Meanings of 10 Valentine's Day Flowers

Whether you’re planning to give—or hoping to receive—flowers this Valentine’s Day, brushing up on the meaning behind the blooms will likely inform your choices or heighten your appreciation of your sweet-smelling gift. Think a rose is just a rose? Read on to find out what 10 popular Valentine’s Day flowers really symbolize. Roses Not surprisingly, this classic bud is “the most popular choice for Valentine’s Day,” says Kate Law, Product Design Manager at ProFlowers.com. It could be because red roses symbolize love, romance, beauty and perfection. The iconic flower is also known for being pricey—according to Michael Gaffney, Director of the New York School of Flower Design, “flower growers hold back their rose bushes for months...

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The 10 worst Valentine's Day gifts

The Teen Worst Presents We know what you’re thinking: Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday. It’s forced. It’s too much pressure. But if you’re dating this month, you’ll probably wind up roaming the aisles for a gift to give your date on February 14th. And, “like it or not, Valentine’s Day becomes a test in which you have to show you’ve been paying attention to the other person’s taste,” says Christine Silvestri, founder of Urban Shopping Adventures, which gives tours of LA’s shopping districts.  But choosing the right gift can be quite a challenge: Too many frazzled sweethearts reach into the Valentine’s void for gift ideas and come up with something that’s just plain wrong. To help you avoid joining their ranks, we present the...

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6 Wedding Traditions No One Will Miss

A wedding wouldn't be a wedding without a kiss at the end of the ceremony, some food, and some fun. But I'm willing to bet guests wouldn't be too upset if more brides skipped these wedding traditions at nuptials. Separating the Bride's Side From the Groom's at the Wedding Ceremony The bride's family and friends sit on the left, the groom's on the right...unless you're Jewish, and then it's the opposite. And at my and Paul's interfaith wedding ceremony, there was mass confusion (OK, not really, but there were some perplexed guests). Ushers would've helped, but you know what would've been even better: if we had a big sign that said, "Sit where you like!" In fact, I wish every bride and groom allowed guests to sit wherever they like (save...

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1940s Starlet's Death is a Mystery

It was one of those cases that seemed straight out of pulp fiction, a noir mystery written by one of those hard-boiled scribes who liked to surround damsels in distress with mobsters and movie stars.  Yet it was real life. And it defied solution. Jean Elizabeth Spangler, a television actress, went missing in 1949. Not because there were no clues. Perhaps because there were too many--all pointing in different directions. The damsel was aspiring actress Jean Spangler, 26, whose mysterious 1949 disappearance is still considered an "open case" by LAPD's cold case unit. "It's absolutely a classic noir mystery," said Denise Hamilton, a  former LA Times reporter turned novelist. She reveals that her mystery, "The Last Embrace,"...

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