I think a big redeeming quality about the week ahead, is that everyone will feel the undercurrent of l.o.v.e. as we make our way toward Valentine’s Day on Saturday. Hopefully, this means that most people you encounter this week in particular, will be in a pretty chipper mood. Then again, perhaps the undercurrent will feel quite the opposite for those of us who choose to reject the Hallmark holiday altogether and celebrate Single’s Appreciation Day instead (trust me, I’ve been there). I don’t know what the plan for Valentine’s Day is as of writing time, but when I asked my boyfriend what we were doing for V-Day yesterday, he looked at me blankly and said, “I don’t know…bring you flowers?”

I made a deal with myself at the start of the New Year that I would have something to look forward to every single day. Most days find me looking forward to small pleasures: a morning latte, a night solo in with Netflix over a homemade meal, or simply excited to start a new read on my Kindle. It’s made 2015 a great start so far and the perfect excuse to continue with this series, which tends to share the slightly bigger highlights of the coming week, building excitement along with it. Essentially, it was designed to trick myself out of the Monday blues…and it does.

With that, my 5 reasons this week will rock!

1. Girl’s Night Out: I can’t wait to unwind with a classic G.N.O. later this week, hitting the equally classic dinner and a movie circuit. I was simply going to leave it at that, omitting the part about what movie we’ll be seeing so as to not embarrass myself completely. But what the hell! The movie, good or bad, is going to blow the box office out of the water this weekend…and I’m curious. So yes, you’ll find me and a gal pal at the Arclight ready to enter Christian Grey’s red room of pain, a.k.a. Fifty Shades of Grey. I’ll further stand in my truth by adding that yes, I read the book; yes, it was an annihilation of the English language; and yes, I continued reading it despite this. It was a book club selection chosen by one of the members some years ago. I had no idea what it was about when I first started reading it; so let’s just say, it caught me totally off-guard…and was “eye-opening,” for lack of a better word. My expectations for the film are pretty low, but it should be a fun way to kick-off the weekend.

2. Both Sides Now: I’ve seen Love, Actually almost every Christmas in recent years as a tradition to get into the holiday spirit. I was always struck by the scene where Emma Thompson’s character receives a Joni Mitchell CD from her husband as an early Christmas gift. There’s a line where she states that Joni Mitchell “taught her how to feel.” I’ve been on the prowl for something new, and for whatever reason, that line came to me when logging on to Spotify, looking for something to zone out to while I got some work done. Joni Mitchell’s 2000 album, Both Sides Now is my current life soundtrack and will be in heavy rotation this week. Her voice is mesmerizing on this album. It’s not usually what I find myself listening to day-to-day at all, but I guess that’s the funny thing about getting older, your taste evolves.

3. “The Theater” (in my best British accent):  To balance out my slightly more exhibitionist,”overly-romantic?” theater-going experience at the movies, I feel good that I’ll be going to a more traditional theater-going experience to keep my street cred. My boyfriend and I are off to see a friend in her new play. I’m looking forward to the drive out to Pacific Palisades and a matinee performance.

4. “The Woman I Wanted to Be:” I’m in the middle of Landline (Goodreads winner for best fiction novel of 2014). Though I’m enjoying the book, I cannot wait to get through it so that I can get to Diane von Furstenberg’s new memoir, The Woman I Wanted to Be. I’m anxious to hear more about the life of the iconic designer in her own words. I admit, I have a bit of an obsession with DVF since visiting her Journey of  a Dress exhibition last year. I hear she’s led quite the life. Then again, as a princess turned fashion designer, you’d have to. I’ll keep you posted on if it’s worth the read.

5. V-Day: While I got that aforementioned blank stare from my guy when probing about V-Day plans, I know I don’t have anything to worry about. He always makes holidays special, even if it’s just a simple night in with pizza and a movie. I’m not expecting anything over the top, I just look forward to spending the day hanging out together.

 Wishing you a week of l.o.v.e.! x

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Header image credit: “coffee-cups-notes” by r. nial bradshaw used under CC BY 2.0 | Modifications: cropped, text added to original.