25. galentines.

and in honor of valentine's day, an assortment of things i love:

-eating string cheese for breakfast
-baby shampoo
-pretty little liars
-new tights
-lace
-pizza delivery
-playing with puppies
-not actually having a puppy
-flossing
-zooey + jean ralphio:

and you know, other great things like my family, being able to feed and clothe myself, art, music, books, tea, a great job, jj, and all my friends. ya'll are pretty great.

24. library love.

my friend ashley sent me the following reader's digest story today:

Check Out a Romance
I met my husband while I was working in a science library. He came in every week to read the latest journals and eventually decided to take out the librarian instead of the books. After a year and a half of dating, he showed up at the library and started rummaging through my desk. I asked what he was looking for, but he didn’t answer. Finally he unearthed one of the rubber stamps I used to identify reference books. “Since I couldn’t find the right engagement ring,” he said, “this will have to do,” and he firmly stamped my hand. Across my knuckles, in capital letters, it read “NOT FOR CIRCULATION.” – Contributed by Ruth E. Chodrow

(from here http://www.rd.com/family/11-funny-valentines-day-jokes/)

22. a love letter to holidays.

i am someone who likes occasions.
i like any excuse to wear dressy clothes, like something made of lace or a headband made of sparkly things. i like surprises and cake and having reasons to make a day special. i have been known to buy a fancy dress just so i can invent a reason to wear it.
i'm not cynical about christmas, i think about halloween for months, and one year, okay i may have made abraham lincoln a birthday cake.
i like giving people cards, making people presents, and chances are if you've sent me a handwritten anything in your life, i still have it in a box and regularly think about how awesome you are.

super bowl sunday and valentine's day are ridiculous days in many senses, but maybe i love them too.
maybe it's really fun to have a reason to invite a friend over to eat dip and watch puppies run around on television.
and perhaps one of the most fun things i did in grad school was when we all got together to make valentine's cards out of national geographic issues and glitter glue.

so you'd better believe i'm going to rock my toddler-approved heart-printed tights come february 14th. and i'm sure i'll be alone in my enthusiasm for the holiday. but it's going to be awesome.