A man don't take care of himself with drinking and jazz and women every night.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I can't stay for very long this evening as I have dinner bubbling away on the stove. Still, I wanted to check in with you all and wish you lots of love today. In many ways Valentine's Day doesn't mean a great deal to me, and I especially dislike all of the marketing that goes on around it. Still, I can't see the harm in there being a day set aside to celebrate love, so celebrate love I do. Nic and I exchanged cards and baked a cake, and ate another cake, and shortly we'll be sharing a dinner and an evening together.

Today is also the first day of Shoeperwoman's Shoe Challenge 2011 and I decided that the first pair to be saved would have to be some of my beloved Irregular Choice shoes:

Numph Summer dress and Irregular Choice Oz shoes

It is still too cold to be going around sleevelessly and I'm not going to lie to you, I nearly wimped out on doing an outside shot today. Also, Nic chastised me by reminding me of all the times Amber posed in the snow! Still, the light was pretty and it makes a change from posing in front of the doors of my wardrobe. As I have discussed before, what I like about these shoes is the heel:

A rather artistic shot of the lovely carved plastic heel

Generally I just appreciate the fact that these shoes are just a little bit too much:

There's a lot going on here, you've got to admit

Nic took me out for a walk in the park, and the edifice I'm posing in front of is a temple to Dr Henry Jephson, who discovered the health benefits of Leamington's Spa water. His memorial is impressive, even if it means his statue is hidden away from the vandalous townspeople of Leamington.

Photo by Nic

After our turn around the park, we wandered along to Sweet As to indulge in my only bit of Valentine's Day consumption: this awesome cake:

It was called the "Lovers' Meringue", I think, and it tasted even better than it looked.

Today I spent some time with my memories. It would have been my beautiful friend Miranda's birthday today, and she would have been 28. She died two years ago and while I think of her often, I always have a special thought for her on this day. Today was also a day to say goodbye to another friend who was taken from us too soon, and so it had a bittersweet tang. It might sound like a cliche to say it, but I took strength and hope from the signs of Spring all around us. Life keeps us moving and healing, and there is beauty in everything, and there is always love. Have a wonderful Valentine's Day, everyone.

Snowdrops in Jephson Gardens

This sign was above us as we ate our delicious cake in Sweet As. Good advice.