Once upon a Valentine’s Day, I wrote valentine cards to all the girls I loved before.
I channeled Willie Nelson for this one.
14
February
2026
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February
2026
14
February
2026
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February
2026
Garters for Valentine’s Day
Having never had a problem with socks staying up, or stockings for that matter, or anything now that I think about it, the only purpose for these little garter belts is purely aesthetic. A pose and a mood – not unlike today’s faux-holiday.
Rather than go all out on this Valentine’s Day post, I’m keeping it simple and obscure, in line with this Winter Obscura theme. The truth is most of us aren’t really sure about anything anymore, and who the hell am I to try to figure out anyone other than myself? There’s enough work and trauma in that.
If you’re on the hunt for something more, check out the previous decade of V-Day posts – when cheesy pop songs were enough to change the world. It was a more quaint time, a sillier time, a more innocent time…
13
February
2026
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February
2026
Dazzler of the Day: Mikhail Shaidorov
This sort of upset is the stuff of Olympic legend, and because most of us were counting on Ilia Malinin to bring home the gold, it felt more stunning to see him falter. Perhaps no one was more shocked with this outcome than Mikhail Shaidorov, who turned in a technically marvelous skate that earned him the gold medal and this Dazzler of the Day. It’s often said that no one can predict what happens at the Olympics, and that proved true with the men’s free skate. Congratulations to Mikhail Shaidorov for rising to the moment.
13
February
2026
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February
2026
I Hold the Lock & You Hold the Key
Nearing Valentine’s Day has some of us reminiscing about this antiquated day of love, and while I’ve now spent more Valentine’s Days with Andy than without him, I still recall the holidays of my youth, long before I had any inkling of what real romance was – when the notion of love was accessed through pop songs, hinted at in lyrics, and felt only in an approximation of want and yearning.
The way I started to understand love was through the radio, in the music of the woman who would be with me on all my romantic journeys ~ Madonna. She sang early on from a swaying room, when the music started and strangers moved in shadows that seemed mysterious and filled with secrets – the stuff of romance, of desire, of love. I was around ten years old, and I knew nothing of any of that, but something in her voice resonated with me, speaking to the undeniable romantic I was torturously destined to become.
Back then, I just wanted to belong, to be part of something, to be accepted with open hearts and open arms. The feeling of being an outsider in so many ways – ways I couldn’t even put into words at such a young age, but that always kept me slightly apart, and forever different. As much as I wanted to open my heart to someone – anyone – my trepidations kept me quiet.
The secret to love, true love, was elusive and ever out of reach. Whenever I felt like I was approaching it, it shifted and changed and disappeared. Such secrets were cloaked in delicious darkness – I could only sense them, not solve them, and the closer I got, the more slippery they became.
Throughout the 90’s, Madonna grew and evolved, her music changing as much as her images, and love, in all its many facets and problematic notions, was a constant theme. She kept me company as various people entered and exited my romantic stages, reminding me that if Madonna found romance a rocky road, maybe none of us would find it easy.
For all the hellos and goodbyes, some part of my heart was holding tight to the idea that love waited somewhere for me, and when Madonna’s music brought the people together, I knew there was hope.
13
February
2026
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February
2026
12
February
2026
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February
2026
Phoning in Nostalgia
We had a phone like this in our kitchen when I was growing up. It wasn’t red, it was white, well, off-white and dirty by the time my memory serves. Its cord was long and winding, often twisted around itself but still allowing my Mom to cook while talking all the way across the kitchen. Managing such a cord was a rite of passage for those of us raised in the 80’s; it kept us tethered to our kitchens, physically bound and grounded to our homes in a way that the current generation can never quite understand.
The world feels like it’s missing that sort of stability, and that people no longer have a stalwart foundation the way some of us had with a single home for the duration of our childhoods. Another example of gratitude and luck, and ideal for a Virgo like myself who sometimes finds change to be a challenge.
12
February
2026
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February
2026
Olympic Spotlight: Marco Odermatt
Alpine ski racer Marco Odermatt won the gold medal at the Olympics in 2022, and he’s back for this Winter Olympics aiming for more. To make it to one Olympic Games is insanely impressive on its own – to make multiple visits as one of the best in the world is incredible. His list of championships is too extensive to put down here, and it’s still increasing, so we’ll have to wait for the comprehensive collection.
12
February
2026
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February
2026
A Leprechaun’s Rim Job
In service of some badly-needed levity on the internet side of life, here is a green rim job on a mockarita from a recent inspirational dinner out as Suzie and I prepare a Mexican-themed dinner fiesta. It’s this year’s take on the ‘Suzette’s Feast’ dinner we threw last winter – a way to make it through the second half of winter, and a Mexican meal feels especially cozy right now.
We’ve worked out a rough menu draft, and the star of the show is going to be one of Pati Jinich’s recipes: Enchiladas Verdes in a tomatillo sauce. But I don’t want to give away all the secrets – a good meal should contain a few surprises.
As for the mockarita and green salty rim as seen here – the only time I want a rim job ON MY DRINK is for a margarita. The sugary ones caked in chocolate or sprinkles are abominations.
11
February
2026
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February
2026
#TinyThreads: An Insignificant Series
Taking restaurant recs from frat bros seems low-key sus at best.
(I don’t think I’m using any of these words correctly, and I’m too old to care.)
PS – See also Zac Efron shirtless.
11
February
2026
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February
2026
Dazzler of the Day: Surya Bonaly
I’ve seen a lot of online posts about Ilia Malinin being the first athlete to land a backflip on Olympic ice, but with all due respect to Malinin, this is woefully wrong and entirely untrue. That honor belongs solely to Surya Bonaly, whom I very much remember defiantly landing one on Olympic ice – against the rules, against the judges, and against a sport unprepared and unwilling to recognize and reward her power and brilliance. This Dazzler of the Day goes to her for an astounding career in the face of adversity and odds all stacked against her, and for leaving an impact so great that I still remember her whenever Mr. Malinin does a backflip.
11
February
2026
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February
2026
The Next F.A.F.O. Award: Jill Zarin
Racists are losers.
Stop trying to make racism happen.
Full stop. We are done with it.
And for those who go full-on racist, there will be consequences.
“It was the worst halftime show ever… I just don’t think it was appropriate to have it in Spanish… it looked like a political statement — there were literally no white people in the entire thing.” – Jill Zarin on Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show
With her undeniably MAGA-adjacent views, and a recent racist rant against Bad Bunny and that epic Super Bowl Halftime Show (look up the full version for all the awfulness of her video if you must), Jill Zarin was just cancelled before she even had a proper chance to return to widespread public view. In an extremely gratifying and almost immediate case of FAFO, she posted her racist and offensive take in a video, promptly deleted it, and then got fired before she even began filming E!’s ‘Golden Life’ – their take on the original Real Housewives of New York, which they may be regretting right about now.
I’d not seen any of Zarin’s Real Housewives shows because I started watching long after she had been excised as a starring player, but I’d seen her extremely thirsty behavior in the ensuing years – her former boss admitted how badly she wanted back on the show, and back in the public eye. To be handed that opportunity after all these years, and having already filmed a super-embarrassing promo for it, only to proudly reveal herself as the awful human being so many assumed her to be and immediately get fired from her new show is simply delicious.
Chef’s kiss, no notes, and… Bravo!
Maybe acting like a hateful, hate-filled, racist pig of a human being isn’t the winning strategy some people seem to think it’s ok to be these days.
FAFO – The Medicaid Recipients
FAFO – Trump Voter Cynthia & Her Family
10
February
2026
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February
2026
Dazzler of the Day: Breezy Johnson
Earning the first Olympic medal for the United States at this Winter Olympics, Breezy Johnson also earns her first Dazzler of the Day thanks to all that gold. I will never not marvel at what it takes to earn any Olympic medal, or even to make it to the Olympics at all. The hours of hard work, dedication, and obsession to excel to such a level is impressively astonishing, and Breezy Johnson is living proof of this.
PS – How awesome is the name ‘Breezy Johnson’? Hint: very.
10
February
2026
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February
2026
Olympic Spotlight: Shun Sato
This is an impossible year for a male figure skater to make quite the mark that Ilia Malinin seems poised to make at the Winter Olympics, but if any contenders are capable of rising to such a level, it may be Shun Sato. His first skate on Olympic ice helped his team to a silver medal. In any other year he’d be making a stunning splash – and he still deserves this Olympic spotlight for his fighting spirit. And who knows – there is no such thing for a shoo-in when it comes to the Olympics.
10
February
2026
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February
2026
A Peachy Post
“If you don’t like my peaches, don’t shake my tree.”
I forget who said it, I just appreciate the sentiment. So many people are getting up in arms over issues that are either none of their business or drama that is entirely of their own creation. In the words of another wise soul, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!“
PS – The Juicy Peachy Lychee skincare collection from the Beekman Boys is ginger peachy indeedy.
PPS – Kiss my peach.
09
February
2026
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February
2026
Dazzler of the Day: Kevin Aymoz
Sometimes all it takes to be a Dazzler of the Day is the right song selection. This one goes out to Kevin Aymoz, who is skating to Lady Gaga at this year’s Winter Olympics – and while that alone is enough to dazzle, making it to the Olympics in any capacity of more than worthy of a Dazzler crowning. Congrats to Aymoz on excellent musical taste, and excellence in skating.
