Bristol Balloon Fiesta & OOTD

In 1783 the first Hot Air Balloon was launched carrying a sheep, a duck, and a rooster. It was in flight for 15 minutes and then came to a bumpy end! Now days Hot Air Balloons are a lot more advanced and come in many shapes and sizes!

On Saturday the boy & I attended the annual Balloon Fiesta in Bristol. This was hosted in Ashton Court which is a large Country Park with a lot of ground perfect for the balloons to take flight! There was around 250,000 people and the atmosphere was great! We were lucky enough to be in with the all the balloons as we had media passes and it was all go... 4x4's, balloons inflating all around you, at one point I nearly got my head cut off by a big rope as they were weighing them all down, you had to keep your eyes wide open!

It took around 90 minutes for everyone to be set up, and then within minutes the first balloon was in the air and there were cheers from the crowd! One by one about 60 balloons took flight, it was so fascinating watching how this happens - the balloon is rolled out, stretched to its width, blown with a fan to start inflating why the crew try and open every gap possible. Next the baskets are all placed on their side and the flames start to go... all the passengers have to duck down while the balloon takes off... about 20 seconds after they've left the ground you see all these heads bob up like Meer Cats!

Once we had watched all the balloons set off on their route we sat down and enjoyed a champagne picnic! Yummy ham rolls, muffins, strawberries and *cough* cheese strings... God I love a cheese string!!!

I chose to wear my new denim dress from Topshop, with Converse's and some midi rings. If you follow me on Instagram (glitter_stevie) you'd of seen I recently had my fringe (bangs) cut back in and I'm so glad I did! As the evening got chillier I slippied on the boyf's hoodie, big, cosy & warm!

Just as we finished out last sip of champers the balloons were bought back for the Night Glow. This is where all the balloons go in a circle and blow the gas flames to songs! They played around 10 songs and it was INCREDIBLE... Take That 'Rule The World', Rihanna 'Diamonds', every song that was played was simply amazing and you could tell a lot of effort had gone into the choreography. We were in the middle of the circle when this was happening and it was the most perfect place to be. If this wasn't all enough the night was finished by some spectacular fireworks! 

Lots of balloon go-ers by the bar!

All families getting involved setting the balloons up

The largest of the baskets for lots of passengers

Looks like knackering work...

Even a beautiful photo shoot going on!

Anyone for toasting marshmallows?!

TAH-DAH!!!

TOPSHOP DRESS HERE

TOPSHOP MIDI RINGS HERE

CONVERSE PLIMSOLLS HERE

This was such a great afternoon/evening and I couldn't recommend it enough. It was free entry (parking £5) and it's a perfect afternoon out with a picnic blanket & hamper. This runs every year from the Thursday to the Sunday and if you're more an early bird you can watch the balloons set of at 6am. I am determined to go on a Hot Air Balloon ride now as it looks so much fun!

Bristol Balloon Fiesta Website
Have you ever been in a Hot Air Balloon?

Stevie
xoxo

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ice Cream Sauce

Peanut Butter.

Chocolate.

Ice-Cream.

3 glorious words - put them together and you have 1 GLORIOUS dessert.

Every week me and my besties have a 'Dinner Club' - it's not as sophisticated as it sounds, but boy is it fun! We basically take turns cooking up some delicious food and share a lot of gossip & giggles while sitting in our pyjamas!!!

Last week I was the host and I wanted to recreate this mouth-watering recipe that I had seen on Nigella's website. It was literally amazing and we couldn't get enough of it. We were halfway through and kept pouring extra on... we were like drunken men waving our tankards full of ice-cream shouting MORE MORE MORE!!!

This sauce is super easy to make, takes about 5 minutes and you can make it before your guests arrive and pop some foil over the top of the pan (it'll stay warm for about 2/3 hours!) It's thick, creamy, sweet and sugary. What more could you ask for?!

INGREDIENTS (serves 4 - 6)

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175ml Double Cream

100g Milk Chocolate

100g Smooth Peanut Butter

3 Tablespoons Golden Syrup

Ice-Cream of Choice

Bag of Salted Peanuts Crushed

METHOD

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1. Into pan chuck cream, broken up chocolate, peanut butter and golden syrup

2. On a low heat melt this all together, stirring occasionally.

3. The sauce should be ready in around 2 minutes! Leave to cool a while and avoid finger dipping... ok, maybe one tiny finger dip!

4. In a bowl/glass scoop out your ice-cream. I choose Chocolate, Vanilla & Toffee Fudge. (I actually dished up the ice-cream before everyone arrived and placed the glasses in the freezer ready to just add the sauce and toppings, it made it a lot easier and quicker to serve!)

5. Pour the warm sauce all of the ice-cream, sprinkle the chopped nuts and serve with a smile!

Chocolate, Cream, Peanut Butter & Golden Syrup in the pan...

Stir the delicious ingredients together on a low heat...

Mmmm warm, chocolatey gooooo! 

Crush the Salted Peanuts with a rolling pin while they're still in the bag... a lot easier and less messy

Have a good weekend

Stevie

xoxo

Current Favourite Hair Products

I have a confession to make.

I wash my hair once a week - twice a week at best.

I find washing, drying, and styling my hair such a chore - and after 2 hours of effort it just feels too soft, flat and clean! I love a dirty mane, not greasy (that's what dry shampoo was invented for) but something with a bit of body and grip, something that you can shove up, give it a pinch and a pull here and there and it holds it volume and looks fab!

When I do wash my hair I love to give it a full detox... and then start the process all over again! The below products are what I'm currently using and loving.

WASH

To start I use Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes Shampoo - this is a purple shampoo so keeps my blonde looking blonde and not brassy. I then apply Lee Stafford Treatment (for hair that never grows past a certain length) - this is a cream product that you apply all over, I use an egg sized portion and run from root to tip, I then leave this in for 5 minutes so it can really work its magic (cue shaving the legs, and exfoliation to pass the time...)

I then finish off with Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes Conditioner. I love using Lee Stafford products, they smell incredible and really make a difference to my hair. I tried not using the Treatment once and my hair felt a lot drier and knottier without it. I've been using the treatment for over a year now, I don't think I could 100% promise that you will see your hair miraculously grow 10 inches overnight but I do think it helps!

ENHANCE

I've never been able to just 'Wash & Go' - 1. My hair is far too frizzy 2. It goes too soft and flat. Once I've towel dried my hair I grab Lee Stafford Argan Oil (spotted the obsession for Lee Stafford?!) I apply 2 pumps from root to tip, and then 1 more pump just at the tips, I then comb this through to make sure it's evenly distributed.

Next I take John Frieda Sheer Blonde Lightening Spray - I tried the whole John Frieda Blonde Range and hated it, this was the only thing that does what it promises! To start I brush all my hair back and spray a few spritzes from root to tip, I then find my parting and spray again. Like the Argan Oil I comb this all through.

Finally I take Fat Hair '0' Calories Amplifying Mousse and apply a generous amount all over my hair - I have tried a lot of volumising mousses and this is a firm favourite, pretty reasonable too!!! To finish I blast my hair upside down with a hair dryer, this gives me as much volume as possible while making me look like a lion.

 

STYLE

I literally cannot step out of the house with my natural hair so now it's time to pick up the GHD's. I straighten my hair and then once finished apply a bit of Bumble & Bumble Texture Creme to give it a bit of a messy, I haven't just spent to 2 hours on my hair look Finally I spritz some TIGI You're Royal Highness Hairspray to set everything. If I was heading straight out I also use VO5 Give Me Texture to add a bit of va-va-voom!

So now that I've shared with you my long winded hair routine... I'd love to hear what your favourite hair products and tips are so I can have a go myself!

Stevie

xoxo

Floral Headband Addiction





This year I'm loving Floral Crowns/Headbands, I owned one last year - I think I originally bought it just because Pixie Lott had one, but over the last month I can't stop buying wearing them!

They look so pretty on and I think they can literally be paired with anything! I love popping mine on with a floaty summery dress.

The first 2 headbands are from Dolly Bow Bow. I first came across this website after watching Kate's YouTube Channel - I love her video's, especially her hauls and Dolly Bow Bow is just as pretty and girly!

The first Floral Crown is made of gorgeous pink, cream and orange flowers. In all honestly it was the colour that first attracted me. They are glued to a metal headband but it's not one of the painfull headbands that dig into the back of your ears! I was wearing this for 8 hous and it was so comftable! I wore this with a high bun but it also looks great with hair down and paired with a bright pink lipstick! The quality is excellent too - I was worried one of the flowers might fall of but they are it still perfect!

DOLLY BOW BOW SUMMER SPIRIT FLORAL CROWN

My second headband is again Dolly Bow Bow, this is a more simpler design. I opted for the Peach Flowers as I thought it was perfect for Spring/Summer and will go with most things. This is a lot plainer and is perfect to just pop on with any outfit to give it a more of a festival vibe! The flowers can be moved round (if you're gentle) so you can get them all looking perfect. My only worry when I wear this is that it's going to fall off and I'm not going to notice because it's so light!

DOLLY BOW BOW ELORA FLORAL HEAD CROWN - PEACH

My last headband is this delicious Snowdrop Flower Garland from Topshop. This is made of greens and white and looks almost angelic on! It can be shaped so it fits your head perfectly and then sits there looking pretty! I wore this on a night out on Saturday and loved it, it made me feel really pretty and girly.

TOPSHOP SNOWDROP FLOWER GARLAND

 I'm really enjoying wearing Floral Crowns and Headbands and I never want the trend to end! It makes me feel really festivally and girly at the same time. They are fragile so I would just say take good care of them, I keep mine in a carrier back together out of harms way but they do look gorgeous placed on a dressing table!

Have you tried wearing any Floral Crowns?

Stevie

xoxo