I’ve never been a big fan of Valentine's Day. I’m sure you can relate. Usually, because I just so-happen to always be single on the holiday, or I’ve been in a not-so-great relationship that I knew wouldn’t work out for the long haul. And so Valentines Day has always just been, “bleh.”

A week before V-day, I enjoyed a delicious Saturday brunch at Perricone’s Restaurant (in Miami) with a few of my girls from Pursuit Community. What was the brunch-theme? Galentine’s. “Huh? Don’t’ you mean Val…” Nope. It’s GALentine’s.

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Thanks to the NBC hit, Parks and Recreation, Galentine’s is a new little play-on-words to celebrate gals. It’s been used more and more recently instead of the dreaded V-word. I’ll admit—it’s cheesy. But for some reason, I stinkin’ love it. Here are a few reasons why:

Friends should always be celebrated

Really, how often do we celebrate the incredible women in our lives? (And I’m not just talking birthdays). Let’s take a day of (commercial) love and celebrate those fabulous women that have seen you at your highest and lowest. Those friends who have brought you meds when you’re lookin’ like the apocalypse, sat on the phone with you for hours while you sobbed about Mr. Wasn’t-Worth-It, and made you laugh until the snot came out of your nose. Get together with your go-to’s, and make some new memories. But this time, let them know how much you TRULY love them (the real kind of love) because frankly, your friends have had to put up with you for way too long—and they deserve some TLC.

Set your inner-Pinterest gal free

Let’s face it, we can’t escape the hearts, chocolates, balloons, blah, blah, blah. Well, how about instead of dashing to the nearest cash register when walking into Target, let’s let the inner-secret-Pinterest lover free, and take full advantage of the cutsie-ness (eek). I’ll admit, I don’t usually do cute. But, if it means celebrating girl-power, then bring it on, Spice Girl! If you can’t beat them, join them. Get on Pinterest, pin your little heart away (pun intended) and celebrate LOVE. You KNOW your momma really needs that adorable mason-jar-candle duo. Spend your afternoon bedazzling it and voila! What better way to let the most fabulous gal in your life know how much you appreciate her?

Don’t discriminate

Single? In a relationship? Married? It’s A-okay! Galentine’s can be celebrated with whatever status of a relationship you’re in. Why? Well, because it’s all about gals! So make those phone calls, write those letters (let’s bring snail-mail back) and get really cheesy. There’s enough love to go around, and all us gals should be receiving it from each other…because, well, it ain’t always easy being a woman [cue our favorite little redhead, Annie: It’s A Hard-Knock Life]