Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and you’ve been a bad girlfriend and have not gotten a gift for your boyfriend. Fear not because here are some quick and easy gifts you can get him that he’ll love, or at least pretend to if he’s a good BF.

Idea # 1

Treat him to a manlicure and grooming session, then take him out to wine and dine him. Turning the table around and pampering a guy can be super cute and he will appreciate it.

Idea # 2

Along the same lines as idea # 1, you can give him a makeover! If he is willing of course. Take him shopping if he’s up for it, (ask first since most guys hate shopping) and pay for everything.

Idea # 3

Plan a fun day outdoors. Yes it is February and it is winter, but dress warm, put on your your cute matching scarf and mitts and hit up a few outdoor spots while unleashing as much PDA as possible upon the world.

Idea # 4

Take him whiskey or beer tasting. It’s not the most romantic thing, but if you can hang with him like one of the guys, he’ll feel that much closer to you.

Idea # 5

Plan a ski-day complete with cozying up in the lodge and then warming up in a cabin by the fireplace.

Idea #6

Make him something with your own hands! Try one these from Valetmag.com or P.S. I Made This.

Photo courtesy: T. Germeau from Flickr

Happy February everyone! Pinch and a punch for the first of the month! It’s the month for love and I’m sure as many of you us dreading it as are eager for it because let’s not pretend we don’t realize that Valentine’s day is 13 days away.

Here’s a list that readers in both camps can get something out of; the cheesiest things I could think of doing in New York City on Valentine’s day. If you are inspired, carry one of these out! If you are not, roll your eyes and have a chuckle.

1. The restaurant One if by Land and Two if By Sea is constantly voted as the top most romantic restaurant in NYC. Why not go there and be surround by 5 other original couples proposing to each other all at once?

   

2. A walk over the Brooklyn Bridge which holding hands and stopping intermittently to gaze over the East River and kiss while blocking pedestrian traffic.
   
3. Be Sleepless in NYC and share a kiss on top of the Empire State building. Photo credit: Vogue.com
4. A horseback carriage ride in Central Park. Romantic but smelly.
   Photo credit: Natasja Valentijn

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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A few months ago, a girlfriend of mine went through something that many of us dread. A breakup. Yes, it happens to the best of us and we usually don’t want to blast it out to all of our friends and families or share something that is so personal with the random people we may have as ‘friends’ on Facebook. My girlfriend was in the same position and asked me to help with removing her relationship status on Facebook without people seeing. I put together this step-by-step guide for her with a bit of Google research and experimenting:

Step 1. Go to your Privacy settings

Step 2. Click on Relationships

Step 3. Hover over the drop down Custom menu and click on the Custom edit button

Step 4. Select “Only Me”. This will make your relationship status disappear to everyone else except for you.

Step 5. Save your new settings.

I hope this will help you to keep your love life or heartbreak private.

P.s. To the dumper: you are a jerk! To the dumped: girl, you are better off without him! Now do what Beyonce said and put your hands up and have some fun!

I’m not a weddings expert or a bride-to-be, but I was instantly ready to say I Do to these gorgeous Chinese Laundry Wedding Head over Heels shoes. The platform is very of the moment, the lace is timeless and the ribbon and bow add a bit of a fashion statement.

Most brides decide to go with long ground skimming wedding gowns. These shoes are perfect for the walk down the aisle because when the bride will be gliding towards the alter, the ankle details will be hidden by the gown. Later on when it time to dance up a storm at the reception, the cute little bow and details will be visible as she picks up her dress to move around.

In addition to all the gorgeous details, the best part about these shoes is the price! They are only $99! You can also find affordable shoes to match for your bridesmaids within the collection.

Talking about these shoes are really making me want to get married so I’ll stop now and send you over to the rest of the Chinese Laundry Wedding collection. A big congratulations to all the brides of 2010!

With our busy lives, it’s hard to plan ahead for that perfect Valentine’s day present for your girlfriend. Yes, it is a legitimate excuse, but I hate to break it to you guys, your girlfriend is not going to buy it! So get her jewelry, the fail-safe present, and you will be covered on Feb 14th, 2010.

See the Stylester picks below for presents in a pinch that are guaranteed to arrive at the doorstep of your loved one by Valentine’s day.

Swarovski

The  Lala Pierced Earrings in red crystals. Price: $59.00 USD

Order by 3pm EST on Feb 11st from Swarovski.com and get guaranteed delivery.

Buy it here.

…

Tiffany

Tiffany 1837 Interlocking Circles Pendant. $400 USD

Order by noon on Feb 12th for guaranteed delivery.

Buy it here.

…

…

Zales

Princess Cut Diamond Solitaire Stud Earrings in 14K White Gold. $899.99 USD

Order by 1AM on Feb 11th for guaranteed delivery.

Buy it here.

…

Tiffany – For him

Tiffany 1837 Concave Circle Cuff Links for him. $195 USD

Order by noon on Feb 12th for guaranteed delivery.

Buy it here.

So one of my best guy friends tells me today, in typical New York style, about a girl he’s sort of dating:

“i think i’m moving into being a support structure for her and i don’t really want that”

Now, what do I make of this?

I mean, I know my friend, I’ll obviously take his side, but is it his fault that the girl isn’t getting it that he’s just not that into her? Should he be even less responsive to her increasing number of texts or should she just stop texting?

Sigh… love in the city

I was talking to my best friend a few nights back who lives all the way out in Calgary, Canada, about growing older and becoming afraid of taking risks and making huge changes in our lives. The conclusion we came to is that after the age of 25, people tend to get settled in, and comfortable in what they know, and therefore are afraid to do things that may bring change into lives. This includes things like the city they live in, the job they might be in as well the relationships they are in. It is surely also tied to the quarter life crisis (which the sixth paragraph of this blogpost sums it up quite well), actually, it is probably the reason for the quarter life crisis. Once we begin to be forced to become responsible for ourselves, we become afraid of making the wrong choices, because if we fail, we wont have so much of our family, BFFs or roommates to fall back on. We’ll only have ourselves. That’s a scary thought. So, when things are comfortable, it is that much harder to take a risk that might ruin the fine balance in which we live our lives now.

All this said, I wish I could just turn the clock back about 13 years and go back to being 11 and oblivious.

I have always wondered how couples that work together bear to stand
each other and stick it out day in and day out, with each other, every
single second of the day!

I work in the same company as my BF but in separate departments and we
never see each other in the office unless we specifically plan to meet
for lunch or coffee.

I’ve seen an older married couple working together very closely at a
previous job I had and it was slightly strange. It was weird to see
the boss treat his wife as any other employee and get mad at her, and
it was equally weird to see him being extra harsh on her because she
was his wife or being rude or dismissive towards her in a personal
rather than professional way.

For sometime, I thought it would have been cool to work with my future
partner and maybe open up a business together, but now that I’m older
and have a better taste of working life, I realize that is clearly a
horrible idea.

Here’s my advice to 20 somethings or 30 somethings, or women in
general is that if you can avoid it, DON’T get in business with your
husband or boyfriend!

Look at what happened to the Magnolia bakery girls – they were BFFs and then
broke up after going into business together.

A little separation in a relationship will only make the time spent
together more special, so keep work and love separate. That’s this
naive and inexperienced 20 something girl’s 2 cents.

This only works on TV! and NOT in reality.

I have to admit that the thought of marriage is super scary to me; that is the thought of being with someone forever and ever, and also the thought of breaking up with someone who you live with and are completely dependent on.

.. In sociology and psychology classes in college, I learnt that the likelihood of divorce increases by something like 50% if you cohabitate before tying the knot. That’s an added 50% risk you are taking on top of the terrible divorce stats these days, (everyone knows that half of all marriages in North America end in divorce). So, in the end, if you live together, statistically, the chances of you staying married and not getting divorced is ONLY 25%!!!

Think about it, and don’t do it.

I hate to admit it, but the following article from www.drlauraberman.com actually says it quite well:

• According to DrLauraBerman.com, these are the reasons why you should NOT move in together with your boyfriend before marriage.
• Heaps of studies over the past two decades have found a higher risk of divorce among couples who live together before marriage. While some of this may be explained by the fact that less-traditional people are more willing to live together before marriage — and perhaps more willing to end a marriage in which they’re unhappy — studies still find that playing house before you are actually Mr. and Mrs. can decrease your chances of ending up happily-ever-after. With nearly half of all couples deciding to move in together at some point in their relationship, this is an important correlation to consider.
• Living together before marriage may weaken a couple’s conflict resolution skills and willingness to compromise. When you know that you can walk away at any time, working through difficult relationship problems is less of a priority. And that can be a hard habit to break once you’re married.

I was at a Rare Bar the other day and happened to overhear two older gentlemen, in their late 30s and early 40s talking about how young they should go when dating girls. The gentleman in his 40s was trying to convince the one in his late 30s that he can go as low as a 24 year old girl.

And at that point, I moved myself away from this conversation. haha.

Anyway, after consulting with my fab coworker Lauren the next day, I was informed about the golden rule in dating older men. Here it is:
The girl should be at least half the man’s age, plus 7.
So let’s say the man is 30, the girl should not be any younger than 22. (30/2=15, +7=22).

Although I personally think that’s pushing it a little.