Valentine Day

Want to spend Valentine's Day with Rihanna , Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga ? They're all at Madame Tussauds Hollywood (sort of) along with Elvis Presley and the late Whitney Houston . Couples who buy a $40 package to tour the wax museum on Thursday also will receive a souvenir of their entwined hands in wax - for free. The deal: The "couple's handhold," as Madame Tussauds explains it, is just what it sounds like: You and your Valentine (or anyone) clutch hands and dip them in wax a few times.

Quietly giddy, Sarah Thornblade sat on the couch of a Pasadena home nervously anticipating the encounter. She'd been waiting for this moment for weeks; when it finally came she wasted no time. Thornblade stood, unzipped a soft, green case and extended both hands, carefully lifting her much awaited blind date: an $8-million Stradivarius violin. The connection last week was a test run for a more intimate rendezvous coming Thursday. Thornblade, second violin for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, will play the coveted instrument during the orchestra's all-Bach Valentine's Day concert.

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. - The piano was delivered to its bluff-top perch under cover of fog nearly two weeks ago. It is scheduled to leave this coastal enclave in a burst of flames on Sunday. In between the fog and the fire, musician and sculptor Mauro Ffortissimo has been treating his neighbors to an illicit outdoor concert series grandly dubbed Sunset Piano. Chopin, Debussy, a tango or two. The performances are timed to end the moment the sun sinks below the horizon. He plays to cyclists and dog walkers, babies in strollers, his landlady in a folding chair, the charmed, the perplexed.

Nothing says "I love you" like divorce papers. So a Michigan lawyer has decided to celebrate Valentine's Day by giving away a free divorce. Walter H. Bentley III says he got the idea after a student at a night-school class he teaches invited him to a party to celebrate her divorce. He told ABC News that this led to a revelation: "Why not do something special for Valentine's Day? You can't find a new love before you close the chapter on the old. " According to Bentley's website , the winner of the free divorce has to come up with "the most compelling and convincing story" attesting to why he or she deserves a free ride to relationship freedom.

It seems like every restaurant in Los Angeles is offering a special menu this Valentine's Day, and they usually include champagne, wine, or a special cocktail menu selected to maximize the romance of the meal. But why settle for wine or booze on St. Valentine's Day when you really want to share a special brew with your lover? Here are a few options for craft-beer-centered celebrations around town -- and a few bottle suggestions if you'd rather spend the evening in the comfort of your home.

Right up there with forgetting an anniversary, arriving empty-handed on Valentine's Day is the biggest no-no in the book. No one wants to be a last-minute Lothario, gunning it on Feb. 13 for the nearest box of chocolates. But here's a head start on the shopping game if you've got a food lover for a significant other. A special dinner at your neighborhood joint or that spot you've been dying to try will always impress (here's our Valentine's Day dining guide ), but why not step it up with saucy kitchen necessities like a set of crimson cups?

Perhaps you're thinking about sweets and Thursday's big event -- Valentine's Day. Well, it's possible to find romance even in the gloomy Pacific Northwest, especially when chocolate frosting is involved. Portland, Ore., has a reputation as a growing gastropolis, with foodies from around the country converging on newly opened gastropubs, communal-table style restaurants -- and bakeries . During a recent visit, it seemed as though a visitor could purchase pastries on every other corner.

Beyond the sappy cards and seemingly endless rows of heart-shaped chocolate boxes, there are, indeed, some stylish ways to celebrate the woman in your life this Valentine's Day. Win points in the romance department by moving beyond grocery store floral bouquets to heartfelt gifts that match her personality. For the trendsetter The girl who is passionate about fashion and fuschia is sure to love this haute pink frock. Local designer Jenni Kayne's silk tunic dress picks up on the 1960s vibe that is all the rage for spring-summer.

Jonathan Grahm, the owner of Compartés Chocolatier in Brentwood, is just back from a whirlwind pre-Valentine's Day tour of Japan, where 100 Compartés pop-up shops opened for the holiday in Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, Hiroshima, Nagoya and Kobe. Grahm's face has been plastered on billboards, little old ladies in kimonos vied for his autograph, designers wanted his chocolates to coordinate with their products (underwear, for example) and fans showered him with gifts (such as a Mickey Mouse action figure)