Inspired By: Valentine's Day

“There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable.” - C.S. Lewis

IT'S VALENTINE'S DAAAAAAY and I'm so excited! *insert jazz hands* 
It's a little weird how much I love it. And yet every year, I just have a blast.

I wake up and say, "Ellie. You're in love today. With YOU! Get out there and treat yo self! " 
And I do. I buy myself flowers. I make myself cookies. I put on my favorite shoes & walk around with a goofy smile on my face because of how awesome I am.

That sounds so incredibly narcissistic. Bordering on drastically pathetic.
But it's my thing. 

In fact, I'm not really sure how to share this day with anyone. I mean, aside from letting you have a cookie. But I'll try...so here's all the things that inspire me about this pretend holiday.
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Eat:

Valentine's Day is dark chocolate and tart berries and if you're not indulging in a bit of sugar on this of all days then I have nothing more to say to you.

 

Read:

Don't worry, no romance novels here, just some real letters from real people.

+ Love Letters of Great Men & Women by C.H. Charles
+ This incredibly sweet letter from John Steinbeck to his son


Hang:

Sweet and simple illustrations are the loveliest of all:

Listen:

Nothing inspires my imagination more than classical music. Here are a couple of sweeping scores from movie soundtracks that fit the mood perfectly. Excuse me while I replay dramatic moments from my love life to these songs.





Smell:

When giving or buying flowers, it's important to consider the meaning behind them, and not just how pretty they are.  The language of flowers is real, you guys. So real that if you show up with an armful of yellow roses, I'm never speaking to you again.  In Victorian times, you could have a whole conversation in a bouquet of flowers. They practically invented passive-aggresion: my mouth is saying, "here, I got these hydrangea for you" but my heart is saying "you're frigid and heartless." On the other hand, show up with a few stems of ranunculus and it's a swoon-fest.
Drama!

Whether you're happily in love, bitterly single, or completely ambivalent, I hope this Valentine's Day was worth your while. If it wasn't, leave me your number in the comments below & I'll sing off-key beautiful songs to your voicemail to cheer you up.

You're welcome, world.
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Sources:
Top image (sans text) by Geronimo Balloons
Cherry Syrup Waffles by Helena Jungren
Vegan Berry Tart by Have Cake Will Travel
Swedish Chocolate Cake by Top With Cinnamon
Dancing illustration via Pinterest (could not find OP)
Cherry illustration by miss Capricho
Ranunculus 1 via Tumblr
Ranunculus 2 via Kiss the Groom