Valentines Day without a Valentine. What I would be buying.

Although Valentine's Day is meant to be a time to express your love and committment to your partner, the marketing mentality behind the day has imposed somewhat of a stressful cogitation to the day. As much as loved ones may say, "I don't need anything" or "lets not do presents this year", I would never fall for that. It's most likely a trap to test the love you have for them.

So as I don't have a Valentine this year I know that this week in the lead up to Feb 14th will be a stress free period. Having been asked by friends already "what should I get my girlfriend for Valentine's Day" I thought I would show you what I would buy my non-existent Valentine this year.

Had I actually been faced with having to choose a Valentine's Day present this year I would have relied heavily on my older sister and two female housemates for advice. The honest truth being, I would have dragged my sister through the shops of Melbourne trying to find the right present all week. So I'm sure she's ecstatic that I'm dateless. However, the one thing that every guy should take advantage of is online shopping. 

If you have somewhat of an understanding of what your partner may like for Valentine's Day then online shopping is your saviour. Majority of what I would purchase is from online stores. The options are endless and you find yourself clicking on one website, which leads to another and another, then hours later you settle one present. I actually used Instagram and Pinterest to see what was available to buy, and most often than not I would stumble across the website in which you can buy it. 

Anyway here is what I came up with. Hopefully my ‘future’ girlfriend would enjoy the following presents for Valentine's Day. 

In year 5 I had my first serious (2 week long) relationship and I got her a candle. Since then they been a go to for me.  Maison Balzac candles are made by a French girl who now lives in Australia – amazing – especially Le Sud and Le Soleil https://maisonbalzac.com/

I stumbled across Dinosaur designs when searching Australian Jewellery designers one night. I would honestly purchase anything form here for Valentine's Day. They predominantly do jewelry and home wares. The jewellery ranges in price, but I think it’s  young and creative.  Dinosaur Design is resin jewellery, which is Australian, designed and made in Sydney http://www.dinosaurdesigns.com.au/

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I heard about this website from my female housemates (knew they'd pay off one day). They said that the Leather Baggu Bags and Purses from the South Melbourne store Vincent2 had really cool colours and super soft leather. In checking them out I liked the black baggu leather bag (Above).  Its stylish, simple shape is made of the softest natural milled leather from Argentina. Jump online and have a look at what else they offer, there is so much more to choose from http://www.vincent2.com.au/baggu.html

I thought this was a good present idea. The Pineapple Cushion from Ourlieu is a simple yet practical present for the girlfriends. I picked this one as I instantly thought of summer and have never seen throw cushions like this before. Ourlieu is from Mornington Peninsular, Victoria http://www.ourlieu.com/

 

 

Cool prints are hard to come by.  Sydney artist Rachel Castle has some really cool prints, which no doubt every girl would love. This is my favourite. Have a look at the rest http://www.castleandthings.com.au/home.php?cat=255  

Sydney based husband and wife duo Scott and Amy are responsible for the next present I would buy. This is a simple take on the classic time-teller. Featuring a sandblasted IP rose gold coated stainless steel case, white face with minimalist markers and premium walnut leather band. A watch is always a great present to get and at an affordable price I thought it would be a good idea this Valentines Day  http://www.thehorse.com.au/collections/watches

Another cool Jewellery store I stumbled across online is from Life With Bird. You can’t actually buy the jewellery online, only in store, but definitely worth making the trip for Valentines Day. This was one of my favourites that I think would put you in the good books for a Valentines Day present - http://www.lifewithbird.com/collections/accessories

For those of you who aren’t so organised, I’ve been tipped off that one of the best place to get flowers is from Fleurs Flowers in Melbourne http://www.fleurs.com.au/ and Fjura in Sydney http://www.fjura.com/. Never going to lose sticking with the safe option of flowers on Valentine's Day. 

Hopefully this has helped some of the guys out there with present choices. I know it’s a bit late, but if you haven't got anything organised yet jump online and order something, blame that it didn’t arrive yet and have a flower waiting for her at dinner (works every time). 

Enjoy the time with your Valentine!

Ed 

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New additions from Thread Etiquette

One of my favourite websites for fashion accessories is Thread Etiquette. Just received my latest addition to add to my collection. 

Thread Etiquette is a edgy fashion forward Australian retailer of the latest fashion trends. Their entire collection from watches through to ties has huge personality and effortlessly evolves you from street to tux. 

Love supporting Aussie retailers. Check out their website here for more products.

Here are my top 5 picks. 

You can also follow the latest fashion from Thread Etiquette on Instagram here.

Let me know what you think!

Ed

Ps - Thanks for all your ideas for a new blog name. Watch this space for a new blog name soon

Blogging!! Everybody's doing it.

Today marks 97 days since I was evicted from the Big Brother house.

I was locked away in the house for 94 days and spent 8 days prior to that in a hotel room for lock down.

 

I can't believe it's gone so fast. Thanks so much for everyone that read this blog whilst I was in the house. I am very humbled by all the support I have received from fans. Many thanks must go to my family and friends that were forced to watch me in the house, which I'm sure would have been cringe worthy at times. In particular I must thank my brother Nick who put an enormous amount of effort into this blog and drumming up support for me, I'm sure it has something with lasting so long.

 

Life since Big Brother has been somewhat surreal. The social media explosion in itself has been confronting and challenging at times but has been amazing tool to speak with fans in 'real time'. The confronting element has been having to deal with the negativity and 'trolls' that offer an unwanted opinion, but thankfully the majority of my interactions with fans has been positive.

 

Obviously coming out of the house everyone wanted to know about Jade and I. Which is fair enough! It's weird to have to deal with people and questions about your relationship. It's something I've never experienced and found overwhelming at times, but understandable.
 
However, the love received on Social Media has been amazing. People of all ages have private messaged me, tweeted me, instagramed and facebooked me all praising me for living in a house for 94 days. That's the best part about this entire experience. As much as I feel the exact same person coming out of the Big Brother house as I did walking into the house, people now feel as if they know me and care about where I go from here.

Where to from here? Honestly - who knows!! I went into the Big Brother house wanting to have a life experience that was like none other. That I've definitely done. Would I have liked to come out of the show and walk into endless opportunities - sure. But I never kid myself and think that just because I was on a reality TV show that I'm entitled to anything more than anyone else.  Nevertheless, I will try to seek out opportunities and forge a career in media.

Coffee, food, fashion, apps and sports or even just normal day to day events and happenings I will write about what consumes my life... Fist things first;

I NEED to change the name.
 
I'm throwing this out to anyone that is reading. Send me your suggestions: @EdJLower with what you like this blog to be called.
 
Looking forward to all responses creative or crass.
 

Ed x
 
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