February
2026
Welcome to the Season of Love
the issue at a glance:
Won’t you be mine, Valentine? Three unforgettable looks this Valentine’s Day
Five things I’ve learned about love: Reflections from nearly a decade together
A cloud of Opulence: A romantic night at InterContinental
Indianapolis
Photographed by Mark Pecar
Hair by Jayden Gadd
Modeled by Daria Afshar, Donavan McClintick, and Kateri Cutsinger
Some may argue that the best part about date night are the moments before — rollers in hair, lipgloss fresh, and catching up on the latest gossip. Don’t forget to put on your favorite matching set, because the most confident women only need to feel sexiest for themselves.
Dinner at seven and nothing to wear? Never mind. A black dress will do just fine. Daria wears Donavan’s mom’s prom dress from 1996 — proof that a classic never goes out of style.
No date? No matter. Put on your cutest mini, grab your best girlfriends, and pop open a bottle of something sparkling. After all, nobody ever said you needed a man to feel the love this Valentine’s Day.
Five things I’ve learned about
loveOne of the greatest gifts of my life is that I met my person at sixteen, and almost nine years later, we’re still together. We finished high school together, went through college together, got our first dog, Luna, together, and for the past almost three years, have been figuring out post-graduate “real” life together. I know to most people that makes us one of the lucky ones, and trust me, I feel very lucky to have had him by my side through every stage of my early adulthood. But that doesn’t mean there haven’t been moments of hardship. Yes, there’s some luck, but also a lot of patience, growth, communication, and showing up for each other day in and day out.
Now I don’t want to come off as some relationship expert, because I absolutely am not. Contrary to the posts on my social media, Donavan and I don’t have a perfect relationship, but we are committed to creating a partnership that’s different from the examples we grew up with. And while every relationship is different, these reflections are the things that have mattered most to us, and maybe they’ll resonate with you too.
01 Staying with your high school sweetheart is not easy
Growing up with your high school sweetheart also means growing into many different versions of yourself. I am not the same person I was at sixteen, and neither is Donavan. It’s a strange and complex feeling to notice yourself changing, while also making sure your partner can grow adapt with you. There are things that won’t serve you the way they used to, and it’s your responsibility to communicate that.
Staying together through that kind of growth isn’t always comfortable. It requires hard conversations, patience, and the willingness to meet each other where you are, not where you used to be. If you’re with the right person, they’ll allow you to evolve and move through those changes, while still choosing the relationship…which leads me to my next point.
02 You can grow individually if you’re with the right person
One of the biggest misconceptions about committing to someone early in adulthood is that it limits your growth as an individual. People assume staying with the same person means you’re missing out on other experiences, but in my experience, it’s been the complete opposite.
Donavan and I have essentially grown up together over the past eight years. During that time, we’ve talked through so many dreams, goals, and ideas of what we want our future to look like — both individually and together. Having someone to voice those things to has also meant having someone who holds me accountable. No one challenges or pushes me more than he does, and honestly, that’s one of my favorite parts of our relationship.
Obviously, this only works if you’re with the right person—and you don’t need me to tell you if you are. You already know it in your gut. I say all of this because I felt a lot of judgment, especially during college, when I shared with people that I’d been with my high school sweetheart for years. I even had one of my parent’s friends suggest I should “explore” what other guys were out there. I was offended and annoyed by the suggestion, yes, but ultimately I am proud of myself that I never fell for it. I knew my relationship, and I knew I was with the right person. So I trusted myself, and well, you see it turned out pretty well.
03 Relationships are not always 50/50
“Relationships are 50/50” is one of the most common pieces of advice you’ll hear, but it’s not always realistic. Relationships ebb and flow. There will be days when you have to carry more weight, and days when your partner does. Life happens: stress at work, grief, mental health struggles — and during those seasons, effort won’t always be evenly split.
Some days it’s 30/70. Other days, 60/40. That’s normal. What isn’t normal is consistently giving more while receiving little in return. But in long-term, committed relationships, it’s unrealistic to expect both people to give 50% one hundred percent of the time. What matters is that both are willing to show up when it counts.
04 You have to be friends first
You know how shows like Desperate Housewives always portray wives who seem completely sick of their husbands? I’ve never been able to relate, and I’m really grateful for that. Donavan has always been my best friend first, and I think that’s a huge reason we’ve lasted this long.
Friendship gives you something deeper than attraction: shared values, similar humor, overlapping interests, and genuinely enjoying each other’s company. And maybe it’s because we’ve been together so long and have slowly morphed into the same person (as some of our close friends and family like to joke), but hey I’ll take that over dreading the moment he comes home from work.
And no, I’m not saying he doesn’t drive me drives me little crazy sometimes, but at the end of the day, I’d choose his company over anyone else’s.
05 There is no set timeline for marriage
Forget the whole “if he doesn’t marry you after X years, he never will” mindset. It’s outdated and assumes the man is the only one with reasons to wait, and in our case, I think I’m actually more comfortable waiting than Donavan is.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked, “so when are you guys finally going to get married?”. I’m sure you’ve even wondered at one point too, but let me explain. Yes, we have been together for almost nine years, but we’ve also only been living our “real” adult lives for the past two and a half since we graduated college in 2023, and are still figuring it out.
Right now, we’re both prioritizing our careers and working toward personal goals before stepping into marriage, or taking on the time and energy it takes to plan a wedding. For me, there’s version of myself that I envision when the time comes, and things I want to have accomplished, and I just don’t feel like I’m there yet. Relationships aren’t linear, and time together doesn’t automatically equal readiness. But trust me, when the time comes, you better believe it’s going to be a wedding that was worth the wait.
A Cloud of Opulence
A Romantic Night at InterContinental Indianapolis
A long soak in the tub, a glass of prosecco, and getting ready for date night in a beautiful bathroom – that’s really all it takes to make a girl happy. But if you want to go that extra mile of luxury, city life, rooftop drinks, and incredible food this Valentine’s Day, a romantic getaway at InterContinental Indianapolis is your spot.
At this point you all know how much I enjoy wining, dining, and spending a night or two enjoying a stunning hotel, and the InterContinental Indianapolis just further raised the bar. Just steps away from Monument Circle, in the restored Illinois Building, it is Indianapolis's newest luxury addition, and is the perfect mix of history with modern elegance. The entrance to the hotel on the first floor is preserved from its original 1920s design, with intricate plaster molding, gold accents, and the building’s original ceiling, making you feel as if you’ve been transported a century back into the Roaring Twenties. However, as you make your way up to the second floor main lobby via their marble staircase, it is seamlessly transformed into a modern space with sculptural lighting, contemporary artwork, and organic botanical touches. Our room was quite the same mix: marble tile, luxe gold hardware, warm glowing light, and softened finishes. It was like we were in a cloud of opulence, resting peacefully above the city.
As tradition, the first thing we did after checking into our room was pop open a bottle of bubbles to commence our evening away. I then took my time soaking in the tub before getting ready for dinner – which by the way was so big that I almost found myself floating to the top. After a few hours of listening to soft jazz and enjoying the gorgeous bathroom, it was time to head downstairs for dinner at Serliana. Sat in the hotel’s lobby, it was the perfectly cozy, romantic ambience for date night, overlooking the Indianapolis streets below. We started with their assortment of bread and a Caesar salad, while sipping on an extra dirty martini for me, and a Modelo for Donavan. For the main course, I ordered the House Burger, which was calling my name with a side of truffle fries and garlic aioli, while Donavan got the Seared Salmon, served on a bed of risotto and topped with a caviar lemon cream. Both entrees were cooked perfectly, and we left excited to try more of Serliana’s curations at brunch the next morning.
Not only does the InterContinental Indianapolis have the perfect restaurant for an intimate meal, but they also have their rooftop bar, Astrea – a spirited, vibrant atmosphere that sits above the city with the best view of Monument Circle. In the summer, you can sit on their terrace, making it the perfect outdoor spot to enjoy an elevated social evening. They offer an extensive menu, including house-crafted cocktails, mocktails, and wines, as well as classic small bites like shrimp cocktail, wings, and a charcuterie board filled with local meats and cheeses. Donavan and I opted for mocktails – which was basically necessary after our shared bottle of prosecco and dinner drinks. We sipped on the Ora Rossa and Passion on the Patio, and shared the chocolate cake to satisfy our after-dinner sweet tooth – it was the perfect way to cap the night.
The next morning I opened my eyes to the winter sunrise reflecting off the buildings in front of our window, and I soaked in the view before I finally got the courage to get out of the warm bed. We ordered two cappuccinos to our room and sipped on them in our robes before heading downstairs to get in a workout at their fitness center – which again was another detail that only set a higher standard. Newly renovated with an ultramodern feel, it was equipped with anything you would need for a satisfying workout, including a bowl of fruit for a post-workout snack, and was so large that I sometimes couldn’t see Donavan from where I was standing. It’s a good thing it’s not a public gym, because it would’ve seriously had me reconsidering my current gym membership.
Our rendezvous at the InterContinental ended with another meal at Serliana, but this time we enjoyed dishes from their brunch menu. The morning atmosphere was filled with business meetings and light chatter, the smell of coffee in the air, and sunlight beaming down through the large glass windows. We enjoyed the buzz of the hotel while devouring the House Omelet and Sausage Biscuits and Gravy – a recipe that Donavan never thought could be better than his grandma’s, but this one had hers beat. We shared the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with two more cappuccinos, and took our time relishing in the last moments of our stay before our 24-hour escape came to an end.
From bubbles and bubbly in the tub, dining at Serliana, and drinks above the skyline at Astrea, to waking up with a cappuccino in bed, our time at InterContinental made us feel like we had escaped to another city, not one just thirty minutes away from our house. So ladies, if you want to get the Valentine’s Day date you deserve, I suggest you start dropping subtle (or not!) hints to your man about the InterContinental Indianapolis for an elevated escape where history, romance, and indulgence meet above the city.
In partnership with InterContinental Indianapolis, by IHG
Modéle
February 2026
Creator & Editor
Daria Afshar
Creative Assistant
Donavan McClintick
Contributers
Photographer
Mark Pecar
Hair
Jayden Gadd
Model
Kateri Cutsinger
Donavan McClintick
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InterContinental Indianapolis
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