Can I get a show of wine glasses from all the ladies who celebrate GALENTINE’S DAY?!
What is Galentine’s Day? Great question… Galentine’s Day is celebrated the day before Valentine’s Day (February 13th) and is a day to honor the female friendships in your life by celebrating together, thus declaring your love and affection to the girls that make up your support system (thanks for the description, Google!). Galentine’s Day was invented by Parks and Recreation’s fictional character Leslie Knope, who says in an episode, “Every February 13, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home and we just come and kick it, breakfast style”. In the show Leslie gathers up her closest friends and they have waffles and spend time brunching together- “Ladies celebrating ladies.”
This concept was founded nearly 11 years ago in 2010, which was when I was in my mid-early twenties. I loved celebrating nearly ANY occasion with my girlfriends. I still love celebrating any and everything with my friends. There was always something special about Galentine’s Day that lightened the mood and the stressfulness that can be brought up around the Valentine’s Day societal pressures (especially when you are still early on in dating, oof). The most memorable Galentine’s was a happy hour that my friend and I hosted. We made our favorite appetizers and dessert (ahem, chocolate covered strawberries over cake any day) and we invited a few gals over. It was simple, it was fun, and we *clinked* our glasses to another year of friendship!
I realize that Galentine’s Day won’t necessarily look the same this year (thanks, but no thanks COVID) but I still encourage you to find the best Galentine’s Day gif (or meme) you can on the 13th and send it to your ladies, your support system. Now more than ever it is a year to celebrate friendships- even virtually. Although many feel isolated, it is comforting to know that you really are not alone and your friends are only a message, phone call or socially distant walk away.
In honor of Galentine’s Day, I want to say a special shout out to my Salty Exchange partner, Kendall. Although I wish we could celebrate by having brunch with our favorite college girlfriends sipping on espresso from Adagio and eating baked goods from the Mount Bakery… I want you to know how special I consider the ability to connect with you each week. How lucky am I to have such a fiercely loyal and dependable friend in my corner. When you were in Spain, I thought about you all the time, my only regret was not texting you more to let you know. But making up for lost time, I am glad we reconnected last year – by far the best thing to come out of 2020 was our rekindled friendship and the creation of this blog. Even if it’s only ever a collection of our thoughts, musings, and current reality…it is something special we share and a commitment that I wouldn’t be able to do with just anyone. Thank you Kendall for editing my blogs, making time for weekly FaceTime dates, and for being my Galentine! *Clink* to you, to us!
Happy (early) Galentine’s Day!
Shari
The Salty Exchange 