14 Days of Valentines - DAY 2

TODAY'S DATE IDEA: DISCOVER LOCAL TALENT

No matter where you live, there are artists craving an audience. Whether its finding a visual artist's gallery, visiting a local art hub, visiting a photographer's studio, hearing a local musician play at a small venue, or even taking a tour of your local street art, there are plenty of opportunities for you to discover creativity in your town. The hardest part? Tracking them down.

Many artists and musicians still use grassroots publicity by posting flyers in coffee shops, restaurants, and music stores. They'll also advertise online. In fact, here are a few great sites that can help you helps track down local art galleries, craft fairs, and even local bands. Some gems are likely right in your neighborhood and you haven't even realized it.

Tonight, we spent DAY 2 of the 14 DAYS OF VALENTINES enjoying the art in our neighborhood. Admittedly, we're very spoiled here (easy access to art and stores is a must for me), so our adventure only took us a few blocks from our doorstep. That's where we visited the art outside the LACMA, the sculptures by the La Brea Tar Pits, and the largest chunk of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany.

As for the rest of the day, I started my quest to share some love with friends and neighbors. This morning I cut 20 little hearts out of construction paper and wrote notes of appreciation for each of the women I volunteer with every Thursday morning. I was a little surprised when I noticed my breathing speed up with nervousness as I thought about actually handing the notes to them. Will they think I'm being too cheesy? I shook my head to myself and started delivering my notes, feeling just as nervous about handing out valentines as I did when I gave them to my classmates in the first grade. 

Each woman was pleasantly surprised by the gesture. It helped me realize that everyone could use a little valentine this time of year and actually gave me the boost I needed to hand out even more over the next two weeks.

Later, my husband and I spent the dinner hour with one of the spunky teens from our church. We bought cupcakes - enough to share with some of her friends and family. So far it's been great sharing the love!

How are you celebrating?