Brandon bought me this necklace with a little “B” on it for Valentine’s Day to thwart my getting a tattoo—something I had mentioned to him a couple times recently.

Here’s how it goes:

Brandon: You’ll never decide on a design.

Me: Yes, I will.

Brandon: How often do you change your blog layout.

Me: Hmm.

Brandon: We can’t afford laser removal every 6 months when you want a new font or whatever.

Me: Hmm.

Long story short? Instead of a tattoo (he’s right about the font), he got me this darling necklace instead. I’ll put the tattoo thing to rest…for now.

P.S. Please ignore my hideously chipped nail polish. I wish I was keeping it like this to be “edgy”, but unfortunately it’s just laziness.

Want something pretty for Valentine’s Day but you don’t want to spend a lot of money? (Because, let’s face it, these things aren’t meant to stay on very long anyway.)

Here are a few options I found for under $30—and none are cheesy red satin! Win.

• H&M Bra (Stores Only)
• Forever 21 Sheer Floral Lace Bra, $8
• TopShop Heart Lace Bra, $28
• H&M Boyshorts (Stores Only)
• Elle Macpherson Intimates Briefs, $30
• Forever 21 Ruffled Underwire Bra, $9
• O Lingerie French Knickers, $17
• H&M Boyshorts (Stores Only)
• Forever 21 Lace Tiered Boyshort, $7

This Valentine’s Day, I don’t want flowers.

Let me tell you also that even if you’re single, you shouldn’t feel like you’re left out of the game. Buy yourself something amazing. One of the most important things to realize in life, I believe, is that you should never be defined by your significant other or lack thereof. If you are your own best cheerleader, then you will have a step up over a lot of other people and will be happier for it. The trick is to have a significant other that you don’t need to “fix” to make work, that doesn’t need to fix you and is just a compliment of everything you already are.

Well, preachy paragraph above aside, send yourself something fabulous for Valentine’s Day. Send it to your office, actually. Don’t lie and say it’s from a “secret lover,” either. If you’re single, say, “I’m a grown-up and buy things for myself.” If you have a significant other, show them this post. Either way, don’t be afraid to express what you want! If you hate Valentine’s Day, order pizza and watch Apocalypse Now. If you love Valentine’s Day but hate flowers, don’t ask for flowers. Gift giving just to conform to expected cliches is so cliche. Stop and think about what you really want to do, give and get.

What that being said, here’s what I’d like for Valentine’s Day!

I’m kind of over flowers, if you couldn’t tell. For $80, you can sure get a lot of other nice things that won’t die in a week and get thrown in the trash. If you do decide to get flowers, please stop at a local market, local florist or Whole Foods and pick up flowers for less than $15. Do not get suckered in to the commercial ridiculousness that is FTD, Flowers.com, 1-800-Flowers, etc.

Let’s explore my alternate gift ideas! (P.S. Brandon asked me the other night what I wanted. I usually never make lists of what I want for holidays or birthdays, but he begged me, so voila.)

• Red Flower Candle ($12) and Body Lotion ($24) - Wonderful Tanya bought me the body lotion as a wedding shower present and I literally went through the bottle in two months. It is the most fantastic smelling stuff and there is a bit of a pun here-Red Flower/flower-that makes it a good alternative to a dozen roses sitting on your desk. I really want a candle for the office—something to calm me down on a busy day—and I’m a total lotion addict, plus I know I already love the scent. Win!
• Fred Flare Rose Ring, $12 - Much more stylish and useful than the real thing, I think.
• French Twill Memo Board, $13 - I’ve been wanting a memo board for my office space for quite some time. I have memes and other internet craziness taped behind my desk in a haphazard (rather ugly) fashion and it needs some taming. There’s only so much of Joseph Ducreux my co-workers can (or will) take.
• Love Knot Ring, $30 - There are tons of versions of the love knot ring (some hideously large and overpriced, watch out), but I like this simple, inexpensive CZ version that would look great on a middle or index finger.

Total: $91

Compare the $91 above to $91 of overpriced, FedEx’d flowers:

I’ll take the lotion, please!