Roses, chocolates and jewelry are always a safe bet on Valentine’s Day – but maybe this year time slipped by a little too fast and now the big day is upon you and you forgot to make reservations or buy flowers.  What is a person to do?  Its Valentine’s Day – ahhhh!  Never fear, on the AOTR facebook page there are 5 easy and inexpensive suggestions on how to show your loved one that they are still the one who makes your heart skip a beat. You will never go wrong with old fashioned romance.  Just in case in you need it, here is a love poem in a pinch – its one of my fav’s by Elizabeth Barrett Browning:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,—I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!—and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

I recently visited the Cape Town Diamond Museum located at the Waterfront of Cape Town, South Africa.  If you happen to be in the area I highly recommend a visit.  The museum does a fantastic job of explaining the formation of diamonds and demonstrating the process of cutting/polishing.  Beyond that, the museum takes you through the unique relationship between the diamond industry and South Africa.  Did you know for instance, that between the 1870’s and 1880’s that 95% of the world’s diamond were mined in South Africa – creating the first “diamond rush.”  The museum is a non-profit organization run by Shimansky  – the leading name in quality diamonds in Cape Town.  Visiting the museum can be completed in less than an hour – leaving plenty of time for diamond shopping!