Not a real holiday????

Well, even if ^that is your belief, I hope you have a happy Valentine's Day, because it's a real day at any rate, if not a real holiday, and I like people to have happy days.

Personally, I have no issue with Valentine's Day. If you're in a relationship or have a reliable FWB (not that I am encouraging such arrangements, because they tend to go south and not turn out at all like "No Strings Attached"), celebrate it. But I don't think single people should feel threatened by the day. I'm not, and that's partially because we're rewarded with International Get Drunk Day St. Patrick's Day just a month later. 

Also, in my experience, people with good romantic relationships don't make a huge deal out of Valentine's Day. They'll buy a card or flowers or candy or they'll go out to eat, but for the most part, they ain't bothered. If some non-single person tries to make you (if you're single) feel like crap for not having a "special someone" in your life on February 14th, ask their friends what feature that person is most insecure about and taunt them about it... remind them of the divorce statistics and sarcastically note that you hope they are the exception, not the rule... throw a cupcake at their face, don't do any of those things, and remind yourself and them that you a fucking snowflake and being single doesn't suck nearly as much as it does in Katherine Heigl movies... or at all. If you need proof, go read The Frenemy, because, while I feel she is a little overly negative against relationship-y people from time to time, that blog will remind you of a thousand reasons why not having a boyfriend (girlfriend?) really isn't a big deal at all.

IDK. If you DO hate the holiday though, I suggest you make up a tradition that you can carry out with your friends... buy a cupcake together and make (good hearted) fun of that really obnoxious couple that thinks they are SO gonna last forever, even though everyone knows they're gonna break up in like two weeks. Even non-organic, made-up holidays are good if they remind you to make fun of people celebrate the people you love in your life. With cupcakes.

Yes, that is bacon on that cupcake. Apparently, it's a French Toast cupcake with bacon. Epic or awful? I don't really know.

I'm not updating today, but I have a few excerpts.

Part I

James got to his feet. “What happened?”

His girlfriend merely sighed, though it was comforting, at least, to know that someone in Gryffindor tower had not heard all of that. She patted the space on the bed beside her. “Sit down? I have something to tell you...”

Part II

To be in love, even superficially, on the first day of school is a wonderful thing indeed.

Part III

“...There’s your food. Enjoy it. I’m off.”
 “Off where?” asked Lily.
 “To sit with Bridget.”
 “Bridget doesn’t want you to sit with her,” Lily advised.
 “How could you possibly know that?”
 “How could you possibly not know that?” 

Part IV

“You weren’t ready,” said Lily. “It’s not your fault.”

“It is though. I was so stupid...”

“No, you weren’t. You were just getting out of one really complicated, really intense relationship, and you weren't ready to jump into another one. That’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”

“But it’s not his fault either...”

“No,” Lily agreed, and something in her tone changed. “No, he had every right to move on, too.”

Part V

It made a strange kind of sense, and Lily wondered why she had never thought of it before. Then again, she had never really connected James with anyone in her mind before. He had dated that weird Sarah girl back in fifth year for a while, and there had been a slew of others linked to him (either by reality or rumor), but—and perhaps it was because it was Carlotta—this new relationship seemed so much more real to Lily.
 No, Lily had never thought of James really with anyone before, but she could not deny that Carlotta made sense.

<3 <3
Happy Monday!
Love,
Jules