Want to be romantic and practical at the same time? There are lots of ways to think outside the box this Valentine's Day. One of the best comes from Whole Foods, which is selling one dozen fair-trade, long-stem roses for $12.99. Want two dozen? That's an even better deal at $19.99 in your choice of classic red, orange, pink, yellow, peach and off white. They're available now through Sunday at the East Liberty store, along with heart-shaped cheeses, heart-shaped fruit tarts and heart-shaped cheesecakes.

If you'd like to give the gift that keeps on giving, the Neville Spa (at 1597 Washington Pike, Collier Town Square, Collier) has a great idea. It's offering couples massage lessons taught by their massage therapists. The 90-minute sessions are offered all month for $150, and that includes a bottle of Chocolate Mint massage oil. Couples may choose their area of concentration (healing, headaches, backaches, stress-relief) in addition to learning how to massage common problem areas, use of pressure and ways to make the massage easy on both the giver and the receiver. For an appointment, call 412-278-2500 or visit www.nevillespa.com.

Doug Oster writes a blog, "Growing With Doug," exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.