Happy Valentine's Day!

It's the big day, folks. Valentine's Day.

Let's see how I did against my "to do" list:

Do something sweet 'n crafty
Not yet, but the day is young... those paper hearts will probably come out at some point...

Send Valentines to your friends
Check

Bake some heart shaped cookies
Check

Don't make it about gifts
Yup. I already returned the stuff to Home Depot for my sweetheart.

Wear red and/or pinks and/or hearts
I wore my heart sweater already this week, so today I'm wearing my pink and red striped sweater.

Don't try to go to a restaurant
I won't.

Call your mom
I will.

My plan for tonight is to make a simple dinner and eat dinner at the table (not watching TV), but then, once dinner is done, watch TV. (Duh.)

What are your plans?

Justin Timberlake: Discuss, please

Guys. I don't get Justin Timberlake.

I'm pretty sure ladies love him. (Like, loooove him.) But I can't see it. Can someone please explain?

When I see him perform, I feel physically uncomfortable... like a friend asked me to come to their cousin's song and dance show, and this guy who I sort of know is singing and dancing his heart out and trying so hard to be sexy, but it's my friend's cousin, and he's kind of strange looking, and it's all just so uncomfortable.

Or it's like a lesser version of if a friend took me to a male strip club for my bachelorette party. Because I'm pretty sure if that had happened, my reaction would be to seriously cry.

So watch this very short clip from the Grammys and tell me: what's the appeal? Or is he truly just strange and sort of a creep who's trying too hard?

I was starting to feel badly that I can't get on board with him (I mean, I generally generic pop culture things!), and then I realized: I think I just generally feel off-put and uncomfortable when people try hard to be sexy. I think It's more off-putting when men do it because, unfortunately, we've all been conditioned to see women do it all. the. time. But... for real, peeps: try hard to be smart, try hard to be accomplished, try hard to be kind, or charming, or funny, or heck, even pretty... but to focus your energies on trying to be sexy? Ew.

On another Grammy note that sort of contradicts my earlier point, I'm becoming obsessed with this Miguel song, not because it's an "ooh-let's-get-down" song, but because I love lite rock, and this song sounds like it could be straight out of the 80s and all over a lite rock station! Is lite rock coming back in a big way??? Let's hope!

Valentine's Day Tip List

Valentine's Day is basically my favorite holiday. I know most people do not share that feeling, so I thought I'd share my Valentine's Day rules to live by, so maybe you'll feel some of the love, and avoid some of the annoying.

:: cute closet filled with surprise balloons, via oh happy day ::

Do something sweet 'n crafty
I love the picture above of a surprise avalanche of heart balloons falling out of the closet. Here are a ton more cute ideas like that.

A bajillion years ago, I hand cut out a bunch of tiny little hearts from pink and red paper. (I have no idea why I decided to do it, but I distinctly remember that this took place at work. I can't believe I got away with that.) Every year, the confetti hearts come out to decorate the breakfast or dinner table, and they're just a silly and sweet gesture.

Send Valentines to your friends
Valentine's Day is all about saying "Hey! I totally like/love you! You're a real sweetheart! Did ya know that?"... so why not send a little love in the mail to people who deserve to hear that?

I had high hopes of making cards again this year, but it just didn't happen, so I broke down and bought some cute cards. These guys are a really cute inexpensive option that I highly recommend. (The envelopes are a pain, so I would recommend just using other envelopes.)

Bake some heart shaped cookies
It's a verified fact that hearts are the cutest shapes in the world. Give me anything heart shaped or with a heart on it, and I love it. Except for a sterling silver necklace with tiny diamonds in it that a high school guy buys for his girlfriend. That I do not want. So, cute classy hearts only, please.

I want to bake some heart shaped shortbread and top with red or pink sugar. But I only want to eat two cookies, so I'll bring the rest to work.

Don't make it about gifts
Gift exchanges make the day stressful. If you're going to do a gift, make it sweet and inexpensive. Or free and thoughtful. (I think I'm going to tell Travis that I'll run the errand of returning something to Home Depot as a gift, because I know he really, really doesn't want to. Shh... don't spoil it!)

Wear red and/or pink and/or hearts on February 14
Just do it. Because it's fun. Yes, it's a little Zooey Deschanel-y precious, but do it anyway. I'm probably going to wear this sweater so, yeah, I'm all in, guys. 

Don't try to go to a restaurant
Don't even think about it. One year I thought it would be fun to do the whole Valentine's Day thing and go to a not cool steakhouse. It was a disaster. We were seated 60 minutes late and the service was terrible. Don't get cute and think low-key will be better: I've also been to In-n-Out on Valentine's Day, and it's crazy crowded. If you're ordering pizza or Thai food (THAI FOOD YUMMMMM), be prepared for it to take way longer than normal.

Call your mom
Wish Mom a happy Valentine's Day! Because as I said earlier, it's just a day to be a real sweetheart.


What do you like to do on February 14th?

Cutest Commercial

So I guess if I'm talking about commercials two days after the Super Bowl, I should be talking about Super Bowl ads. But no. I want to talk about the best commercial ever that I saw over the weekend:

(Or, go here to see it better.)

Ummmmm there's nothing I don't love about this commercial. Why is this girl so precious??? Why is her dress so cute? Her hair so cute? Her sad intense little pout? But here's what really kills me: she's this super little girl, and she knows her dad wants to hear that she's okay, so she's trying so hard to make him feel okay... but she's just a kid! AAAAAAAAAAH.

I saw this on TV, rewound it to see it again, and then looked it up online, watched it twice more, and then noticed I was crying. If you ever want to feel happy and emotive and full of love, just get a cup of coffee, and check out the whole library of Subaru commercials. You'll be glad you did.

(You can see 'em all here.)

What's your favorite Subaru commercial?