Your Valentine's Day Starter Pack

There's one week ’til Valentine’s Day! Whether you’re spending the day with your Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan, or you’re still searching for your own Joe Bradley/Princess Anne, here’s a Valentine’s Day Starter Pack for you to enjoy.

Some Music By...

Blossom Dearie

Stella Cole

Etta Jones

Some Coffee

Breakfast at Dominique’s Mamie Van Doren Starlet Blend (chocolate-raspberry) is perfect for this occasion, but you can’t go wrong with any of Dominique’s coffee! (Make sure you head to her Instagram and find her “14 days of Valentine’s” recipes!)

Some Snacks

I haven’t tried this, but if you have the budget for it, EATABLE apparently has a limited-edition Dean Martin popcorn set. Because… why not?

Two of the flavors are named after Christmas songs, but one of them is called “That’s Amore,” so you can justify making it a Valentine’s treat! (If you try it, let me know how it is...)

And of Course… Some Movies!

Pat and Mike (1952)

I saw four Tracy/Hepburn movies in four weeks, and Pat and Mike was my favorite. I was surprised by this, because I don’t hear about it nearly as much as I do Adam’s Rib or Woman of the Year. Written by the husband-and-wife team Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon (who also wrote Adam’s Rib), Kanin got the idea while watching Hepburn play tennis, and wanted to write a script that showed off her natural athletic abilities.

By the way, keep an eye out for a young Charlie Bronson (still credited here as "Charles Buchinski"), as well as Chuck Connors and Carl Switzer! Some notable sports stars of the day also make cameo appearances: Golfers Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Betty Hicks, and Helen Dettweiler; and tennis players Don Budge, Alice Marble, and Gussie Moran.

The More the Merrier (1943)

Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea star in this darling romance that’s set during the WWII housing crisis in Washington, D.C. It’s probably the most low-key of these three movies, so if you’re just looking for a cozy night in, you can’t go wrong with this one! (P.S. I want ALL of Arthur’s outfits!)

And speaking of Arthur…

Arthur (1981)

I would say this film is more of an acquired taste: you either love it or hate it. Dudley Moore plays an alcoholic millionaire who must marry a woman of his family’s choosing, lest he lose his inheritance. But he is thrown for a loop when he falls in love with Linda (Liza Minelli), a quirky woman he first meets when he witnesses her shoplifting a necktie from a department store. Minelli and Moore both give charming performances, but it’s John Gielgud who steals the show as Moore’s wisecracking butler, Hobson. The thing I like best about this movie is that the entirety of its dialogue is made up of one-liners. My dad and I spend almost the whole movie just cracking up. But there's a surprising sweetness, too, both in Moore and Minelli's romance, and in Gielgud and Moore's friendship.

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I know Valentine's Day can be a bit lonely for some people. But something that helps me is knowing it's not just a day to celebrate romantic love: it can be a day to honor the love you have for your parents or children, or your siblings, or your friends. And it can be a day to appreciate, and be thankful for, the love your family and friends have for you.

So my wish for you this week is that you find love, no matter what form it takes. Invite someone over for a movie. Dance. Keep your heart open, and keep living vintage.

Becca