Now that February has arrived, some of you folks may be thinking about Valentine's Day plans. What will you be doing for your beloved this year? Have you or has she grown bored with the usual flowers, candy, and fancy restaurant? Does your beloved yearn for something a bit off the beaten path on this romantic day? Well, I'm here to help you. I'm going to offer some alternatives that may make your Valentine's Day a bit more special and unique.

Eat Your Flowers! Why waste your money by giving your sweetheart something that'll die in a few days? Sure, a huge bouquet of long-stemmed, red roses looks beautiful and is wonderfully romantic, but over the next several days she'll have to worry about giving it water, and dead leaves and petals making a mess on her desk. Let's face it- you can't really do much with flowers. Instead of flowers, how about giving something that's still pretty but is actually useful, like fruit? The latest trend in gift baskets are fruit baskets with fruit cut and arranged to resemble flowers. Edible Arrangements offers a selection of very colorful and tasty fruit arrangements, as shown in the picture. Of course, these fruit arrangements are great for almost any occasion. My parents used them as centerpieces on tables for my brother's college graduation party, and I've sent them as Christmas presents. If you give your special someone one of these fruit arrangements, it won't go to waste. She'll eat them for breakfast, take some for lunch, or just have a late night snack!

Think Outside the (Chocolate) Box! When most of us think of fancy chocolates, we think of those little gold Godiva boxes. Believe me, I enjoy Godiva as much as the next chocoholic, but wouldn't it be great to expand one's conceptions of chocolate beyond rows of little dark brown round things nestled in a gold box? If you want to satisfy your honey's sweet tooth but want to add a little "Wow!" factor, why not give her sushi instead? Well, sushi-shaped chocolates that is! Kooki Sushi offers cookies and chocolates shaped like pieces of sushi! For example, in the sushi roll, the "rice" is made of crispy rice cookies, while the middle is composed of caramel, fruit flavored pieces, and dark chocolate. The "seaweed" wrapper is dark chocolate. The "soy sauce" is chocolate sauce. I could describe more, but I think the photograph of the bento (traditional Japanese lunch box) speaks for itself. Your Valentine will enjoy a sweet treat not only for the tastebuds, but for the eyes.