Morning.

On Friday, we tackled game night. Today there's no theme — just five deals that landed on my desk this week and were too good to sit on. Plus — Valentine's Day is Saturday. If your plan so far is "I'll figure it out Thursday night," I wrote something for you at the bottom. Five ideas, field-tested over 10 years of marriage, most costing less than the Le Creuset. And if all else fails — Bouqs still delivers fresh flowers by Saturday.

TLDR: 🍽️ Maytag Dual Power Filtration Dishwasher (10-year warranty) | 🫕 Le Creuset 6.5-Qt Dutch Oven (37% off) | 🚀 LEGO Millennium Falcon 25th Anniversary (all-time low) | 💰 Anker Prime 200W Charging Station (25% off) | 🔒 Hidden deal — referrers only

PS: Don’t forget about today’s trivia - all about Valentines Day

$879 | $569 at Lowes (ends TODAY) | ($310 off)

🍽️ Stop Pre-Rinsing. Seriously.

The average American spends 6,000 hours of their life washing dishes. Some of those hours are spent pre-rinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher — a machine whose entire job is to wash dishes.

Maytag's Dual Power Filtration eliminates pre-rinsing. Not "reduces" — eliminates. The dual filtration catches food particles before they recirculate, so you scrape and load. The PowerBlast cycle handles the burnt-on stuff. At 50 dBA, you can run it during dinner without raising your voice.

The tub is 7.25 cubic feet — largest capacity on the market. The XL upper rack fits sheet pans, stockpots, the cutting board you've been hand-washing for years. Stainless steel from top to bottom. Comparable Bosch and KitchenAid models with similar warranties run $700-900.

Why It Wins:

The catch: Front-control, not top-control — a design preference worth knowing. No third rack. Fingerprint-resistant doesn't mean fingerprint-proof.

🫕 The Pot Your Grandkids Will Fight Over

$170 off the Signature line doesn't happen often. The 6.5-quart deep round is the Goldilocks size for a family — soups, stews, braised short ribs, no-knead bread. Enameled cast iron distributes heat evenly and retains it longer than anything else in your kitchen.

Le Creuset's lifetime warranty covers manufacturing defects. No seasoning needed. Won't rust. Goes stovetop to oven to table. People pass these down for generations — not as a nice idea, but because the pot outlasts the people.

Also: if you're still looking for a Valentine's Day gift that says "I pay attention when you talk about wanting nice kitchen things" — this is it.

The catch: It's $290 for a pot. Lodge makes a similar size for $60-80. But Lodge enamel tends to chip after heavy use. The Le Creuset tax is real — so is the difference.

🚀 921 Pieces of Justified Adult LEGO Spending

All-time low for a set that sold out at multiple retailers over the holidays. Mid-scale display model — 921 pieces, buildable stand, nameplate, and commemorative anniversary brick. Every exterior detail from A New Hope. ABS plastic doesn't degrade, and anniversary sets appreciate once LEGO retires them. At $68, you get 3-4 hours of screen-free building and a display piece that holds its value.

The catch: No minifigures — display only. Amazon LEGO pricing fluctuates and could bounce back to $85.

🔓INSIDER DEAL

Weber Searwood 600 Wood Pellet Grill

🔥 You're seeing this because you referred a friend. Nice work

Most pellet grills can't sear — a diffuser plate blocks the flame. Weber's DirectFlame eliminates that. Real sear marks alongside wood-smoked flavor. 180°F to 600°F range means this one grill replaces your smoker and your gas grill.

Rapid React PID hits temp in 15 minutes. 20-hour unattended cook time. Wi-Fi monitoring. Rotisserie compatible. 4.6 stars across 1,320+ reviews. Weber's second-gen pellet grill — they learned from the SmokeFire and got it right. When something wears out, you replace the part, not the grill.

The catch: Side tables, cover, rotisserie all sold separately ($75-$150 each). No built-in fuel gauge on the base model.

🔒INSIDER DEAL

There is a hidden deal right here. You just can’t see it.

Refer 1 friend to unlock The Insider Deal - in every newsletter. Sign up must be completed to gain access to the insider deal.

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Dad Trivia - Stack your entries! Each correct answer in February adds another chance to win a $100 Home Depot Gift Card. Answer all 8 monthly questions right? That's 8 entries.

Alright, deals are done. Now let's talk about Saturday.

I've been with my wife for 10 years this year. That's 10 Valentine's Days ranging from "she still talks about it" to "we don't speak of 2019." Here's what a decade of field research has taught me: the wins almost never correlate with the spend. The losses almost always involve me overcomplicating something simple.

These aren't deals on stuff. They're ideas — tested, dad-approved, most requiring more intention than money. (And if you just need flowers, Bouqs delivers fresh by Saturday.)

1. The Throwback Date 🔙

Dig into your early relationship and recreate something from before life got complicated. Not the fancy anniversary dinner — the weird, specific, low-budget thing you did when you were broke and it didn't matter.

For us, that includes renting a rowboat in Golden Gate Park (we thought we were so romantic) and hitting a children's museum on their free admission day for Pi Day. Yes, I planned a date around free museum entry. Some habits never die, and apparently my wife found it charming enough to stick around.

The move: Text your wife right now and ask what she remembers from your first year together. Whatever she names first? That's your answer.

The catch: Requires you to actually remember things. If you're drawing a blank, check old photos on your phone. The metadata doesn't lie.

2. Breakfast in Bed (Dad Edition) 🍳

This one's a layup, but execution matters. The goal isn't culinary perfection — it's effort made visible. If you've got kids, get them involved. A four-year-old "helping" make breakfast is half the gift.

Heart-Shaped Red Velvet Pancakes: 1½ cups flour, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt, 1 cup milk, 1 egg, 2 tbsp melted butter, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, red food coloring (don't be shy — you want actual red, not sad pink). Mix dry, mix wet, combine until just mixed. Pour into a squeeze bottle, heat non-stick pan to medium-low, draw heart shapes.

Pro tip: Let the kids do the squeeze bottle work. The hearts will look like abstract art. This is a feature, not a bug.

The catch: If it goes sideways — batter everywhere, smoke alarm involved — DoorDash a dozen donuts and arrange them in a heart shape on a cutting board. You still tried. That counts.

3. The Letter She'll Keep Forever 💌

Cost: $0. Time: 20 minutes. Impact: Disproportionately high.

Write an actual letter. On paper. With a pen. Not a card with a pre-written message — a letter about why you're still all-in. Be specific. "I love how you always refill my water bottle without me asking" hits harder than "You're beautiful and kind."

The catch: You actually have to mean it. She'll know if you're phoning it in. Also, your handwriting is probably terrible. Write slowly.

4. The At-Home Date Night (Executed Properly) 🏠

This isn't "we ordered takeout and watched TV." That's a Tuesday. This is takeout and TV with intention.

Kids go to bed at normal time. Change out of the clothes you've been wearing all day. Set the table — actual plates, not paper. Light a candle. Put your phones in another room. Not on silent. In another room. Order from somewhere you wouldn't normally.

Total cost: $60-80 for food, maybe a decent bottle of wine.

The catch: If she'd rather crash on the couch in sweatpants, do that instead. The point is being present, not performing.

5. The Future Date Fund ⏩

This one's for dads who forgot until right now and need something that feels real.

Buy a nice card. Inside, write: "Good for one kid-free date night, planned entirely by me, sometime in the next 60 days." Then put a recurring reminder in your phone to book it. The gift isn't the card. The gift is the follow-through.

Make it tangible: Include a printed confirmation of something you've already booked. A reservation. Tickets. Even a babysitter locked in for a specific Saturday.

The catch: You have to actually do it. A promise of a future date that never materializes is worse than doing nothing. Put it in your calendar right now. I'll wait.

The bottom line: Ten years in, she's not keeping score on price tags. She's keeping score on whether you thought about her specifically. The rowboat cost $35. The letter costs nothing. The pancakes will probably look like a crime scene. None of it matters compared to the fact that you tried.

Know a dad who’s currently googling “last minute valentine’s day ideas ”. Forward this email ⬇️ The deals are good. The rescue plan might save his marriage.

Coming Friday: The International Edition 🍝

The Winter Olympics kicked off in Milano Cortina last week, and we're celebrating with a special edition — deals inspired by the host country. Italian-made gear, Italian brands, and a few picks that'll make your house feel a little more dolce vita.

Andiamo.