My 100-Word Love Story: On the city that won my heart

Loving a city is strange. You love the memories, the friendly faces, the culture.  I lived in Pittsburgh for a year but fell for it harder than for any other city on my map. I love it for the sports-team pride — the black-and-gold trifecta of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates. And then there’s the lingo — nowhere else do you hear “yinz” or “n’at. Like any city, Pittsburgh has its special foods — fries on your salad, perogies covered in butter. I love Pittsburgh for the summers spent at my grandparents’ house, and my adult days living life to its fullest.

–By Melissa from Oh, My Darling

Fashion Friday: Heart rings

Oh, you know, just some post-Valentine’s Day heart-y goodness (pun intended…)…

1. Rose gold knot ring, $22
2. Gold vermeil band, $24
3. Initial ring, $25
4. Solid gold tiny heart ring, $75
5. Vintage bronze heart ring, $33.59

Wouldn’t a heart ring make a beautifully unique engagement ring, friends?

My 100-Word Love Story: On living ‘in sickness and in health’

On our first date, we were stranded without a vehicle and walked the two miles home. Halfway there, my knee dislocated, so he carried me the rest of the way. A year later, he proposed on his birthday, telling me becoming his wife would be the best present he could ever get. After my last major surgery, he took two weeks off from work to stay home and take care of me. Matt is an unconventional romantic. I may not get many flowers or cards, but they’re not needed. His constant chivalry is a testament of how truly devoted he is.
 
–By Julie

In The Pursuit of Happiness: 3 reasons it’s great to be single on Valentine’s Day!

I’ve talked before about my love-hate relationship with Valentine’s Day — how my inner romantic bleeds (not literally, of course…) for the day of love and sweeping declarations of said love, but my inner cynic comes stomping along and wants nothing more than to pop in some classic Alanis Morissette in an attempt to drown out all the sappy lovebirds.
 
But, really, this is no way to live. I hate it, actually. I hate feeling so torn and being pulled in what feels like a million different directions, even if it’s actually just two directions. It’s exhausting. And frankly, it’s completely unnecessary; I mean, it is 2013 and all.
 
So I’ve vowed to at least try to find a comfortable middle ground this year. With that in mind, friends, and as a tribute to all us lovely people flying solo on Valentine’s Day, I offer you my top 3 reasons being a singleton on love’s biggest day of the year is a good thing…

You can do whatever you want
Think about this one for a minute. There’s no pressure to ask the other person what they want
to do and then have to feign interest in something you hate or just find incredibly boring. Instead, you can plan a special day just for you. Maybe you want to spend it exploring a museum. Maybe you want to take a leisurely bike ride around the city. Or maybe you just want to watch your favorite romantic comedy and rewind all your favorite parts. After all, the entire day is yours. Enjoy it.

You can use the day to learn more about yourself
One of the great things about being single is having plenty of opportunities to get to know yourself. I know I’ve said this before, but I firmly believe that you can’t love someone until you get to know yourself and fully love yourself. That may take time. But, it’s something that most definitely can’t be rushed. Make a promise with yourself to stay single until you know who you are — I guarantee the ride will be pretty exciting.

You can live it up with your friends
Just yesterday, for example, my friend Claire and I spent the afternoon together…just hanging out. We didn’t have anything grand planned, but it was great to just kick back, relax and catch up with each other. Everyone should have more days like this in their life.

So, friends, what’s your relationship status on this Valentine’s Day? Single? Married? If you’re single, what do you think is the greatest thing about being unattached? And, what are your plans for Valentine’s Day? xoxo

[Photos via Le Love]

Love Lounge: 5 (more) types of men to avoid

Yesterday, friends, we talked about five types of men to avoid — if for nothing else but our own sanity. Today, I give you the final five. If you should encounter one of these guys, I suggest you run — fast! — in the other direction…


The Mama’s Boy
Sorry, sunny, but we don’t have time to play the Freud Game with you. The Mama’s Boy can be a tricky one because at first, it seems all rather cute. “Oh, it’s so cute how he dotes on his mother,” you think. But give it time, and I assure you, it’ll turn into something scarier than your own father-daughter complex.


Mr. Ego
Sure, his aloofness seems sexy at first, but two, three, four years later? It’s just (still) aloofness. And it’s not so sexy anymore, either. I once knew a guy who bragged about everything: His knowledge of current events, all-things politics, baseball, even geography trivia. At first, I was in sheer awe, thinking, “Damn, that’s one sexy, confident man right there.” Yeah, I’m sad to say my awe lasted longer than it should have; I held on, hoping he would magically take an interest in me and what I had to say, which included a love of long summer walks, the future of the media industry and a fondness for classic ‘80s sitcoms. But sadly, he never did, opting instead to droll on and on and on and on about himself. Oh and FYI, Mr. Ego, not everyone cares about the intricacies of baseball. It’s just a sport.

The Newly Unattached Bachelor
I once found out a guy I used to work with was a free man after he made it official modern-day style and changed his Facebook status from “in a relationship” to “single.” I’d always had a little crush on him. And in that moment, I sort of felt like a tiger, ready to pounce and go in for the kill, but then I thought about it. There was far too much baggage attached with that for my liking. A woman can only carry so much weight, and I didn’t have any extra room in my closet for his baggage, skeletons or other quirks during his post-breakup mourning period. There should be a rule dictating the proper amount of time to wait before making a move; it would save both men and women a lot of confusion and inevitably, yet another breakup.
The Ex
This one should be obvious. There is a reason he’s you EX: maybe he cheated, maybe he wasn’t attentive to your needs, maybe he shacked up with someone else or maybe he was just plain stupid. Whatever the reason, even thinking of stirring up those old feelings will only end in one big, bad explosion, with your feelings strewn among the rubble. They say you can’t go home again, and this is especially true of former flames. The candle has gone out; let it burn down to the wick with dignity.

The Ex-Lover Obsessive
This one can be misleading at first. Your dating a great guy, who casually mentions every so often how his ex loved this or did this. It’s cute, you think. This is the sort of guy who can remain friends with his ex.

And that’s exactly when things become unhealthy. Pretty soon, he’s saying how smart she was, how her green eyes glimmered so beautifully against the morning light, how they once spent an entire weekend in bed at this little cabin in the woods and told each other their life story. Blah. Blah. Blah. Pretty soon after that, you two are sitting on the couch as he rests his head on your shoulders and blubbers like a little school girl.

We get it: Your ex should have been Miss America. If he loved her so much, maybe, they should get back together. All this talk about the Elusive Perfect Ex is just plain rude and unromantic. You’re no longer his girlfriend (assuming you ever were, really), but are now his therapist. Never a good position to be in. Ever. It’s obvious he’s in love, only not with you.

Well, friends, what do you think? Do you have any crazy Valentine’s Day stories involving these types of guys? How did you handle it? xoxo

[Photos via We Heart It]