Single girls valentine survival guide – for today and every day…

So, you’re single, you’re heart-broken, all your girlfriends are spending the day with their special loved one, and once again, you’ll be spending Valentine’s on your own. Well, we’ve got a number of reasons for you to be cheerful.

Firstly, there’ll be a lot of girls in relationships having a much worse day than you will be – filled with the disappointment that their beloved hasn’t proposed; has only bought them a cheapo bunch of forecourt flowers; or has refused to acknowledge/pretended to forget about the day altogether. So, stoked up with these merry thoughts of others’ misery, today is the perfect day to relish in your singledom and to be glad you don’t have a Valentine. Give yourself the day off from wallowing in self-pity and crying into your pillow – today with the help of BookshelfBoyfriend you’re going to love love being single and make this your special day of utterly selfish treats.

Start the day as you mean to go, and wear your best undies. So what no one’s going to see you in them? You’ll look and feel a billion times better than wearing your usual greying grannies. If all your underwear is a travesty, then make time at lunchtime to nip out and get yourself a good set. Ensure you get your bra size correctly measured at the same time (this should be done on a regular basis by the way) – and don’t forget matching knickers. Wear these in the afternoon, and you’ll certainly notice the difference. 

Buy yourself some flowers – ones that you actually like.

• Get a nice bunch from your local florist,
• Or avoid all those carbon-emitting air miles, and order some freshly cut British flowers to be delivered to you. We love, the spring joy of narcissi from the Isles of Scilly – www.scillyflowers.co.uk
• If you are still hankering for that feeling of receiving a slightly less personalised pre-packed bunch, then our tip is to get to your supermarket later in the evening, usually after 10pm – this is when bunches tend to be reduced, sometimes to as little as 10p – with just a little TLC they’ll look great and last just as long as a full-priced bunch, but you’ll have the added satisfaction of having bagged such a bargain.Pamper yourself – go out and buy new bathroom treats, or break open those fancy toiletries you’ve been saving for some long-awaited “special day”.
• Get the candles out and run yourself a lovely deep bubble-bath (yes, it’s a cliché, but we all love to luxuriate in a bath)
• If you don’t have a bath, you can still treat yourself here to some super posh shower-gel and fabulous body-lotion scented with your favourite perfume (today is not the day to be worrying about correctly applying and disappointedly analysing the results of your various anti-cellulite creams)
• Ensure some lovely clean bed sheets to climb into later for that extra feeling of post-bath loveliness.
• When you do go to bed wear your finest bed clothes – if its usually just an old T-shirt, then do as Marilyn Monroe did and wear nothing but Chanel no5 (or your own favourite perfume)Cook a yummy scrummy feel-good meal for one, like a huge salad, a stir-fry or a tasty piece of fresh fish, something that’s delicious and won’t make you feel guilty before the next bit…

  Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate – and no no, not your usual 500g Dairy Milk bar, get yourself some delicious Belgian chocolate truffles. Go on, its good for you (well dark chocolate is proven to be), it makes you feel as good as if you’re getting loads of sex (so we’re told), and heck it tastes good too… If you still feel guilty, just ensure that the chocolate is fair trade, and that should be all guilt alleviated.

  Bubbly – ok, we advise caution here, we don’t want you getting so drunk that you’re crying into your glass – so it may be best that you just buy yourself a half sized bottle of really good champers. Accompany this with some strawberries and you’ve got yourself a healthy treat too. Ok, strawberries are out of season, and consequently, not the most ethical purchase, but if you add some Fairtrade vanilla ice cream (like Greene and Blacks) to accompany those that don’t make it into your glass, then that’s some of the guilt lifted…

  Get a good movie to watch. Although really the choice for the perfect film is entirely personal, we highly recommend that tonight is not the night to be watching an overly romantic chick-flick that will send you into lonesome tears. Bookshelf Boyfriend recommends:

• Brokeback Mountain, if you want romance and extra added weepiness (RIP Heath Ledger). With a nice bit of heart-felt boy-on-boy loving, you will also be reminded that you’re better off single: even if you’re married you’ve got no security that hubby isn’t having a long affair with his best mate. Plus its also a very good film.
• Intolerable Cruelty, if you want a jaded and cynical take on romance: George Clooney; comedy; romance; George Clooney; divorce lawyers; divorce; gold-digging; pre-nuptual agreements; revenge seeking; did we say George Clooney; Elvis Presley soundtrack on a great opening title sequence – what more could you want?
• If you want George Clooney but with no suggestion of Romance, then we highly recommend Michael Clayton the thriller; its up for a few Oscars this year and has just been released on DVD – its great!
• Want to try something different? Want strong female leads preformed by perhaps the greatest and most under-rated actress ever? Then how about some classic Gena Rowlands performances from the 1970s in a couple of John Cassavete’s masterpieces like A Woman Under the Influence or Gloria.Have some unashamed and damned good “self-discovery”. That is, you want to be giving yourself an orgasm that’s going to beat anything that anyone else can ever give you. If you are in want of some additional aids then Love Honey have a huge selection of vibrators and dildos and all sorts of other fun toys. If you are in need of a bit of titillation for a warm up, then the archives of Scarlet Letters is a good place to start with a large selection of erotic prose, poetry and art.. http://scarletletters.com/
  

  Most importantly today, we hope you enjoy yourself and have realised that pampering yourself every once in a while is a whole lot of fun and should be done more often…

  If none of this has helped you pick yourself up from a recent(ish) – heck what’s seven years between friends) devastating break-up – then extra help and support can be found out www.soyouvebeendumped.com and remember, you have always got BookshelfBoyfriend to help you get through all the practical day to day stuff on your own.

  [ASM]

Winter driving & car tips for girls

Well ladies now all the fun stuff about winter (presies, food, drink, better-ish telly) is well and truly out of the way we thought we would catch up with you to give you some tips on the much less fun side of winter… the weather!! In particular, looking after your car in the harsher weather.

 

None of us like driving in the ice and rain and there is still plenty more of that to come, in fact last week we here at Bookshelf Boyfriend Towers experienced driving in ice, rain, sleet and hail stones, all in one day! However, if your car is in good shape in the winter it can help make driving in the miserable months easier and less dangerous.

 

• It is worth covering your windscreen every night on the inside and outside with newspaper to prevent icing up. Be sure to lift up your windscreen wipers though and place them above the newspaper.

Everyone has their own methods of getting rid of ice on the windscreen but here at Bookshelf Boyfriend we think prevention is better than cure! This will save you lots of time and pain staking effort when you should be enjoying that one last cup of tea before leaving the house.

Saying that, there are some pretty good de-icing sprays on the market (see Halfords for examples) but please, no matter how tempting it is, don’t pour hot water on your windscreen! Although some people swear by it the risk of cracking your windscreen just isn’t worth it.

• Make sure you always have a full bottle of winter screen-wash of the right concentration. The wash will help prevent the freezing of your car’s screen wash tanks and tubes and prevent nozzles from freezing. And very importantly it will effectively clean the windscreen of typical winter dirt such as residue from ice on the roads, heavy rain and snow.

As visibility in the winter is so important it is essential to check your windscreen wipers for wear and tear. It is worth replacing them once a year to avoid problems.

To do it yourself see Bookshelf Boyfriend’s guide How to Replace Your Windscreen Wipers, or if you don’t fancy getting your hands cold in this weather, pop along to Halfords where they’ll fit them for you for a small charge.

• Check your battery frequently- low temperature can cause discharge (no we don’t like that word either!) Also driving in dark conditions can run the battery down so if your battery is more than five years old it is worth changing it before you’re stranded on some dark roadside in cold!

See BB’s tips on how to keep your battery well charged and what to do if your red battery warning light comes on – kindly provided by Foxy Lady Drivers.

Bookshelf Boyfriend also has a straight forward guide to show you how to replace your car battery yourself (it should take about 20 mins to do).

• Checking your tyres in winter is very important. If you know you are going to be traveling long distances in adverse weather conditions it may be worth investing in some winter tyres.

Tyre awareness in this country is pretty low so most people don’t change their tyres in winter, but the extra gripping providing could be life saving.

Even if you decide not to change your tyres please do check them regularly for wearing, balding, alignment and pressure. Improperly inflated tyres can reduce gripping!!

• And whilst we’re talking about tyres, just in case the worst happens, you should know what to do when you get a puncture and how to change a flat tyre.

• Check your oil regularly, particularly for consistency, as the cold has a tendency to thicken it.

BB has advice on necessary checks that even the laziest ladies should be carrying out regularly…

• Salt can cause corrosion so washing will protect the chassis, the body work and the tyres. Its an awful thought having to stand on the street with your hands immersed in water on a cold winter Saturday, but do wash your car regularly. Nip down to your local carwash or (our favourite) boost some local kids’ pocket money and get them to do it for you!

• Check your lights very regularly. If they are not in good working condition then you will have lower visibility… This is not good at any time of the year but especially not in winter, when it feels we spend half our lives driving in the dark!

• And last but not least- check your break pads! If they are worn they are no good to you. Again if you know you are going to be driving lots in the winter it is worth getting your breaks professionally inspected to ENSURE immediate response in icy or skiddy situations.

Following the above guide should mean that after a hard day’s work you’ll be sipping cocoa in front of Corrie in no time, as opposed to stranded on the motorway with nothing but star jumps to keep you warm!

And if you don’t trust us girls, or you want some advice from a highway hunk – check out what Adam Ashmore, the AA’s Patrol of the Year, has to say about it!

For more handy car maintenance tips and all sorts of other practical advice, hints and how-tos, come and visit us at www.bookshelfboyfriend.com

See our latest article with tips on How to winter-proof your car here!

[DFE]