I betcha didn't know...

...that today was Valentine's Day.

Ok, ok...that is a bit of a loooong stretch. Plus I'm writing this post after midnight which means that technically yesterday was Valentine's Day. It's a little hard to ignore February 14th since it's so commercialized these days. It seems like the candy aisles turn red and pink shortly after New Years Day. I actually do have fond memories of Valentine's Day as a child. I always looked forward to decorating a paper bag "mailbox" that hung over the side of my desk for classmates to drop cards in.

I remember sorting through all my Valentines as a 10 year old and finding the one from the boy I was "in love" with (the feelings were not mutual) and over-analyzing the message inside. It probably said something along the lines of "Have a great day" but I somehow translated that to mean "You are the most amazing girl in the class". Ahhh...young love :P.

I have to admit that I miss exchanging Valentines so today was a pleasant blast-to-the-past with specially themed cupcakes and a card with chocolate just for me! And let me just take a moment to say how amazing these cupcakes were. Perfectly moist, not too sweet with a nice touch of indulgence from the creamy icing. Amanda, you are an amazing baker!!

Aren't they cute? I had to practice intense self-control to not have a second.

So, although I could go on and on about my true love (food), I decided to look up some random facts about this day, hence the title of this post ;).

I betcha didn't know...

1. The countries that celebrate Valentine's Day are Canada, the United States, Mexico, Australia, the UK, France, Italy and Denmark.

2. There is a heart-shaped island called Galesnjak in the Adriatic Sea. Apparently it's only accessible by small boat.

3. The phrase "wearing your heart on your sleeve" comes form the Middle Ages custom of knights wearing a coloured fabric from their love on the arm of their armour.

4. That every Valentine's Day the city of Verona, Italy is flooded with letters addressed to the fictional "Juliet" from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet"

5. That my roomie's dog Cocoa is the cutest in the world!

Fine, I made that last one up. She does give a lot of love though.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Source of facts...minus #5.