Love even better

Love is many a splendored thing—including expensive. Americans are expected to spend $21.8 billion for Valentine's Day this year, according to the National Retail Federation. That's about $165 on gifts and celebrations with about half of U.S. adults partaking. Feb. 14 is almost here Illustration: Jonell Joshua But with the coronavirus raging those billions represent a 20% drop from a record high last year. If you, too, are watching your wallet, take this as an opportunity to share a new love language with your sweethearts. Instead of flowers and a greeting card and takeout for two, get a gift that allows them to appreciate themselves more deeply and accept the world around them more fully. Be it a self-care tuneup, an exploration of another culture, or the tools to be a better ally to BIPOC communities. Step up that self-care Illustration: Jonell Joshua In other words: Celebrate love by learning to do it better. And if you also do it with steak, caviar, and truffles or hide a diamond ring in a packet of spaghetti or pop open a bottle of pink prosecco, well, more romantic power to you! Whisper sweet nothings Illustration: Jonell Joshua Courtship in the Time of Covid Moves at Its Own Warp Speed Pandemic life has spelled out the joys—and a few limits—of spending time together The Perfect Date-Night Pasta Is Spaghetti You Unwrap Like a Gift Cooking in parchment brings festivity and fun to Valentine's Day—or any meal you want to make into an event. Pink Prosecco Is the Fizz That's Poised to Ride the Rosé Wave The affordable Italian sparkling wine may well become the patron saint of brunch. Here are eight to know. Nothing Says "I Love You" Like an Engraved Tomahawk Steak And other newly accessible, luxurious food products to celebrate the holiday at home. Share a New Love Language This Valentine's Day Because acceptance and gratitude is more fulfilling than a box of chocolates. Wink, Wink Louise Linton, an actress, producer, and spouse of former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, has made a movie that is, and is not, about being the wife of a high-ranking member of the Trump administration. A self-described vegan and animal rights activist, Linton spent the better part of her husband's four years in power stumbling into controversies of her own making. Like that time she responded to criticism of an Instagram post in a lengthy diatribe that included the line, "Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband? Either as an individual earner in taxes OR in self sacrifice to your country?" (Linton later apologized.)  Tyler (Ed Westwick) and Catherine (Louise Linton) in the film Me You Madness. Source: Stormchaser Films Now, with Me You Madness she appears to be trying to re-frame the narrative with a winking, over-the-top script bathed in camp, cannibalism, murder, dance breaks, and no fewer than 20 designer outfits that Linton looks positively radiant in. Her co-star is Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick, a petty thief she's imprisoned and fallen in love with, and at one point, feeds some sautéed testicles.  "You may think this is a straight ripoff of American Psycho," she says in one of many breaks in the fourth wall. "And in some ways, you might be right."  Click here for the full review.   Elsewhere on Our Cultural Radar The Haas Brothers' Grey Liotta club chair Photographer: Joe Kramm, courtesy of the artists and R & Company The 'Buy American' Mantra Comes for High-End Interior Design A Former NBA All-Star's Advice for Penthouses, Private Jet Etiquette The Koenigsegg Gemera Has 1,700 Horsepower—and a Proper Back Seat Taste-Testing Popeyes' New Cajun Fish Sandwich The Dental Request Du Jour Is a Smile That's Less Than Perfect TAG Heuer Teams With Porsche for a Wide-Ranging Partnership Lunar New Year From the Pursuits Archives Strong, reliable, conscientious, and trustworthy ... but also very opinionated and stubborn. Sound like anyone you know? The Chinese New Year of the Ox starts now. Why lick a toad when you can lick a rat? 68 ways to spend that hongbao haul. Here, piggy piggy. Here, Gucci piggy. Bullet trains transform the world's biggest migration. Yum yum yum: easy glazed pork ribs. Prawn potstickers are also a festive choice. Whatever you do, follow these dim sum rules. And if you read just one thing... Public Displays of Affection for Urban Life U.S. cities ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic are embracing a broader definition of love this year through Valentine's Day art installations. Follow Us Get the newsletter   Like getting the Pursuits newsletter? Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and gain expert analysis from exclusive subscriber-only newsletters.   You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Pursuits newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022