I Love

I decided to look at Valentine's Day kind of like Thanksgiving. Which is another holiday that is not really my favorite. They both suffocate me a little with their expectations. With Valentine's Day comes this expectation of over-the-top romance and swirly hearts and flowers and chocolates and unicorns and being in love love love.

So I decided to make a list of things I love. My family and friends, well, I love them more than anything. But after them, listed without any effort at comprehensiveness, and in no particular order:

• sunshine
• M&Ms - peanut or plain, depends on the day
• Guinness - and really, just good beer in general
  
• dahlias
• the whimsical creations of Niki de Saint Phalle
  
• hot weather - even DC summer hot suits me fine
• espresso
• the feel of new running shoes
• Brussels sprouts
• the feeling of finishing an art project and actually thinking it's beautiful
• olive oil
  
• the work of Odilon Redon - his colors give me that sharp rush of breath stomach feeling, like when you have a crush
• pickled herring (thank my Viking ancestry)
  
• gin - in particular, Sapphire martinis, up with lots of olives
• Indian sweets
  
• mangoes
• new fun shoes, particularly high platform ones
• couch-y coffee places, like Tryst

Wishing everyone a very happy Valentine's Day! Hugs to all!