L'Occitane Gifts for Valentine's Day

“Roses are red, violets are blue, Valentines day is fast approaching and I don’t know what to get for you.” This is a little poem that captures how I feel every Valentine’s day. Without getting into a debate about how Valentine’s day is a silly holiday that might only be around so that corporations can get one last squeeze out of our wallets after the holidays, I LOVE to get people gifts. I don’t think that Valentine’s day is only for couples to shower each other with gifts (although that is a nice perk). I believe that the main point of Valentine’s day is to acknowledge the people that you love, and to receive acknowledgement from them that YOU are special in their lives. It is so easy to get lost in the commercialism of the holiday, but if you boil it down and keep it basic it can really be an enjoyable day that does not leave you broke or cynical towards love. A company that I often use to find all of my great gifts is L’Occitane. They provide amazing french beauty products that are eco and animal friendly. There are so many quality products to choose from that it can be a one stop shop for your shopping. Now, you might think it is only for women, but L’Occitane has a great men’s line of various face care products. I know my male friends do not like to buy there own grooming products, so it actually makes a fabulous gift for men. Not only will they enjoy the exceptional quality, but you will also love the smell and effect of L’Occitane’s products.

My Grandparents Love

My grandparents had a very special love. They were married a really long time. The definitely upheld their vows of till death do us part.  They were married for 54 years, before my grandpa passed away. They were married in 1938. I still remember attending their 50^th wedding anniversary party. I was in the first grade. It was such a fun party with all my family and their friends. There were so many people that I remember there wasn’t room for everyone in the kitchen and family room. My cousins and I hung out in the den. I am so glad that I was able to help them celebrate their undying love for each other. I remember that I gave them a special gift. It wasn’t an expensive gift, but it was a handmade book I made in school about the letter A. My grandma held on to it for as long as I can remember. It is probably in one of our boxes still.  I proudly signed their guestbook Sheila followed by 1 and the class number I was in, which meant I was in the first grade.  My sister was in third grade and signed her name  the same way.

I still love looking through their 50^th anniversary guest book now. It reminds me of their love, the good times we had.  I don’t know if my grandparents had a wedding guest book. I never saw one, and my grandma saved everything. I even found my great grandparents birth and death certificates one day. I think it is important to have a guest book because someday your children or even your grandchildren will be curious about who attended. In some cases, your children were not born yet, and it is a great way to remember who celebrated your marriage with you.  

Did you have a guest book at your wedding?

My Accent

I wrote a post about Noah’s accent, but I have recently discovered that I too have an accent. It is not a certain regional accent; it’s my own weird accent. There is no dispute that I am a little weird, and definitely unique. I do occasionally do say fer instead of for or yer for your, which is a typical Indiana accent. I don’t say warsh, like my Grandma Rose did, who would jokingly correct herself in my presence.  My accent is something I only have.  Noah doesn’t do it, and I am not sure where it came from but it is pretty funny.  When I say certain words like anything with a short o sound it comes out like eu. So, movie is phonetically spelled meuvie, move is phonetically spelled meuve for example.  I also do the same thing with the double oo sound.  Not everyone notices it, because I asked them if I talk funny. They said they never noticed it. Now I am being lovingly teased about it.  Now I am constantly listening to the way I talk, before I didn’t even notice I did it.

Do you have a weird unique accent? I look forward to hearing about it.