Relationships – Page 2 – Blushing in Hollywood

My Tinder Date Left Me at the Bar

Well I had one of my top 5 worst dates of all time last month. The short version of what happened is, as the title says, a Tinder date actually left me at the bar.

So let’s go back to the beginning. We texted for a while and then he told me we should meet up for drinks (I’ve written before about how this is one of my least favorite invitations). He said if I wanted we could just hang out at his place (red flag). I said absolutely not we’re going somewhere public. He said ok great let’s do it.

When he asked me where I’d like to go I told him that I’d like for him to plan it and also could he please pick me up. He said sure no problem. Before our date I briefly Googled him since he is a former model (this is LA after all) so he has some web presence. I find out that he is actually 27, not 28 like his Tinder profile says. This is a trend I have been seeing a lot more lately with people lying about their age. I have no clue why there’s any difference between 28 vs. 27, but when I asked him about it he said he was indeed 27.

The day of the date comes and he asks me if I went to meet him at a bar in Brentwood. As the name of this blog suggests, I live in Hollywood (~30-40 minutes from Brentwood) so I said hell no you as he is supposed to come pick me up as we previously agreed. He said ok sure I can do that.

He then shows up half an hour early (better than late I guess?). I get in the car and we say hello and he starts driving. I ask him where we’re going and he says “I don’t know I don’t really know this area” and I try to keep my eyes from rolling out of my head since hello, use Google or Yelp like the rest of us. He then says we could hang out on his side of town or maybe we could just hang out and have a drink at his place.

He then says “but you already said you don’t want to do that so..” that’s right buddy. His next idea is that he’ll drive down Fairfax because there’s “a group of bars and lounges and we’ll just go to one of those.” He’s not sure exactly where they are and when I ask for more information he has none. He then proceeds to pass every single bar on Fairfax and points to some place I’ve never heard of when he realizes we are practically in Little Ethopia and says “what about here?” I tell him no and suggest we go to a great date bar called The Woods which is back by my apartment. He agrees and we drive back there. Continue reading “My Tinder Date Left Me at the Bar”

Tinder While Traveling

With spring break upon us and summer time coming up I thought it was a good time to bring up a very important topic which is using the Tinder app while traveling. This can mean using Tinder while on vacation, Tindering at your parent’s place for the holidays, or even swiping right while on a business trip. So why would you want to meet up with a stranger in a strange town? Well here’s a few reasons to try Tinder while traveling:

Tinder isn't just for at home! Find out why it's awesome and you have to try it while traveling for vacation, on business, or when home for the holidays. — Love at first swipe?

Continue reading “Tinder While Traveling”

Texting Etiquette for Dating

To text or not to text? There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there when it comes to texting etiquette and after thinking about it and discussing it with some friends I have come to the conclusion that if you want to text someone, just go ahead and do it. Don’t over think it, don’t try to cleverly craft a the “perfect text” that takes an hour, several revisions, and at least 3 friend’s approvals. Just send the text you were thinking of and be done with it. Now let’s address some fears: Continue reading “Texting Etiquette for Dating”

Valentine’s Day Ideas and Events for Singles in LA

Pre-Vday event: Will you be my Haut Valentine? By Living Wholly has the chocolate specialists at Vosges coming to talk about the story behind every chocolate as well as a Love Coach coming to speak on ways to attract more love into your life. Oh and a chocolate tasting and gift bag. It’s before Valentines Day on Thursday 2/12/15 from 7pm-9pm in Beverly Hills. Hey, maybe the Love Coach will be so good you’ll find a date before Saturday? Continue reading “Valentine’s Day Ideas and Events for Singles in LA”

Creative Valentine’s Day Ideas

Ok we’re getting down to the wire here gentlemen it’s very important that you plan and make a reservation/buy tickets to whatever you have decided will be your Valentines Day 2015 activity du jour. I think it’s great that Valentine’s Day is on a Saturday this year because that means we have an entire day to primp (and smell sexy), and can also go out on Friday or Sunday if necessary to avoid crowds. This list includes unique and creative ideas at a variety of price points with most events in Los Angeles, but you can (try) to find something similar wherever you are this Valentine’s day. Here’s some ideas if the thought of a $200 prix fixe menu at a stuffy place with white tablecloths is not your thing:

1. Movie – Ok while not the most creative idea in the world, a movie is always nice. You can of course see 50 Shades of Grey which premiers Valentine’s Day weekend or go for something more innocent like seeing Lady and the Tramp at El Capitan (Tickets $9+). Or stay in and borrow some Oscar screeners from a friend in SAG. Get lots of chocolate/popcorn/snacks and have a snuggly little slumber party. Be sure to light some candles and have flowers (check out my Make Your Home Sexy post) around and don’t just go bare faced in sweats- you want to keep some of the romance alive! Continue reading “Creative Valentine’s Day Ideas”

Use Science to Trick Someone into Falling in Love with You

The NY Times article “To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This” has been making the rounds on social media with the “Do This” referring to asking each other increasingly deeper more personal questions and then staring into each other’s eyes for 4 minutes. It’s based on a psychology study where researchers were trying to come up with a closeness-generating paradigm. Here’s a list of the questions (from here):

Set I

1. Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?

2. Would you like to be famous? In what way?

3. Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? Why?

4. What would constitute a “perfect” day for you? Continue reading “Use Science to Trick Someone into Falling in Love with You”

The Worst Gifts To Give a Girl

I asked my girlfriends to tell me the worst gift a guy has ever gotten them and the answers were hilarious. Here I separate them by category for you so you know what not to buy the ladies in your life this holiday season:

1. No gift at all– This was the #1 response, no bueno! Don’t do that thing where you act like the holidays don’t exist either that shit’s not cute.

2. Gifts that are a little TOO creative– One girl was given a painting of herself worth several thousand; a shoddily homemade Starbucks drink sleeve; M&Ms custom made with the couples’ face on them

3. Self help she didn’t ask for– Dietary supplements for working out/protein powder; your mom’s cookbook; a 3 month membership to Equinox that implied a) she needed to workout b) he was cheap and c) they would be together for 3 months Continue reading “The Worst Gifts To Give a Girl”

Not Every Girl Wants a Tiffany Box

I was rushing to get ready for my date and throwing a few things in my clutch. “Shit” I thought in a panic, where had I put my ID? There’s no way I can go on this dinner date without having at least 2 glasses of wine. The first date was bad enough, but I wanted to give this guy a second chance in case he was just nervous… I find my ID and he calls to let me know that he is downstairs to pick me up.

I get in the car and put on a smile and say hello. I’m greeted with a blue Tiffany & Co. box pushed in my face. “Open it! Open it!” he insists “I couldn’t wait to give it to you!” The panic strikes again. “Umm you didn’t have to do this it’s WAY too much. I can’t accept this” I plead, but he makes me open it.

I slowly take the box and the analytical lady in me notices that a) there’s no white ribbon and b) it’s not in a gift bag. I open the box and it’s a sterling silver charm bracelet. It’s the kind that was very popular 15 years ago that was THE item to have in middle and high school. “Thank you, but this is way too much I can’t accept this” I say as I try to hand it back to him. He takes it and puts it on my wrist and I know that this fight is futile so I say thank you and smile for real this time because this is so crazy that I find it amusing.

tiffany-bracelet-in-box — The gifted…or re-gifted Tiffany & Co. Charm Bracelet

I met this guy while walking to my car on a day that I was feeling particularly optimistic and open to something new. I was coming off of my break from dating online and I knew I needed some practice being friendly and open to dating someone.

When I met him he said to me in a sing-song-ey way “My head’s in New York, but my heart’s in LA. The weather is good and the traffic is bad.” and other canned sayings he had obviously said a million times. We all have those so it was no big deal. Then he came to pick me up and he repeated that saying again almost immediately and verbatium “My head’s in NY, but my heart’s in LA. The weather is good and the traffic is bad.” He had a million of these it was like he was speaking in bumper stickers. He was talking the entire time, but never actually SAID anything.

He barely asked me anything more than shallow questions about myself and didn’t ask any follow-up questions. For example when I told him I had a DATING and beauty blog he didn’t ask what it was called or if I was going to write about him. He probably wasn’t even listening.

Here’s some more interesting parts of these dates: Continue reading “Not Every Girl Wants a Tiffany Box”

A Song About Modern Dating by Erin & MeLissa

I went to a comedy show at NerdMelt (great place to see a show BTW) last night and saw these girls performed and they are SO funny!! They’re Erin & Melissa and they are a musical comedy duo that performs regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade. I love this song “Based on What I See” which talks about a girl knowing a guy is ~the one~ based on his social media. I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been there before. I even tried to pick up a dude on Instagram recently. Anyway check out this video of them singing this hilarious song:

http://youtu.be/z-3dtGr2fIM

You can see them Tuesday, November 25th @ 9:30pm at UCB Franklin in The UCB Thanksgiving Parade and they’re performing Monday December 1st @ 8:30pm at the brand new UCB Sunset in Erin & MeLissa: One Night Only. Both shows are $5 and excellent date ideas.

You can follow them on Twitter @ErinandMeLissa

How To Say No To a Date

As a person that has been socialized since birth to people-please (aka a woman) I understand how difficult it is to say no when someone asks you on a date. Today I’m going to talk about turning someone down via text message/Facebook messenger/email/etc. because turning someone down in person is a much different. When you’re in person and you’re a girl being asked out by a guy you have to worry (unfortunately) about your safety so that will be a different post.

This all stems from a man asking me out via text recently who I needed to maintain a positive relationship with for professional reasons. I think this comes up a lot when you’re asked out by a work colleague or a Starbucks barista or friend of a friend that you’re going to run into a lot and it gets tricky. If you give a creepy stranger your phone number so he will leave you alone you have my permission to never respond to him ever and block him if he harasses you. Same goes for a guy on a dating website who you have barely chatted with- no response necessary. Another twist comes when you’re not sure if someone is asking you on a date and you don’t want to presume they are and be incorrect because that’s awkward. For example, a single work colleague of your preferred sex texting you “Hey want to grab drinks?” Here’s how to handle it if the answer is “No.”: Continue reading “How To Say No To a Date”