Cheeky Gifts!

For Her: A great idea on the second or third date is to bring her a little gift. This is a really sweet idea that will really warm her heart, especially since it seems the old time standard first date flowers are a thing of the past. But after the first date, bringing a small gift shows that you were thinking of her, that you wanted to do a little something for her, and, if you get a gift that’s a bit unique, you were listening to her interests and were paying attention. That’s how you know she loves sailing and why you bought her little anchor earrings. The thing is you’re not going to go buy her expensive jewelry this early on, and no one expects you to. But just a little trinket can show that you’re really interested in who she is and that you care. There is a store on Prince Street and West Broadway in Soho called Girl Props. It’s an accessory store chock full of low price goodies. What makes this store your stop for that gift is that it’s got something for every woman. Some things are pretty, some are just silly. But your choice depends on what you gathered about your date the first one or two times you met. Here you can get her something creative and fun that will really make her say “wow, not only was he listening, but how original was this idea?!” Is she a little punk rock? Go for a cute studded bracelet. The kind of girl that embraces her eighties childhood and struck up conversation about what shows you guys used to watch? Girl Props actually has novelty jewelry with miniature eighties-era toys on them. (Is she going to wear that to a nice place? Well, no, but she’ll adore the thought and treasure it.) Is she more of a glam girl, loving a little glitz? Go for a delicate chain necklace with a pretty and sparkly rhinestone charm. You won’t spend more than $20.00 here, but you will walk out with a gift that will get you another date.
For Him: Same goes for you girls buying your guy something. Early on in the dating, you don’t want to go grandiose with the gift, you just want to get a little something that shows you were listening to him and what he likes, maybe even what his childhood was like. The gift in this stage is all about being thoughtful. Check out the classic St. Mark’s Comics on St. Mark’s Place between 2nd and 3rd Avenue. This tiny landmark is crammed with all things guy (and girl, of course). Your date does not have to be a comic book geek for you to find something that will totally catch him off guard with pleasant surprise. There are comics for every taste and interest, knick-knacks…okay, I know, women do not want to encourage the immature, toy-loving side in their guys. But this is just a fun little something that will show you were really paying attention to him, and that you thought of him enough to go get him that toy he spoke about worshipping when he was twelve. After this you don’t have to buy him any more toys or comics, I promise. But this will make you that unbeatably cool girl, and all of his friends will be jealous.

Girl Props - Soho

St. Mark's Comics - NY / Brooklyn

Written by: Courtney Iseman - SpeedNY Dating Resident Blogger

Unique Gifts for Her & Him

For Her: A great idea on the second or third date is to bring her a little gift. This is a really sweet idea that will really warm her heart, especially since it seems the old time standard first date flowers are a thing of the past. But after the first date, bringing a small gift shows that you were thinking of her, that you wanted to do a little something for her, and, if you get a gift that’s a bit unique, you were listening to her interests and were paying attention. That’s how you know she loves sailing and why you bought her little anchor earrings. The thing is you’re not going to go buy her expensive jewelry this early on, and no one expects you to. But just a little trinket can show that you’re really interested in who she is and that you care. There is a store on Prince Street and West Broadway in Soho called Girl Props. It’s an accessory store chock full of low price goodies. What makes this store your stop for that gift is that it’s got something for every woman. Some things are pretty, some are just silly. But your choice depends on what you gathered about your date the first one or two times you met. Here you can get her something creative and fun that will really make her say “wow, not only was he listening, but how original was this idea?!” Is she a little punk rock? Go for a cute studded bracelet. The kind of girl that embraces her eighties childhood and struck up conversation about what shows you guys used to watch? Girl Props actually has novelty jewelry with miniature eighties-era toys on them. (Is she going to wear that to a nice place? Well, no, but she’ll adore the thought and treasure it.) Is she more of a glam girl, loving a little glitz? Go for a delicate chain necklace with a pretty and sparkly rhinestone charm. You won’t spend more than $20.00 here, but you will walk out with a gift that will get you another date.


For Him: Same goes for you girls buying your guy something. Early on in the dating, you don’t want to go grandiose with the gift, you just want to get a little something that shows you were listening to him and what he likes, maybe even what his childhood was like. The gift in this stage is all about being thoughtful. Check out the classic St. Mark’s Comics on St. Mark’s Place between 2nd and 3rd Avenue. This tiny landmark is crammed with all things guy (and girl, of course). Your date does not have to be a comic book geek for you to find something that will totally catch him off guard with pleasant surprise. There are comics for every taste and interest, knick-knacks…okay, I know, women do not want to encourage the immature, toy-loving side in their guys. But this is just a fun little something that will show you were really paying attention to him, and that you thought of him enough to go get him that toy he spoke about worshipping when he was twelve. After this you don’t have to buy him any more toys or comics, I promise. But this will make you that unbeatably cool girl, and all of his friends will be jealous.

Girl Props - Soho

St. Mark's Comics - NY / Brooklyn

Written by: Courtney Iseman - SpeedNY Dating Resident Blogger

Sizzling Summer Beauty

Summertime dates are supposed to be fun and refreshing, and that’s exactly the approach you should take when it comes to your beauty regiment. Here’s the low down on what’s cool for the warm weather.

Hair: Blunt bangs were great this winter, but let’s face it, it’s just too hot to have all that hair stuck to your face. Keep your hair simple with mermaid-like waves that are easy to achieve. In the shower, run a wide toothed comb through your hair before your rinse out your conditioner. Collect your wet hair upside-down in a towel to absorb as much water as you can. When hair stops dripping, apply a curl cream (I like Frederic Fekkai’s Luscious Curls) and scrunch each section of your hair in the direction of the wave. For extra volume, flip your head over as you sculpt.

Nails: There’s a reason our mother’s only wore white between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and that’s because it matches nicely with a bronze summer glow. This fabulous summer shade isn’t only for pants and jeans, slick on a coat of white nail polish before you head out and your date will be reaching for your hand all night long.

Face: My motto for pre-date prepping is, “time is money”. You don’t have all night to sit in front of a mirror so you’ve got to get your look in no time flat. Warm weather calls for carefree looks so skip the laundry list of products and stick to four of five essentials. Think bronzer, blush, mascara and eyeliner. Almost as if they’ve read your mind, Cargo Cosmetics has launched the 7 in 7 kit, which includes seven best selling products (foundation, eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, blush, lip liner and lip gloss) and promises you can get them all applied in seven minutes. My only question is where can I find one of those for the rest of my routine?

Photo caption: Courtesy of Cargo Cosmetics

Written by: Libby Dowd - SpeedNY Dating Resident Blogger

Date My Space

Alright ladies, it's date 4 and you've decided that the guy you're seeing isn't a serial killer.

It's time to stop meeting in crowded public places, and let the dude pick you up from your apartment. If things go well, you might even invite him back up for a nightcap -- or a SportsCenter recap, either way. But, before you start planning your whole 'would you like to come up' line, there are a few things you need to make sure you've got handy in that humble abode. Think of it like the dating version of baby-proofing -- instead of covering outlets, you're making sure you're covered when it comes to the necessary apartment accoutrement required to maintain that whole sassy, successful single lady thing you've been selling since date one.

First of all, there are few truisms that are...well, truer, than that whole way-to-a-man's-heart thing. We all know there are certain organs that guys tend to defer to in times of need, and one of them really is their stomach. So, a well stocked fridge is a must. I'm not saying you need to have homemade cookies and pot roast chilling on your shelves. Hell, you don't even need a real kitchen. But, you do need to have cold water, cold beer and a decent bottle of wine on hand. Depending on the type of guy you're going after, a nice bottle of whiskey couldn't hurt either. I've found that you can get a lot of bang for your buck out of Firestone Double Barrel Ale on the beer front, Barefoot Pinot Noir in the wine rack and Maker's Mark on the liquor shelf -- most guys love all three brands, and none of them will cost you more than a twenty. Have some chips and salsa in your cabinets -- if unopened, they keep forever -- and you're all set for a lovely post-date rendezvous on your couch.

While we're on the topic of booze, nothing is worse than pulling off the perfect wine purchase only to find yourself struggling with the cork while trying to maintain that whole smooth seductress vibe. So, make sure you invest in a decent wine opener and a bottle opener to boot. If you've got $30 to blow, check out The Rabbit (http://www.amazon.com/Metrokane-6004-Rabbit-Corkscrew-Black/dp/B00004SQ0K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1254602887&sr=8-2). Like the famous fun-time toy that shares its name, it's the Cadillac of its class of gadgets. But, if you'd rather save your cash for the wine, you can do just as well with a model like this onehttp://www.amazon.com/Pedrini-Wine-Pocket-Waiters-Corkscrew/dp/B0002AKKYO/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1254602860&sr=8-12, which basically relies on leverage to get the job done. It's what I have, and let me tell you, it's a boon for babes who don't want to spend the whole night fighting with a stubborn cork when they could be spending the time with a good syrah.

Of course, once you've got the food and booze covered, what else could a guy possibly want? Well, depending on how much wine you've downed, or how late your little post-date party went, there's a very good chance he'll want a cup of coffee. You know how that old book goes. If you give a mouse a cookie, he'll want a glass of milk. If you give a guy enough booze, he'll probably need a cup of coffee. The easy solution to becoming your own barrista, impressing your date and saving the seven bucks you'd spend at Starbucks? My new favorite toy -- the Melitta one cup coffee brewer, which has all the cool science experiment appeal of a french press without any of the expense. In fact, I got mine for less than $10 at the Ralphs on Sunset. You can also buy them for $8 and change on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Melitta-Coffee-Maker-Ready-Black/dp/B001OBY37U/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1254603163&sr=8-5). It's also a great single girl accessory that saves you the counter space, expense and cleaning of a real coffee maker and actually makes a better cup of joe than any electric coffee maker I've ever had.

So, now you've got the food, the booze and the caffeine all taken care of. All you have left to do now is hide those stuffed animals on your bed (save 'em for the fifth date), change the channel to ESPN and make sure you've got your shoe pyramid tucked away in a closet (save all hints of potential high maintenance-ness for the fifth date too). Then, it's time to find the last and possibly most important apartment accessory for us gals dating in LA -- a parking space for your man. Because nothing says 'I'm committed to seeing where this relationship goes' quite like 'I just fought that angry guy in the convertible so you would have a convenient place to put your Prius.'

Written by: Mollie Vandor - SpeedUSA Group Resident Blogger

Do You Have a Brit Connection?

This one comes straight from the heart - as anyone’s enthusiasm other than my own, simply would not do justice. Admittedly, I am partial – I love all things English, what can I say?

More so than usual, this time of year drifts me back home ; Christmas pudding, Mince pies, Quality Street, Christmas Crackers (no you don’t eat them!) and so many other favorites, really too many to mention…

For those of you that have not experienced the delight of British sundries; be it Christmas or the middle of Summer it’s always a good time for a cup of Tetley’s and a Penguin. What does all this mean I hear you cry!? For those of you that don’t know – ok the majority of people reading - that would be a cup of the best Tea in the world accompanied by an old favorite; chocolate Penguin bars! Please do take a look for yourself and allow me to introduce your one stop shop for fabulous British fare; The Brit Connection can be found athttp://www.thebritconnection.com/

Pamela and Michael are the lovely owners of this delightful shop – If there is something you want and don’t see it on the website – let them know! They will do their best to accommodate your request.

This Holiday Season, Speed USA Group would like to thank the Brit Connection for bringing us a little piece of home, from far across the pond.

Cheers!

The Brit Connection - Torrance

Written by: SpeedNY Dating