Parisian Valentine

Chris and I have been talking about going to Paris forever. We dream about it all the time, just waiting for the right stars to align so we can make it happen. I can just see us alternately hoofing it around town to hit every museum and taking leisurely sidewalk-cafe breaks.

Since Paris is probably a ways off for us, Chris created a mini City of Love for Valentine's Day.

Breakfast was crepes with lemon and sugar. (Go Chris! So well-made!) Treats for later include yummy cheese with French bread, a madeleine, macarons, and bubbly, all from Monsieur Marcel at The Grove Farmer's Market.

Plus, some literature to facilitate our dreaming...and a cute little jar to help us save for our trip.

Update: We also had a delicious dinner at Meet, a great French bistro in our town. We had made reservations ages ago so that we could celebrate Valentine's with a shared order of mussels and frites! We got a cozy table nestled against the wall and opted to try the "bisque" mussels, which were new to us (I'm sorta boring and usually just love the regular old white wine-and-shallot broth). They were incredible. Plus, the combination of the cold night and the small restaurant gave me NYC flashbacks (in a good way). I daresay this was my favorite Valentine's ever!

Teleflora Super Bowl response

I know this has been over for a week now, but it's still bugging me, so I have to vent it out on my blog. Did anyone see the Teleflora Super Bowl ad featuring Adriana Lima? I've been torn about venting because I don't want to give them any more publicity for producing such disgusting truck. But I can't help it. So that their STUPID ad doesn't get any more hits, here's the gist: Sexy model is getting dressed in lingerie and tells guys they just need to "give" (flowers) to "receive" (sex) on Valentine's Day. GROSS.

So wrong in so many ways, but to be real short about it, not only is this sexist and degrading as all get-go, it's also DEPRESSING as hell, presenting intimacy as a transaction.

Even though about half of Super Bowl viewers are women, advertisers still go the sexist route. I am used to this and prepared myself to roll my eyes at a handful of scantily-clad cheerleaders handing dudes a beer. This truly went above and beyond gross, so I felt compelled to write those jerks a letter. Here's the response I got:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about our commercial. We have
passed your comments along to our management and advertising team.
Despite the fact that we have been around for 75 years, we are a small
company and we are trying innovative ways to break through the clutter
with our advertising. Teleflora is proud to support our network of
16,000 local florists around the country. These are small businesses
who make up the backbone of our country.

We are sending you a $10 gift certificate to thank you for your
feedback. We hope that you will see for yourself the Teleflora
difference of a hand-designed and hand-arranged bouquet, delivered by
your local florist.

THIS is even more disappointing for several reasons:

1) It does not apologize.

2) It actually sort of insults/places the blame with ME: You must be un-American, because WE support small businesses. And by not getting behind us, you fail to support your country.

3) Their excuse utterly fails. They're trying "innovative" ways to break through the clutter of advertising? Degrading women isn't even innovative. It's been going on since forever, and this is 2012. Get with the program.

4) I found almost the exact same response to someone's ad complaint from 2009. They are NOT EVEN LISTENING.

So, next time you're thinking of buying flowers, for V-Day, Mother's Day, Easter, whatever, I urge you not to buy from these jerks. That is all.