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 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?