This is sort of a weird one because I wasn’t planning on doing two Valentine’s Day posts. My first one – the romantic breakfast table setting – was always on the cards but this one was a little more organic. I was sent an incredibly gorgeous tray by Sweetpea and Willow to take part in an Instagram challenge they were running and while I was under no obligation whatsoever to share it on my blog, I just really wanted to.

Ya see, Valentine’s Day is meant to be about love, right? Although I feel sometimes the commercialism of the holiday gets in the way, there is still something to be said for the one thing I feel we need more than ever in today’s world. It’s a scary place out there and there are times I just want to shut myself away from everything, to stop reading the horrors on my Facebook timeline, to resort to living in my own personal little echo chamber.

But doing so cuts us off from the greater world – something that’s just as dangerous as a lack of acceptance of the diverse and beautiful world we live in. The fact is, most people are really not that different from you or me, not when you really dig deep. We are all just doing the best we can in the circumstances we have found ourselves in life. It’s easy to shut ourselves away but in reality, it’s time to open up more than ever and share that love however we can. So that’s what I’m going to do today. Share the love.

Wow, I wasn’t going to go all political here but it seems I have. Aaaaanyway….

So Sweetpea and Willow sent me the most gorgeous tray as part of my styling challenge along with a sweet little gold rimmed fluted cup and saucer. With those items, I decided to create a little ‘love corner’. I wanted the tray to be stylish and pretty, yes, but I also wanted to share representations of everything around me that I’m truly thankful for and those things that I truly love. The things that make me who I am and how I see myself.

I think it’s a rather lovely exercise that you can create for yourself or for your loved ones because it’s all about concentrating on love. So, with that, I present to you what I came up with – which was, in effect, a stylish coffee table for Valentine’s day. What makes it different from a normal styling post is that each item represents something I love.

First, the tray itself has a definite ‘boho glam’ feel to it with gorgeous gold, black and ivory inserts which obviously represents how much I love this style and things I choose to surround myself with in my home.

The pink and gold plate shows my love of eclectic design, mixing old (Art Deco style) and new (blush – one of my favourite colour trends of the moment).

On the tray is coffee in a gilded French press and a beautiful delicate gold rimmed cup. I simply can’t start my day without coffee – it’s the fuel that keeps me going as a freelancer.

I also included a little cat bowl because I’m a self-confessed ‘crazy cat lady’ – I’ll always be the one at the party you’ll find sitting in the corner chatting to the host’s cat rather than mingling! For those wondering, I found that at Anthropologie in London (sadly, it’s not on the website!).

The cherries represent the smallest pleasures – fresh bedding, the sun after days of rain, my cat purring in my lap, wearing pyjamas to ‘the office’ when I want to.

The colourful postcard represents my love of art as well as my need to be creative.

I included three chocolate love hearts – first because I love chocolate (who doesn’t?) but more to represent my three precious ‘furry children’ – our dog Quito and two cats, Pablo and Meisha.

Finally, I included two things to represent my partner of 8 years and the love of my life, Wayne: a beautiful Diptyque candle (because he bought it for me and well, he is my shining light) and the leopard print card (which he knew I would love) and which contains sweet words he wrote to me for my birthday.

So now that you’ve seen my own… tell me. What would be on your own ‘love tray’?