STEPH DEROSA: I HEART CUPCAKES >>>

Cards, candy, flowers, a fancy dinner, get your date nice and drunk, you know-the usual Valentine's day ritual.  After the drunkenness, or before the cards and candy, I have devised another option for you to swoon your date and possibly get them under your spell just a little bit faster:  the cupcake.

It's simple, and it's original.  There's nothing to it.  Look, I'll even tell you where to go and how many pennies you need to dig out of the water fountain in order to buy one.

hello, cupcake
Reina Miller is baking up some tasty Valentine themed cupcakes at hello, cupcake, such as a chocolate-raspberry cupcake topped with raspberry cream cheese frosting, and decorated with a cute heart.  Awwwww!  So cute!  All for just 195 pennies.  If you'd like to team it up with one of their way-cute gift boxes, make that 295 pennies.  These are available at its downtown Tacoma location through Feb. 16.

Indulge Cupcakes
Jen Quaschinik mixes up the perfect cupcake at Indulge Cupcakes.  All cupcake flavors with all icing flavors will have some sort of Valentine decorated alternative.  Flavors include, but are not limited to: chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, carrot cake, and its friendly cousin the chocolate-carrot cake.  These are available through Feb. 14, but if you call ahead she'll whip some just for you.  All cupcakes come in a Valentine decorated box for a total of 250 pennies.