Valentine’s Day + Give-Away!

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I’m reviving my old “Laila Likes” series which died an unceremonious death about a year ago… essentially it’s just a list of things I like! I wanted to share a few things on a vague Valentine’s theme as I bloody love Valentine’s Day. I’ve also got a little giveaway because I love you too!

I think love can be so complex and to me it’s often confusing, but also thrilling and exciting. Why not have a day once a year where you can celebrate the simpler side of things? And on a practical level, what better excuse to spend a night in writing songs about all the boys you’ve met and daydreaming about Domhnall Gleeson?

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HEELS

Heels are the one item of clothing I struggle to buy vintage as I have HUGE feet. These new beauties were just £12 from Office (still available!) and they’re very high, but so are all my high heels. It’s like everything in life – I don’t mess around, so if I’m going to wear heels I want the highest I can find!

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LOVE POETRY

I am a voracious reader and I have a huge soft spot for love poetry. John Keats is my favourite of favourites (as I’ve discussed before) and this very well-thumbed collection of his best poetry is constantly by my bed for any required reading. The poems veer from his incredibly smutty teenage output (sample quote: “Ye tight little fairy, just fresh from the dairy; will ye give me some cream if I ask it?”) to his oft-quoted heart-wrenching later output when separated from Fanny.

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CHOCOLATES

Valentines cliche alert. Lindt were kind enough to send me this box and to be honest, chocolate doesn’t get much better then these heavenly mouthfuls. I’m sure we’re all familiar with the chocolate Lindt bunnies; why not go for something a bit more grown-up for Valentines Day?

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VINTAGE LINGERIE

I only shop vintage or secondhand with all my clothes, but I have a particular weakness for snatching up vintage nightwear. I rarely wear them to sleep in, instead preferring to waft around rehearsals and soundcheck in dressing gowns, because they’re comfy and why the hell not. The red dressing gown I’m wearing in these photos is my absolute favourite!

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ELDERFLOWER GIN

Physical relationships are all well and good, but I’d like to know what relationship can really be more fulfilling then that of a girl and her gin? I make the best G&Ts in North London (YEARS of practise) and the recent discovery of elderflower gin has been a treat.

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GIVE-AWAY

I’ve got a beautiful vintage 60s nightie to giveaway and IT COULD BE YOURS! I’ve also got a copy of John Keats love poems and some chocolates too (you’ll have to source your own gin). The nightie is lilac with pink tie straps, so it will fit a range of sizes from roughly 6-16 (measurements below). My apologies if you don’t wear nighties or if these sizes do not work for you; I hope to have some more giveaways in the future! This is my first one ever and I think poetry plus vintage nighties is about as TAPE PARADE as it gets.


 

TO ENTER:

1. Make sure you’re following on Bloglovin, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud etc – each platform follow counts as one entry.

2. Either RT the below tweet, or do your own tweet about the giveaway (with me tagged and this post linked) for an additional entry.

3. Leave a comment below saying where you’re following/how many entries. That’s it!

Give-away is open for a week and is open internationally (although please note if you’re not in the UK I can’t include chocolate… add that to the shopping list with the gin…) – I’ll announce the winner next Thursday evening and all being well you should receive your prize in time for V-Day :)!

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Camden Passage

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Camden Passage (nowhere near Camden Market, which is further West) is most famous as an antiques market. I went numerous times as a teenager to wander around the arcades and stalls, many in the beautiful Grade II listed building The Mall. In the 8 years or so since I last went to look around there have been a lot of changes to the area, which now has more cafes and independent gift shops and slightly less antiques.

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Perils

Laila DEvon washing-line R&C tour touring west country family affairs pinafore
Laila family affairs dress Devon outside exterior bike shed yardsfamily affairs pinafore outside exeter devon west country laila girl tan tights white accordion pleat blouse new yorkSaturday night saw us staying back at The Yarde Cafe in Devon. It is beautiful there! There was live music courtesy of a local musician and I was asked to play something by both my theatrical cohorts and the owner of the venue. It’s such an amazing feeling when somebody connects with something you’ve created, especially in such an unexpected and unfamiliar setting.

Sunday the boys were off rehearsing, so I spent the day exploring the area (predominantly fields and woodland trials) and practising.

family affairs pinafore outside exeter devon west country laila girl tan tights white accordion pleat blouse new yorkfamily affairs pinafore outside exeter devon west country laila girl tan tights white accordion pleat blouse new york