Date Night Idea – Painting Ceramics

Last night it was my turn to plan a date and I decided to go with something super sexy… just kidding I picked one of my favorite things to do growing up- painting ceramics. When I originally pitched this idea to my friends to see what they thought everyone immediately pictured the movie Ghost and some sexy clay wheel pottery action, but I researched that and it costs like almost $200 for 2 people so that is not what I did.

ghost-demi-moore-patrick-swayze-movie-pottery-class-clayMy date and I went to Glaze Fire in Silverlake (similar to a Color Me Mine, or my old faves Do Art and Village Paint Pot). At Glaze Fire you pick out a premade ceramic object and paint or decorate it to your hearts content. You pay $10 per person for the sitting fee which includes the supplies (paint, brushes, etc.) and the glazing once you’re done. You also pay for the object you choose to paint. Mine was a regular coffee mug and it was $15 to give you a rough idea. At Glaze Fire they have mostly items that have a purpose too so things you can actually use once you make them. They had plates, cups, mugs, spoon rests, trinket trays, boxes, coin banks, and more. Sarah was working there the night we went and she was awesome at explaining how everything worked and giving us tips on our paintings.  Continue reading “Date Night Idea – Painting Ceramics”

If He Ignores Valentine’s Day He Ain’t the One

Are you dating someone who is acting like they have zero clue that Valentine’s Day is this weekend? Maybe you’ve only been on a handful of dates and aren’t exclusive yet so you feel like you’re in an awkward limbo state where you don’t know if it’s too early to mention the “V” word. Here’s some excuses you might have told yourself or some well intentioned friends and family members might have hypothesized: Continue reading “If He Ignores Valentine’s Day He Ain’t the One”

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”

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:

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”

Sexy Series – Making Your Home Sexy

Welcome to a new mini-series here on Blushing in Hollywood all about how to make and keep things sexy in your relationship. If you are single and dating these tips are also going to be very helpful. I think people can get in a rut where your partner starts to feel just like a buddy, but it’s important to keep the romance alive.

First of all, a clean home is a sexy home so this is going to take some work on your part. The good news is that it’s your home so you’ll reap the benefits even when the date is over!

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Five Dating Sins I’m Atoning For

We all make mistakes when dating and here are a few I have made in the past year.

In honor of Yom Kippur this past weekend I decided to have my own Day of Atonement by writing out some of my dating and relationship sins from the past year.

1. Saying I’m interested in going on another date when I know I don’t really mean it. Eek sorry guys. Sometimes when I say it I really do believe it and change my mind later, sometimes I say it hoping I can force myself to believe it, and sometimes I say it just to be polite even though I’m probably hurting your feelings more long-term.

2. Not letting go of the past. Ok this isn’t really a sin just a behavior that affects me negatively. I just try to keep reminding myself that that person I used to date who was really into me and who I had a great connection with does not exist. I cannot pick up where I left off with them because they are not the person who I make them up to be in my mind.

3. Comparing myself and my relationship to others. This one is tough because I didn’t have a great relationship model growing up and therefore I’m always guessing at what’s normal. Instead of wondering if I’m measuring up to my friends and peers I really need to listen to myself and how I feel about my dating situation. Comparison is the enemy of contentment after all.

4. Putting on my best version of myself mask for dates. Yes we all want to make a good first impression and be our best selves when looking for a significant other, but it’s important not to over-do it. I’ve realized that if you try to project your most “perfect” version of yourself in the beginning it’s impossible to maintain forever so eventually your real self comes out. When that happens the person you’re dating thinks “who the hell is this? This is not what I signed up for.” and ends the relationship which can feel like they’re validating your perfectionist method.

5. Trolling. This naughty little habit isn’t very nice, but I am now off the dating websites so don’t worry single dudes I’m not comin’ for you. I’m sorry guy who kept drunk messaging me on OkCupid that instead of giving you my phone number when you asked I gave you the number for Promises rehab. You’re just looking for love or a codependent relationship and I should have just let you live your life. Also, sorry to these dudes: Continue reading “Five Dating Sins I’m Atoning For”

Should You Delete Pictures of Exes on Facebook?

A friend recently posed a question to me and I want to know what you think: should you keep pictures of exes up on Facebook? What if they are making a new partner feel insecure? See what I said and let me know what you think in the comments.

A friend came to me this week with a question. He has been dating a great girl for 2 months and recently she confessed to him that she had to de-friend him on Facebook because he had so many pictures of his (recent) ex-girlfriend and the ex-girlfriend was so beautiful it was making her feel insecure. He assured her that the ex is in the past, he’s with her because he wants to be with her and she has nothing to worry about. 

 

My 2 cents: I told him that while it’s not an ideal scenario at least she told him how she was honestly feeling instead of keeping it inside and acting weird in other situations where he would have no clue what was wrong (which the majority of girls would do in my opinion). I told him if it’s in the past and he doesn’t care, just delete the pictures! Save them in a hidden folder if you want the memories down the road, but for now take them off Facebook. If this relationship doesn’t work out because of this or for any other reason it’s not going to help him in future relationships to have tons of pictures of his ex on Facebook anyway. This is a time when they are trying to build trust and if he really doesn’t care he should be more flexible and more sensitive to her feelings.

 

I’ve been informally polling my friends on their thoughts on this and another said that this is a red flag and that you should be cautious dating someone this insecure and jealous. They said that they have pictures up of their exes and it’s just memories of the past and they are friends with their exes now so it would be weird if they took all the pictures down. I kind of think it’s a minor flaw in the grand scheme of things if the person is great in many other ways. Most of my girl friends say they do snoop Facebook to look at exes out of curiosity and while sometimes they feel insecure if they’re particularly beautiful, overall it just satisfies that curiosity and allows you a glimpse into your partners past without interrogating them or seeming too interested. Some even go as far as looking at exgirlfriend’s friends to see more pictures of said ex-girlfriend. 

 

While scrolling through my own pictures I realized that I have pictures with a few exes, but they are buried within tons of selfies and pictures with friends and it’s hard to tell whether I’m standing next to a male friend or an ex. When I scrolled through the pictures my guy friend who had this issue in the first place’s pictures I realized that he had 70+ of this ex (they had dated for a few years) with him, with groups of friends, just by herself, etc. in his “Photos” aka no digging through old albums because he was tagged in all of these. Thinking back though, this guy showed me lots of photos in real albums of him as a kid and growing up the very first time I met him so maybe he is just a very sentimental person who likes to hold onto visual memories in the form of pictures?

 

Most importantly, he and I want to know what you think!! After a break-up do you delete pictures of exes? Untag? If you’re dating someone new and they made a comment would you delete the pictures of your ex? Would you think they were insane or it was a red flag that they were asking? Does it depend on if you really like the person a whole bunch vs. you’re not too sure about them? Please comment and let us know!!!

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My 5 Favorite Dating and Relationship Podcasts

Everyone loves to complain about LA traffic. Before I moved that’s what people would want to talk about “you’re moving to LA? I couldn’t handle that much traffic I’d go crazy!” In situations like this I always try to expect the worst so if traffic is anything less than soul sucking and completely insane I’ll feel pleasantly surprised. Another way I combat traffic is by listening to good podcasts. A podcast is like your favorite talk radio show that you can customize to your interests that updates weekly straight to your phone. Here are my top 5 favorite on dating, relationships, and sex.

1.

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“Dan Savage, America’s only advice columnist, answers your sex questions and yaps about politics.” This podcast is definitely sex-talk heavy, graphic, and NSFW, but it is awesome. Dan Savage keeps it real and has honestly opened my mind and changed my views on stuff like the realities of long term monogamy, being more sex positive (or GGG), and “a relationship is not a deposition.”

Continue reading “My 5 Favorite Dating and Relationship Podcasts”