Archive for June, 2008

So your date reminds you of your 48-year old third grade teacher. So you have your face covered in spit and you are dying from the fumes that are coming out of his mouth. So he does nothing but talk about his mother. You have to be polite and sit through the whole thing until you have spent enough time to justifiably say: check!. Or do you? Some people think that since dates are usually and generally consensual, you owe your date common courtesy at best. However, this is not an absolute rule. There are ways to get yourself out of a bad date.

Extricate yourself in the most polite and reasonable manner

If you see that the date is going nowhere, do not wait for the evening to be over before you can say to him that you need to go. Make excuses if you must: I need to feed my dog, my mother is sick, my roommate got locked out, I have an early meeting tomorrow and so on. If your date is not that dense, he or she will understand that the date is over.

Always have a rescue team in place

This could be your brother, sister, most trusted friend. Make a long-standing agreement that in case you need to be rescued from a bad date, he or she will always be ready to help you. Excuse yourself to make a phone call and have that person come in person or call you on your cell phone to make up a perfectly reasonable excuse why you need to go with him or her right away. However, do it nicely. Ask you date that you have to cut the evening short and ask him or her to accompany you outside where you can part ways. Try not to leave your date all alone on the table.

Honesty can be a good policy

It may not be the best but in situations like these it can help you a good deal. Talk to your date in a friendly manner saying that you think you are incompatible as a couple and that the date will not produce the desired results on either side. Explain to him or her that it would be better for both of you to end the date early on than have to struggle through awkward conversation the whole night. If you are the female, you can even soften the blow by offering to pay half of the bill. Be amicable about it and you might even part as good friends.

Learn from your mistakes

Early on, try to get a feeling of the person and the possible course of the date. Mistakes from your past dates will come in handy as well as a little background on human psychology. It is a little risky to go for a dinner on the first date because there is no real time frame for dinners. That is why it is best to plan for an hour-long lunch instead and get a vibe for each other. You can always leave after an hour if you feel it a bad date. Better yet, ask your date to meet for drinks. If you do not like the person, you can safely say goodbye after the first drink. If you think the date has got potential, you can immediately move on to dinner and onto a successful first date.

To find more tips and resources on traditional and online dating, visit this web page: http://www.happy-dating-universe.com. Sign up for a free newsletter Essential Dating Tips You Need to Know For A Happy Date at http://www.happy-dating-universe.com and make your dating fun.

Comments No Comments »

When looking at diamond engagement rings, there is more involved in choosing the perfect ring than just the four C’s. The ultimate ring will be one that is easy for her to wear and be of high quality. The design and aesthetics of the ideal ring will give it a feel and personality that harmonizes with those of your bride-to-be. The love and care put into choosing the ring will be effortlessly reflected into her eyes.

Practicality of Diamond Engagement Rings

The practicality of diamond engagement rings is perhaps the most important factor in choosing the right ring. It will not matter how expensive it is or what it looks like. If she cannot wear it, she will not be able to enjoy it. This does not mean that designs that are more elaborate are out of the question.

Think about everything the bride-to-be does in her daily life. If she is employed as an accounting clerk for instance, she will be able to have more ornate and higher settings. On the other hand, if she works with children or at a job where her hands get dirty, she would be much happier with a lower setting and simple design. Otherwise, the ring catches on everything and attracts lots of hard to clean material.

Quality of Diamond Engagement Rings

The band or shank is the first part of the ring to examine. First, the band should not appear to have any bends, breaks or cracks. The material the band is made out of should also be taken into consideration. For example, since platinum has higher durability than gold, it is the better choice for someone who works in an office or factory. The other option is to choose a heavier band.

The setting is also responsible for determining the quality of diamond engagement rings. Prong settings should have no less than four well-constructed prongs (also called claws) with six prongs being the strongest. If the ring will have to take more of a beating, consider alternative settings such as a bar, end, or bezel setting. These settings use more metal around the stone in order to prevent the stone from falling out.

Design and Materials in Diamond Engagement Rings

The color and metal of the band can greatly influence the look and the price of an engagement ring. For instance, 9k gold takes more to bend than 18k, but it also does not look as nice as it ages. Eighteen-carat gold also lasts longer with everyday use. When considering platinum, titanium, and white gold, keep in mind that titanium takes more abuse, but it cannot be fixed or resized and its hardness limits your design options.

The number and color of the diamonds is largely determined by taste and cost. Depending on the design you choose, there can be almost any combination of stones and sizes to suit your needs. Does she like designs that are simpler such as a solitaire or single marquise cut or does she prefer flashier designs with several stones? In general, the color and size of the diamond along with the number of stones will largely determine the price.

Cut, color, and clarity are important, but they are not the only things she is looking at. The ring should be easy and comfortable for her to wear, but she also needs to be happy with the visual beauty of the ring. When you carefully consider her needs and preferences, choosing between diamond engagement rings becomes easy.

Christine O’Kelly is an author for The Trendz (http://www.thetrendz.com), a leading online retailer of fine quality diamond engagement rings (http://www.thetrendz.com/diamond-engagement-rings.html).

Comments No Comments »

This topic really needs a guy’s perspective. There are plenty of women counseling women who want to grab the attention of the men they have fallen for, but the most important thing is to think what men actually want. If you know what men are looking for, you will get the answer to your conundrum of the best way to build a lasting and happy long term relationship. Well, for starters, we guys never like our women to be too pushy.

That’s what it says right there, do not try too hard and the guy will fall for you. At the same time, playing hard to get is pass too. Men just do not have time nowadays to chase women who intimidate them. They will simply go ahead and check out the next female accessible to them. Sorry, but that’s how we are. So, you have to strike that fine balance between being too easy and too difficult. It’s not quite hard once you know the rules of the game.

Let us assume you have your eyes set on some guy. The first thing is to strike a conversation with him. This is easy if you have a common group, but if you don’t you have to think. If you are interested in the guy, chances are you already are in the same group, or at least you know his favorite hangouts. Try being visible in these places. You will have to do this for a while till you have his attention.

One thing you need to develop is a sense of humor. Men like to laugh more than women do; that’s a statistical fact. Most men will even laugh at themselves. Their humor could range from witty to the risque. You have to develop the sense of understanding their brand of humor. Trust me; if you don’t understand what makes the guy tickle, you are not going to score a hit with him. Above all, learn to laugh at yourself. All men like to fool around with their women. Being a goofball really helps.

Now, men are of different categories, the serious, the adventurous, the funny, the stupid! I guess your man is not of the last category; if he is, you have to use a very different strategy to get his interest. For all other kinds, it is best that you work yourself up to match up with them. Even if you start dating with him, but you don’t like the kind of things he does, then what’s the point being with that man anyway? Picking up someone of your own interests and then making that obvious to him is a sure way of getting his attention.

If the man has halfway come across and begun dating you, you need to know how to hold his attention. Frankly speaking, food scores higher than sex here. Men don’t mind sex actually; it’s only the initial fascination. But what really turns men on is a good spread. Now you don’t have to be a gourmet chef just yet, but knowing some good places where you can suggest a date can go a long way.

Most of all is friendly. Just be a good friend to the man you love. That helps. Don’t overtly show him that you want a commitment; that will scare the mightiest of men at the outset. Give him good company when he asks you. Be yourself, let your hair loose and within a few weeks, you will be able to tell other girls how to get a boyfriend.

Sean’s views on dating and relationships has helped a lot of women on How To Get A Guy. Here are many more ideas from him:http://www.how-to-get-a-guy.com

Comments No Comments »

Unique wedding favors are often thought to be nothing more than a part of the wedding decorations, but they are more than just a gift for the guest. These wedding table decorations impact the mood and feel of the venue as well as the wedding decor. These seemingly simple gifts can also demonstrate the personalities and interests of the bride and groom. Here are a few of the things that should be thought about when choosing the perfect wedding favor.

An Introduction To The Couple

A great way to make an impression on the wedding guests is with unique wedding favors. Rather than focusing on how expensive a favor should be in order to look impressive, it is important to think about what the gift reveals about the bride and groom. For instance, a decorative picture frame with a photo of the smiling couple will tell the guests that the couple cherishes friends and family relations. The giving of a beautifully accented potted plant can demonstrate growth and life and even shows the couples creativeness and originality. Regardless of what sort of gift is chosen, the wedding table decorations should match the couple’s personality in order for it to be memorable.

Enhance The Decor Of The Wedding

Unique wedding favors need to match the rest of the wedding decor while still being noticeable. In order to achieve this, the wedding favor needs to match the theme and style of the wedding while also harmonizing with the colors chosen. A tropical potted plant is the ideal wedding favor for a tropical themed wedding. These wedding table decorations carry on the theme and works well with both a formal and casual wedding. To fit it into the wedding’s color scheme, add colored ribbon or tulle fabric.

In addition to looking great on their own, unique wedding favors can also serve a function. These items can be arranged together in the center of the tables to create a focal point. For a romantic wedding, candles and confetti can be used to enhance the effect of the decoration or they can be added directly to the guest’s gifts. A wedding favor can also work as the place cards for the tables by adding a card with each guest’s name.

Priceless Mementos

After the wedding, the guests will take the unique wedding favors home with them. For this reason, the favor will act as a reminder of the special day as well as the bride and groom. Personalized party favors are one of the greatest ways to achieve this. Since the date of the wedding and the names of the couple appear on the gift, the guest will remember where the gift came from and look back on the event for years to come. Last but not least, these wedding table decorations allow the bride and groom to thank each and every guest who attends the wedding.

Unique wedding favors play an important role in wedding, and are not just another part of the decorations. These wedding table decorations enhance the feeling and mood of the wedding venue, but they also act as a message to the guests. The ideal choice for a wedding favor should match the couple as well as the wedding ceremony.

Dakota Bressler is an author for The Wedding Greenhouse (http://www.theweddinggreenhouse.com), an leading producer of indoor tropical plants and live wedding table decorations. They also provide unique wedding favors and other live wedding decor. (http://www.theweddinggreenhouse.com/shop/index.php)

Comments 1 Comment »

Wedding flowers are perhaps one of the most important aspects of the wedding, although they also tend to be one of the aspects of the wedding that are dealt with the quickest. This is because people tend to make snap judgments about flowers when sitting back and thinking about it a little bit is really the better way to go. The flowers in a wedding are everywhere, serving multiple purposes and that is exactly why understanding not only what the most popular wedding flowers are, but also why they are so popular is essential to picking the best wedding flowers for your specific occasion. In order to really understand the most popular wedding flowers however, it is important to look at them from the point of view of the different uses they will have.

The Bouquet

When dealing with the bouquet, there are two things in particular that drive the most popular wedding flowers. The first of these two things is the color of the flower because the vast majority of wedding bouquets involve flowers that are white or off white (i.e. cream) in color. Think about all of the bouquets at all of the weddings that you have been to and you will soon realize this fact to be true. Examples of extremely popular flowers in this category include gardenias, stephanotis, roses, carnations, orchids, lilies and sweet peaks.

In addition to color however, another thing that you must take into account is the scent of the flower. Some wedding bouquets are carried by people that love to have the scent of the flowers whereas in other cases light-headedness or outright allergy might argue against scented bouquets. Flowers that are extremely popular in scented bouquets are gardenias, tuberoses, peonies and stephanotis, so keep those flowers in mind when making the final decision on this front.

The Decorations

In addition to the bouquet that the bride will be carrying, there are also flowers that are going to be around in terms of the decorations. Decorations at weddings quite frequently involve floral arrangements of some kind and because of that making the decisions regarding the flowers in those decorations is absolutely something that you want to make sure that you do. There are not really any most popular choices in terms of decorative flowers because the flowers that people use in the decorations are going to depend on what they are doing with the rest of the decorations that are not flower in form. Colour, texture, shape, size and smell are all aspects of the decorative flowers that will largely be decided by what the other wedding decorations happen to be.

The Reception

At the reception of a typical wedding, there will be flowers in the decorations once again. However, these flower decisions can largely be put aside as being covered by the decisions you made in the previous paragraph, which in turn leaves the flowers that you will be using on the tables. Tables at the reception traditionally have a flower arrangement and a centrepiece, although the two might be combined together depending on the centrepiece design that is used.

When choosing flowers for the tables in a reception, there are many factors that you need to take into account. These are the same factors that you took into account vis-A-vis the bouquet, such as potential allergies that guests might have as well as personal preferences of your guests in terms of scents. While some people jump at the thought of scented flowers, other people find them extremely irritating and that is exactly why you need to spend time thinking about the flowers in the wedding before the final decisions are made.

Our design studio specializes in wedding flowers. Let us custom design your wedding flowers for your special day. Get a free quote with our wedding consultants with no obligation. Located in Toronto Canada.
http://www.tidysflowers.com/

Comments No Comments »