Your basket:

Main Ingredients:
boyfriend
reader
brussel sprouts
cocoa powder
jellyfish

Spice Pack:
1/3 cup of attraction
1/8 tablespoon of contentment

My friend Lizzy is an avid reader who spends more time in the library than she does at home. Every day she has her nose stuck in a new book and refuses to speak to anyone until she's finished it. As a result, she's an incredibly eloquent, intelligent girl with just one problem: she's a hopeless romantic.

Countless novels filled with tales of romance and passion raised her expectations beyond any reasonable limits. Any time she met a perfectly eligible suitor, she always found them lacking in some respect. No matter how charming, handsome, or kind they seemed to be, eventually Lizzy would discover some area in which she was not satisfied. After years of disappointment, she eventually just gave up on ever finding the right guy for her and withdrew deeper into her books. After a while, I became concerned and decided to intervene.

"Lizzy," I addressed her sternly. " You need to get out of the house. It's not good to stay cooped up all day."

She looked at me, sullen. "Why should I bother? I have everything I need in here - except for my Prince Charming, but that's not ever going to happen."

I was fed up with her attitude. "You have to stop acting like that. No one is ever going to be as perfect as characters in a book. This is real life; not a Jane Austen novel. The sooner you see people for who they are rather than what they're not, the happier you'll be. Now let's go to beach, you haven't seen the sun in like a week."

She pouted as if I had just told her to finish a bowl of brussel sprouts, but decided not to argue. An hour later, we were at the beach lounging in the sand.

We were both taking a nap when suddenly we heard someone screaming in pain. Immediately, we sat up and looked around for the source of the noise. A man with hair the color of cocoa was hopping on one leg, clutching his other leg in his hands.

"What the hell?" Lizzy rushed over to see what was going on. The man had apparently been stung by a jellyfish and was in pain. Luckily, Lizzy was incredibly well-read and knew exactly how to ease the pain until they were able to get him to a doctor. Soon enough, the two were flirting with one another and seem perfectly content in one another's company. After a few weeks of dating, they decided to make it official.

Who would have thought that a jellyfish would have led Lizzy to her new boyfriend? I guess it is possible to get a Jane Austen happy ending after all.