Bachelor Recap Week 4 and a Valentine’s Day Gift Guide for Her!

What is the one thing you look forward to every February? For me… it’s Valentine’s Day!  I love anything that has to do with love and romance which is why I’m pairing 2 of my favorite things together in this post… my Valentine’s Day Gift Guide and The Bachelor recap all in one. :) No matter what your opinion is of The Bachelor this season, the search for love keeps me going. ;)

While running around with Emma this week I couldn’t help but notice all the Valentine’s Day gifts filling the stores. Jeff and I always exchange Valentine’s gifts. It’s a fun way to celebrate our love for one another as well as our sense of humor. We almost always gift something sweet/cute to one another and something funny as well. (boxers with hearts, etc.) Once Emma was born we expanded our tradition to include her too… (why should Mom and Dad have all the fun?) Emma loves heart PJ’s and cozy things. I on the other hand… love everything! :)

Do you buy gifts for Valentine’s Day? What kinds of things do you look for? Let me know in the comment section below! I’m always looking for new ideas… Below I’ve pulled together some of my favorites. There are three different price ranges to reach every budget.

 

Under $100 Links 

|1. Heart Bag Charm | 2. Rosé all Day Joggers | 3. Moonlight Drop Earrings | 4. Blush Candle (Under $30!) | 5. Short PJs & Eye Mask Set (Comes in 3 colors!) | 6. Triple Ruffle Sweater | 7. Heart Stud Earrings | 8. Heart of Gold Bangle | 9. Quilted Heart Crossbody Bag (Comes in red too!) | 10. Hearts Head Wrap | 11. UGG Slippers | 12. Heart Accent Pillow |

Under $200 Links

| 13. Blush FitBit | 14. Free People Blush Cardigan (Comes in 3 colors) | 15. Fossil Heart Watch | 16. ‘Love Relentlessly’ Tory Burch Perfume (Love this scent!) | 17. Blush Wedge Sandal | 18. Tory Burch Double Wrap Bracelet | 19. Mini Sweetheart Stud Earrings (Comes in 3 different metals!)

Luxe Links

|20. Burberry Heart Scarf | 21. Kate Spade Ombré Heart Tote | 22. Nura Mini Heart Diamond Bracelet | 23. Chloé Halo Frame Sunglasses |

 

The Bachelor Week 4 Recap 

 

Are you still watching the bachelor? I have to admit that this season has been a little frustrating. I love so many of the girls but it seems like a certain few keep getting a major amount of air time. Surprising? Not really…

In case you missed any of my previous recaps –

Episode 1 & 2 click here
Episode 3 click here

I would love to know your opinions on this week’s episode so please make sure to leave me all the details in the comments below.

Ok… let’s dive in.

The minute the show begins this week, we see Bekah M. swimming alone in a pool and a few of the girls discussing why she is too young for Arie. Bekah is the 22 year old with the short pixie haircut. Honestly? I like her.  She seems cute & very cool, but… she is 22 years old. Is she ready for marriage?  Who knows.. what I can say is, my daughter Emma is 22 and while I think she is very mature, and she has been dating someone for 4 years, I don’t think she’s quite ready for marriage. Especially to a 36 year old. ;)

Mind you, I can’t really say a whole lot on the entire issue because Jeff and I did get married when I was 23 (I was actually 1 month shy of 24) and he was 26. But… I was marrying Jeff! ;) He was born 40 and he had enough maturity for the both of us. Lol.

If that’s not enough, My parents are also 14 years apart (Like Arie & Bekah) but.. my mom was 26 when they got married.  I personally think there is a huge difference between 22 and 26. Ok… Moving on.

Lake Tahoe

The girls are told by Chris Harrison that they are leaving LA and beginning a world tour… beginning with Lake Tahoe.  (This had me laugh…) While it’s not exactly Tahiti at least they’re out of LA. The house the girls are staying in reminds me of a cute Swiss Chalet. Unfortunately the interior doesn’t match the exterior. It’s dark, a bit dated and full of taxidermy. I could barely get my head around all the animal heads and skins hanging. Definitely not for the vegans at heart. Kendall.. the girl who is actually into taxidermy as a hobby..was thrilled! (How do they find a girl in her twenties into taxidermy??)  I couldn’t write a better script. No comment.

First Date 

Seinne, our brilliant Yale grad gets the first one on one date. She is so together and sweet I’m not quite sure Arie will be able to keep up… She is immediately reminded she isn’t at Yale any longer when Arie pulls up in a huge red monster truck. They head to the lake, then go parasailing. While they are flying high above the lake, all the other girls back at the house, as if on cue,  step outside the chalet to ‘enjoy the view’ with binoculars. They somehow catch the two flying by. Shocker.. Hmm

Just to keep things exciting the producers take this moment to cut to Krystal who keeps talking about how happy she is when other girls go on dates, because they go home. I keep trying to give Krystal the benefit of the doubt, but she (along with her sex kitten voice) talk so poorly of others, I’m over her.

After parasailing, Arie and Seinne have a deep discussion.  She asks Arie a billion questions about his life, and I have to say, she seems so sweet and interested in what he has to say. She’s definitely a deep thinker & looked in his eyes the entire time. The two seemed to really get along.

One thing that always strikes me as funny is – Arie is always eating on every single one of the dates. I listened to a podcast recently where Jillian Harris & Kaitlyn Bristow (Kaitlyn’s Podcast with Jillian is soooo good! Click here to listen) talk about their experiences as the Bachelorette in prior seasons. Jillian said that they had to eat their dinner on their dates, or they’d go hungry.. so they were always crunching while the show was filming. Kaitlyn said that they were fed before the dates, so they didn’t have to eat during the dates, even though there was always food in front of them. So funny! Arie having been a part of the “old school” bachelor crowd apparently didn’t get the memo on not eating during the date. Does he not eat beforehand? Is he bored or does he just like to listen while he grazes?  I can’t figure it out. The girls never seem to be eating so….

Later that evening Seinne and Arie head to the Hard Rock Hotel for the nighttime portion of the date. Yes, you heard me right. While I love Tahoe with it’s amazing amount of outdoor activities, the casinos are the main attraction at night. Seinne looks incredible. Loved her pink dress. Arie on the other hand looks just like Jeff (my hubby) on a day off. (not a night out) I just can’t see the two together.

via Tahoe Onstage

The two begin talking and Arie asks Seinne about her life.. Turns out she had a difficult upbringing. Her parents broke up and she is searching for a love she never had. I really like her… so sweet! (she deserves better!) They ended their night with the typical Bachelor ‘Surprise Concert’ dancing in the middle of a huge group of strangers.  Of course – she gets a rose. #TeamSeinne

Group Date

 

The following day all the girls, except for Seinne and Bekah M. (Pixie cut) head out on their group date. It’s a survival in the wilderness kind of theme and I hated the entire thing. This date was gross from beginning to the end. The hike was nice at first but then the girls and Arie meet up with a retired Green Beret soldier. (Thank you for your service!! <3)

They learn ‘survival skills’ like how to pee in bottles and drink their urine in case they are ever lost in the wilderness. (Really?!) In fact the show has them actually urinate in their bottles. I couldn’t believe this… Arie pretends to drink from his bottle when one of the girls says she wants to give it a go! Arie stops her and says that his was just apple juice… Lol. What was she thinking? She’s really going to go there for Arie?! If that’s not bad enough they then moved onto eating worms & maggots. This date had me missing the real Survivor… and a burger and fries.

After the lunch portion, Kendall and Arie share a buggy kiss.. Ewwww. But – I do like her. She seems sweet yet a little quirky, but… I’m not taking Maggie over to her house anytime soon. (She’s the taxidermy lover remember… lol).

The girls are then given backpacks + maps and split up into 3 groups.  Arie was put into 1 group while the other 2 groups were left to fend for themselves… Everyone eventually (some got lost) makes their way to the beautiful hot tub where Arie puts his arm around Krystal.. right in front of everyone. Awkward!  Isn’t he dating everyone at this point? Caroline and Tia make fun by imitating them. Krystal was furious.

During the nighttime cocktail portion of the date, Krystal steals Arie away and tells him she is upset that the girls made fun of them while they were in the hot tub. She then confronts the two girls (Caroline and Tia) but they weren’t having any of it. They said it was a joke.

3rd date – One on One…

 

via US Magazine

Not much happens on this horseback riding / hot tubbing / dinner date except that Bekah is finally given her moment to tell Arie her age. His response? Concerned… He seemed visibly surprised (I have to say I was surprised at his reaction… I think Arie may need glasses. Bekah, as adorable as she is does look like a High School freshman)

He expressed that he was worried that when all was said and done she would grow tired of someone that much older than herself. He went on to say he is looking for a life long partner. She told him she understood but she really cared for him and wanted to see if there was more. Just when I thought he was going to give her the boot… he handed her the rose saying that he wanted to see how things would progress. I give up!

Arie’s reaction to finding out that Bekah is 22

Cocktail Party ~

No cocktail party!!  Just before Arie hands out the roses Krystal steals him away to talk to him yet again… I swear she loves the sound of her own breathy voice. In the end, Caroline and Brittany T. go home and I was stunned. The final rose was given to Krystal. Of course this had to be planned (why she was the last chosen) but the whole thing was crazy. How could Arie not see through Krystal’s web? Can’t wait until next week to see where this goes…

Summation ~

All in all this episode wasn’t as bad as last week’s episode. The girls weren’t pitted against one another like they were when they were forced to box and the one on one dates actually had deep discussions.

The part I loved the most about this episode???  At the very end of the show, Marikah accuses Chelsea of glam-shaming her because she looked at her compass to check out her hair when they were out in the woods with Arie…
Chelsea’s response to the producers?

“I am a former model. That was part of my career to get glammed up. For the record, I am always pro glam.” LOL

That is comedy gold!! Thank goodness for wine and my girlfriends… I don’t think I could take this season without both!!

Stay tuned for more next week!

 

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