Send your guy down the right path     

            OK girls. It's time for a little Valentine's Day gift prep work. If your lover seems a little vague on the difference between comfortable, luxurious lingerie and stage costumes for pole dancers, perhaps you should give him some guidance.

            Next time you're online when he's home (and the kids aren't around), pull up some lingerie-store Web sites. Once he catches a glimpse of the computer screen, chances are excellent that he'll wander over to see what's going on. Voila! Here's your opportunity to chat about likes and dislikes.

For example:

             *Sollingerie.com, the Web site for SOL. . . Store of Lingerie, 248 Detroit St., 303-394-1060. Women are welcome at SOL’s 7th Annual Beers, Brats and Bras Men’s Shopping Event, 2 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 11. The beer and the brats are free, but you might want to donate a buck or two, because a portion of proceeds go to the Morgan Adams Foundation, a local charity benefiting children’s oncology research. SOL also is open from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, for last-minute guys.

            *Pamperedpassions.com, the Web site for Pampered Passions Fine Lingerie, 9615 E. County Line Road, Englewood, 303-346-8450. Men’s Night, 5 to 9 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 11, single-malt Scotch, beer, wings and pizza are on the store. Enter to win a $150 shopping spree. Sign up to treat your sweetie through the “Lingerie of the Month Club,” and receive the 12th month on the store’s dime.

            *Ultra-legs.com, the Web site for Ultra Legs Hosiery & Lingerie, 3444 S. Broadway, Englewood, 303-761-3705. Guys who aren't shy will want to check out Sweetheart Night, featuring drink specials, door prizes and lingerie models, 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 11, at the Englenook Bar, 3470 S. Broadway, 303-788-1770.  

Hearts and flowers

            *There’s a brand-new selection of beautifully presented, wonderful tasting Valentine candy from Enstrom Candies, 201 University Blvd., 303-322-1005; 6770 W. 52nd Ave., Arvada, 303-215-9905, www.enstrom.com. The red-and-pink-boxed goodies include an assortment of Toffee Petites for $16, a Chocolate Assortment for $35 and a Toffee Lover’s Basket for $62.  Want it delivered? Metro-area delivery ranges from $6 to $20. And don’t forget the troops. You buy the candy, and Enstrom will pick up the tab for shipping it to any APO or FPO address.

            *Prefer your sweets in the form of a homemade cake? All pink or red items in the store (fondants, cookie-cutters, chocolates, icings) are discounted by 20 percent, and selected edible decorations are  discounted by 25 percent at Cake Crafts, 4105 S. Broadway, Englewood, 303-761-1522. If you’re on tap to bake a seven-tiered wedding cake, you should know that Fondarific fondants are discounted by from 10 percent (for a 2 lb. container) to 20 percent (for a 10 lb. container).

            *The metro area is jammed with independent local florists. In addition to such stalwarts as Lehrer’s, 3191 W. 38th Ave., 303-455-1234,thinkflowers.com, and Veldkamp’s, 9501 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood, 303-232-2673, veldkamps.com; 58 more are listed on the Mile High Business Alliance Web site, coloradolocalfirst.com (enter “flowers” in the search box). This is their big holiday, so don’t squander the opportunity to boost the local economy by buying your bouquet at the supermarket. You don’t have to spend a bundle, either. You’ll do best if you order a mixed arrangement asap for pickup on Friday, then deliver them yourself – just like you’d do if you bought them at the supermarket.

HW Home’s 10th annual warehouse sale

            HW Home -- a four-store, five-star local chain -- has developed such warm relationships with its customers and its suppliers that it must warn folks not to form a line before 9 a.m. for its annual warehouse sale, which runs 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, and Saturday, Feb. 13 at the former Linens-n-Things next to the Nordstrom Rack at Flatiron Marketplace.

            Lines will form, however, when the deals range from $1 floral arrangements to leather sectionals, originally priced at $5,000, for $3,000. There are discounts of 30 percent to 70 percent on Mitchell Gold upholstered furniture, Oly Studios’ natural-material lighting and other accessories; a full range of pieces from Hickory Chair, and pieces from the Bernhardt Interiors Collection, which was developed specifically with HW Homes in mind. And just to make things a little nicer and warmer, the Humane Society of Boulder Valley will be there with adoptable pets.