Valentine's Day

Today is February the 14th, also known as Valentine's Day. In case you were wondering why it's Valentine's Day instead of Valentines Day (without the apostrophe), guess what? I've been wondering the exact same thing, how crazy is that? Well, I have the answer now, so you don't have to google it. (Should google be capitalized, even though it's now a valid verb? But, I digress). It is certainly a day for many "valentines," giving validity to the claim that the apostrophe is an imposter. However, the true story is that Valentine's Day is actually Saint Valentine's day, as in a day dedicated to an individual saint, is also known as the Feast of Saint Valentine, and therefore the apostrophe appropriately indicates the possessive nature of the official day. Anyway, that's five minutes of my life I'll never get back. Moving on...

Sigh...Valentine's Day is such a polarizing holiday. Like so many others, I don't love the consumerism surrounding the day; the idea that some grand gesture is supposed to be made in the form of ridiculously expensive flowers (that only last a few days), or that a piece of exquisite jewelry is an appropriate symbol of the depth of one's love, is a bit offensive to me. But please don't misunderstand me, I don't think flowers and jewelry are offensive, just the idea that, in order for some fellow to express his affection towards me, he needs to empty his wallet. I just can't seem to wrap my head around why Valentine's Day seems to be so much about money. Isn't it supposed to be about love?

 Since I do not measure love by how much money someone spends on me, I should have no problem letting Valentine's Day go by without a pause. But there's just one little problem...I LOVE CHOCOLATE. (Dark chocolate truffles are my favorite, if anyone's curious. Really dark chocolate anything...except I don't like fruity things in my chocolate, just dark chocolate and maybe sometimes caramel or nuts.) And while I don't think money and love go together, I'm totally fine with the correlation between chocolate and love because, well, I'm in love with chocolate, so it makes sense to me.

In all seriousness though, it is possible to celebrate Valentine's Day in a wholesome way that still reflects the romantic nature of the holiday, you just have to be creative. This is probably something a lot of guys (and some gals) are not great at, which is why they usually fall for the dozen roses/box of chocolates/fancy dinner/jewelry scheme. Just in case you are challenged in this area, I'm going to help by listing a few things that I think would be good alternatives.

Dinner:
I would much rather have a simple, intimate dinner at home with just me and my love then spend tonight in a crowded restaurant looking at the menu and trying to find something that is reasonably priced so that I don't feel bad about eating it. Seriously, maybe I'm weird, but when my dinner is priced at $50 I can't help thinking that I could have bought a week's worth of groceries for the price of one dinner. Now, I'm lucky enough to eat a dinner made at home almost every night with my boyfriend, so I'd want to amp it up a bit to make it special for Valentine's Day, but that's easy. Turn off the lights, light a few candles, pour some champagne and of course, save room for dessert. Picnics are another good option; dinner under the stars is definitely romantic. All you really need is champagne, some food and a blanket. And if the weather doesn't cooperate, just have a picnic in your living room (my sister's idea)! Push the sofa and coffee table against the wall, spread the blanket on the floor, light some candles, open a bottle of champagne. (Notice the champagne theme here?)

Flowers: Instead of a vase of fresh-cut flowers that won't last long (and are incredibly overpriced, especially around February 14th), bring home some hand-picked flowers found on the side of the road. (In Texas, this is actually illegal, but has anyone actually gotten a ticket for doing this?) Personally, I would appreciate someone taking the time to stop on the side of the road to pick a few wildflowers much more than if that same person just called up a flower shop, gave his credit card number and ordered flowers to be sent to me. I'm not saying that I wouldn't appreciate it either way, but when comparing the two, I'd definitely rather the wildflowers. A third option would be a potted plant. Much more economical, as it will (hopefully) last a while and bring more natural, organic beauty to your home or office, and can be nurtured.

Jewelry: Maybe it's because I don't often wear jewelry, but this one I just don't get. If diamonds really are a girl's best friend, she must be one lonely girl. I can think of only one occasion where it's acceptable for a man to spend significant money on diamond jewelry, and that's an engagement. Outside of that, it's just weird (for me). I think I'd rather have a homemade gift, like a framed photo of the two of us, with a sweet message written on the back. Or maybe some chocolate brownies fresh from the kitchen. Or how about a handwritten love letter? Now there's an old world romantic gift that can be cherished forever. If you're running out of homemade gift ideas, the internet can be a great inspiration. Try this post on A Beautiful Mess for some DIY valentine inspiration, to start.

I think that keeping mindful living at the forefront of gift giving is also essential. Some trinket that catches your eye in the card store is probably eventually going to end up stored in a box somewhere. Your significant other may not love something that much if it takes up a lot of space or if they have to find a place to put it, especially if they live in a small space. My boyfriend is really good at remembering things I've said in the past that I want or need and then gifting them to me on gift-giving holidays (he's pretty awesome), which is great, because if I already want or need it, I've probably already made a place for it, at least in my head.

To sum up my take on St.Valentine's Day, I don't mind setting aside a day devoted to celebrating love, as long as it's done in a thoughtful and mindful way, and as long as we remember to give and receive love every other day of the year, too. Please share with me your idea of a perfect Valentine's Day, and Happy Valentine's Day to all, thanks for reading!