HAPPY LEAP DAY!!! 

Watch how 2 hope-ful spin-sters spent their Leap Day!

Enjoy and pass along!  After all, Leap Day only happens once every four years. :)

Heather & Dellany

With the Oscars just around the corner, 

   2 Hopeful Spinsters

 thought it only fitting that we share with you OUR favorite Red Carpet Hopeful Spinsters...ENJOY!!!

Heather's Hopeful Spinster Oscar goes to.....    

Viola Davis as AIBILEEN CLARK.  Aibileen is a 53 year old single maid who has raised 17 white babies and lost her own son tragically when he was only 24.  By all accounts, she is a spinster who faces struggles and adversities every day that we can't even begin to imagine.  But despite all that she fears and all that she's been through, she recognizes her value, her worth...so much so that she takes extraordinary risks to make her story public.  

"You is kind.  You is smart.  You is important."  Aibileen repeats that one phrase to her "special baby," Mae Mobley.  Mae Mobley is plump, has a bald spot, and even Aibileen admits, "she ain't cute".  But "cute" isn't one of Abilieen's values. Kindness, intelligence, fairness – these are what matter to Aibileen.  She teaches Mae Mobley the most important lesson we can EVER be taught:  SELF-LOVE.  Aibileen decides to try an experiment with her:  "what would happen if I told her something good every day?"  From that point on, she continually repeats "You is kind.  You is smart.  You is important" to Mae Mobley.  But not only does she repeat it to her, she makes her repeat it back to her.   Words ARE powerful...but we tend to believe the negative words so much more than the positive.  Why is that???  Let's turn that ship around and get those affirmations going. :)  Why the heck not?

In a society where SO much emphasis is placed on the perfect partner, the perfect size, the perfect hair, the perfect skin, the perfect outfit, etc..., it's refreshing to see a character like Aibileen.  She makes me step back and look at the big picture.  My worth and value are not defined by the relationships I have or don't have.  My worth is defined by who I am...on the inside.  How great is that?  

Thanks, Aibee...I needed that.

Dellany's thoughts on the matter...

Why Melissa McCarthy played one of my most favorite spinster characters this Oscar season:  First of all, I want to say Oscar (which is a man's name interestingly enough) needs to show more women some love- especially SPINSTER women.. I took a good, hard long look at the actresses nominated and out of the films ( that I did see) most of the nominated actresses played either married,engaged, under the Spinster age of 27 or HOPELESSly committed gals of all ages to their beaus..(pronunciation of beau- also sounds like the man name BO, hmmm).

That being said, Melissa McCarthy's MEGAN stood out immensely. MEGAN was loud, over the top, crude, plain in looks, heck by Hollywood's standard not desirable in any way shape or form.  But look a little deeper- what did she have that a lot of women struggle with and can't seem to obtain? Confidence. MEGAN believed in herself. Who cares that she is surrounded by size 0-4's who dress better, look prettier and come across more socially inclined. She carried herself as if she had the looks of Angelina Jolie, brains of Hillary Clinton and wit of a crass Steve Martin. She lived her life as if nobody was watching, and even if they were, SHE DIDN"T CARE.  She got food poisoning in a hoity toity wedding boutique shop- did she hold it in to cause herself more pain? No. She was the most honest about her "ailment" and found a quick solution. When MEGAN was on the plane to Vegas she flirted shamelessly with the undercover air marshall next to her- who really thought he was going to go for her? She didn't question it - not one bit. Finally, as Kristen Wiig's character was at the lowest of lows, feeling sorry for herself it was MEGAN who led her to see the light. She made you think in that scene no matter what you are going thru any woman could do anything, especially if you are a spinster!

My HOPEFUL SPINSTER award goes to... Melissa McCarthy as MEGAN. Thank you for showing me at the end of the day it's not good looks, style or  a need to settle for a man to make one feel "complete". A positive attitude, big heart, confidence and a vehicle full of puppies will suffice :)

Hello!!!

We wanted to share some great articles that were sent to us.  They offer two unique perspectives on the single life.

The 1st discusses America's obsession with single people:

Singled Out

Why are Americans still so obsessed with single people—and so scared by them?

By Katie Roiph  

Check it out HERE

The 2nd offers an interesting method of attracting your soul mate:

Shiva: Matchmaker God

A time-honored Hindu practice yields powerful romantic results

BY: Lavina Melwani   

 HERE you go...

And DON'T forget to enter our contest!!!  Only 1 week left to submit those tales to 2hopefulspinsters@gmail.com!  We've already had some UNBELIEVABLE submissions!!!

Happy Hump Day!!!

Heather & Dellany

CONTEST ALERT!!!!!

Hello Everyone!

We are gearing up for our upcoming, scripted web series, 2 Hopeful Spinsters!   We're brimming with ideas but would LOVE to hear your stories too! 

• Have any crazy & unbelievable dating stories?
• How about some insane and cringe-worthy spinster stories?
• Have you witnessed a dating experience that makes you glad you're off the market?
• Any tales of family dating pressure that make you wish you were adopted?

Fellow hopeful spinsters, spinsters-in-training, married friends of spinsters, man friends of spinsters...start submitting those stories NOW!!!  And if we use your story, you'll get  a writing credit AND a cameo in that episode. *must live in LA or be willing to travel to LA...uh...on your own dime.  Sorry, no sponsors yet. :)

Please email all stories to 2hopefulspinsters@gmail.com no late than February 29th.  Nothing beats a Leap Year deadline for a spinster tale.  Sure beats asking a man to marry you, eh??? (Click HERE to read about that Leap Year tradition.)

We look forward to hearing your stories!!!

Love,
Heather & Dellany 

2 Hopeful Spinster’s Movie Review of the  Moment

*21+ = alcohol is permitted in the theatre

= rating symbol of the moment…sad girl with bandaged head. (she probably has amnesia)

*ratings are on a scale of 1 to 5

Dellany’s Review: 

"How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways.. Oh, wait, I can't remember-- who are you again?? "

 Cute newlywed couple make cute- but mainly in flashbacks. Story starts when wifey unbuckles her seatbelt in a parked car so there can be a little car rompy-romp but then there is a horrible car accident-- (in a future blog, 2 hopeful spinsters must discuss safe parked places to have erm..cough cough.. quality conversations with the one you love). Hubby spends most of the movie living up to his wedding vows.. He will stop at nothing to help wifey get her memory back of them madly in love together-thru thick and thin, better or worse- in theory sounds romantic. Reality-- Ho hum.. I wanted Ryan Gosling to barge in to show Channing Tatum seduction 101 and grab Rachel McAdams in the pouring rain to remind her, " It wasn't over.. Is still isn't over" -- then make out as life itself depended on it. The best Mr. Tatum's character could do was play back a saved VM of her telling him sheloves him-- and she's still skeptical! I'm  the target audience for romantic movies, but I want to be fulfilled . This movie filled me in a way much like when you are in a time crunch and have to go thru a fast food drive- thru. Empty calories.  Loved all the actors. Jessica Lange will pull you in with a single gesture to her heart. Rachel McAdams is better than this cheese puff flick;  Channing Tatum's full back-al was a definite perk of the movie.  The disconnect I felt came from lazy story-telling followed by rushed editing due to a case of "how fast can we get a film out around Valentine's Day b/c their is nothing else to compete with it?". Sorry, The Vow,  I could have watched The Promise or the I Swear or whatever those movies are called on Lifetime to satiate my need for romantic drama.. My memory of the film is fading just as fast as you can say head trauma.. Ouch.

 

Heather’s Review:

Let me just start by saying that I am a fan of romance movies.  From A Walk to Remember (I know I’m not the ONLY one that liked that cheesy Mandy Moore classic) to Crazy, Stupid, Love, I love a little romance in my life.  What can I say? I am my mother’s daughter.  So when I settled in to see The Vow, I had high hopes.  Now, I knew it wouldn’t blow me away, but I was hoping that it would assuage my need for a nice, sappy romance flick, now that the Fa la la la Lifetime movies are long gone.  And while there were some romantic moments, some touching moments and definitely some eye candy moments (namely, Channing's backside), I found the movie, as a whole, to be quite uneven.  It was a long, and sometimes tiresome, game of cat and mouse.  Husband tries to get his amnesiatic wife to fall back in love with him, wife takes one step forward, two steps back, parents keep interfering,…blah, blah, blah.  The story just never went anywhere.  I don't blame the actors. They did their best with what they were given.  Rachel McAdams proved, once again, that she sparkles in nearly every role (I’m forgiving her for Midnight in Paris- she was too nice for that part), Channing Tatum was likeable and easy on the eyes, and Jessica Lange was, as always, brilliant.  The culprit, I believe, is the editing, as is often the case with movies that “sit around for awhile” (as this one did).  It was just choppy.  Maybe they did the best with what they had, who knows.  But since it was based on actual events, I think the fluidity and arc definitely could have been there.  But it just fell flat as a whole. 

Bottom line:  If your expectations are low, you may like this movie.  But don't set the bar too high.  And if you’re 21+, I highly recommend seeing it at a 21+ show.  Alcohol definitely helps.

 

Heather’s Valentine’s Day Aha Moment

As fate would have it, I tend to be single on Valentine’s Day.  And because of that, I suppose I’ve always had a bit of a chip on my shoulder about it.  In my 20’s, I often wore black, thinking I was being all “hip & maudlin” about “Singles Awareness Day,” as Hoda & Kathie Lee jokingly called it yesterday.  However, now that I’m in my 30’s, I usually just pretend it doesn’t exist until I need to satisfy my sweet tooth with some 75% off Valentine candy at CVS.  But this year was different…

Instead of hiding at home, ignoring the fact that it’s Valentine’s Day while emptying my DVR with a bottle of cheap wine & a pan of brownies, Dellany & I decided to go out.  We had no agenda except that we were going to have fun.  Now, I don’t want to spoil the video that we will post of some of the highlights of our evening, but I do want to share the new perspective I gained of Valentine’s Day.

Prior to last night, I only seemed to see “couples” EVERYWHERE I turned on Valentine’s day:  at the coffee shops, at the restaurants, at the movies, etc…And, quite frankly, it was depressing.  It was a reminder of what I DIDN’T have and I was sick of it.  But last night, I saw SO MANY different types of people celebrating this day of “love”: groups of men, groups of women, fellow Hopeful Spinsters, families, etc… Yes, there were couples strewn about, but it didn’t seem to bother me.  Because for the 1^st time, possibly EVER, I was able to really appreciate the love I do have in my life and not dwell on the love that I don’t.  It was a surprising and inspiring Valentine’s Day gift and I thank my fellow Hopeful Spinster, Dellany, for being an integral part of that. 

Love,

Heather

Dellany’s Valentines Day Musing

Happy Day after Valentine's everybody!  I am glowing from the most amazing night last night.  Without giving too much away from the Hopeful Spinsters soon-to-be-released video blog, I saw a beautiful sunset setting overlooking the city of Angels; had a single perfect rose, drinks, dining, a romantic film- sigh...  the perfect night with the perfect Hopeful Spinster :-) That's right- out of choice, I made the decision to spend last night with fellow hopeful spinster, Heather.  I made the decision to not go out with a man, not sit at home in front of the tube with my red velvet cake ice cream and not feel sorry for myself.  Why should I? I have so many things to be thankful for on a day where love is a many splendored thing…but also sometimes considered the root of all evil (depending how one looks at it).

I chose to celebrate in my friend and myself.  I care and love a lot of people and I know in my heart a lot of people care and love me. So why not celebrate that? It doesn't have to be defined by a commitment with a significant other. Since I reached the official “hopeful spinster age”, I have said, " gone are the days where I wince in pain at the idea of being alone on V day.  Gone are the days (pretty much allll of my 20's) where I wasted precious time and settled with someone who wasn't a good match and certainly not good enough for me just so I could say I was with someone on Valentine's Day". I found I was more miserable with candy in one hand, flowers in the other from some lame guy who didn't treat me well… than I was being "alone" . I can buy my own gifts for myself, thank you very much (more on that later)!  Last night felt liberating and exhilarating :-) I am truly inspired by last night and thinking of all the hopeful spinsters out there that are going thru what Heather and I are going thru.  I can't wait to share stories and become the woman I am meant to be thru this! Hopeful Spinsters Unite!

Xoxo, 

Dellany

Heather & Dellany here, your Hopeful  Spinsters reporting live from Los Angeles!  How do 2 Hopeful Spinsters celebrate Valentine’s Day?  Well, that’s what we aim to find out today.  Gone are the days of wearing black and watching He’s Just Not That Into You with a pint of Chubby Hubby and a bottle of 2 Buck Chuck in tow.  These 2 Hopeful Spinsters are ready to hit the town, Hopeful Spinster Style…whatever that means.  


We started our evening on a random rooftop somewhere in the middle of Hollywood.  Ir seems that Hopeful Spinsters are out tonight!  Within 5 minutes of meeting up, we got bombarded by several fellow Hopeful Spinsters.  SERIOUSLY.  They LOVED us.  Time to hit the town.  


Just remember, Valentine's Day is about LOVE!!!  Oh...and  chocolate...lots of chocolate. :)


Love, 
Your Hopeful Spinster Valentines,

                                                  

Heather & Dellany

hope·ful   [hohp-fuhl] adjective

 promising advantage or success.

spin·ster  [spin-ster] noun

a woman still unmarried beyond the usual age of marrying.

How it all began...

Being a single woman in my 30’s, I am definitely aware that I am beyond the average marrying age, which currently stands at 27 in the U.S.  I’ve been in 6 weddings.  I get it.  However, I would NEVER consider myself to be a spinster.  Spinsters are old,  have 9 cats, wear muumuu’s, watch soaps all day, use butt paste and have resigned themselves to the fact that they will always be single.  I am NOT a spinster.  I am simply a confident woman that has not yet settled down to marry and procreate. That’s it.  And then I went to an audition that changed it all...

It was for one of my FAVORITE new comedies- UP ALL NIGHT.  I was thrilled!   I initially read for the role of “pregnant woman.”  After what I deemed to be a  successful audition, I confidently walked out of the building and across the lot.  “Heather!  Heather!”  I heard from a panting assistant.  “They want you to come back and read another part.”  “Wow!  That doesn’t happen very often,” I thought.  I excitedly followed the assistant back into the building.  “So, which role do they want me to read for?”  His reply: “Hopeful spinster.”  Even at hearing this, I thought, “yeah, let’s do this!”   I walked into the room and, as they were thanking me for coming back, the writer, a beautiful blonde in her 30’s, quickly chimed in: “I’m sorry for the title of the character.  I wrote it with myself in mind, actually.”  I chuckled and said, “well, I suppose I am a hopeful spinster, so no worries here.”  And I meant it.  I also knew that the role of “hopeful spinster” was mine.  And 2 days later, it was.  

 I jokingly told everyone about my upcoming role.  The knee-jerk reactions were all the same: “you’re not a spinster! You're too young!”  Well, not quite.  As I read the dictionary definition, I did fit the bill AND I am hopeful that I will meet someone.  So, rather than fight my hopeful spinster-ness, I chose to embrace it.  Of course, hopeful spinsters are not loners.  They’re hopeful.  They need to surround themselves with fellow hopeful spinsters.  So I sought out to do just that.  The day before I shot UP ALL NIGHT , I had coffee with my friend Dellany, a dear friend of similar age and optimism.  As I comically told her my character’s name, she excitedly proclaimed, “Well, I’m a hopeful spinster too!!!”  I knew I’d found my partner in crime.  Thus, 2 Hopeful Spinsters was born.  

2 Hopeful Spinsters are 

Heather Olt (left) &  Dellany Peace (right)