First things first, decide on a budget. Figure out how much you intend to spend
and stick to it. We would all love to splurge and buy our valentine a pricey gift but bear
in mind, a gift is rarely valued as much as an experience.

Everyone loves to be ‘wined and dined’ especially on a day dedicated to love.
Instead of spending a fortune at a restaurant, cook a memorable dinner. Buy gourmet
ingredients you wouldn’t normally cook with. Every restaurant on Valentines Day
is packed, loud and the service is usually awful. Skip it and treat your valentine to a
romantic night in. If a certain restaurant has special meaning or significance see if they
have a carry out menu so you can still enjoy the night away from the madness.

If you ‘forgot’ how to cook, don’t worry. Check out the prepared foods section at
Publix near the meat department. Here you can find steak pinwheels with fresh spinach
and mozzarella, bacon wrapped chicken cordon bleu, marinated steak kabobs and so
much more. All of the Publix pre-made items come with instructions so if you burn it
make sure you have Papa Johns on speed dial and order a heart shaped pizza.

Ignore the typical box of chocolates calling your name. In an article titled “From
fancy salt to gourmet trucks, an appetizing look at 2012,” USA Today named artisan
chocolate one of the top food trends for 2012. Look for smaller bars that feature unique
flavors and have a higher percentage of cocoa. One bar may cost the same as a common
supersized bag, but your valentine will not complain about its size when he or she tries it.

Sweet! By Good Golly Miss Holly, a bakery with specialty cupcakes located
in Waterford Lakes Town Center, is offering a special Valentines Day collection
of cupcakes. Each cupcake is embellished with a handmade custom chocolate to
compliment each flavor of the collection. The Valentines Day collection is offered at $18
for one dozen mini cupcakes.

Try and explore other areas around Orlando. Harry P. Leu Gardens will be
hosting a Valentine’s Movie Night featuring “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” Admission is only $5
per person and you can bring your own picnic basket and blankets. The Garden will open
at 6 p.m. and the movie will start at 7:30 p.m. During the day admission is $7 and you
can explore 50-acre oasis in the middle of Orlando. Go to www.leugardens.org for more
information.

Park Avenue in Winter Park features one of the most enjoyable walks in Orlando.
Stroll the brick, tree-lined street surrounded by shops and restaurants. Most of the
restaurants will be at capacity but there’s always Starbucks and a vintage candy store.

Make sure to check out the rose garden next to the six-acre park, a frequent wedding
ceremony location due to its charm.

If you’re too busy applauding the fact that you don’t have to worry about anything
above, you should plan a night out. Regardless of relationship status, it’s still a holiday.
You can sit around, watch Christian Slater movies, play video games and pretend you
don’t know what day it is or you can enjoy yourself. Get a group together, split a cab, and
go downtown where you’ll find other people doing the exact same thing.

Remember to buy a card, or make one yourself. Flowers die, chocolate will
mysteriously disappear but a card will always be there to remind your valentine how
much you care. Don’t let you friends feel forgotten, there’s nothing wrong with buying
juvenile valentines for your friends. If all else fails think thoughtfully, speak kindly and
enjoy the people around you.

By: Sophie Grace

A day at the Expo will include a fashion runway show, food and cake tastings, and a look into the latest trends and ideas in weddings. The Expo will feature over a 120 vendors specializing in every aspect of wedding planning. Chris Bilbao, of Your Wedding TV, suggests that brides bring a plan of services needed, an appointment book, and credit card/checkbook to make the most of the day and get special Expo only deals.

• The Wedding Expo is starts at 12 p.m. on Sunday, January 15th and will be held at Rosen Plaza Hotel located at 9700 International Drive.
• Discounted tickets are available by ordering online for $7.50 or $10.00 at the door. If you order online you are automatically entered to win exclusive prizes. Also the first 50 Brides in the door receive a FREE Tee-Shirt and first 100 brides receive a FREE Tote Bag and are entered to win a FREE $500.00 Wedding Cake from award-winning Party Flavors Cakes.

Not this time.

No Strings Attached was awesome. Let’s start with the cast. Every guy in the theater wants to marry Natalie Portman, and every girl in the theater wants to marry Ashton Kutcher. They played their roles well, were convincing enough to not be classified as fake and cheesy and clearly had great chemistry together. Oh yea, and they are both hot.

As for the script, there were so many quotable lines, which gives this movie some longevity in society. Generally, it’s a story about a guy who falls for a girl who is not interested in a having relationship. This leaves for for all sorts of dialogue that audiences can relate to, especially in college crowds.

When a movie is quoted day-to-day, it helps to bring the movie into our culture – Seinfeld is most famous for this. One of such lines was by Portman, who, when called “smart” for her schooling at MIT, responds with, “my neck really hurts […] because my brain is so big.” Lines like this were evenly peppered throughout the film, keeping laugh-out-loud moments very homogeneous in the experience.

Of course there is plenty of the tacky chick flick romance, but that is to be expected in some capacity. This time, however, it was infused really tactfully with more of the traditional “guy humor.”

The closest a chick flick has come to capturing a male’s attention in the last five years was probably Devil Wears Prada. Well, I’ll say the devil can wear whatever he wants; this movie was more fun. If you are waiting for this to come out on DVD before you see it, be less cheap. Fork over the ten bucks – $29 if you want popcorn – and see it while everyone else is seeing it. Yes, it’s that good.

My only complaint of the film – and I think I speak for everyone of both genders – is that Natalie Portman didn’t have a nude scene.

Definitely check out this film – it makes for a great date movie. If you can’t find a date, I’ll go with you and see it again.

“Can I lance you with my knightro?” If you’re slow, this is referencing a sexual innuendo.

“Do you live in Nike? Because I’ve been checking you out.” Play on the Nike Check. Even though Nike housing is named after the god, it could still work.

“Hey did you know that UCF stands for opportunity?” If she says yes, then say, “Why don’t you give me the opportunity to buy you a drink?” Extremely corny and non-offensive.

This is what you would call an approach question. Could be used by a girl or a guy: “If you were stuck on an island would you rather have your PID or NID?” PID means they could check myUCF and NID means you could work on web courses. Neither of these responses really matter. What matters is if he or she doesn’t know, then they’re a freshman. Freshman= great opportunity for a kiss on the cheek.

If you have a friend with a sister, ask “Can I Peg-a-sis(Pegasus)?” This would refer to making love with his or her sibling. Be careful with this one.

If you’re into the urban scene or hip-hop culture, you could say things like “Baby, I’ll make it rain flexbucks on dat ass” or “Hey mami, King Kong ain’t got shit on my Purse 1” or “Yo chicken head, I got mo’ Link Loot than you got brain cells.”

“Are you a psychology major? because you’ve been on my mind.” Classic line, can be used at any college.

“Are you a finance major? because you look on the money.” Another classic.

*I’ve never actually used these, so proceed with caution. Feel free to add pick-up lines below.