Can a man an a woman be best friends without being romantically involved?

Well, that’s the problem that pretty flower shop owner Helen faces in Very, Very Valentine! This Hallmark Movie is one of my absolute favorites! I’ve watched it so many times that even my son has commented about my VVV movie-watching craze!

When Helen goes to a formal masquerade with her best friend, Henry, she’s in for a surprising treat. She meets a handsome masked man, whom she initially mistakes for Henry. They have a conversation and she’s stunned once her and the mysterious stranger are separated for the evening.

Helen is then obsessed with finding the mysterious stranger. Henry and one of her flower shop employees, Beth, jump in to help her. Henry saves the day by finding the masked man. The mysterious stranger turns out to be Charles Bronson. Helen and Charles date and Helen believes that Charles is the right man for her. She’s mistakenly basing her feelings on their mysterious meeting at the masquerade, as well as their enjoyable conversation at an art gallery.

But Charles has no idea how to woo Helen! Henry has to coach Charles, letting him know about Helen’s taste in books, Valentine’s Day expectations, etc.

But…deep down Henry wants Helen to be more than just a friend.

This was my favorite part of the movie. This scene occurs after Henry arrives at the flower shop to take Helen out to lunch. Helen’s Aunt Carol informs Henry that Helen is out to lunch with Charles. It’s subtly obvious that this news hurts Henry – Helen obviously forgot about their lunch date since she had a date with Charles! Henry goes to lunch alone and Beth spots him when she enters the restaurant. Beth is subtly interested in Henry, so she finagles a seat with him. Here’s the scene, verbatim:

Beth: “Henry?”

Henry: “Oh, hey Beth, how are you?”

Beth: “Oh, good.”

Henry: “Good.”

Beth: “Things were so crazy at the flower shop I needed a pick me up to make it through the rest of the day.”

Henry: “I guess you did.”

Beth: “Mind if I join you?”

Henry: “Ah, yeah, sure. Please.”

Beth: “Great.”

Beth: “What ‘cha reading?”

Henry: “Oh, um. Just something I picked up at the bookstore across the street. I was supposed to have lunch with Helen but things changed so…”

Beth: “You two have been friends for a long time, huh?”

Henry: “Since college and then we reconnected when we moved back to New York.”

Beth: “She told me about that. Great story.”

Henry: “Right, although I’m not sure it can top mistaken identities at a masquerade ball.”

Beth: “Mistaken bouquets…”

Henry: “I like that.” <laughing> “Yeah, I guess so.”

Helen sees them, and you get a peek at her feelings for Henry (which I seriously believe she was going to confess earlier in the movie, right before Henry had revealed that he’d found Charles!). I also believe that Henry was going to reveal his true feelings for Helen when he’d initially asked her to the masquerade ball. Helen meeting Charles at the ball just messed things up for Henry. If Charles had not become acquainted with Helen then I seriously think that Henry would’ve asked Helen if they could be more than friends….

Anyway, when Helen sees Henry having lunch with Beth, she doesn’t have the courage to watch her them having lunch together. She loses her appetite and tells Charles they should go out for a walk instead! Chicken, Helen…just plain chicken to tell Henry about your true, budding feelings!

(As an aside, I doubt I’d have skipped lunch altogether. I don’t know about you, but, I can’t skip meals. Helen told Charles she wasn’t hungry and that they should go for a walk instead? Really? Charles seems like a man who’d have an appetite or something? Wasn’t he hungry? Seemed like they would’ve gotten a hot dog or something While they walked?)

So, after Helen and Charles leave, the scene continues:

Henry: “I don’t know if I believe in fate but at that moment, I was close…cause I’d just moved back to the city to make a fresh start. It was a bit of a tricky time. I was just finished a divorce, some things had been chaotic and as soon as I signed on with the Botanical Gardens I’d immediately regretted it and I was sitting in my office wondering if my entire life was a colossal mistake and then, in walks Helen with this silly bouquet and I just knew right then and right there that I’d made the right choice.”

Beth: “Oh my gosh.”

Henry: “What?”

Beth: “I can’t believe I didn’t notice.”

Henry: “Notice what?”

Beth: “You’re in love with Helen.”

Henry: “That’s…I’m not….” He hangs his head down.

Beth: “For how long?”

Henry: “Awhile.”

Beth: “Not since the flower mix-up?”

Henry: “Well..”

Her mouth hangs open. “And you never said anything?’

Henry: “The timing just was never quite right. When we reconnected she was in a relationship and by the time they broke up I had a girlfriend and we were never quite in sync.”

Beth: “You’re both single now. You finally had your window. Why tell her about Charles?”

Henry: “Because it made her happy.”

All I can say is…whoa…that scene…all of those emotions in that scene. You see how much Henry really loves Helen and how he’s sacrificed telling her his true feelings by finding Charles…just to make her happy? Such a gush-worthy moment! Man, if Helen doesn’t want Henry then I’ll take him for myself…pilot’s license and all… LOL!

And as another aside, Beth offers Henry a cookie…she says he needs it more than she does, based off his recent confession….

Well…a cookie sounds great, but, I wondered why Henry and Beth weren’t eating lunch instead of cookies? They seemed to have skipped a meal – just like Helen and Henry! Yeah, I’m rambling, but, just trying to be realistic!

My mom always told me that when a man and a woman are good friends, it’s not as it always appears. “One of them really (romantically) likes the other one, that’s why they’re such good friends.” <The word romantically was added by me to emphasize my mom’s point.>

Henry and Helen were such good friends…and Henry was in love with her…what do you think?

Can a man and a woman be best friends without having any romantic feelings toward each other?

I’m not talking about being casual friends or acquaintances, or co-working together – I’m talking about good, solid friendship where you see one another regularly and are involved in each other’s lives. Can such a bond exist between a man and a woman without involving romance?

Have you ever went home for a special school event?

Snowcoming! Don’t you just love that title? Snowball…love that too! Wasn’t this such a cute, delightful movie?

Samantha returns home for her father’s retirement party. Her dad is the high school coach. When she returns to town, she runs into Jake, her old high-school flame. Jake is a famous football player now and he’s also friends with Samantha’s dad. He’s bunking at Samantha’s dad’s house, and being so close to him puts Samantha into a tizzy!

Hard for her to admit that she still has feelings for him. I thought Jake was cute and sincere! He’s sorry for the way he’s treated Samantha in the past, and he wants to make a fresh start. But, Samantha is leery. Jake will be gone soon, back to his life of football fame, won’t he?

Didn’t you just love that tree house? I loved seeing that structure and could imagine curling up with someone in that big tree house.

Although I enjoyed the scenes in the library, where Samantha acts as a mentor to the teenager who likes to read, I thought it was a bit far-fetched. Are there any public libraries that still allow folks to sign out books with those cards in the back? It appeared that library still used the Dewey Decimal System, too? Also, the teenager (the female that Samantha mentored), well…I’d imagine that a teenager, especially nowadays, would have no problem finding books, especially with the internet and Kindle and…I don’t know. I felt that the teen was clueless about getting books online. I felt that the teenager was in a bit of a time warp? What do you think?

That reporter kept getting on my nerves – the one that kept asking Jake all of those nosy questions. I wanted her off the set real quick. I couldn’t stand her.

I thought the romance between Samantha’s dad and the librarian was sweet and cute!

I noticed that Samantha’s best friend, the one who was pregnant, was a minority. Her husband was White. That was the first time I ever recall Hallmark having a mixed couple on one of their movies. I loved that they opened up and did that! I enjoyed seeing them interact with one another and it was super sweet that she was having a baby!

So, have you ever returned home for a school event, like Homecoming (Snowcoming)?

Have you ever met a famous author?

I could relate to this movie so much! Since I’m a romance author, I know what it’s like to have a book signing and hardly anybody shows up! I think the general public might not necessarily know that booksignings are not always glitz and glamour with fans clamoring to get your book!

Cassie is a new author and her book is not selling. She’s paired up with Elliot, a bestselling fantasy novelist. Cassie doesn’t really take his novels seriously, I mean, come on, how hard can it be to write a book about dragons? But, it’s dragons – even though it’s fantasy, it’s still writing and it takes a fair amount of work.

Cassie and Elliot go on a book tour. The tour includes book signings and and interviews. Of course, during the course of this week-long book tour road trip, they fall in love. You know that’s going to happen. It is a Hallmark movie after all!

I could really relate to both of these characters. When Elliot realizes that Cassie’s mom is a famous novelist, an old teacher of his, he reminds her that she’d encouraged him to change his major from Business to English. A similar situation happened to me when I was in college. When I took Freshman English, my professor said that I was a good writer. He asked me what my major was, and I told him it was Finance. He told me I was in the wrong major. He said I should change my major to English.

I didn’t listen to him. I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance. I caught the writing bug in my late twenties. Looking back, I’m not sure if I should’ve listened to him or not. My degree has given me access to halfway decent jobs. Making a living as a best-selling novelist, that’s rare. I wasn’t sure if I’d been able to find a decent job with an English degree. I mean, after all, I had to pay back my student loans.

I really loved that they had a snowstorm. There’s just something so romantic about being cooped up with your romantic interest in a snowstorm. Also, while they were being interviewed, during that last interview, I LOVED how Elliot LOOKED at Cassie. He looked like a smitten man, a man that was IN LOVE, swooning over his future wife! My heart sped up when he looked at her that way! Oh my!

Near the end of the movie, I think they just dragged out the storyline with the ex-wife. All Cassie had to do was ask Elliot if he were still involved with her. There was so much unspoken between them during that last half hour. I would’ve tried to think of something else to create angst between them. Like, I probably would’ve shown the ex-wife coming onto him and Cassie sees it and gets the wrong idea?

Overall a good movie. I can’t wait to see this one again! Oh, by the way, most authors don’t go on book tours like that. Book tours are rare and the few authors that go on them (outside of bestselling NY Times authors) have to foot the bill themselves. Also, as far as publicity goes (outside of bestselling NY Times authors) the author has to foot the bill for that, too. Most publishers don’t do a lot of advertising for their new/non-best-selling authors. That’s just the way it is, and I wanted all to know that! Advertising can be quite pricey, and after you shell out the money for it, there’s no guarantee that it’ll have a positive impact on your sales!

So, have you ever met a famous author before? If so, where did you meet him/her?

Have you ever made a special wish for your birthday?

Oh my! This movie is definitely one of my favorites!

When Gwen makes a special birthday wish, her life gets pretty interesting! Gwen wants to be married by her 30th birthday. After a secret birthday wish, she discovers that she has vision problems. She visits the optometrist and the strange doctor provides a glimpse into her future – her future with her work mate Dave!

Both Dave and Gwen work together as commercial directors. I loved seeing them on the set! So interesting seeing them in that work environment! They grow close working together on the set. But Gwen can’t let her feelings grow for Dave because, she’s seriously dating Alex, the weatherman!

Didn’t you think that Dave was cute?

I did! He was so nice and SO PERFECT for Gwen! Alex was just a wet blanket. Gwen initially felt that Alex was the right guy for her and she really was expecting Alex to propose.

I really would’ve liked to have known more about the supernatural element to this movie. Like, what made Gwen able to see into the future? What kind of mystical powers were bestowed onto the optometrist?

I could really relate to Dave’s fear of eating street food. A street food vendor used to come to my day job for lunch. I’d purchase food from him. I got sick once. Really sick. I don’t think all of those street vendors are sanitary, although, most of them are. I don’t fear eating from them, but, can understand why others would be leery.

I thought it was sweet that Dave helped Gwen to get over her fear of dogs. Those pups were SO ADORABLE, weren’t they?

I also loved how Dave really adored Gwen, truly adored her. I loved seeing those glimpses into the future.

Wasn’t it great when they were playing that trivia game at the restaurant/bar? Gwen whooped when she got some correct answers. Dave gives her the most tender look and then he says, “I’ve never seen you look so relaxed. Can I get you another drink?”

Oh, my heart melted when I saw that! Truly emotional. Gwen was always a bit off-base and edgy when she was around him. She was just confused, trying to figure out these things she saw in the future. When she saw her future unfold whenever she saw Dave, she just didn’t know how to handle it!

Needless to say, I simply COULD NOT STAND Alex! He was the most narcissistic weatherman! Oh! He didn’t deserve Gwen…and that proposal??? Pathetic, simply pathetic!

So, have you ever made a special birthday wish? If so, did it come true?

 

Have you ever visited an ice hotel?

When I posted about Winter Castle some folks on my Facebook Page were wondering where the movie was filmed. I’m not sure. Do you know where Winter Castle was filmed?

I also found some really cool stock photos for ice hotels so, thought I’d share them here! I see that the ice hotels are NOT in the United States. From what I can gather, the only ice hotel in North America is in Canada. It’s called Hotel de Glace and it’s in Quebec.

The hotel suite above is from a snow village in Finland. Isn’t it gorgeous? So pretty! I love looking at this. I can imagine all sorts of scenes happening in ice hotels. Hey, maybe I’ll use an ice hotel in my next Christmas novel! How does that sound?

This one’s pretty, but, I don’t know where it’s located!

There’s also a WONDERFUL LOOKING ice hotel in Sweden!

From the little bit of researching that I’ve done online, I’ve seen that these hotels are seasonal. You stay warm by sleeping in a warm sleeping bag. I’ve also seen some places have both warm and cold rooms. The cold/ice rooms are not available all year. From what I’ve seen, folks will usually stay in the ice room for only one night. The other nights they stay in a warm room.

I wondered about these ice hotel rooms. I wondered about taking a shower and going to the bathroom. I found my answers here. It appears that the shower, sauna and bathrooms are in a separate area.

I think these hotels are wonderful looking BUT, I’m not so sure I’d want to stay in one. I’m not one to appreciate the cold, at least not enough to stay in a room made of ice! I do get hot a lot in recent years (hot flashes), but, after a flash, I can get a bit cold.

Even with the thermal sleeping bags, I’m not so sure I’d want to stay in that room. I think I’d prefer staying in a warm room and just enjoy the ice sculptures/attractions during the day.

So have you ever visited an ice hotel? If you haven’t, would you consider visiting one in the future?

Have you ever attended a destination Wedding?

Jenny is ecstatic about attending her sister’s destination wedding! Her sister is getting married at an ice hotel. Jenny has been set up with Craig, the best man. But, unbeknownst to Jenny’s sister, Craig has brought another female with him to the wedding.

I noticed how crushed everyone was when they found out that Craig had brought a date. I thought their reactions were a bit over the top, I mean, come on, it’s a wedding and Craig and Jenny had never met before – so, Craig’s bringing a date shouldn’t have been such a big deal.

But, alas, it was a big deal. Craig’s date, Lana, just can’t seem to warm up (no pun intended) to the ice hotel. She keeps sneezing and it looks like she’s catching a cold. She seems to always turn up at the wrong time and is anxious to whisk Craig and his cute daughter away from Jenny.

Lana has strong feelings for Craig. After all, she’s been there for him since his wife died. She’s the support system for Craig and his daughter, so, it’s only natural for her to develop feelings for him.

Jenny enjoys spending time with Craig, but, she has other things to do during this trip. She’s destined to become a published author, so, she’s given the go-ahead to write a book and submit it to her boss for publication.

As an aside, I’m a published romance novelist and when you’re published by a big-time publisher, it can take a long time to land a contract. It took me five years before I landed by first contract with Doubleday (The Doubleday Bookclub AKA Bookspan). Since Jenny works there, I suppose that gave her an “in” to get published.

I could really relate to Jenny’s wanting to become a published author. Getting published takes a lot of hard work and rejection, but, when a publisher accepts your manuscript…ah…so sweet. The market has changed since I initially got published almost two decades ago. Authors can now make a lucrative living by publishing their works directly on Amazon, cutting out the traditional publisher, but I digress.

What did you think of Craig? 

I liked that he had a good relationship with his daughter. He was very loving towards her. He seemed to be a nice family man and I felt he was a good match for Jenny.

I also loved the pastries! I got hungry seeing them eat those cinnamon rolls and that maple syrup snow candy! Didn’t those treats look delicious?

I LOVED the ice hotel! It was so pretty! The only thing that I’d ever heard of, which reminded me of the ice hotel, was the Gaylord Ice Festival at the National Harbor. The Gaylord has an ice event in my area every year – but, I have yet to attend! It’s a spectacular Christmas show and their 2018 theme was Charlie Brown:

I also asked someone on Twitter about the ice hotel. My Twitter pal shared this link with me: Orlando Ice Bar

Doesn’t that Ice Bar look amazing? It reminds me of the ice castle. It’d be neat to go and visit sometime.

Wow! I’m not sure how I’d hold up at the Winter Castle, though. I like warm weather. I’m not sure if I could’ve slept in a bedroom made of ice! Brrr…..

So, have you ever been to a destination wedding? If so, where did you go?