If you have been brave enough to venture outside this week and had the good wisdom to steer by your local grocery store to stock up on Portuguese Custard Tarts and other high-priority goods, it probably would not have escaped your razor sharp eye to notice that every window and stall has been keenly splattered with hysterical portions of gooey redness, inflated hearts and disturbingly dead eyed fluffy bears.
At first you think that you’ve somehow, inadvertently, stumbled into a Saw movie and curse your crummy luck that you left your ‘Surviving A Horror Film’ pocket size manual in another, frustratingly out of reach, manual sized pocket. But then you realise, as the faint bark of Michael Bolton eats away at what’s left of your terror-stricken ear drums, that the situation is decidedly more drastic than initially assumed.
You check your phone. Then Your wallet. Then your pulse. And then your wallet again?
“Really?” you say to yourself, far more audibly than ever intended. “Could it be?…Valentine’s Day?…Again??”
Well, yes, my loved up little love bugs. The 14th February has catapulted its way back around again like a besotted, barmy boomerang and, frankly, we at Belvoir could not be more euphoric. Of course, we recognise that it’s easy to be hopelessly cynical about these sorts of things, as the above intro may very well quietly imply, but in actual fact, we at Belvoir love a bit of the lovely loveliness and unapologetically encourage a great deal of buckets more of the stuff.
In the spirit of such a splendid occasion, and since we do tend to dally in particular brand of business, it seems like an appropriate time, if we may be so bold, to bring up the tender question of cohabitation. Or, to put it more bluntly and bang on point, moving in together.
Now, it can be a pretty scary topic to contemplate. We hear you clearly and we sympathise entirely. But the reality is, if done right, it can be anything but a house of horrors. You may be ready. You may not be ready. You may not, at time of writing, be in any way attached at all (we will get to you beautiful people in a later entry). But, for what it’s worth, here are five points to consider before ruling out any such commitment.
You Will Save Money: This is, granted, perhaps a trifle of a cold reason and not entirely in keeping with the candyfloss flavouring of the day, but the fact of the matter is moving in together is going to cut down on costs. Rent is cheaper if you’re splitting a room and everything else is (or should be) split down the middle. In fact, with your combined incomes, you may be able to afford a bigger or nicer place altogether. Isn’t this why love was invented?
Meal Times Are Easier And Better: Let’s face it, cooking for yourself can be a bit of a drag sometimes. We’ve all been there. You begin the week with the best of intentions, planning to make that delicious Sunday roast down to the finest detail. But, let’s face it, throwing a pizza in the oven for ten minutes or slapping together some penne and pesto is just so much easier. When you’re together, though, you want to make a better go of it. Trips to the grocery store are more of an adventure. The health and pleasure of your partner is now more a part of your mind. The age of the microwave meal for one is over! The age of the avocado has begun!
Division of chores: Well, at least that’s the theory. It may take some time to figure out who does what or if turn taking is the correct trick for you, but ultimately it means that you can spend less time worrying about the rubbish stuff and more time enjoying the good stuff. This sort of cooperation also bodes well for your relationship as a whole as you move forward into a bright new future…It also provides an opportunity for the one who’s not any good at doing the dishes to get good practice in.
Your DVD Collection Will Double: Okay, this point may be already a bit out of date in the age of streaming, but sometimes, no matter how hard you look, you just cannot find a complete and unabridged version of Four Wedding And A Funeral. But that’s okay! Because you both still have a copy from way back in the day when DVD’s were the cat’s pyjamas, insuring you can always just stay in your own pyjamas and zone out on some unadulterated Richard Curtis action…Is it still raining? I hadn’t noticed.
And finally…
More Time With The Person You Love: What else needs to be said?
From everyone here at Belvoir we hope you all have a magical Valentine’s Day full of gooey redness, inflated hearts and Portuguese Custard Tarts. Tell someone you love them. It’s never a bad thing to hear. They may very well love you back. It’s not as scary as it might first appear.
