Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day guys!
I know Valentine's Day doesn't appeal to a lot of people and to be honest, I don't see why we need a day solely to show the person in our lives that we care about them because surely we should be doing that everyday? Same with Mother's Day/Father's Day I think. But on the other hand it could be seen as quite a cute day of romance where people get to spoil each other and plus there's always Valentine's Day sales on, so that is definitely a bonus!

This is the first year where I've spent the day (well, part of it) with someone I'm actually in a relationship with so that was definitely nice :) We didn't do anything overly exciting, he just came over to the flat and I made fajitas and carrot cake cupcakes for dinner, both of which are his favourites - I'm adorable, I know ;)
I don't think you need to go all out and over the top romantic just for valentine's day though. I'd much prefer staying in, wearing comfy clothes, eating a home-cooked meal and watching stuff on the tv over eating out at a ridiculously over-priced fancy restaurant. Seriously, despite the fact that loads of shops have sales on, restaurant's go the entirely opposite route and up their prices by offering 'special' set menu's for valentine's day that they know people are going to choose solely because its a day of spoiling each other. Not that it's not nice going out! I love getting dressed up and going out for a meal occasionally, I'm just much more a stay-at-home kind of girl. Plus we're students so it's all about saving money!

I genuinely wasn't expecting any sort of present but he was really sweet and got me a card and a cat mug from Urban Outfitters that I had seen and thought was cute when we were out shopping once :) 
Pretty cute, right? 

I know that for a lot of people, Valentine's Day will just be a day of couple's rubbing their love and affection in your face. I really hope I haven't just done that! Despite the fact that I used to pretend it didn't get to me, it was always a little upsetting being alone on the 14th February, just because you were surrounded by flowers and chocolates and balloons in shops, and posts on Facebook or Instagram of couple's and the gifts that they had bought for each other/the plans that they had for the day and you were always holding out hope that someone might turn up with a rose for you and a romantic gesture but instead you were just faced with a day of being alone watching other people flaunt their love.
But seriously, who needs another person on valentine's day?! You can have a great time by yourself or with your friends, pampering each other and doing whatever you want to do. Your happiness shouldn't be dependent on whether you have someone or not. I think the reason that today is such a big deal is that the media and commercial organisations have made a big business out of selling love and making it out to be the be-all and end-all. They've made it seem, that without a significant other, your live is doomed and that you can only be truely happy when you have found the love of your life. And that is so unfair. We should be promoting the idea of loving yourself and finding happiness inside yourself before looking for it in someone else. So we just have to remind ourselves that whenever all the commercial valentine's day stuff is shoved in our faces. 

Before I finish this post with the recipe for the carrot-cake cupcakes I made, let me share a cute thing that my parents do for me and my siblings. Ever since I was little, we would all receive a valentine's day car from a 'secret admirer' - aka my parents - and this year was no exception. I got a big hard-back envelope through the post a few days ago and I thought it must be some sort of important document but then I opened it and saw the face of a minion from Despicable Me staring back at me and I immediately clicked. My secret admirer had struck again!
They even make up little poem's and they're always different! It is very cute and it always makes me smile and what's even funnier is that they have never, and probably never will, admit that it is them. Despite the fact that it is very obvious. Although maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I just have a really dedicated secret admirer who has followed me around the globe and sent me a card every valentine's day no matter what country I'm in. Oh, and who also has the same writing as my dad.

And finally, to top of this surprisingly long post, for all you carrot-cake lovers out there, here is a cute alternative to making a massive cake. Individual carrot-cake cupcakes!
You can't go wrong with an Ina Garten recipe!

I would love to hear from you guys and your thoughts on valentine's day or what your plans were today if you had any, be it with a partner, with friends or just enjoying some quality you time!

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