Enjoy the latest installment of “Lady Love Letters.”

Dating your ex is fun! But it can be tricky terrain to navigate. Luckily, you have Erin Darling – a bona fide expert in dating people she’s already dated, she’s got all the handy hints you need to know before firing up an old flame.

What’s the fun of dating a dick if you can’t do it all over again? Find out this week on BADvice with special guest Justin Martindale!

On this episode of BADvice featuring special guest Mark Ellis from Schmoes Know, we’ll show you tips and tricks you’ll need to get a boyfriend, and how to keep him forever and ever.

Don’t let the time crunch get you down! Valentine’s Day is a great time to make a point to do something special for the entire spectrum of ‘special someones’ in your life.

This year, why not do something nice on V-day not just for your Valentine – but for any one you care for in general. Show love to your brother, sister, mom, pop, niece, nephew, best friend, gal-pals and yes, even your  funny little Valentine. That’s what today is all about, right? Letting people in your life know that you love and care for them (…and eating chocolate too).

Despite waiting until the final hour, fear not, sometimes the best gifts are the simple and spontaneous kind.

Whether you’re single or have already been hit by cupid’s arrow – here’s a list of great last minute gifts for anyone on your list.

Cupcakes

How perfect are they for V-day? Put the box of chocolates aside and try something new this year – yummy, decadent cupcakes. Quick – run into the nearest bakery (or cupcakery) and pick up a dozen for your sweetie or go deliver a few to your best gal-pals. These little sugary monsters are always a hit!

Homemade cards

Make something! The time and effort that you spend on that says more then going out and picking up some mass produced card at Hallmark. Plus, if you make something, you won’t feel like you’re contributing to the commercialization of Valentine’s Day. Huzzah! Stick it to the man.

Gift cards

This is the perfect quick idea for anyone in your family. I do Starbucks gift cards every year for my older nephews, cause they’re kinda over the whole teddy bear saying, “I love you beary much” thing. I love coffee, they love coffee and it’s a common love that we all share, which makes it a cute V-day present, while still being considered cool (I hope!)

Flowers & Balloons

It might seem cliche, but one balloon and one red rose can mean a lot to your special Valentine. Remember: simple is special (especially wen you’re down to the wire and empty-handed). It doesn’t have to be anything gaudy and elaborate – although it totally could.

Go somewhere!

Where? Anywhere! That’s up to you, pal. Destination unknown maybe? That will showcase the sense of adventure and spontaneity that you rock, while making up for the fact that you don’t really have a plan of attack.

One final tip: Do make the effort to do loving things all throughout the year and not just on February 14th.

Now get out there and spread the love!

While it appears there is an influx of unions in Hollywood, there’s always a flip side to that fairy tale story. In Hollywood, where there’s a wedding, there’s a divorce lurking not too far behind.

Still, there’s a fair share of celeb’s who are keeping wedded bliss at bay – opting to be fully committed to one another – even starting families together – without tying the knot. Here’s the Top 5 Happily UnMarried Hollywood Couples.

#5 Matthew McConaughey & Camila Alves

Together: 3 years

Additions: 2 children, Levi and Vida.

“Being married is not something that’s even in our minds. What’s important to me is to have a home that is peaceful and healthy,” Alves says.

#4 Leiv Schreiber & Naomi Watts

Together: 5 years

Additions: 2 children, Sasha and Sam.

“Maybe one day we’ll just wake up and go, ‘Hey, let’s do this.’ And maybe not. He and I have a family. We’re very much together. We just don’t have that certificate, and that’s okay with both of us,” Watts says.

#3 Johnny Depp & Vanessa Paradis

Together: 12 years

Additons: 2 children, Lilly-Rose and Jack.

“He’s got me, and he knows he’s got me,” Paradis says.

#2 Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie

Together: 5 years

Additions: 6 children, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Viv

“We’ll marry when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able,” Pitt says.

#1 Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell

Together: 27 years

Additions: 1 child Wyatt (plus Goldie’s kids Kate & Oliver, who both refer to Kurt as, “Dad”).

“I wake up every day knowing I can walk out at any moment. It keeps things fresh,” Hawn says.

I’m all about the indie flicks and those shoo-in Oscar faves, but I admit: I am a girl, and I love them romantic comedies, or what guys would call, chick flicks.  Who doesn’t want to escape for two hours and think of nothing but friends, shopping, embarrassing moments and that really hot guy up on the big screen?  So in the vein of past rom coms, and with the promise of the overflowing, recognizable and generally trust-worthy cast, I was actually quite excited about “He’s Just Not That Into You.”

“He’s Just Not That Into You,” as most of us know by now, was spawned from the book by Greg Behrendt, which was spawned by a moment in the television series “Sex and the City,” which was spawned by oh so many true moments in every wannabe lover’s life.  The gist of the line – girls just don’t get it.  The female sex is consistently, undoubtedly and frustratingly lost in their hopeless fantasies of love that they fail to see the truth of rejection.  They’d rather wish and hope for some ridiculous love than see the jerk for what he is right away.

It’s stereotypical, it’s true.  There are many female friends of mine whom I saw in the tragic, romantically hopeless central character of Gigi, played on par by Big Love’s Ginnifer Goodwin.  And then there were those well-known commitment-phobe guys, like Ben Affleck’s Neil, who won’t get married to Jennifer Aniston’s Beth, while his friend Ben (played by the über-tanned Bradley Cooper) whines on and on about his “trap” of a marriage.

So while there are many parts in this film that are relatable, there’s also just something not true about it all, too.  The easiest fault to point out: the stars.  You can’t blame (or help to applaud) the casting directors for being able to reel in such good stars to drive this movie, but I couldn’t help but be distracted that the friendship of Drew Barrymore and Scarlett Johansson doesn’t make sense, and that Aniston should really think more about this wanting-to-get-married thing.

But the problem goes far beyond the stars.  As much as the film tries to play off a sense of reality, it does so from a stereotypical and predictable perspective.  The characters are completely one-dimensional, based on only one stereotypical trait with no room to evolve, no chance to seem like a real person.  This is why you can’t get past the fact that Aniston is Aniston – because there’s no complexity to this character she’s trying to play to make us think otherwise.

What’s even worse is how hard these stereotypes are pushed – especially in reference to the female characters.  Sure, the guys are jerks, but the girls – the girls are just plain stupid.  I was personally offended that these female actresses were willing to portray their characters in such a demeaning way.  It’s a comedy about love, and making mistakes about love; but this doesn’t mean that the characters have to be so trite, so stupid.  What ever happened to girl power?

The advice of “he’s just not that into you” is catchy, straightforward and sometimes just so true, and therefore provided a lot of potential for a great movie about contemporary dating and relationships.  And if you want to see all the clichéd reasons for why women and men have so many problems, you can see this movie.  But you’re probably better off just going out somewhere else to see what social life really is like.

If not already indicated by the results of our monthly THE POP FIX poll, everyone has their own way of celebrating Valentine’s Day. Some go the traditional route of  tender cuddling and teddy bears, while others reach for the Tanqueray. Some revel in the romance while others regurgitate at the sight of cards, flowers and balloons decorated with really bad “roses are red, violets are blue” poetry.

Either way, we wanted to find out how Angelenos really plan on spending their V-Day and what they need to ensure that their holiday is worthy of a journal entry. This is what some very candid LA-residents told us, and you might be surprised…

“For the last few years my V-Day essential has been a single girlfriend to go out to a fancy dinner with! Who needs a boyfriend?” -Sarah, 24.

“Massage oil, candles, and a little Barry White.”- Joshua, 21.

“Lingerie.”- John, 23.

“A whole bottle of tequila, maybe a lime too. My girlfriend dumped me last week.”- Robert, 24.

“A five-inch syringe filled with crushed E, heroine, and gin will put ANY girl in the mood.”- Anonymous Creeper, age unknown.

“Flowers and champagne are my essentials for Valentine’s Day.”- Rachel, 21.

“Dinner and a classic CD, like Al Green or something along those lines can go a long way.”- Janet, 22.

As you can see from the responses, apparently Valentine’s Day accessories range from illegal drugs to Al Green. Thanks for your entertaining answers…we at THE POP FIX encourage you all to have a safe and happy Valentine’s Day.

Watch out, Paris! Los Angeles is for Lovers!

I’ve heard it said that Paris is the city of love.

And while it may be true in a classical sense, in my opinion, Los Angeles is the new Paris. But thanks to recent pop culture phenomena (particularly one created by Darren Starr, starring Sarah Jessica Parker) many Americans have been trying to make New York City the go-to destination for lovers and for those who are hoping to find one. But starry-eyed, naïve girls should no longer flock to N.Y.C. to find a man. We’ve seen the Sex and the City movie…we all know how that ends: 40 and jilted. After that “big” incident, our favorite foursome of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda escaped to Mexico in an effort of evading the nightmare of being ditched at the altar in a floor-length Vivienne Westwood. Maybe it was the sun, maybe it was the gorgeous resort overlooking the ocean, or maybe it was the tequila…irregardless of what it was, something about Mexico put the ladies in a much better mood when they left than when they arrived.

There’s nothing like a vacation to improve a bad mood, but believe it or not, I’ve seen Los Angeles have a similar effect. Why? Simply because L.A. is not only home to some of the world’s best weather and beautiful scenery, Angelenos also lay claim to some of the world’s best looking people and most dynamic nightlife. If you’re a girl, 22, single and not seriously considering a relocation after reading that sentence, I’m genuinely surprised.

Sure, all L.A. residents have to put up with the ridiculous in order to call this city home, namely unexplainable traffic, paparazzi photographers, and running into the unavoidable Heidi and Spencer at every third-rate red carpet event. But even those terrible things beat the hell out of humid summers, shoveling snow in a 15 degree winter, and just try keeping up with Carrie’s shoe collection when a month’s rent for your Manhattan studio apartment could feed the entire country of Uganda.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate New York, I simply refuse to romanticize it any longer. Especially when Angelenos already know that L.A. is for lovers.

Got a love question? Comment? Relationship rants and raves? They’re all appreciated here. And if I can’t answer your question, believe me, I’ll find someone who can. Submit all possible ideas, or questions to THEPOPFIX@gmail.com, and tell me what you’d like to see next on L.A. is for Lovers.