~ saint valentine ~

I pride myself in being prompt.  I'm always concerned with being on time, leaving the house way earlier than I need to, and giving myself plenty of time to get ready in the morning as to avoid a last minute scramble.  But my blogging schedule doesn't reflect that.  So as per the usual, I'm posting this five days late.

(if someone wants to tick everything off of my to-do list, do my laundry, read two chapters of my comparative politics textbook, and make my lunch, Monday-Friday, then my blog promptness will reflect my real life promptness.  Until then, take what you can get.)

Valentine's Day, for some, is a day dedicated to reminding you of the mildly depressing fact that you're alone.  Everywhere you look there are public displays of affection, pinterest is exploding with wedding dresses and bouquets of flowers, and it seems that everyone you know who's over the age of 20 is getting engaged, having a baby, or having "THE MOST AMAZING VALENTINE'S DAY EVER."  You drown yourself in chocolate, glare (internally) at happy couples, and take solace in the fact that unless there's something you don't know, Tom Hiddleston spent his Valentine's Day alone also.

For others, Valentine's Day is a day of love.  Candy and flowers from your sweetheart. A romantic dinner for two.  Blah, blah, blah.  Etc., etc.

For me, and those like me, Valentine's Day is a day to pamper yourself and the ones you love.  I slept in (and by that I mean I slept until 9:15), went to brunch with my mom and sister, ate way too much chocolate, made vegan thin mints, took the entire day off from doing any homework, made a fantastic dinner, and sent out some snail mail.

{recipe from topwithcinnamon}

 As someone who is single and happy to be single, I found myself to be in neither a romantic nor a bitter mood, but instead, a happy mix of relaxed and whatever that feeling is called when you've combined a cup of coffee, a cup of tea, and four cookies.

Why be bitter about your relationship status when you can instead take a hot bath with a homemade face mask and curl up in your pajamas by 10 o'clock?

xoxo,
Eliza

~ L.o.v.e ~

01.  Art Shay's beautiful, full of life photographs of his wife of 67 years.  Read about his exhibit, My Florence, at the library at Columbia College here

02.  lovely vintage valentines

03. the perfect valentine's day dress (via Dear Golden on etsy)

04.  love themed Tattly temporary tattoos

05. perfectly pink hair

06. last night's beautiful pink sunset through the fog

07. a villain's valentine

08. and a reminder for anyone who totally forgot tomorrow was valentine's day and needs gift ideas...

xoxo,

Eliza

~ let's hear it for the boys ~

Let me just get it out in the open right away: I'm not a relationship person.
*And another thing: There's going to be a gallon and a half of sarcasm in this post.  Possibly a bit more.

Okay, so I'm not saying I've completely given up on the prospect of having a loving (non-feline) relationship sometime in my future, but I'm retiring from the ever-tiring search for "the one," a search that I've only halfheartedly participated in, and a notion that I only halfheartedly believe in.
When I was younger, I always said that I wouldn't date until I was 20.  It was mostly a stubbornness thing, but Young Me did have a good point (that being that I am an extremely picky person with incredibly high standards).  I could tell you the whole damn thing, but the short version of this tragic story ends with me breaking my personal vow at the wee age of 17.  But no matter.  If at first you don't succeed, try try again.

I'm not too sure why I've decided to renew Young Me's vow.  Maybe this is just the next step of settling into my crazy cat lady status, or maybe it's because Valentine's Day is fast approaching, but whatever the reason, I couldn't be happier.  Which brings me to the main point of this post - February the 14th is going to be a whole lot of awesome this year.  Here's why...

• I'm going to be livin' it up in Savannah on Valentine's Day, instead of my usual routine (*you know...eating chocolate, watching chick flicks, and crying softly into my pillow*)
• I'm on a new diet that allows me to eat as much chocolate as I want as long as I think about doing squats once during the day
• I'm back to wearing fiery red lipstick everyday

• New Girl and The Mindy Project exist (just in case I get a little sappy and need a good laugh to snap me out of it)
• I have my priorities sorted out

• I am 100% free of crushes....unless we're talking about fictional character, olympic athletes, or handsome british men, in which case my crush bank is overflowing 

• I've now read like 99% of Shakespeare's great love stories and I'm under the opinion that love is nothing to get all worked up over (or drown yourself over, for that matter...looking at you, Ophelia)

• this photo exists (via the Kitsch Bitsch on facebook)

There you have it, folks.  Of course there are many more reasons why this Valentine's Day is gonna rock, but that's all for now.  So, however you choose to celebrate this day of love, don't let it be the only day you show the ones you love just how much you love them.  Remember to dish out love every single day!

xoxo,

Eliza