By Katherine Tanney

“I don’t know what happened. Things were so good, then poof, it was all over — and we had such big plans for Valentine’s day.”

Ah … the vicissitudes of love. The choppy, shark-infested waters of the dating game. The brown paper fact of the divorce rate. Wait. Stop. Don’t let this happen to you! Shopperati wants you to have the happiest Valentine’s Day ever and to prove it we’ve put together a helpful guide for keeping it real (and way rad) long after you’ve finished the last chocolate in the box.

Heed the advice offered here and you’ll be adoration’s anointed, year round.

Good Love-Life Support Online

Dr. Ginger E. Blume’s article, Couples Who Keep Love Alive offers the following simple suggestions for becoming a happily-ever-after pair. We’ve added our ideas for putting them into practice.

Look your partner in the eyes when you’re talking. Engage their spirit.

At Life Script, you will learn what you need to know about the terrifying, thrilling world of iris-to-iris interaction.

Remind them, at least weekly, how much you appreciate their good qualities.

Why do we forget to do this? It’s so simple and costs absolutely nothing. If happy relationships were bank accounts, the interest earned on this tip would be free money in your account. In other words, send a romantic eCard right now, please. Forget about excusing yourself by claiming writing isn’t your strength, because beautiful, witty and poetic love quotes that will melt a heart quicker than you can say “What do you mean you want to take a break?” are yours for the cutting and pasting. You can find them at the Bowering family’s web page. Examples: “A girl without freckles is like a night without stars” or, “A kiss can be a comma, a question mark, or an exclamation point.” We recommend memorizing a few to toss out casually on your next date.

Invest time in your partnership having fun together (i.e. dancing, going to the theater, golfing, camping, hiking, taking classes together, etc.).

Okay, Romeo (or Juliet): Start by being there, not somewhere else. If you think you might be a workaholic, you probably are. Find out what to do about it at Online Dating Magazine’s Advice for Workaholics, or Lifehacker’s blog about the lives of unhappy perfectionists.

Both verbally and behaviorally, let your partner know how lucky you feel to be with them. Provide an abundance of appreciation.

We’ve covered the verbal part, but what can be extremely hard for partners to tell each other is, “Uh, Honey? You’re not cutting it between the sheets.” Pre-emptive action can be taken at Sex Info 101. Explicit advice on pleasing women is available here, and on pleasing men here.

Do things on a weekly basis that make your partner feel nurtured (i.e. buy them that new soda they mentioned that was advertised on TV; call before arriving home to see if there is anything they might need you to pick up for them; offer to massage their tired feet; etc.).

We’re all over that last part. A wonderful place to learn massage tricks is Easy Vigour, where you’ll learn about “whole hand effleurage,” “stripping,” and “frictions.” And no, it’s not more sex advice.

Thanks, Dr. Blume. For further online relationship advice and tips for keeping love alive, we suggest the 10 Rules for How to Fight Fair at Lovegevity. It’s on their Marriage 101 page. They also have a Dating 101 page.

And finally, if you missed the advice of your sage grandparents, who somehow stayed married for 60 years, there’s the Elder Wisdom Circle, which offers free advice to all who seek it, but prefers to hear from people in their teens, 20s and 30s. “I personally don’t believe that marriages do well unless the couple are friends first — and that takes time,” counsels Dayle, an Elder, in one of the archived letters at the site. We think it’s cool that elders are offering their insights, if not their credentials, for free. If you’d rather pay for the advice of trained therapists (also no guarantees of success), continue reading.

Bestselling Books by the Experts

Psychiatrist Peter D. Kramer wrote that every marriage is a remarriage, meaning that we have to periodically recommit ourselves to our significant other, especially when they tempt us toward the door. For advice on making our relationships the very best they can be, meet Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. His bestselling book, Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples, was born of his experiences as a therapist and divorce survivor. Or peek into the “love lab” where John M. Gottman studied and classified the communication mistakes of ordinary couples. His Ten Lessons to Transform Your Marriage: America’s Love Lab Experts Share Their Strategies for Strengthening Your Relationship is fascinating and scientific.

We think that should do it. You have almost a week to put some of these pearls of wisdom into practice, and the rest of your life to perfect them. Ain’t love grand?