Saturday 23 February 2013

Bohemian Boy (Dating history tales)

Dating history tales
Sometimes you just need to hear about the sad, wonderful, inspiring and often downright WEIRD dating experiences of others. This series of blog posts will recount a tale from our pasts - purely for your own amusement. Enjoy and feel free to read more here.

I was "sort of" dating this boy who was not my normal taste but a much needed 'palate cleanser'. He was my polar opposite in every way but that made it all the more interesting. I drew the line at this one though:

First time staying at his new place, I knew it would be sparse as he had only been there a week. However I did not expect the sleeping arrangements. Floor, duvet, 1 pillow -  no covers.

This would've been luxury!
Let's just take the time to think about this for a second. 1 pillow - between 2 for a girl who's used to sleeping  with 4 in various combinations. and 1 duvet to be both base and covers...just not gonna work!

But I put my 'big girl panties' on and made the best of it. "I can do this for a night - it could be fun!" (It wasn't)

It was even less fun the next two times I stayed over, including once after I had just worked an event all weekend and just wanted a bath and feather bed, and once when he was ill meaning neither of us got any sleep.

I mentioned it - several times. He honestly didn't see the issue. It was "bohemian" he said and even had the nerve to mockingly call me "Princess" (for wanting a bed? A hells yeah then I'm a Princess!)

Needless to say I stood by my guns when I said "Get a bed or I'm not staying here again"


Wednesday 20 February 2013

The Tate Modern (Date spot review)



Tate Modern


http://www.tate.org.uk
Call +44 (0)20 7887 8888 
Bankside
London SE1 9TG
United Kingdom

It was my first date with a guy I'd met on a dating website, and we'd spoken via text. I asked him to plan the entire date, and he was happy to. He told me to meet him at Southwark Station, and then we could take a walk to the Tate Modern.

It was about a 10 min walk from both Southwark and London Bridge Station, along the river and right opposite St Paul's Cathederal. I am very comfortable walking in heels, but if youre not, it may be best to walk in flats.

I cant say that "into" modern art. I dont know much about what is going on, and I cant always "read into" the connotations of a slash in a sheet of canvas, or a host of metal coils dangling from the ceiling. However, I didnt let that get in the way of my fun! We chatted about what we thought each piece of art could mean, then compared it to its actual meaning, and spent most of the time chatting away about our general likes and dislikes.

When we decided we'd had enough, he led me up to the 6th floor, where there is a darling bar. I didnt even know it was there! They have stools that face a window, giving you a view of the river and St Pauls.

I had two cocktails, and my date had a beer and then a glass off rum. It was comfortable and ever so fancy, with the option of dining at the restaurant. We were the until about 11pm, chatting away and enjoying a nice, casual evening.


Pros

  • Free to enter
  • Food and drinks available in the bar


Cons

  • Drinks were on the pricey side (cocktails typically £9)
  • Lots of walking involved

Great Date for?
  • Good first date- get to know each others likes and dislikes
  • Something different

Cost





Although it was free to enter, the food and drinks were rather pricey.


Romance rating





Tuesday 12 February 2013

Non-mushy Valentines!

I have seen many a post talking about how to be single on Valentines. All well and good - if I were single I'd be reading the crap outta those!

However the only other posts I've seen are the gooey, slushy, cupid-ey...vomit inducing posts. Now this is coming from a life long romantic. But even I am starting to get sick of the sight of this over-forced "romance". It feels forced and completely fake - as you may have seen on my previous post it's about the everyday romance

So where does that leave me on Valentines Day? I dont want to reject it on principle because I do like to mark it and remember that romance is important - but guys, I will totally be judging you on your originality!

What sparked this post was realising the new Die Hard movie is being released on Valentines Day. ELB commented to me that "There are gonna be some very annoyed women in that theatre on Thursday!" But actually....why should they be? Considering the crap rom-coms that have been produced lately if we were going to the cinema I'd MUCH rather see Bruce Willis being his awesome self! 

So c'mon guys. Don't subject your beautiful, intelligent and individual woman to the sterotype that we just want chocolates and flowers and an overpriced meal. (NB from Panda: "Although also never forget that every girl likes flowers!") and plan something she would really enjoy this Thursday.

If she loves chocolate instead of the "1/3 off supermarket special" why dont you book a chocolate making class for later in the month. Or plan an at home chocolate tasting? 

Sci-Fi fan? Tell her you're going to this summers convention and you'll even go in costume for her. (Yeah I'm not going to lie to you -that's my one!) 

Whatever you do, make it personal and dont feel pressured to eat another Love Heart or buy another plastic rose..


Thursday 7 February 2013

Everyday Romance

Following on from Panda's post about Valentine's day being a chance for men to win some serious brownie points, I began thinking a little more about romance. And what really is romance?

Ok sure we've got the roses, the champagne, the fancy dinner etc etc. But these are things that anyone  who has seen a chick-flick and owns a credit card can do. For me romance is about those little every day things. More importantly than that it's about knowing the person you are being romantic with..

Sure the big gestures are always appreciated - don't get me wrong. But they will mean SO much more if you stop and think for a little bit about what she (or he) will really appreciate. What will show them that you have listened and paid attention to what they love and enjoy? There is no point committing to a 2hr foot massage if she is squeamish about having her feet touched is there? But remembering a throwaway comment from 6 month ago about that shower gel that reminds her of her Gran will win you more points than you know!

But it doesn't have to be big. The little things mean just as much - if not more because you can do these things every single day.

Walking past your significant others favourite bakery and picking up that shortbread biscuit she loves on the way home from work - just because. Does it drive your partner mad when you always leave your socks in the living room? Make a real effort to pick them up and put them in the hamper.

Seeing that they have had a tough day at work and even though it's their turn to cook, throwing dinner together (or at least phoning for her favourite pizza) whilst running her a bath. Has she been going on about seeing the new Ryan Gosling film even though you hate him? Leave tickets for that evenings show by the side of the bed for her to discover when she wakes up.

Get creative - does she love a certain TV show? Take her on a "themed" weekend away to the film sets (Game of Thrones is mainly filmed in Ireland for example) or on a smaller scale set up a "theme night" at home. If she loves "50 first dates" turn your living room into Hawaii with some paper leis, scented candles and BBQ style dinner whilst you watch the movie together.

If you have a skill or talent - utilise it. Sure not all men can play an instrument or compose poetry - but again get thinking. I once made a guy a website when we couldn't be together for valentines day. There was a playlist of songs embedded, a short video from me and silly things like picture from our favourite childhood movies. It was goofy and cheesy but I had a lot of fun making it and he loved it.

Ultimately it comes down to the amount of thought and effort put in. The most romantic things often cost very little apart from some serious brainstorming.

Oh and please let me not forget the obvious. Words. Honestly spoken words go further than anything else. Tell her thank you. All the time, for every little thing that you appreciate. Compliment her beauty. Genuinely tell her what you love and appreciate about her. Mix it up.

"I really admire the way you handled that really difficult customer at work. I know it's not always easy to keep your cool but you did and I'm really impressed"

"This dinner is delicious - I love your home cooking, thank you so much sweetie"

"You look stunning in that dress, it fits you beautifully"

"You are an amazingly talented musician. I could listen to you play guitar for hours"

Trust me when I say you shouldn't limit romance to valentines day. These little actions will not only make you feel good because you are doing something just for her, but you will start to notice more little things being done for you. Which will then probably increase what you do. Smiles for you, smiles for her, all round fuzzy feelings and the world being just that little bit better. Sure it seems like "effort" at first, but before you realise it they will become second nature to you.

And that's what TRUE Romance is.

PS. For real added points
Always always always wish her goodnight and good morning. Kiss her eyelids as she sleepily opens them, text her "Sweet dreams beautiful", call her to wish her a good day at work. Let her know you are the first thing you think about in the morning and last thing before sleep.





Wednesday 6 February 2013

"Night In" Giveaway winner!

First of all we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that took part in our giveaway. We didn't expect to suddenly see thousands of new readers, but to each of you lovely people that has now found us and is following us - we love you!

Seeing every new entry, comment and RT really made us smile and we were texting each other in excitement at each one that came through. We wish we could give you each something for being one of our first readers, but instead hopefully knowing that you will always be one of our special group of "original readers" is something? 

So without further ado we are very pleased the winner is....

Kathleen Hooper
(@Hoops120)

Well done Kathleen!

Please drop us an email on grabaspoon(at)live.co.uk with your details so we can send your prize out to you. 

Once again, thank you to everyone that participated. And please please do stay in touch! We would love to see our little slice of the web grow as organically as possible, and not just through giveaways and promotions. 

If you like one of our posts, or appreciate something we say we would really love you giving us a little tweet or post comment. You have no idea how much they make us smile knowing that we have brought amusement and maybe some wise words to someone's day. 

Or if there is something you dont like and could see us improving, or something you think we should blog about that we dont currently - let us know. You are our readers and we want to make sure you enjoy what we produce. 

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Lots of love,

Owl and Panda xxx

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