love is in the air

I totally support anything about celebration of love. Valentine's Day to me is a day to celebrate the spirit of love. It is a perfect occasion for a romantic date, proposals, wedding, etc....a perfect occasion to shower your love one with flowers, diamonds, chocolates, perfume, books, watches, jewelry and others. February 14th with its enchanting magic, charisma, and scarlet color of roses painting the shops across the city, brings love in the air and makes every heart come closer and eager to say these three little words aloud "I Love You"!

Every February, throughout the world, lovers express their love by sending cards, offering confectioneries such as chocolates, presenting flowers, and giving glittery gifts, all in the name of St. Valentine. And why do we celebrate this holiday? So many stories have been told and the history behind is shrouded in mystery, but we all do know that February has been long a month of romance not to mention the one day of the year when florists grin and sales of anything red and heart-shaped rocket.

Different continents have different traditions and ways of honoring love. Some celebrate it to a large extent, and generally a lot of people just take time to eat a romantic dinner with their spouse/partner/lover, send card, or simply give a red rose. But whatever ways it's celebrated, romance always fills the air.

When my husband and I started dating, I realized he is not that romantic type, although, in fairness, he is very thoughtful. He would give me gifts on my birthdays, Christmas and anniversaries, even with no occasion at all but not so much on Valentine's day. Even when we got married, every year seemed the same, we waited, we got busy, we couldn't decide and whatever the reason for the delay, none of us seem to have time to prepare for Valentine's Day.
For the last couple of years, I did plan of a romantic night at home. I prepared a hearty dinner - a succulent sirloin steak, grilled mushroom and asparagus as side dish, tossed with green salad, paired it with Red Merlot and finished it off with to-die-for dessert. I remember setting the table with flowers, candles, strawberries, lot's of truffle chocolates being the mainstay of romance that is, and a Reisling icewine poured alongside in an elegant glass, just the best combinations to draw a romantic dinner to its delectable taste. I also remembered shuffling in our DVD player some old-fashioned classic love songs like "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole and Ipanema Girl by Astrud Gilberto and also best of Nora Jones album. After that dinner, my husband and I decided to watch a romantic comedy movie "My best Friend's Wedding" and the rest of the night was history...

This year, we had the chance to have a romantic dinner at Westwood Plateau Golf Clubhouse. We shared the romantic night with some of our close friends. It was such a lovely evening. Food and drink were superb, the ambience was great as what was expected, it was dominated by the west-coast interior design, low-key lighting and the soft music and the service was excellent. We had a great time. My friends looked stunning in their little black dresses and matching stillettos. So with our spouses, they looked stunned when they saw us!

There are really a lot of ways to celebrate February 14th, one can always uncover last minute ideas and come to rescue the gifts you can pick up for your other half (with all the pressie suggestions of course! like silk scarves, bracelet, or LV purse that you've been eyeing for). Unless you can come up with something quick, you may end up spending the night sulking and regretting. So next Valentine's Day, don't wait until the last minute if you plan on getting special someone something special. Well I don't know about you but I'm horrible at last minute things.