'Breaking-up' with old-school V-day.

You know Valentine's day is around the corner when a trip to the grocery store feels like you're walking into a 1800-flowers warehouse. Or watching the Gisele Bundchens and Adriana Limas strutting their stuff on multi-million dollar Superbowl commercials, reminding the male dominant fanbase that it's Valentine's day in a couple of weeks. Or getting thrice your regular quota of email solicitations for Couples Swedish massages and chocolate-covered strawberries from Groupon.

Valentine's day has become a mammoth marketing madness like every other actual holiday in America. And there's nothing wrong with playing along with the goofiness. I'm pretty gaga for v-day myself. Heck, we even got our wedding officially registered in California the day after  v-day in 2008. 
Last couple of years, S and I spent Valentine's day in old-school style: an idyllic Napa setting, picnicking in the sun, wine-tasting in Healdsburg or rolling out chocolate truffles at a wine and chocolate pairing party. This year, we decided to change things up a bit. We decided not to stick to the hard date. V-day falls on aTuesday this year and who has the time to celebrate ANYTHING in the middle of the week. I'd be lucky if I had the time to stop for filling gas on a Tuesday night. So we switched v-day for v-weekend.

Vine Cinemas - a vintage style movie theater promoting Indie films

First off, last Friday night we decided to watch The Artist, a silent movie made in black n white, at a retro-style theater: Vine cinemas in Livermore. Movie on a couch, oversized side-tables, small audience (6-8 people), intimate setting, wine/beer and food available to order and a very special indie film experience. I wish we had watched A Midnight in Paris here instead of at the crowded multiplex we usually go to. The Artist was a fantastic choice for this weekend. Although the movie is about how love rescues a hopeless man, I think the real romance is between us, a jaded 21st-century audience and the mechanical innocence of old age cinema that the movie revives so successfully.


Next stop: Saturday. While I am a live-theater lover, S is somewhat neutral about it, but he does a great job as my enabler. So Saturday evening, we went to San Francisco city to watch Becky Shaw, a brilliant little play with a lot to say. Produced by a small theater group: SF playhouse, the play is a briskly entertaining comedy about a group of thirty-something veterans of the mating wars. Surprisingly, 2 hours later S came out of the show, in love with the characters. It appealed to his "nothing and no one is black or white, it's all gray" ideas. Later, without looking for reservations or reviews, we stopped for a late night dinner at The Daily Grill. A not-so-daily, stylish American restaurant/bar, just a block away from Union square. We will definitely be back for their chic ambience and their Baja fish.

Sunday afternoon we decided to skip breakfast and test drive our new Weber Performance charcoal grill in the backyard. We grilled chicken and paneer marinated in a coriander/mint/yogurt marinade and some superfresh salmon marinated in soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, ginger and a touch of brown sugar. It was our first time grilling on live charcoal and the results weren't spectacular, but the food was delish. A bit charred but delish. It was gone before I could take any photos of it. :) We picked up some pointers for better grilling the next time around.

Final stop: S's choice for v-weekend. Sunday evening we went to watch a basketball game, Golden state Warriors vs Houston Rockets at the Oakland Coliseum. From the moment we got to our seats, I realized this was one huge party scene. From pizza raffles to hula-hoop contests to cheerleaders dancing to peppy music and a FULLY packed arena, it was just a ridiculous amount of fun. Even a sports hater like me loved the experience. To top it all, the hot-shooting home team, Warriors, who were the underdogs, won and Oakland celebrated with beautiful fireworks.

Breaking the v-day mould was so much fun. While there's nothing wrong with going the classic roses, candles & chocolates route, sometimes it's good to let the chips fall where they may. Google v-day doodle replay, anyone ?

Really, it doesn't matter if the store runs out of long-stemmed red roses or if you forget to make dinner reservations at that upscale restaurant or if your mom is your valentine date this year or if v-day is a Tuesday. Break the rules, make new ones, forget the cliched Groupons, find something new to do and love with someone old you already love. :)
It's a no-fail recipe for a great time.


Happy v-day, peeps ! :)