Dear Kate,
Happy Valentine’s Day, babe!
OMG, your life is so cute. I can see why you're so happy and in love with your life these days!
For one, it’s so wonderful that you’ve built such a beautiful home for yourself and filled it with things that are special to you. You have great taste, Kate. Your home is so cozy and comfortable, the way you’ve arranged the furniture. I love how you always have bouquets of fresh flowers in the living room and the bedroom. (For a simple but stunning arrangement try a combo of yellow ranunculus, white calla lilies, creamy pink roses.) I like the way you’ve illuminated the shadowed corners with the flickering flames of crackling wick candles. You’ve hung impressive art on the walls, dusted the shelves, arranged the Anthropologie pillows on the couch just right. There are a million shells, pottery pieces, effortlessly blooming orchids, linen curtains that flutter in the breeze, stacks of all your favorite books. Though the open windows, moonbeams and winter winds, gusts of breeze blown off the sea, calls of songbirds, the smell of garden flowers. How lovely it is, this home you get to live in! And you put it all together. For you! Isn't that great?
You know what else is so great? Is that you love your job. A nightly party you host! In a green-glass dining room you serve caviar cheesecakes and Caesar salads, paellas in hot pans and pork chops, sliced, to cowboys and celebrities. Lights low, vibes high. It's so cool that you have so much fun even when you are working really hard. And you do work really hard, Kate. And you’re really great at what you do, too.
When you’re not working, it’s really admirable that you make time for yourself and the things that make you happy. In choosing to live near the beach, you get to comb the shore for shells and glass for hours and hours. In the late morning, boulevard strolls, garden strolls, neighborhood strolls. You steep in hot baths and practice yoga and drink fruit smoothies and read classic literature in a sun-drenched morning living room. (How exquisite, the way the light filters in the windows of the apartment, how it changes shape with the time of day, the season.)
Speaking of books, it’s sexy that you are so well-read. What are you reading now? (Return of the Native, Thomas Hardy)
By the way, Kate, did you know that people really are attracted to you? It's true! People love you! You have a kind sensibility, a giving spirit, a quick-witted sense of humor. You are smart, determined, sensitive, inquisitive, respectful, well-travelled. All of these qualities make you somebody that people like to be around you and they want to be your friend and spend time with you!
You know who else loves you so much, Kate? Your family. They love and support you and help you and take care of you. Dad hangs and rehangs heavy frames and mirrors, leaves enormous blooming orchids at your door, pours you a fresh brewed express topped with cream in the garden. How lucky you are to have nephews who who send you letters in the mail, paint you portraits of aliens and horses to hang on your fridge and hold you in a hug whenever they see you. Your mom visits you all the time in rainbow and bunny rabbit and butterfly form, sending salutations of love from the heavens. And what’s more, your cat is so cute and he loves you so much, too.
It’s so cool that you are gaining confidence in yourself and learning to love yourself, in your completeness, without judgement. So you’re forever a weed girly! So you don't drink enough water! So you sleep in too late and like to cancel plans and you eat too much sugar. There are way worse things! Forgiving is practiced and learned.
As for learning, I’m proud of you, Kate, for traveling and seeing the world all by yourself. It’s so brave and inspiring of you to go alone. You’re really good at being adventurous and seeking out new places and experiences. Bahama blues, thick pine forests, campfire tales, castles and cab rides. I'm glad that you are aware that your ability to travel is a privilege and that you’re always grateful and respectful and humble.
Thank you for being curious, open-minded, honest, reliable, motivated, responsible. Don’t forget to be kind to yourself. It's ok when you sleep in too late, when you only have time to read two chapters instead of three, when you don't check all the boxes off your to-do list.
Please keep rewarding yourself for all of your hard work and life's celebrations! Those diamond earrings that you bought yourself as a little Valentine’s Day sweet look really cute on you.
Oh Kate, I love you so.
Will you be my Valentine?
Love,
Kate
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