Valentine's Day

Ladies, we are rapidly approaching the day of doom for singles everywhere. If you find yourself single on Valentine’s Day, you might already be bracing yourself for a rough Sunday night. It’s easy (and totally human) to let all the hype of V-Day get you down.

Whether you find yourself single on V-Day for the first time ever or you’re a single-on-V-Day veteran, we wanted to give you a list of the top 10 things to do as a single woman on Valentine’s Day. Just because you’re single doesn’t mean you shouldn’t join in on the celebration of love.

TOP 10 THINGS FOR SINGLE WOMEN TO DO ON VALENTINE’S DAY

10. Meet up with your other single girlfriends and become that giddy, borderline obnoxiously happy group of women out for dinner. Good food + great wine = insanely contagious belly-laughs that will make the other women in the restaurant wonder if THEY, not you, are missing out on something

9. If you want to keep it low key (and if you so choose, low budget), invite some of your girlfriends to your house for a V-Day dinner party. One idea: A make-your-own-sushi party where everyone gets to roll their own maki and give their rolls V-Day-worthy names to boot. Another idea: Have a dessert potluck where everyone brings a treat and a bottle of wine (as you can see, wine is a recurring theme).

8. Go to the mall (solo or with a friend) and buy yourself something you’ve always wanted but haven’t bought because you thought it was either unnecessary or too expensive. If you need to justify it, just focus on how much better it is to spend your money on something awesome for yourself than on some stupid shaving kit for a guy that might/might not transform into a lasting relationship.

7. For those of you who are too broke for #8, go to Sephora or your favorite drug store and pick up one special piece of makeup to accentuate your already-established hotness. (Some of the new spring shades of blush/gloss/shadow belong in your makeup bag, damnit!)

6. Plan a special day of pampering. Pampering means different things for different people. A mani/pedi at a nice salon or a trip to the day spa might be super relaxing for some. Others might prefer to spend the day in a snuggie, avoiding every chore and errand on the list. Even if you just buy some essential oils and make yourself a therapeutic bath, treat yourself. You deserve it!

5. Since V-Day falls on a Sunday this year, you have a full day to do whatever the hell you want to without feeling bad about it. Consider visiting a local museum, theme park, or enjoy the beauty of nature while hiking on a local trail.

4. If you’re the artistic type, pick up some paint, a camera, or a piece of charcoal and create some artwork. It can be a lovely painting of the ocean or even an angry knifing of red and black paint on a piece of canvas. Who knows? Your new artistic venture may turn into your next calling!

3. Go to your local bookstore, buy a book you’ve been wanting to read, and sit down with it, a cookie, and a tall latte. Or if you’re in the mood for mindless reading, replace the book with a stack of celebrity gossip/fashion magazines and dive in.

2. Celebrate Chinese New Year! This year, Chinese New Year is on the same day as Valentine’s Day. Hell, there are 1.3 billion people who could care less about cards and chocolate on Sunday. In China, it’s time to party.

1. Do whatever makes you feel like the empowered, successful, happily single woman that you are. If that means staying in, going out, surrounding yourself with friends, or spending time alone with your thoughts, do whatever it takes to celebrate how wondrous you really are. Taking time to care for yourself reinforces the fact that you are innately valuable and deserving of great things. Taking care of yourself builds your confidence and lady, there’s nothing sexier than confidence.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

It's not all about your looks

We’re sure you’ve read about it. Heidi Montag, half of the infamous “Speidi” and married to one of the biggest douches west of the Rockies, recently underwent 10 surgical procedures in one fell swoop to allegedly “become the best [her].” That got us thinking about looks, insecurities, and dating.

We aren’t going to opine whether Heidi’s decision to undergo all that plastic surgery was right or wrong. It’s her body and to each their own. But we’ll say this much – most people would agree that Heidi had that hot girl next door thing going on before all the surgery and now that she’s gone under the knife, she’s had all sorts of judgment thrust upon her. After the surgery and her interview in People, the coverage focused on how her low self-esteem led her to plastic surgery. That perception of low self esteem, whether true or not (only Heidi knows for sure), makes her less attractive in a way that not even the best plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills can ameliorate.

There is no woman who is completely satisfied with her looks all of the time. Admit it – sometimes the inner schoolgirl comes out and you start wishing that your boobs were bigger, your lips were fuller, your nose were straighter, or maybe your eyes were bigger. As single women, it’s easy to start thinking the reason you’re still single is because you’re simply not attractive enough to land your Mr. Right.

But your mother had it right when she said “it’s what’s inside that counts.” We’ve met plenty of gorgeous-looking women in our day who were so unattractive on the inside that it completely voided any points they got because of their outward beauty. An unintelligent, insecure or judgmental chick is still unintelligent, insecure, or judgmental even if she’s got a pretty mask on her face or DDD boobs that temporarily distract from her inner unsightliness. More importantly, looks, unlike your inherent qualities, fade over time and it is unfeasible for even the most renown plastic surgeon to make outward beauty everlasting (think Joan Rivers).

Bottom line, there are plenty of chicks who are less attractive than you who are in relationships. And there are also plenty of women who are more attractive than you who are single. It’s not all about looks. If you view yourself holistically, you have your intellect, personality, and a slew of other qualities that comprise your total being. It is the sum of your parts that truly matter and a guy worth snagging (i.e., any guy looking for more than a one night stand), knows this. You’re kidding yourself if you think that better looks alone stand between you and a relationship.

Ladies! Go ahead and buy your makeup. Have fun with clothes. But keep in mind that all this external stuff just enhances what genetics already granted you. You are gorgeous without makeup (and any man would agree you look great without your clothes, too!). Take a cue from Cinderella - if she had been insecure at the ball and acted like a wallflower, she’d still be a single maid catering to three very despicable women. So, if you want to make a quick fix to boost your desirability, toss that plastic surgeon’s business card and instead simply choose to be confident – it’ll make you glow from the inside out and trust us, men will notice.