For two
A little bistro at home, a relaxed breakfast or something new to put in the diary together.
Plan dinner for two · Start with breakfast · Read about our small traditions
A Valentine’s Edit
The Little Things
A little something for the two of you, an afternoon with a friend or a lovely few hours of your own. This is our February corner of Essy’s: a small imagined street in Hollowpine, a tray you can fill with a plan, a complete story and a few words worth writing down.
Start at a window below, or go straight to The Little Valentine Tray, the story or the Little Notes Post Office. Every part of this edition is free.
A February Afternoon in Hollowpine
The snow has drawn back from the doorsteps. Someone has put a little bunch of flowers beside the café window, and there are envelopes in the post-office display. Choose a window and come a little closer.
A little scene from our imagined winter town.
AI-created scene from the fictional town of Hollowpine.
1. Café Vesper
Something warm, something lovely
A sunlit patch has reached the corner table. Anja moves a cup into it, then remembers that cups are rarely the ones complaining about the cold. There is a croissant left beneath the glass cover. The chair beside the window is free.
Choose a drink, a little something to eat and what you would like to do. We’ll help you make a small plan.
2. Lena’s Books
Something between the pages
Beyond the passage, Lena is sorting a small stack of secondhand novels. One has a green cloth cover and the agreeable appearance of a book in which somebody will eventually have lunch. There is something folded inside it. For the moment, it stays where it is.
Clara came to Hollowpine for a few quiet days. The letter she finds has other ideas. Take a seat for a complete story with a gentle mystery and a little February romance.
3. The Little Post Office
A few words, thoughtfully delivered
Three envelopes sit in the window: one for someone you love, one for a lovely friend, and one with your own name still waiting to be written. The paper is cream. The ribbon is burgundy. Nobody has stipulated that the message must be impressive.
Borrow a starting line, add your own words and make a printable note. Or take the free cards and write by hand.
A note from Esther
Bas and I always say we don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. Every year, we still do something small for each other. He surprises me with flowers and chocolate. We give each other outings too: a concert, a museum, the theatre. I have given him a lunch date, and I especially enjoy finding somewhere neither of us has been.
At home, I often make his favourite: homemade chips with Belgian beef stew. I genuinely enjoy making it. With Valentine’s on a Sunday in 2027, I already have a fairly good idea of what will be on the stove.
There might also be a table full of little snacks and a film. A proper action film is perfectly acceptable. We’re the ones watching it, after all.
That is the feeling behind this little edition: something personal to look forward to, in whatever form you enjoy.
Esther
The Little Valentine Tray
A coffee and a croissant for one? Hot chocolate and cake for two? Something savoury beside a film?
Choose your company, drink, treat and activity. Watch the illustrated tray fill up, then make your little plan: what to set out, what to check on the shopping list and a few easy steps to get ready. Download or print it when you are happy with it.
Choose your Valentine
With a friend
Good coffee, something savoury and enough time to finish the conversation. A small Galentine’s for the two of you.
Just for you
Something lovely for dinner, a comfortable chair and a whole story waiting to be read.
The Things We Remember
A few little things from our own Valentine’s — the one Bas and I always say we don’t celebrate.
The familiar surprise
Bas surprises me with flowers and chocolate. We say we don’t celebrate Valentine’s, then find ourselves doing something small for each other every year. A surprisingly consistent arrangement.
Find a thoughtful little gift
Somewhere we haven’t been
A concert, a museum, the theatre. What I enjoy most is finding something we haven’t done before, or a place neither of us has visited. Then the gift becomes a day we get to look forward to.
Look for a little escapeA lunch date is a very good present
I have given Bas a lunch date too. Choosing somewhere new is part of the fun: a place to discover together, with a table and a whole lunch ahead of us.
Make a little invitation
Something lovely on the stove
On the day itself, I often make Bas’s favourite: homemade chips and Belgian beef stew. I really enjoy making it. With Valentine’s on a Sunday in 2027, I already know what I’ll be cooking.
Read about our Sunday Valentine
The film can absolutely be an action film
An afternoon with little snacks all over the table and a film on. It doesn’t have to be romantic; a proper action film can be just as good. We’re the ones watching it, after all.
Build your own film momentA story for an evening of your own
The Table by the Window
Clara arrives in Hollowpine with three books and a firm intention to answer absolutely nothing. Then a folded letter slips from a secondhand novel. A café table, an invitation, a small blue bird in a windowsill: someone once meant to ask a question, and Clara would very much like to know what happened next.
A complete, standalone story with a little mystery, dry humour and the first warm light of February.
Six chapters · About 40 minutes · Free to read
From the February shelf
- The Sunday Valentine: a bakery breakfast, a little fresh air and a relaxed plan for Valentine’s Sunday, 14 February 2027.
- The Little Bistro at Home: a menu for two, one shopping list and a relaxed order of events.
- Galentine’s for Two: an easy afternoon with one good friend.
- A Valentine’s Evening to Yourself: dinner, something warm and a little time that belongs to you.
- The “I Noticed” Gift Edit: small gifts chosen from what you know about someone.
The Little Notes Post Office
For someone you love. For a lovely friend. A little note to yourself.
Choose an envelope, borrow a starting line and write something only you could say. Make a printable note, or download the free cards and write by hand.
Stay a little longer
The café windows are still glowing in Hollowpine. There are winter stories, warm rooms and quiet rituals waiting beyond this little February edition.