On any, given February 14th, thoughts hover over red and pink ribbons, chocolates, cupids and conversation hearts. A call to the florist, a stop at the bakery, a fire roasted filet and a warm glass of wine-what does Valentine's Day mean each year, to each person? Commercial merchandise aside, the holiday revels in relationships: it celebrates the people who touch our lives.

~New to you~

Lisa Dunn and Sandy Mitchell, of Gulf Shores, married on July 24, 2010. The newly-weds shared a glimpse of their short, sweet life together.

Dunn recalled "the set-up" as if only yesterday.

"When my car was being repaired, the shop owner and I met and talked a few times-he wanted me to meet his brother and thought we would hit it off," she explained. "This continued for a few months; I had been divorced a year and was not interested, but he finally pestered me enough to meet his brother."

"'Fine-you, and your wife and your brother can come to my Halloween party, but THIS is NOT a date.' The brother, Sandy, showed up in a monk's costume with a cheesecake. I was in full, green-face, witch costume and had a 65 pound, giant black poodle. My sons were 8 and 10 at the time. If he could stand the green face, enormous poodle, and two kids, he had a good chance of getting me to go out with him. The dogs and kids fell in love with him on sight. Me, I was intrigued."

Mitchell offered a similar retelling, adding in his view.

"My brother had mentioned this woman who had been in the shop, said she was really funny, and cute, and seemed like we had a lot in common," he recalled. "I just said no, no, no, no, no blind dates or fix-ups, or awkward first dates where the night yawns on and on."

"When he told me to come to her Halloween party, it seemed like a good way to meet. The kids, and the giant poodle became friends right away. I knew I wanted to go out with Lisa, and really wanted to see her without a green face."

Thus, the first date, according to Dunn...

"After Halloween, Sandy called and asked for a lunch date; we were to meet at a restaurant in Fairhope," she said. "He was already seated, reading a Smithsonian magazine when I got there."

"We made some small talk and then found ourselves just staring at each other. He had this wicked little twinkle in his eyes, and I was even more intrigued. We talked and laughed, stared at each other some more, grinning like fools, and then realized we had been there way more than an hour. While hurrying out, Sandy asked if we could do lunch again later in the week. Naturally, I agreed."

Mitchell recalled the anxiety and ambiance.

"First dates can be really awful," he began. "Going out for lunch makes the most sense to me for a first date-it is a good way to gradually get to know someone, yet there is a time limit, so nobody has to feel nervous about being with someone that they barely know for hours and hours."

"When Lisa came into the restaurant on our first date, I was thrilled. She looked really beautiful without the green face. We found so much in common, from our love of Mardi Gras to our ambition to become beach bums. We actually found ourselves just staring at one another a few times."

From there...

"The smile, easygoing nature, skewed sense of humor, but most of all, that incredible phenomena called chemistry... After the second lunch date, I was smitten," Dunn admitted. "When Sandy was near, my heart did the girly triple time pitter pat."

"We often felt foolish when we would realize we were actually just staring at each other-I mean, we're adults, here. It was crazy. Our mutual love of music, food, beach, parties and anything that involves a parade are great, but it is the chemistry that drew us close and held us as we found out all the things we love to do together."

Mitchell agreed.

"At that first lunch, attraction was an understatement for how I felt," he divulged. "She made me grin like a teenager."

"We had some serious chemistry going, and we found we couldn't resist each other. Having a lot in common, and that sort of chemistry is a potent combination."

And there's even a bit more to it, according to Dunn.

"What I've learned to love is his patience and deliberate nature regarding life's troubles," she said. "Sandy has shown me that problems are best solved when cooler heads prevail and you can't fix everything right this minute, and that it's often better to just sleep on it-things generally look better in the morning."

And she has shown him her own aspects of being a better person.

"What I've learned to love about Lisa is she's a lot of trouble, but she's worth it," he laughed. "She lives at a faster pace in her brain than most of us and sometimes it's hard to keep up."

"Maybe most importantly, Lisa has shown me how to take the high road. When people do bad things to you, most of us want revenge. Not Lisa. She frequently says, ‘The air on the high road is thin, but the view is perfect.' I've learned to love the high road."

So, now what?

"We've been married a year and a half-the best thing we have found to keep it fresh is to spoil each other," Mitchell said with a grin.

Dunn chimed in, "Highly recommended....spoil each other rotten."

"She writes suggestive love notes and leaves them for me to find ...under my pillow, on my desk at home...always makes me smile and feel good," Mitchell shrugged. "Lisa loves to cook and will go to great lengths to learn how to make something that I love; what guy doesn't feel loved with a mouth of his favorite food?"

"Last year for my birthday, total surprise, she somehow got the car packed with beach and snorkel gear, all our clothes crammed in, food, booze and all the essentials, picked me up in Fairhope and started driving north. I was puzzled. I thought we were doing a Gulf Shores weekend. When Lisa turned onto I-10 heading east, I looked at all the stuff in the back seat and said, ‘so, I guess this stuff is not what we are taking to the thrift store?"

"She said, ‘that is correct.'"

"I then said, ‘can I ask where we are going?'"

"Lisa said, ‘you'll find out when we get there.'"

"And she actually didn't tell me until we got to a friend's condo in Seagrove Florida where we had a great, five-day celebration."

But she's not the only one with tricks up her sleeve.

"Sandy brings home flowers for absolutely no reason except that he knows I love flowers," she said with a smile. "I never have to put gas in my car because he already filled it up."

"Sandy never lets me run out of club soda in cans (a 5 p.m. necessity). He frequently stands behind me in the kitchen with his arms around me while I prep the food, saying he is being supportive. Sandy always makes sure I have local honey because I love it..."

"For our first anniversary last summer, he gave me a diamond eternity band for my toe. Yes, a diamond toe ring that matches my wedding band. That's some real fresh love, and such a practical gift."

"The funny part is, when we met, we were both suffering from life's disappointments. We were both adamant that we would never marry again. We were not looking for this, and we really believed marriage was not for us. That fateful Halloween when we met was in 2000. I was single parenting two young boys; Sandy's son had died suddenly in June of that year. That made for two badly damaged people."

"But a 10-year romance led us to know that getting married was truly the right step for us. We wanted to make that real commitment. We had never lived together in all those years, so being married and living in the same house took some getting used to. We wouldn't trade it now for anything. We now consider ourselves the poster children for marriage!"

"One of our favorite things to tell each other when life is kicking us around is love will find a way. It always has, and always will."

~Seasoned...a little more than salt and pepper~

Larry and Jeanette Greiwe, Snowbirds from Lake Ozark, Missouri, married Sept. 2, 1961.

They recalled that their first date was a trip in Larry's 1957 Chevy to the stock-car races on a Saturday night, St Charles Missouri Speedway.

Both agreed that an immediate connection was formed.

According to Jeanette, "He was a real gentleman, very polite and correct. He knew how to treat a woman."

Larry offered an honest reply.

"I loved her brown eyes and, wow, what a body!"

And they hit it off from there. After more than 50 years of marriage, they withstand the odds.

"Yes, we do believe that love can last a lifetime if you really care for someone, because you feel their pain and share their good times together, as well as the rough time," Jeanette said. "We are best friends."

She offered some advice on how they've kept their love new for so many years.

"It's trying not to get in a rut, exploring new things, lots of laughter, also laughing at your mistakes and going on," she divulged. "We went on a cruise and was on the Not So Newly-wed Game...Larry came out with yellow, happy face boxer shorts on and had to give me a lap dance."

Larry agreed that laughter keeps them close and happy.

"We was on another cruise, and we won a bottle of champagne," he began. "I wanted to drink it that night with dinner, she wanted to bring it home."

"She packed it in the suitcase with the clothes. When she was unpacking, it fell on the floor and broke. Her response was, ‘I always wanted a champagne blouse.'"