Where Bloggers Live: Valentine’s Day Edition
Welcome to Where Bloggers Live: 2025! Happy New Year! “Where Bloggers Live” started out kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…with bloggers! We all like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes, interests, and lives, so every month this wonderful group of seven bloggers family of amazing women shares their work-spaces, homes, towns, and thoughts, with posts based on specific prompts. It’s been so interesting over the years to see the different ways each of us interpret the topics.
A Valentine’s Day “Friend” Date: Cuz (maybe, just maybe) Romance is Overrated
People either love Valentine’s Day or they hate it. As I wrote back in 2020 I like to think of it as a reminder to do something nice for those you love. Should you/they be doing that all the time anyway? Sure. But life gets distracting, so I appreciate the reminder of heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and mushy cards in the stores.
And while we usually think of romance when thinking of Valentine’s Day, who says it has to be that way?? This year, I celebrated with someone new…not a date…but a friend whose company I’ve really been enjoying. And honestly? It might have been my best Valentine’s Days in a long time!
We started with lunch, because I’d found a list of “western style” sandwiches here in Seoul. And sandwiches are something I really miss over here. So, we talked over sandwiches in the little shop…easy conversation, sharing stories of our experiences in South Korea and of our lives back home. No awkward pauses, no pressure…just two people enjoying each other’s company, free from the stressful expectations that can come with February 14th.
Dae-oh Book Store (not my picture)
Kim Namjoon, 2016. (not my picture)
Me, 2025
Next, we wandered around a bit looking for an old bookstore turned café…and when I say old, I mean OLD. In fact, it’s the oldest book store in Seoul. A charming warren of little rooms with old books lining the walls, tables made out of wooden vegetable boxes, and several pianos. I first saw this bookstore when Kim Namjoon of BTS visited there once and the picture looked so charming, I’ve looked forward for a long time to come here. And it did not disappoint. We sat for while in a (really cold!) room and drank steaming hot chocolates. After finishing our warming drinks we went into the little courtyard to take pictures in the same spot as Kim Namjoon. Hee hee.
Did I mention that it was a really cold day?? So while we didn’t wander around the area as much as we might have on a milder day, we did still get to see some interesting spots in the neighborhood of Jongno-gu.
Til I got up close I thought they were steaming turtles
We both felt that this is the look we wanted! The skirt with baggy sweater.
bread
wine
the p is around the corner
a Valentinesy thing
Eventually nature called (stupid nature) and it can be a little challenging to find public bathrooms in Seoul, so we wound up end of day in a Starbucks and snagged the only table right as it opened up. Valentine’s Luck! And at Starbucks I gave my beloved friend a little heart-shaped treat. Cuz, Valentine’s Day.
So. Valentine’s Day for friends? I highly recommend. No pressure, no stress…just good food, a neighborhood stroll, and good company.
Happy Valentine’s Day, friends!
Take a look at my friends’ blogs as well, to see who their Valentines are!
Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Em at Dust and Doghair
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Leslie at Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After
Sally at Within a World of My Own
Lisa Elliott
I know we don’t actually know each other BUT I’ve been worried about you since you haven’t been doing your weekly updates. I enjoyed reading your post today. I’m married and we’ve been married 40 yeaers and have rarely done anything big for Valentine’s day! I am meeting three close girlfriends for lunch today and we will laugh and have lots of fun!!
bettyewp
I know, I know, I’ve been a b-a-a-a-d blogger…in hindsight I wish I’d said, “guys, I’m gonna take a little break,” but I didn’t actually think it was going to be this long…each week I thought, THIS week I’ll post…and then…nope.
But THIS week I’ll post 🙂
I appreciate yoyur concern, Lisa.
Debbie House
Glad to see you back. I was getting worried.
bettyewp
Thanks, yeah, it’s been awhile…various circumstances were just not conducive to posting here regularly…but I think I’m ready to be back after my little winter hibernation.
Thanks for checking in, Debbie!
Iris
Sounds like a good time (except for the cold). The older I get the colder I get, so… but lots of good pictures. Enjoyed sharing your pleasant time.
bettyewp
Winter in Seoul is known as “A Good Time Except for the Cold.” 🙂
Jodie Filogomo
No pressure makes it ideal!
What a fun day
Xoxo
Jodie
bettyewp
No Pressure is one of my very favorite things 🙂
Sally in St Paul
There is so much good in a low-key fun Valentine’s Day with a friend! My husband knows he is my Valentine along with my best friend of almost 35 years and all the rabbits of the world 🙂 We need all the love, of all the forms, that we can get in this world.
Sally in St Paul
I forgot to say…OMG I totally thought those were turtles at first, then some kind of animal skin handbag…:D
bettyewp
That’s great that your husband is still your best friend 🙂 That’s the best 🙂
Gabe Pettingill
Hello again! I’d just begun to wonder where you’d been!
I love this post–I recently (earlier this month) got out of a rough relationship, so this Valentine’s Day was going to be an odd one for me. But I love what you said about using the day to do something nice for someone you love, not necessarily romantic or over-the-top. This genuinely made me feel so much happier and way more normal about spending the day with my friends instead of trying to do something crazy or letting my thoughts about this hard relationship I’d just been in get me down.
All that to say: thank you for sharing this! You’re amazing and your little thoughts like this are so inspiring to me
Sending love from my side of the planet 🙂
Gabe Pettingill
(Oh this is funny—somehow my comment didn’t show up but now it’s up twice haha)
Gabe Pettingill
Hello again! I’d just begun to wonder where you’d been!
I love this post—I recently (earlier this month) got out of a rough relationship, so this Valentine’s Day was going to be an odd one for me. But I love what you said about using the day to do something nice for someone you love, not necessarily romantic. It made me feel much better about spending the day with my friends and not doing something over-the-top and not letting crazy thoughts about the hard relationship that I’d just been in get me down.
All that to say, thank you! Your little thoughts really inspire me
Sending love from my side of the planet 🙂
bettyewp
Gabe!
Yeah, I’ve been awol for a bit – the world, school, a family matter…I haven’t been doing much…or even thinking much, ha ha, just getting through it, pretty much. But it felt good to be back, AND the weather will start getting milder soon…AND after Tuesday I’m on break, so I’ll be doing one thing or another…so I’ll have some more to share here than just “I went to class I went home I went to class I went home, etc.”
Sorry to hear you had to go through a rough relationship experience 🙁 but glad you had good friends to spend Valentine’s Day with 🙂
Don’t be a stranger (and neither will I)!
xoxo Bettye
Leslie Clingan
Gosh the books in the BTS singer’s photo in 2016 are almost identical to the books in your 2025 photo of that corner of the book shop. It almost looks like a book shop alfresco. It didn’t look like there was a ceiling in some of the pictures. Wonder if the shopkeeper can find books easily or if it’s anybody’s guess where things might be. There was a children’s book shop here that was ‘arranged’ rather haphazardly but by golly, the employees knew where everything was!
Glad you explained where the P was. I wondered. I noticed the E in bottle was in a different script so wanted to see if the P in shop was, too. It will remain a mystery.
This sounds like a delightful day. And it could have been any day of the year. I think there is so much hype to spend money on some kind of Valentine memento when just enjoying a meal, a walk, a bookstore could be better!!
Hope you are beginning to see signs of thawing and spring over there. Spring has sprung in El Paso. And I love it.
bettyewp
A lot of traditional Korean hanok homes were built along four sides with an open-air center “yard.” This acted as a sort of protection from…whoever they needed protection from du jour…they could have little gardens or cook outdoors while still being somewhat protected. It’s a very charming concept. But that’s why the central area had no roof.
Yeah, aside from some book piles tumbling over, it all looked nearly identical to the picture from nine years ago. But it’s not actually a book store anymore. They’ve kept it as-is, but now it’s more a tourist spot/cafe. People go there to see the oldest book shop in Seoul, or, more likely, to see the book shop Kim Namjoon/BTS visited in 2016.
But I bet the owner (I think it’s the son at this point) knows exactly where books are. When I still lived in my own houses and had 12,973,286 books, I sorted them on the shelves by spine color, cuz pretty. People would always ask, “but how do you find anything?” But it was never a problem for me. Martha Stewart “Entertaining,” light blue spine. “Animal House Style,” burnt orange spine. “A Little Princess,” medium blue spine. Etcetera. I can also tell you height, cuz I sorted from left to right, tallest to shortest, within each color.
I’m not obsessive compulsive AT ALL.
We had a couple milder days over break…but the southern part of the country (South South Korea) is currently having a lot of snow and I don’t know if it’s headed our way. In a few days I’ll be complaining of the heat in Florida and South Carolina.
xoxo Bettye
EmDust
Not suggesting your friend was a female ( bc friends can come in ALL genders) but…I think this is why the concept of Galentines is so popular. Just a fun time with friends enjoying being friends. No pressure. chocolate optional, food required. Valentine’s is much better celebrated as you suggest: doing something nice for someone (anyone) you love.
What a cool (literally and figuratively) bookstore. I bet as a BTS fan you were thrilled to stand in the same space as (insert name, haha). I would do EXACTLY that for, well, for Julie Andrews or the like. I read your post after just returning from a walk outside where it is currently seven degrees…so the photos were definitely a mood for me.
(The bottle shop with the p around the corner channeled an old joke about school and the alphabet, and the, ahem, need to use a Starbucks. You’ll have to excuse that I have the sense of humor of a nine-year old.)
bettyewp
TEACHER: Little Johnny, please recite the alphabet
LITTLE JOHNNY: abcdefghijklmno qrstuvwxyz
TEACHER: But Little Johnny, where’s the P??
LITTLE JOHNNY: RUNNING DOWN MY LEGGGGGGG…..!
Please, excuse you? I AM you. The entirety of that Little Johnny joke (weren’t there a bunch of Little Johnny jokes? I bet my cousin would know them) came to mind IMSTANTLY…
I wonder how many people have spun atop the Swiss alps doing their best Maria Van Trapp impression? Ha, I just image searched “people spinning atop swiss alps a la maria von trapp sound of music” and disappointingly there were NONE. Just her. I bet an IG/TT search would yeild more entertaining results. Putting it on the list.
Chris Jargowsky
Evening. I hope you are having a good weekend. If it didn’t appear weird, I would love all your photos. We worked on Valentine’s Day, came right home to the dogs and ate left overs. Not a huge fan of that day so glad you hear you had a fun adventure that day. Love you!