 2 eyeliners - one of which was a silver pencil eye-liner and the other a black pen eyeliner. Considering how much you would usually pay in boots to purchase all of these things I can 100% say it was worth the £10. If I went

back to the clothes show another year, I would probably purchase more than one goody bag as I have already used the nail varnishes from Barry M quite a lot.

Going into the fashion theatre to watch the clothes show, I didn't expect much. I thought the models would walk down the catwalk in this seasons newest fashion trend and I would probably come out thinking "that was alright but a bit boring". However, I was completely wrong, the clothes show had set a whole theme, so the models came out assisted by different types of dancers ranging from ballet to street dance and they put on a whole show - they did performances surrounding water, earth and evil as well as many other different themes which made the whole show a lot more interesting and exciting than I'd imagined. They also had models showing what the trends are for this season and how you can buy them. For example, Glam Rock from River Island and Metallics from New Look, I think this instantly made us as an audience interested in the show as we wanted to know what the new trends were.

I would definitely recommend going to the clothes show, even if you're not big on fashion or make up, although it is widely based around these things, there are other stalls there such as jewellery stalls, food stalls and knicky-knack stalls which have lots of different things ranging for emoji cushions to china signs. Me and my sister spotted a stall where you got given a tote bag and you were assisted in screen-printing onto it a promotion for Alcatel onetouch (who were in association the clothes show 2015) - however the scene on the bag is quite cool, it isn't an obvious promotion for the company instead it looks really stylish and interesting. A lot of reality TV stars were there however I've only watched the odd episode of Made in Chelsea or TOWIE so I wasn't hugely bothered about meeting any of those stars, but we stopped to see Jamie Laing at the candy kitten stall as my cousin was a big fan of MIC.

Thank you for reading this blog post! If you want to find out more about the clothes show 2015 or are interested in going to the clothes show 2016 then click here to find out more.

"Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak"

Until Next Time,

Alice x

Continue Reading...

The Gloucester Victorian Christmas Market

Every year around the end of November the Victorian Christmas market takes place in Gloucester Quays. The market features a variety of 150 different stalls, all of which range from locally made food and drink to handmade gifts such as glass decorations, artisan jewellery, knitted hats and scarves and also homeware such as multi use brushes, wooden bowls and stools, as well as many other things. All of the stall holders were dressed up in Victorian costumes, and to carry the theme further, there was a wooden Victorian cart placed in the middle of the stalls and also wooden crates placed to the side. Additonally, other Victorian characters were wandering around the market dressed in costume as well, they were interacting with many people and were said to "surprise, amuse and entertain vistitors with their exploits."

The quays is the perfect location for a christmas market - its surrounded by restaurants ranging from Nandos to Ed's Diner to Pizza Express, and variety of Cafés such as café nero, caffè corretto, costa and Cafe Tucci. This means you can pop into a café for a cup of coffee to warm up before making the journey home, or you can plan your visit around dinner, and pop into a restaurant before or after visting the market. Additionally, the docks which surround the quays are historically picturesque and are therefore the perfect background for this sort of event.

The market is very family orientated, most years they have a horse carousel which is placed in-between the two main stall areas. And this year in addition to the carousel they had a Ferris Wheel and a Helter Skelter - all of which were very popular with the children. There were also Victorian Games taking place - none of which happened whilst I was there - but I'm sure the old Victorian toys and games entertained many children. There were also stalls that sold wooden toys, make-your-name bunting, childrens wooden tables and chairs and child friendly christmas decorations such as reindeer's and a snowmen made from felt - as well as many other things.

However, the market isn't just aimed at families, there were a lot of adults and couples wandering around and the live music which ranged from brass bands and choirs to upbeat pop/rock music attracted a lot of adults to the event. Alcohol such as locally made wine, beer and cider was sold at a variety of different stalls, and so was locally produced food such as sausages and cheese - however, a lot of the stalls that sold these items were very popular and most of them were quite overcrowded when we passed by. Additionally, there was also a real ale tavern which was perfectly placed next to the stage, this meant a lot of people were stood around eating hot food, drinking good beer and listening to music. Of course you could also purchase mulled wine - the festive drink which on the cold evening was a perfect warmer. Food and drink wasn't the only attraction to adults though, the many different craft stores meant the market was the perfect place to visit to find original, handmade Christmas gifts or decorations, the bakery stalls were also great for treating yourself or your loved ones.

The Victorian Christmas market is a completely free event (except of course if you find something that catches your eye - if you get away without buying anything be sure to tell me your secret to resisting). Unfortunately, the Victorian Christmas market has finished this year, however, keep an eye out for it next year, you won't regret taking a couple of hours out of your weekend to visit.

If you're still wanting to visit a Christmas market in Gloucester Quays this year - the Enchanted Christmas Market is taking place between the 11th and 13th of December click here for more information. Although this market is slightly smaller than the Victorian market the festive spirit ensures its just as magical.

"It is Christmas in the heart, that put's Christmas in the air"

Until Next Time,

Alice x

Continue Reading...

DIY Oreo Cookies

So a couple of months ago me and my sister decided to do some baking. I wanted to create something a little bit different from the normal 'chocolate cupcake' and having recently come across My Cupcake Addiction via a shared post on facebook, I decided to browse through her easy-to-make and unique cake ideas. One recipe that had previously caught my eye was the DIY Oreo Cookies, I thought these looked pretty cool, and the ingredients consisted of things that you would typically have in your household, meaning I didn't have to make a special trip to tescos to collect the items I would need.

We followed both the youtube video and the blog post that had been created by Elise, as this made it easier for us to ensure we were following the correct steps and mixing the ingredients in the right order (however the second time we made these we only followed the blog post - use whichever you find easier - i'll leave both links below).

The cookies did take a good 3 hours to make - but this included making, refrigerating, cutting and cooking the cookie dough as well as making the icing and then scooping it onto the cooked and cooled chocolate cookies - however, you do need to ensure you have enough time to make these cookies and relax afterwards (as being on your feet for that length of time, kills!). I'd advise using a free day you have, so you can take your time making them and you don't have to rush as the odd couple of hours in a day probably won't be enough. 

The time length to make these may seem extreme, but it was definitely worth the time. The creamy icing and chocolate cookie weigh each other out to create a (and i'm not exaggerating) heavenly taste and texture in your mouth. The recipe provided on My cupcake addiction creates around 22-24 Oreo cookies, which is plenty for you and your family to enjoy (obviously if you're planning on selling them at a cake stall etc. maybe double the batch). 

I've now created these cookies twice, the first time was a tester and for my family to enjoy and the second time was for my 18th birthday party which I wrote about in my previous blog post. At my party these were really popular, by the end of the night we only had 5 or 6 cookies left and those were the ones we had kept aside - so it seems everyone enjoyed them. They do not taste like your typical Oreo cookie you buy from the shop - they're completely different - but I have to say, they're probably tastier! In the future I am definitely going check out and try to create more of Elise's original cakes, cookies and desserts!

"Laughter is brightest, where food is best" 

You can find the My Cupcake Addiction DIY Oreo Cookies blog post here and the DIY Oreo Cookies vlog here

Disclaimer: This is not my recipe, Elise shared this recipe on her blog and youtube, however all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Until next time,

Alice x

Continue Reading...

My 18th Birthday Party

For my 18th birthday, I did various things ranging from going out drinking with my friends, spending the day in Bourton on the water with my sister and parents and having a garden party with my extended family. 


For my garden party I wanted to create some unique and adventurous invites, 

1. First I bought some 11" balloons (these I bought from card factory for 99p for a pack of 6 - they come in various colours and are easy to inflate) 

1. Secondly, my sister designed an A6 invite which had all the details about my party on, this piece of paper was going to go inside the balloon. She also created an A5 design which we printed onto card and stuck the balloon onto, which had the instructions of what my guests had to do to retrieve the actual invite. (You don't have to design these invites you could easily order them online or buy them from a supermarket, party shop etc) 

1. After this my mum used a skewer stick to tightly roll up the A6 invite so it was easier to slide it inside the balloon.

1. Once the invites were inside the balloons I used some decorative tape to stick the balloon neck to the A5 card (the tape I used for the balloons we already had from when I was younger, but it's easy to pick up from craft stores.)

1. We then placed the invites inside the named envelopes and delivered them to my family.

different from the normal 'Facebook messenger' invite. So, I decided to create some "Blow me up and pop" invitations. Now you're probably thinking "what the hell is that". Well, your guests get given a balloon which they need to blow up, once the balloon has a decent amount of air in, they can then pop the balloon and the invite (with all the details of your party) will be released from inside. To create my invites I did as follows:

 As you can see my garden party followed the theme of Alice In Wonderland as I wanted to create a 'Mad Hatter's Tea Party'. But your invites could follow the theme of anything or could just be basic but bright if your party doesn't have a theme.

My invites were a hit with my family, a few of them attempted to get the invite from the balloon without blowing up and popping it, as they didn't want to ruin the invite (and some of them actually succeeded) but for the most part, a lot of my family thought the idea I came across on Pinterest, was really cool and different, which is what I was aiming for. If I received a "Blow me up and pop" invite, I would probably get quite excited. They are brilliant for all ages, and different occasions, and although they are quite a lot of work, they were definitely worth  the time. 

If you need any more inspiration, look at my "18th Birthday Ideas" board on my Pinterest account or visit A Girl and A Glue Gun where I followed the blog post to create my invites. 

    Until Next Time, 

Alice x  

Continue Reading...