This week I’ve started planning a special Valentine’s trip away with my husband and we are getting more and more excited about it each time we add a special meal or activity to the plan. It all started with the idea of making a visit to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, which came about after we started taking dance lessons last summer. Well now we have finally booked in for a romantic afternoon tea at the stunning venue and I’m so excited about the thought of my husband twirling me around the world-famous dance floor like a princess. I could cry with happiness just thinking about it! 
image from The Blackpool Tower website
Of course, I’ve kick-started my preparations by doing a little shopping – well, I can’t dance at the tower ballroom without a swirly dress, now can I? – so I hopped onto the Debenhams website and picked out the dress I’d been admiring for months.
It’s a vintage-inspired tea dress by Trollied Dolly and I knew that it would fit me perfectly because I’d invested in the same dress in green for my birthday last year. I danced the night away in it and felt amazing, so ever since then I’ve been desperate to buy the navy floral version. When it arrived I discovered that the pattern was actually a tiny strawberry print, when I’d assumed that it was roses, so I love it even more now!
While I was browsing the Debenhams website I spotted a great range of nightwear and lingerie by Frost French and the prices were so good that I couldn’t resist adding a couple of goodies to my shopping bag. I chose a vintage-esque polka dot underwear set, which has the cutest little love letter charms attached, and a suitably Valentiney set of Floozie pyjamas. 
The vest top caught my eye because of the sparkly love heart motif and I actually thought that it would be suitable to wear as a daytime top too. Then I spotted the matching frilly pink shorts with a cute pocket detail and I was hooked! I snapped these photos when the order arrived and my cat muffin ‘helped’ with the photo-shoot. I know you shouldn’t really save things ‘for best’ but for now I’ve packed everything away until Valentine’s Day so that it will be a real treat to wear my new clothing on the trip. So with my underwear, nightwear and vintage dress sorted I started to look into places to stay and things to do.
One of the great Valentine’s Day offers I came across was at The Imperial Hotel in Blackpool. They are offering a two-night stay with breakfast on both mornings, and a romantic four course dinner in their fine dining restaurant and glass of bubbly on Valentine’s Day. Doesn’t that sound amazing? With luxurious 4 star accommodation, pool and spa this hotel was the obvious choice for our romantic celebrations and I can’t wait to visit!
image from The Hotel Collection website
After a weekend of luxury we are planning a trip to the Lake District to take a few walks around the area and visit the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery. We saw a particularly interesting segment on Countryfile about a new exhibition ‘The Grandest Views’ which is on display at the museum from the 9th of February. We didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to see the model of the lakeland landscape in person so we’ll be spendind day or two in the Lake District before travelling to Yorkshire to stay at a stunning Victorian hotel in the spa town of Harrogate. I’m really looking forward to spending a night in the luxurious surroundings of The Majestic Hotel and can’t wait to take a trip on the North Yorkshire Moors steam railway the following day. It’s been really exciting to actually plan something this year because my husband and I haven’t celebrated the holiday with much more than a card since our first Valentine’s Day together 14 years ago, so forgive me for being a little gushy about it!
What are you planning for Valentine’s Day? Do you have any romantic activities planned? Will you be investing in a new dress for a special evening out? Or will you be partying with the girls to celebrate being single?! Let me know your plans and I’d love to hear what you get up to so please leave me a comment below.
