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Tag Archives: valentines day

A belated lovey post

14 Sunday May 2017

Posted by lotales in Make, Things I do

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Tags

photobook, present, valentines day

I’m having a huge clear out of my phone (does anyone else get continually told by apple that they don’t have enough space?!? Pfft-annoying) 

Anyway…. this has forced me to get a bit organised, clear out old whatsapp chats, upload stuff to Pinterest and do stupidly late non relevant posts on here…. sorry for that!! Haha!!! 

So a group of pics that fall into this category are pics from our Valentine’s Day together! I don’t want to just delete them so here I am, in May, doing a verrrrryyyyyy belated valentines post… haha 

Basically I will share a few picks I snapped from our morning where I gifted maxwell a few pressies…. I made him a photobox album of our engagement pics and brought him a 3yr Q&A book too!! 

I’ll let the pictures do the talking….. 


Cute huh?!?! 

If you’ve never used photobox before fear not!! It was my first time too and I found it really easy!! There are always discount codes flying round too so that helps the cost be really affordable!! I opted for an A4 lay flat design and loved it!!!! 

And how gorgeousdo our pics from Hayley look?!? Can’t wait for the wedding and all the wonderful pics we’ll get then too!! I’ll probably make another one then… I was so impressed with the quality!! If you want to have a play click here and have fun!!! 

10 Most Wanted: A Valentines Special

13 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by lotales in Uncategorized

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Tags

10 Most Wanted, Anthropologie, Date night in, Ginger and Peach, relationship goals, relationships, romance, shopping, Stell & Dot, valentines day

It’s that time of year again….

Another year, another Valentines with my love…. This will be my last one as a Miss…. How exciting! We’ve decided (like last year) to plan a special night in. We’ve both been really good saving and watching our weight in the run up to the big day so I think we both deserve a bit of indulgence!

I’ve been a bit sneaky and have got the boy a couple of little gifts (which I’ll share later) so the rest of the stuff we’ll be doing will be very DIY and purse friendly. Here are some hints and tips to get you and your lover in the mood!

valentines-2017one | treat yourself (or your lady) to a personalised trinket like this stunning necklace from stella and dot. two | slip into something a little sexy like this beautiful babydoll. three | treat yourself to a new addition to your record collection. four | paint your lips. five | and snuggle up in a luxurious fur throw. six | indulge in a few handmade chocolatey treats from your favourite local company. seven | invest in a 3-year joint relationship journal. eight | make sure you smell amazing. nine | light a beautiful candle to ensure the room smells amazing too. ten | and finally make sure you take a few snaps to treasure forever!

So there you have it… what ever you get up to…have fun lovers… xx

10 Most Wanted: A Valentines Day Special

12 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by lotales in 10 Most Wanted

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Tags

10 Most Wanted, blog, blogging, gifts, Lotales 10 Most Wanted, romance, Romantic Night In, Uk Blogger, Valentines, valentines day

With Valentine’s Day just round the corner I have put together another Valentines 10 Most Wanted for you, you can see last years here if you’re interested…

We’ll be having another relaxed, romantic and quiet affair… saving for the big day means extravagant weekends away are out of the question… so we’ll be out trolling charity shops in the day and enjoying a romantic evening in. I have done a few sneaky bits to make the day a bit more special but incase you needed some inspiration here’s some suggestions:

10wanted Valentine Day 2016

one | make some homemade chocolate truffles that you know he’ll love. two | light a beautiful scented candle. three | buy an awesome card. four | treat yourselves to some beautiful flowers. five | put on some special underwear that makes you feel amazing. six | apply a kiss friendly red lip tint. seven | get cosy with an awesome cushion. eight | pop a bottle of his favourite fizz. nine | bust out your special glasses. ten | dust off your favourite records and record player and lay back and enjoy.

(all links were working and correct at time of post)

Valentines

18 Wednesday Feb 2015

Posted by lotales in Things I do

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

blogging, couple, Cowdray Ruins, Date night, Date night in, Day Out, homecooking, Lifestyle blog, marmadukes, Midhurst, nature, relationship, Valentines, valentines day, valentines gift, vintage

Another year, another Valentines Day with the man who has my heart… this was only our third Valentines Day together and being of the romantic persuasion we always try to do something special… We’re not into big expensive gestures but homemade gifts and a romantic treat are normally on the cards…

The previous two years have seen us indulge in a mini getaway or a discounted hotel stay, this year however our purse strings are pulled incredibly tight saving for multiple weddings and hen do’s so we decided to indulge in a more low key affair and take advantage of having the house to ourselves.

Prior to V.Day, I made Maxwell a cute little suggestive embroidery and ordered a massage bar from Lush (see my Valentines top ten) and also gave him a card I found at a Market back in December last year…

Our day began with a lazy morning in bed, gifts and flowers, and crumpets in bed… having a break from our healthy eating regime we may have topped up breakfast with a few chocolates too…

Once we were showered and dressed we braved the drizzle and headed out to Midhurst to browse their plentiful charity shops and find somewhere lovely for lunch.

If you’ve never been before, you must… it’s a really cute little quaint street where it seems ever other shop is a charity shop or a gift shop! Even with trying to be good a few sneaky cheap purchases were made… The highlight of Midhurst’s shops (in our opinion) is Marmaduke’s, a vintage and antiques heaven! Don’t be fooled by the organised photos on the website, Marmaduke’s is 90% chaos, but wonderful, stacked to the ceiling, careful you don’t cause a landslide chaos!

Creeping through the thin aisles with treasures piled high on either side is fantastic…. 8 sellers in total sell their wares over 3 floors and as you head to the upper floors the wares become easier to browse and slightly less chaotic!

Vintage fashions, antiques, crockery, trims, knick knacks are all upstairs and if money allowed we could have easily filled Maxwells Van!

In the end we left with just one purchase, Maxwell brought me a beautiful, slightly fierce looking antique Japanese Doll, we called her ‘Valentine’ and with her painted red lips and matching dress it suits her completely.

We stopped for lunch in The Wheatsheaf Pub for a toasted cheese sandwich and a glass of wine (taster board of beers for Maxwell) and left feeling over full and a little tipsy (effects of dry January still in effect).

We walked off the wooziness whilst checking out the beautiful Cowdray Ruins. As the light faded we packed up the van, grabbed a warming hot chocolate and headed home via a supermarket to pick up ingredients for dinner.

Our friends brought us this wonderful cookbook for Christmas and we’ve been slowly working our way through the recipes…. we decided on smashed pea, dill and feta crostini to start the Artichoke and Goat’s Cheese Ravioli for main… this is however when things took a wrong turn…a funny but wrong turn…

I left my boy in the kitchen downstairs and set up a romantic indoor floor picnic for us  in the lounge with vintage blankets, flowers and lots of candles and cushions…

The starter was amazing, in the absence of fresh peas (Waitrose, I am disappointed in you!) we substituted frozen peas and soya beans, not cooked but just blanched in boiling water, and actually this was delicious! I would 100% recommend this, so light and full of flavours….. We’ve already made it up again for a side accompaniment to a dinner.

The main on the other hand was a disaster right from the start haha….

1, don’t ever try and prepare your own artichokes…. from the 3 artichokes I purchased (which aren’t cheap may I add) we were left with an overflowing bin and the most puny amount of artichoke to cook! Next time we would just buy a jar for a third of the price and probably have 3 times as much produce too!

It probably didn’t help that I also forgot the goats cheese and our attempt to use fresh lasagne sheets in place of wonton squares also didn’t work… you gotta laugh and we did!

In the end we did what we do best and improvised a lasagne with layers of rich sun-dried tomato and fresh basil sauce and a creamy pine nut, artichoke, garlic and lemon filling.

Completely not what we planned but seriously tasty all the same!

A giant jammy dodger and another glass of wine was enjoyed as we curled up in blankets and watched a film…

So there you go, that was our Valentines day… I’d love to hear what you all got up to?! Please feel free to share your Valentine Day Posts!

 

Here are some pics I snapped along the way….

DSCF7461 DSCF7462 DSCF7463 DSCF7464 DSCF7465 DSCF7466 DSCF7469 DSCF7471 DSCF7473 DSCF7474 DSCF7475 DSCF7478 DSCF7479 DSCF7481 DSCF7483 DSCF7496 DSCF7501 DSCF7502 DSCF7503 DSCF7505 DSCF7507 DSCF7509 DSCF7510 DSCF7513 DSCF7514 DSCF7516 DSCF7518 DSCF7520 DSCF7521 DSCF7523

 

10 Most Wanted: A Valentines Special

09 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by lotales in 10 Most Wanted

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

10 Most Wanted, agent provocateur, blogging, Chocolates, Date night in, gift list, Lego rose, Lotales, Lotales 10 Most Wanted, love, lush, massage, relationships, Valentines, valentines day, valentines gift

Happy Monday my Loves!

I’ve been a busy girl this weekend working away in London on a special 3-day workshop creating some beautiful things… but I’ve been planning ahead for you all and scheduled a special little post to warm your cockles! With Valentines Day this weekend, Lotales is going all lovey dovey on you….

I’ve put together a special Valentines themed 10 Most Wanted, which for me includes all the essentials for a perfect night in with your lover.  Obviously this is utterly my suggestion, you my wanna substitute the rum for a bottle of red, or the lego rose for a real one, but this is how we do things round here…

10wanted 3one | love note book. two | rum. three | lingerie. four | aphrodisiac candle. five | cushion. six | chocolates. seven | love tickets. eight | iphone projector. nine | massage bar. ten | lego rose

N.B. Links on where to purchase correct at time of post.

Daily Look LBD Challenge

23 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by lotales in Fashion

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blogging, Daily Look, DAILYLOOK, LBD, LBD Dream Date Style Challenge, LBD Style Challenge, Little Black Dress, shopping, Style Sets, Styling, valentines day, Valentines styling, VM

I received a lovely email yesterday, which after the blog catastrophe was a welcome surprise…

Now I’d never heard of DAILYLOOK before, Which being a fashion graduate must be some kind of a crime! But already I am in love!

I was asked to take part in the DAILYLOOK LBD Dream Date Style Challenge… of course I jumped at the chance.

I love the idea of this challenge as we all have a LBD (or 6) lurking in the wardrobe and this just proves that with a bit of styling you can reinvent the humble LBD in so many ways.

Me being me, and being as indecisive as always, I decided to do not just one, but two looks… One I did being totally self indulgent and creating a look I adore and would 100% wear on a valentines date with my gentleman…

Here is my first Bohemian look…


Beautysets - Lotales Bohemian LBD Dream Date Style Challenge
Lotales Bohemian LBD Dream Date Style Challenge
with
Deborah Marquit, Stone Cold Fox, DailyLook

The second look has a much more girly feel to it… Maxwell chose the dress he liked best, then I styled it up.

Here is my second girly look…


Beautysets - Lotale Girly LBD Dream Date Style Challenge
Lotale Girly LBD Dream Date Style Challenge
with
Marc Jacobs Beauty, mac lipstick, Marc Jacobs

And there you have it… My first venture into DAILYLOOK and putting together my own style sets. I really enjoyed it and if you have an account, I’d love to see what you’ve come up with!

The style sets are such fun to create and it reminded me of being back at Uni and creating moodboards. I found the software really easy to use and by the socond set I really felt I had a good understanding of how to make my board just as I wanted it to!

My looks will hopefully be featured as part of the LBD Dream Date Style Challenge, where the DAILYLOOK team will be sharing a few looks each day in February in the run up to Valentines Day.

You can see my page here featuring my two sets. For now, that’s all that’s on there, but I’m sure it wont be long till its bursting at the seams with lustworthy items!

If you are feeling inspired and want to do some LBD shopping you can view DAILYLOOKS’s Little Black Dress Collection here. I recommend it, there’s some stunning dresses online!

Finally, thanks for the opportunity and invite to take part DAILYLOOK, I’ve really enjoyed it and look forward to creating more style sets with you!

Presents for my lover…

20 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by lotales in Craft, Make

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Tags

Beard Love Nan Lawson, craft, Cushion, gift, handmade, handmade gifts, machine embroidery, mixtape, Spitfire girl, valentines day

Well, a little bit overdue, but a valentines related post non the less…

I mentioned before that Maxwell had mentioned doing mixtapes for each other, and as well as that i wanted to make him a little something…

So, the mixtape was pretty easy, i decided to do all acoustic love song covers and it’s a good old mixtape and went down very well. I wanted to make a cute ‘sleeve’ for it though so I dug out the typewriter and sewing machine a whipped up a sweet envelope style cover for it.

I also wanted to make a little something for the boy to celebrate our first valentines. So inspired by this wonderful cushion by the very talented Nan Lawson, I thought i would put our faces on a cushion. why not!

I did a quick simple sketch first of us, then used the sewing machine on some vintage fabric pinned to dissolvable paper to ‘trace’ the sketch. really easy! I hemmed it with an old vintage trim and i think it’s very charming in a really kooky slightly bad made way!

He liked it, so that’s the main thing!!

Also, how perfect is the card I got for him from Spitfire Girl?!!? ( which by-the-way, if you havent checked out you totally should)

IMG_2962 IMG_2965 IMG_2966 IMG_2967 IMG_2968 IMG_2969 IMG_2970 IMG_2971 IMG_2972 IMG_2973 IMG_2974 IMG_2975 IMG_2982 IMG_2995

Happy Day of Love <3

14 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by lotales in Rambling Words

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Tags

valentines day

Hope what ever you are doing, whether its a fabulous night out on the town with your single girls, an intimate dinner with your lover or a handmade card from your darling little one, you all have a beautiful day… and night!

I’m off to a wonderful little hotel with my handsome man and can’t wait to spend a day being all OTT loved up!

(it’s my first non single valentines day in a long while! so I’m allowed to be super excited)

35727189344

 

Artist unknown. Source of artwork.

You’re the one that I want…

23 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by lotales in Things I like

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Tags

angus and julia stone, love, mix tape, valentine, valentines day, you're the one that i want

Maxwell asked me if we could do something the other day…

He wants to make mix tapes for eachother for Valentines day (our first one…yay)

We made some for eachother when we first started dating and I love the idea of doing another one now we are in love. He’s such a sweet sweet man!

I’ve got a few tracks i’m thinking of including, this being one of them…

Isn’t it beautiful?

Lotales

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Welcome

Ami Lowman is a maker, blogger & owner of the creative brand Mia Mai who lives with her fiancé in the seaside town of Southsea, Uk.

Ami is currently planning the wedding of their dreams, loves all things vintage, takes too many photos and has a thing for the old, weird and forgotten.

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