Terre Haute Living » Articles » Roses are Red, Violets are Blue. Really, is that the best you can do?

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue. Really, is that the best you can do?

1 January 2010 1,166 views No Comment BY Stacey Muncie

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, a lot of guys are feverishly making plans … for their Super Bowl parties. Indeed, February may not be that far down the road, but Valentine’s Day is likely the furthest thing from the male mind until approximately Feb. 13. Guys, I realize that it’s probably unrealistic to expect you to be planning your Valentine’s Day festivities this far in advance. But what if I told you that by putting just a little forethought into the holiday plan, you could both impress your lady and get more bang for your buck? Sound interesting? Well then, welcome to The Hautean Guy’s Guide to Rockin’ Valentine’s Day Out Loud: 2010 Edition.

The Old Standby
For a lot of guys, Valentine’s Day is the one day every year that they send flowers. Typically, this involves the old standby — a dozen red roses. For some reason, this has become the imaginary gold standard for men. But guys, I’ll let you in on a little secret: Most women think that red roses are overpriced, overdone, lazy and lame. Yes, really. Those roses you paid $125-plus for last year? Not impressive. But women won’t tell you that because they figure you only get them flowers once a year as it is. And did you know that any other time of the year, roses cost about a third of that? In fact, the price of red roses is so ridiculously inflated that the florists can barely afford them, leading one local flower shop to actually close for the week of Valentine’s Day. “We close that week due to the high price of roses,” says The Station’s floral designer Jerry Schooley, noting that the roses that week “have been picked much earlier to meet the demand, so they’re not the freshest. They’re usually two weeks old by the time we get them.”

Who wants to pay three times too much for something that not only does not live up to the hype, but isn’t even fresh? You can do better than that, guys. First of all, if you’re really set on flowers, why not go for something different? “Most women we’ve talked to don’t want roses,” says Schooley. “They’d prefer to get a nice mixed bouquet.” The Station, which specializes in unique and exotic arrangements is closed the week of Valentine’s Day, but Schooley and partner Bill Thomson say that many of their regular customers simply have flowers sent a week early. Thomson suggests that guys think outside the Valentine’s Day box, quipping that if you want to be really romantic, don’t wait for a holiday, “Why don’t you send flowers Tuesday — just because it’s Tuesday?”

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates
Forrest Gump’s mama was right. “Life is like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get.” However, if you settle for buying that cheap box of chocolates down at the corner drugstore, I can tell you exactly what you’re going to get: Stale, cheap tasting chocolates, and one very unimpressed recipient.

Fortunately, you’re not limited to what’s available in the common retail establishments, because it just so happens that up the road a piece in Dana, Brooke’s Candy Co. makes all kinds of fabulous chocolates daily. “Most women love chocolate,” says proprietor Brooke Schmidt, “and we have something for just about everyone.” The shop uses the finest Belgian chocolate to hand-make a variety of truffles, toffees, mints and fudge. Brooke and her mom Donna even make a heart-shaped box, out of chocolate, that can be filled with chocolates. Seriously, guys, nothing says “love” like a creamy chocolate center, dipped in chocolate, and then packaged in chocolate. Well, OK, there might be one thing that does — the letters L-O-V-E molded from chocolate and packaged in a snazzy display box. Schmidt makes those, too. And with truffle flavors like espresso, raspberry cream, and the cheesecake, it’s hard to go wrong, but it’s also hard to choose. That may be why Schmidt’s best seller is her in-house special, available only at the shop — your choice of any 10 pieces in a gift box for $11.95 — which enables customers to try a little bit of everything.

Now, it would be romantic if you drove up to Dana and selected the chocolates in person, but you don’t have to do that because Brooke’s Candy Co. will happily ship them. In fact, Schmidt says that if you call her and mention reading this, she’ll even ship the 10-piece special — something she doesn’t normally do — for $11.95 plus shipping. Really, it doesn’t get much easier, or tastier than this.

Thinking Outside the Five Buck Club
Movies are fine for your average date night, but when it comes to special occasions such as Valentine’s Day, a little more thought goes a long way toward creating a memorable evening. So let’s look at a few out-of-the-ordinary options for this year.

“Boys go to Jupiter…” You remember that one, right? “Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider? Girls go to Mars to get more candy bars?” Well, what if this year you went to Jupiter to get more Cupider? Score some major romance points, and spend absolutely nothing by taking your honey star-gazing at ISU’s John C. Hook Memorial Observatory. The observatory on top of the Science Building is open to the public from 8 to 10 p.m. Tuesday and Friday nights. Weather permitting, you’ll have an opportunity to spot both Mars and Jupiter using the facility’s six telescopes.

If music is your thing, or more importantly, her thing, then you might want to take in one of the area’s Valentine’s Day concerts. Rose-Hulman’s Performing Arts Series presents The Five Browns classical piano concert on Friday, Feb. 12, at beautiful Hatfield Hall. Also, the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra will present “Love Those Strings,” featuring harp and cello on Saturday, Feb. 13. Either of these would make a fine addition to a romantic evening at less than half the price of those tired red roses.

Or, if a classical concert seems a little too stuffy for your taste, show your girl how you roll with a trip to the skating rink. We have two of those in town, you know, and what’s more fun than rolling around, under a disco ball, on boots with wheels? Sure, you may fall down, but just keep in mind that confidence is attractive, and a man who is not afraid to fall on his butt is confident, indeed. Another opportunity to display all that attractive confidence is available at The Dance Studio. She’ll probably never come right out and say it, but chances are your woman wishes you were a little less Fred Flintstone and a little more Fred Astaire. So take the plunge and buy you and your partner some ballroom dance lessons. What have you got to lose? That extra left foot?

When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best
Now I realize that for many of you, getting a valentine for your lady means going to the card shop after work on Feb. 14 and grabbing one of whatever is left that is reasonably appropriate. If you’re lucky, you might manage to snag a card that is actually romantic. But chances are, the pickings will be so slim that you’ll be doing good to find a card that says something besides “Happy Valentine’s Day, Step-Grandma!”

Did you know that you can send a valentine without setting foot in the card shop at all? All it takes is a phone call to have a quartet from the Banks of the Wabash Chorus serenade your sweetie with a singing valentine. “We usually take orders from mid-December until Valentine’s Day,“ says barber shopper Andrew Miller, “We actually receive more orders while we’re out delivering the valentines.” For just $45 (or a little more if they have to travel outside Vigo County) a quartet will perform two songs and present a rose to your lucky girl. Plus you get big romance bonus points, and you don’t have to set foot inside the card shop.

As you can see, Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be boring, or expensive, or even require a lot of work. All you really need is a little thought and maybe just a little bit of effort prior to Feb. 14. I’ve already done some of the thinking for you, and you’ve got plenty of time between now and then. So let’s leave those overpriced and overdone roses alone this year and go for something different. Whether it’s star-gazing and dinner, a concert, dance lessons, handmade chocolates or a singing valentine, creating a memorable Valentine’s Day will make your special someone feel special indeed.