Tag Archives: advice

The Friend Zone Test

Posted on May 25, 2011 | 5 Comments

Alas… you suspect that you may be in the friend zone. And like Survivor, if you landed in the Zone, you’ll need to OutWit, OutLast and OutPlay your competition in order to get out of the zone.

Three Quick Tips to shortcut the Friend Zone:

  1. Be Firm (Don’t let the other person push you into the friend zone if you don’t want to be there.)
  2. Be Direct (If you want something more than a friendship, say so.)
  3. Don’t Linger (If you figure out that you’re in the friend zone with no likelihood of escape… redirect your time and energy to a more receptive candidate.)

This test is purely for determining whether or not you are in the Zone. If you choose to stay in the Zone, that is entirely up to you. (But really… if you insist that the Friend Zone is fine with you, then why are you taking this test?)

The Friend Zone Test

All answers are multiple choice. Pick one answer that best describes your situation. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advice for Girls, Advice for Guys, Dating, Finding a Date, Humor

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Guest Post For the Guys: How To Rise Above the Rest

Posted on May 4, 2011 | 1 Comment

Let Her Know That She Is Special: By J.D.

My boyfriend and I had been dating for a few months and he was coming to town so we could go to a New Year’s Eve party together.  I knew this was the make it or break it date. I was wildly sliding between not telling people we were dating (my thinking was that if history is any indication of the future, then we’d be breaking up soon) and trying to figure out how to work his name into every single conversation (I was crazy about him!)

It wasn’t the dinner or the flowers or the fact that he had traveled halfway across the world to see me.  New Year’s Eve turned into my Let’s Make This Work night when I realized that I loved being me when he was there.  Continue reading →

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Posted in Advice for Guys, Dating, Finding a Date, Keeping a Date

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Guest Post: I Knew He Was “The One” When…

Posted on April 19, 2011 | 7 Comments

Sometimes life just throws you some curve balls, so I called in a few relief pitchers for your enjoyment over the next few weeks. A beautiful gift in my inbox, today’s post reminded me of how truly inspiring my friends are. I hope you enjoy this post by Courtney C. as much as I did…

How I knew he was the one:

My dad always used to tell me he wouldn’t pass judgment on the men I chose, because “when you think you’re in love, you’re in love.”  So true, but you can absolutely be “in love” with someone who doesn’t make a good partner for you.  And no matter how much you love that person, or even how much they love you back, it still doesn’t make it a good, healthy relationship.

I knew J was “the one” when … Continue reading →

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Posted in Advice for Girls, Advice for Guys, Dating, Keeping a Date, Relationship Advice

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The V-Day Countdown: Celebrating Change

Posted on January 18, 2011 | 5 Comments

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I’m not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. In fact, normally I don’t even mention this Hallmark occasion until a day or two before it happens. The first year, I grudgingly posted on how to make V-Day less of a dooms day if you happened to be a guy dating a more successful girl. Last year, I re-posted one of my favorite posts about what I love about men.

But this year, I’ve decided to use the month leading up to V-Day to not only give fair warning for those of you who need a heads up that it’s coming, but to examine all of the things men AND women have to be grateful for whether you are single, dating, married or some combination of the three. I figure that remembering all the ways we are grateful might help mitigate all the ways V-Day can really grate on the wrong nerves.

So, today I want to be grateful for change. Yep, I said it… the dreaded “C” word. Change. Whether you get the shudders just reading that word or wistful thoughts about all the things you’d like to change, here are some thoughts for remembering why change is a great thing for your romantic life…

Continue reading →

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Posted in Advice for Girls, Advice for Guys, Culture, Dating, Relationship Advice

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Help! What Am I Going To Wear To Meet The Family?

Posted on November 23, 2010 | 129 Comments

Normally, I don’t touch fashion advice with a 10-foot pole. I GET fashion advice from my fashionista friends and then apply. Very simple. So, I posted a comment on my Facebook page this week asking for advice on how to dress for Thanksgiving with the boyfriend’s family. (I should clarify — they’ve met me, we’ve done time, so this isn’t a first meeting, but every family has different fashion dictates for every occasion and I needed some advice on this one.)

Some of my more fashion-forward friends provided great tips that I’ve decided to share for your enjoyment and possible use… (girls at the top of the post/guys at the bottom)

Continue reading →

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Posted in Advice for Girls, Advice for Guys, Dating, Etiquette, Relationship Advice

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My Dad’s Dating Advice to His Daughter: Or Sh*t My Dad Says

Posted on January 27, 2010 | 30 Comments

My dad raised me with very, very old-fashioned values. Don’t call boys, don’t pursue men, certainly don’t let men pay for too much or they might think you owe them something, never stay under the same roof with a man you aren’t married to and only prostitutes wear boots (Due to this last assertion, my sassy boots stay in the car when I visit. The paramedic guys may be really cute in Southern Cali, but I can hold off on needing to call them because I caused my dad to have a heart attack.)

You (and I) may not agree with all of his assertions (especially the boot thing) but there are some areas where he actually knows what he’s talking about. Insights like Continue reading →

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Posted in Advice for Girls, Advice for Guys, Dating, Humor, Keeping a Date, Personal, Relationship Advice

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Dear Men: Passivity is not your friend

Posted on January 25, 2010 | 24 Comments

After a heart to heart with one of my love-lorn “nice” guy friends this weekend, I thought perhaps a post on the difference between “nice” and “passive” might be worth writing. If you suspect that you’ve confused the two, here’s a kick in the pants from your favorite dating blogger. *grin*

I’m thinking the “nice guys finish last” saying should be changed to ”passive guys finish last.” After all, I know a lot of “nice” guys who do very well with the ladies, but they are definitely not passive. What’s the difference between nice and passive? “Nice” is a way to do unto others and “passive” is an attitude of letting others do unto you.

For American guys, dating is hard work. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advice for Guys, Culture, Dating, Finding a Date, Keeping a Date, Relationship Advice

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Hosting for Romance: How to find a date at your own party

Posted on December 8, 2009 | Leave a comment

For me, hosting a big party is part of the fun of the holiday season. Likewise, I’m a fan of going to other people’s parties and meeting a new group of people. I’ve noticed something really interesting though… hosting styles vary from host to hostess and many times your hosting style determines whether or not you’re going to meet someone romantically interesting at your own party.

You’d be surprised at how hard it is for a hostess to have any kind of solo time with a guest of interest due to the myriad of issues that can come up during a party… spilled drinks, overflowing toilets, candles gone wild, out of control tiki torches or fire pits. One year I had a Halloween combination of roller girls who couldn’t keep their skates underneath them and consequently put a hole in my wall and a 6’4″ drunk guy passed out on my back lawn. That was also the first and last year I said “okay” when someone wanted to bring jello shots to the party.

Anyone who’s hosted a party before knows what I’m talking about… everyone else makes connections and you are left answering phone calls the next day about how to get so and so’s information and “did you think he was into me?” conversations. So, how do you change that? Take a look at your hosting style. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advice for Girls, Advice for Guys, Dating, Etiquette, Finding a Date

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7 Ways to Meet Someone New at a Party

Posted on December 4, 2009 | 6 Comments

The holidays are here! Parties, new people, potential for hot dates and mistletoe kisses. Here are seven quick down and dirty tips about getting your flirt on over the next few weekends of holiday parties and how to make sure you don’t go home empty-handed.

  1. Help The Hostess: This one is especially effective if you are a guy. Fact 1: women notice when a guy does helpful things like taking out the trash or keeping the chip bowl stocked up. Fact 2: women think about how nice it would be to date a helpful guy. Fact 3: women might even ask the hostess about you. One thing for sure… if you want to catch a girl’s eye at the party… make sure she’s around when you’re being helpful and perhaps ask her to lend you a hand (something non-dirty and simple so you can chat while you’re at it.)
  2. Make Eye Contact and Watch Body Language: You hear it a lot for a reason. As a female, you’re giving the guy the go ahead to come talk to you when you give him “the look.” Guys — if a girl gives you a glance and then look back with a linger, you have been given the green light… go talk to her.
  3. Do not be an indiscriminate flirt. My dad always told me that the “good guys” take a while to watch you in action before asking you out. If you want to hook up well, let those boobies do the talking, but if you want to actually meet a quality guy… be more careful about where you aim those things. Guys — if a girl sees you entering other girl’s numbers into your crackberry, she’s not going to be as thrilled about giving you hers. Selectivity will serve you well in an environment where you just never know who’s checking you out.
  4. A is for Attitude: Bunions, break ups, drama date stories… oh my! Leave them at home. No one wants to hear about the downers of life at a party. For one thing, it’s hard enough to hear the good stuff over all the noise and secondly… your competition isn’t his or her next date… it’s the person walking towards you as your target’s attention wanders away from your tales of woe.
  5. Position yourself well: Continue reading →

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Dating a Dog Lover

Posted on November 19, 2009 | 3 Comments

I’m a pet person. My dog and I are a bit of an item. Not in the weird, purse dog on a first date kind of way (as you can see, that would be one h*ll of a big purse) but in the, I have a dog, he’s awesome and you’d better like him too kind of way.

For example… if you aren’t a dog owner, you might not realize that the following things are perfectly normal when you date someone who shares life with a dog: Continue reading →

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Posted in Advice for Girls, Advice for Guys, Dating, Humor, Personal

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