Sugar and Spas and Everything Nice – Getting Ready for Valentine’s Day

One great thing about being in love is that you can celebrate your relationship any day of the year. You can celebrate the big moments (like an anniversary or the simple fact that you found someone so special) and the little moments (like when you look across the room and sunlight’s shining through a window onto her shoulders and she doesn’t even know you’re watching her and you realize you’re the luckiest person you know). But, regardless of what moments mean the most to you or how often you express your feelings, Valentine’s Day is one day each year that just screams love. Okay, sometimes it’s the couple who ends up screaming simply because having one day that’s the alpha and the omega of all romantic days can be a bit stressful when it comes down to deciding how to express your affection, when it comes down to what to do.

Here are just a few suggestions of how to add some sweetness to your Valentine’s Day:

With the exception of Cupid, chocolate is perhaps the one thing most associated with V-Day (as it’s affectionately called by non-believers, texters, and people whose Hallmark privileges have been revoked) and one way to get the most out of this delicious treat is by taking your sweetheart (and your sweet tooth) on Corning’s Chocolate Trail. Enjoy hand-made truffles and other tempting delights at the Tea Chest and Beyond Baskets, the decadent scent of chocolate candles at The Schoolhouse Country Store, desserts to die for (only, trust me, that would really put a damper on the whole romantic side of Valentine’s Day, so I’d suggest the two of you just devour the chocolate pate at Three Birds Restaurant and enjoy). There’s even a special Chocolate Trail Getaway Package.

One way to enhance your Valentine’s Day experience is to consider treating that special someone (and yes, you count as a special someone as well) to a wonderful spa treatment. Since this is wine country, you might want to try something like a Grape Seed Oil Aromatherapy Detox Massage or a Grape Seed Herbal Body Wrap. And once you’re all relaxed, why not slip over to the award-winning wineries in Hammondsport for a tasting. With seven wineries, each with its own specialty, you’re sure to find just the right wine for your palate. But be aware that the wineries that make up the Keuka Lake Wine Trail are hosting a special V-Day weekend event called Truffles and Tastes which combines delicious food, wonderful wine, and chocolate. You’ll want to get tickets ahead of time for that.

Love isn’t about always having that tingle just beneath the skin or that shortness of breath; it’s not just about those magical nights of candlelit dinners or wine tastings or walking through a world-class museum holding hands and knowing that the most beautiful thing in the place is the feeling you have inside you; it’s not just about the way the floor can fall out of your stomach when you see a photograph of her and she’s miles away. Love’s mostly about those in-between moments every day: when you bump up against each other taking groceries out of the bag, or setting the dinner table, or when you catch her doing laundry even though she’d never admit to doing such a thing and all you can do is laugh. Those are the moments when you know, all the way through you, what love truly is. But just remember, you don’t need to wait for Valentine’s Day to make those other special moments happen. Love’s a gift. Share it with someone special and enjoy!