Listen up, guys. Valentine’s Day is just a few days away, and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t show up empty-handed on February 14.
To simplify things for the romantically-challenged, I have sourced some local options that are guaranteed to earn you passionate embraces. Perhaps even more. You get my drift.
No waffle irons or hot-air popcorn makers on this list, lads. Just don’t go there, unless you want to be on the receiving end of a hot tongue and a cold shoulder. And for pity’s sake, don’t forget to pick up a mushy card that conveys your undying affection. Women love that stuff.
So, in no particular order, here are some local proprietors and products that will put you firmly in the good graces of your beloved.
Laché Beautification
8 Highway 20 West, Fonthill
Billing itself as “Fonthill’s exclusive beauty bar,” Laché is a partnership of Teeze Hair Salon, run by Laura Martin, and Muse Clinic of Aesthetic Artistry, operated by Chelsie VanderWier. Also at the site are @pressedandpainted nail treatments, Body Bliss, and Bare by Dar. They’ve scheduled a grand opening for March 31, but have been offering beauty treatments for almost a year, including hair styling, colour, and extensions, plus nails, teeth, eyebrows and lashes, laser hair removal, and body massage. Their medical aesthetics include botox (20 units for $620) and derma filler injections ($300 for a hyaluronic acid treatment) to smooth out those fine lines and wrinkles. A basic haircut, wash, and blow dry runs $50 to $70, and they have monthly specials, but expect to pay upscale salon prices for most treatments. Hey, boys, keeping your gal beautiful ain’t cheap (and to think you had that cash earmarked for a snowblower carb job.)
Allure Spa and Wellness Boutique
1428 Pelham Street, Fonthill
Kalie, the proprietor of Allure, and her assistant Caitlin, provide a full range of aesthetics and massage treatments, including facials, manicures and pedicures, permanent makeup, and Botox and derma filler to enhance skin vitality. They have three Valentines packages currently available, priced from $225 to $335, which include combinations of massage, shellac nail treatments, and hydra-glo, phyto-active, and glo-signature facials. (Getting excited yet?)
Sweet Thoughts
310 Canboro Road, Ridgeville
Bobbi Lococco’s shop is packed to the rafters with homemade chocolates and other sinful sweets that will make a pancreas scream for mercy, but jeepers, it’s Valentine’s Day, so feel free to splurge. A heart-shaped box of assorted chocolates sells for $34.99, and is beautifully packaged. The box itself is made of chocolate, and is perfectly edible. Bonus!
Gilberts Flowers
754 Welland Road, Fenwick
What’s more romantic than roses on Valentine’s Day? (I’ve got a few ideas, but decorum prevents me from sharing them here.) Gary Gilbert is a third-generation florist in Fenwick, with his family business going back 75 years on Welland Road, and he has a wide selection of cut flowers and arrangements available. Gents, expect to put down at least $60 for a decent mixed bouquet with a few roses. Gilbert sources some of his flowers locally, but procures his roses and carnations from South America.
Fonthill Jewellers
160 Highway 20 East, Fonthill
Heather Morandin-Lambert’s store—Fonthill’s newest and finest jewellery source— has a ton of beautiful jewellry on display, but she thought that an item called Forever Links was perfect for Valentine’s Day. These wristlets were featured on a dating reality tv show on Netflix called Love Is Blind (I missed that episode….it must have conflicted with the Indy 500.) Anyhoo, these identical silver or gold bracelets (priced from $75 to almost $300 each) are welded to the wrists of the loving couple, rather than clasped, so you can’t take ‘em off. Now that’s commitment! Be advised that if you break your arm and need an x-ray or MRI at the hospital, you’ll have to slice the bracelet and have it re-welded later. Either that or cut your hand off, if your wife doesn’t want you to damage your bracelet. (The things we do for love, right?)
Donna’s Fashions
1450 Pelham Street, Fonthill
There were no racks of lingerie in sight, but sales associate Penny Fournier suggested that any lady would love some cozy flannel pyjamas selling at 50 percent off (about 48 bucks), and she also had a selection of necklaces and other sparkly stuff at $35 a pop. That’s a lot cheaper than the frilly undergarments you’ll see being modelled on the LaSenza website.
Ladies, it’s your turn. Struggling for a gift for hubby? Relax, I’ve got this covered.
Now, I know you’ve read the most recent research, claiming that even a glass or two of your favorite cabernet after a hard day at work can carry negative health consequences. What a buzzkill. Regardless, most guys enjoy their bevvies, and I’m here to tell you that your patriotic man would immensely enjoy a smooth-sipping Canadian rye like Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve Whisky, produced just down the QEW in Grimsby. After marrying together three individually-aged grain whiskies, Forty Creek has blended the resulting liquid gold, and stored it in Canadian oak barrels for a couple more years. The flavour of the whisky is further highlighted by the tight grain of the barrel, due to Canada’s often chilly climate. We’re all going to die of something, and my palate says that with this stuff, you’ll at least shuffle off this mortal coil with a smile on your face.
It’s $69.95 for a 750 ml bottle. The Fonthill LCBO might have it, but probably not, so you’ll have to drive your husband’s truck to Grimsby to pick it up at the factory. It’s worth the trip for marital harmony. Trust me on this one.
