Guaranteeing a second date while on a first date

“This is all ammunition, Cart. All ammo. You want to be able to order a nice bottle of wine. 

Oh, and after dinner, if she says how she doesn’t want dessert, you suggest 

she pick one and you’ll split it. Women love that. Sharing dessert’s sexy.”

Vision in White

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By Morgan - originally posted to Flickr as Cheesecake, CC BY 2.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10226856

Couples on Channel 4's First Dates were analysed, with some interesting findings

Mirror

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She smiled. “Look how cute you are in your smarty-pants. Now why don’t you order dessert, 

so I can pretend to be self-righteous and not—then eat half of yours?”

They lingered. She’d forgotten what it was like to have a meal with a man she could have

long, twisty conversation with. One who listened, who paid attention—whether or not 

he was thinking about the possible bonus round at the end of the evening.

He made her think, she realized. And entertained her. 

Vision in White

Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

“I’m not as tidy as you.”
“Tidy’s such a fussy word, don’t you think?” He gave her an easy smile. 
“The sort that makes you think of your great-aunt Margaret and her tea cozies.”
“I don’t have a great-aunt Margaret.”
“If you did, she’d probably be a tidy sort with a tea cozy. I prefer the word organized.”


Vision in White

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You might recognize her name from her highly-popular book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. See how she will help clients “spark joy” as they declutter and organize their homes.

Better Homes & Gardens

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“Confused by closet organizers, I figured why not consult an architect?”
“You want an architect—a man—Jack—to organize your closet?”
“No, to give me a vision of what to use to organize it.”
Emma gave Mac a dubious look. “You’ve now entered Parker territory.”
“Maybe, but have you seen her closet? It’s like a layout in a magazine. It’s like 
what the Queen of England probably has. Without all the odd hats. 
Jack! Just the man I wanted to see.”
He stood in the doorway, tall, clad in jeans, work shirt, and boots—and very male. 
“I don’t want to come in there. You’re not supposed to touch anything at a crime scene.”
“The only crime here is that.” She pointed at her closet. 
“An empty closet with one stupid bar and shelf. You have to help me.”
“I told you we needed to design the closet when we altered the space.”
“I was in a hurry back then. Now I’m not. I know I need at least two bars, right—a lower one. 
And more shelves. Maybe some drawers.”
He glanced around. “You’re going to need a bigger boat.”
“I’m purging. Don’t start with me.”
He walked in, hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. “Roomy.”
“Yes, which is part of the problem. All that room, I’ve felt obliged to fill it. 
You can make it better.”
“Sure I can make it better. A kit from Home Depot would make it better.”
“I’ve looked at them. I want something more . . . More.”


Vision in White

Knowing someone is attracted to you really DOES make them more desirable

“Not to me. You were bright, vivid, confident.” Still are, he thought. Just look at you. “I feel like an idiot telling you this, but I keep tripping over it. I’m clumsy enough without putting up my own stumbling blocks. So, well. There.”
“Would the kiss the other night be the result of that old crush?”
“I’d have to say it played a part. It was all so surreal.”
She scooted forward again to pick up her coffee. “Neither one of us are who we were in high school.”
“God, I hope not. I was a mess back then.”
“Who wasn’t? You know, Carter, most guys would’ve used that high-school crush bit as a pickup ploy, or kept it locked away. It interests me, you interest me, because you did neither. Are you always so forthright over coffee dates?”
“I don’t know. You’re the only one I ever had a crush on.”
“Oh boy.”
“And that was stupid.” Flustered again, he raked his fingers through his hair. “Now I’ve scared you. That sounded scary and obsessive, like I have an altar somewhere with your pictures over it where I light candles and chant your name. Jesus, that’s even scarier. Run now. I won’t hold it against you.”
She burst out laughing, had to set her coffee back down before she sloshed it over the rim. “I’ll stay if you swear you don’t have the altar.”
“I don’t.” He swiped his finger in an X over his heart. “If you’re staying because you pity me, or because you really like the coffee, it works.”
“It is really good coffee.” She drank again. “It’s not pity, but I’m not sure what it is. You’re an interesting man, and you helped me out when I needed it. You give really good kiss. Why not have coffee?” 


Vision in White

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By Yeshi Kangrang omgitsyeshi - https://unsplash.com/photos/lrg2KrRiNbo, CC0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61725617

People feel more sexual desire when they feel confident about partner's interest

DAILYMAIL

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“He had a crush on me in high school. What kind of man tells
you that? Puts the power in your hands that way?”



Vision in White 

What having a pet does to your brain and body

With the cat warming his feet and the music in low, Carter stretched out on the living
room sofa with a book and a short glass of Jameson.
He’d spent winter evenings like this before, he mused, with the cat and a book for company after work was
done. It contented him.
He wished he had a fire. Of course, he’d need a fireplace first. But a fire would add a nice civilized evening-at home
touch. A kind of Masterpiece Theatre touch.

The professor and his cat by the fire, reading on a snowy evening.



Visions in White

________________

By Maria Shanina mariashanina (https://unsplash.com/photos/_la-c2zrDlg) [CC0], 

via Wikimedia Commons

Your pets have a larger effect on your body and brain than you might think. 
They have the ability to increase levels of oxytocin in the brain, 
bringing you a state of calm. 

BUSINESS INSIDER

________________





He climbed in himself, decided on a book rather than TV to 
ease him toward sleep.
By the time Fin turned off the light, Bugs was quietly snoring. 
Fin found the sound of it a small comfort, and wondered how pathetic it was 
when a snoring dog eased the lonely.



Blood Magick

Helpful Infographics Visualize Complex Branches

“Wait. Wait. Mackensie? The redhead you had a crush on in high school?”

Defeated, Carter rubbed the spot between his eyebrows again. “I should never have told you about that. This is why I rarely drink.”

“But, Cart, this is like kismet.” Excitement rushed through the words. “It’s like return of the nerd. It’s the big chance to follow up on a lost opportunity.”

“It’s coffee,” Carter muttered.

Flushed with enthusiasm, Bob jumped up, grabbed a piece of chalk. On the board he drew a circle. “Obvious, the circle. You’re completing one, and completing it just means taking point A and point B—” Within the circle he made two dots, connected them horizontally. “Up to point C.” He drew another dot at the apex, then joined it with the other points with two diagonal lines. “See?”

“Yes, I see a triangle inside a circle. I’ve got to go.”

“It’s the triangle of fate inside the circle of life!”

Carter hefted his briefcase. “Go home, Bob.”

“You can’t argue with math, Carter. You’ll always lose.”

Vision in White

__________________

MY MODERN MET

Sometimes, a cat just walks into your life and asks to be saved

She started to crouch, then stopped, angling her head.
“You have a cat with three legs.”
“Triad. He was hit by a car.”
“Oh, poor baby!” Instantly, she was down on the floor,
stroking and scratching the delighted cat.
“It had to be awful for both of you. Thank God you were home.”
“No, actually I was driving home from school. They—the car in front of me hit him, and just kept going. I don’t understand how anybody could do that.
When I pulled over, I thought he’d be dead, but he was lying there, in shock, I guess. The vet couldn’t save the leg, but he does okay.”
Mac continued to stroke the cat down his length as she stared at Carter. “I bet he does.”


Vision in White 

________________

By No machine-readable author provided. Maxo assumed (based on copyright claims). - 

No machine-readable source provided. 

Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=296512

Bonds between humans and animals often begin with a need and a desire to help. 

mother nature network

________________

“So the three-legged cat could be a metaphor for his wounded soul, 
and his determination to live with the scars.”
“That’s good. You’d get an A.”


Vision in White

Winter Bird Photos

A movement caught her eye, and as she turned to follow it she saw the cardinal take its perch on the snow-covered branch of a maple. It sat, a single spot of vivid red, and sang. Mac crouched, zoomed in rather than risk going closer and losing the shot. Was it the same bird who’d smacked into her kitchen window? she wondered. If so, he certainly seemed undamaged and unruffled as he sat like a single flame on the white-laced branch. She caught the moment then, taking three shots in rapid succession, slight changes in angles that coated her jeans with snow as she inched left. Then the bird took wing, swooped over the frozen sea, through the bright light, and was gone. Emmaline, beautiful Emmaline in her old navy coat, white cap and scarf trudged toward her through the snow. 

“I wondered how long I’d have to stand there until you finished or the damn bird took off. It’s cold out here.”

Vision in White 

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As temperatures dip, look no further than your backyard 

to see how full of life this blustery season truly is.

BIRDS & BLOOMS

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He opened it carefully, peeling up the tape and flapped ends. And took out the photograph matted in a simple black frame. Against the black and white of snow and winter trees, the cardinal sat like a living flame. 

“It’s wonderful.” 

“It’s nice.” She studied it with him. “One of those lucky breaks. I took it early yesterday morning. It’s no bellycrested whopado, but it’s our bird, after all.” 

Vision in White

Celebrate your first Valentine’s Day

She leaned in to kiss him. 

“People in my business tend to work on Valentine’s Day.” 

“Understood.” 

“I’ll send you a schmaltzy, sloppy e-card. And I got you something. Major step for me, as it’s my first Valentine’s Day gift.”

Vision in White

________________

The first Valentine’s Day you share with your new sweetie is always the hardest. Do you make it a big deal or treat it like nothing special? What kind of gift is appropriate?

We’ve got you covered — here are some ideas for you and your boyfriend to have a great first Valentine’s Day together.

SHE KNOWS

"How I Recognized (and Left) a Financially Abusive Relationship"

Like a traffic cop, Mac threw up her hand. “You paid her bills?”

He shrugged. “Initially she was trying to save for her own place, then . . . 

It got to be a habit.”

Vision in White

_______________

I remember the first time my then-boyfriend asked me for money and I didn't feel like I could say no. We were parked in the lot of a train station where he often picked me up. Since he'd recently quit a job he hated and was only working part-time, he needed extra cash for gas to keep picking me up and visiting me, he said. He'd calculated that half the cost of the drives he took for my sake came out to $20 a month.

Nobody other than a cab driver had ever asked me to compensate them for a ride, and the exchange felt oddly transactional for two people who had been dating for a year and a half. Plus, I paid for my own train tickets, which I thought made us even. But he said it would be hard for him to see me as much if I didn't pitch in that monthly $20, so I did.

But it didn't stop there.

GLAMOUR

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Mac took a moment to absorb. “Let me just sum all that up, take it down to its basic formula. Because its one I know very well. She maneuvered you into providing her with housing—for which she paid nothing.”

“I could hardly ask her for rent.”

“She shared none of the household expenses, and in fact sweet-talked you into fronting her for her expenses. You probably lent her cash from time to time. You'll never see that again. You bought her things—clothes, jewelry. If you balked, she used tears or sex to smooth that out and get what she was after.”

“Well, I suppose, but—”

“Let me finish it out. When she got tired of it, or saw something shinier, she lied, cheated, betrayed, then laid it all out as your fault for not caring enough. Would that be about right?”

Vision in White

How to Get Your Groom Excited About Wedding Planning

“But speaking of Emma and me, you'll do the best man thing, right?”

“Sure. Wouldn't have it any other way.”

“Good. That's about the only thing I have to do. Mostly, I just have to smile and say that's great when she tells me what they've come up with for the wedding. Parker told me my deal's the honeymoon, then gave me the contact for a travel agent she says is the best—and an entire packet on Bora Bora because she says it's somewhere Emma's always wanted to go, plus it's exotic and romantic. So I guess that's where we're going.”

Intrigued, Del studied Jack over his sparkling water. “Do you want to go to Bora Bora?”

“You know, I do. As soon as I looked at the packet, I thought, hey, this is it. Your sister's a little scary, Del.”

“She can be.”

“Carter got a packet on Tuscany, which included those "Learn Italian" discs for both of them.”

He had to laugh. “I guess that's taken care of.”

Savor the Moment

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By Mreasystart - http://www.bestmantoastsspeeches.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13883950

I have yet to walk down the aisle myself but when that time comes I want my Groom to be as excited about the wedding planning process as I am. Admittedly,  I hope he has a “Yes, dear” attitude towards certain details (peonies are a non-negotiable), but I plan on getting him involved and on board using these 14 brilliant tricks from SMP’s just-married editors.

SMP

_________________

“Yes, you do, but I'm—” 

“Trust me. It's going to be perfect and beautiful and the happiest day of your life.” 

“I'm being a pain in the ass.” 

“No, honey, you're being a bride. Now go take a nice, warm bath. You've got an hour.” 

“Carter isn't nervous.” Mac narrowed her eyes in a scowl. “I could hate him for that.” 

“Mackensie.” Parker turned from the computer. “I was in the kitchen this morning when Mrs. G made him sit down and eat some breakfast. He put maple syrup in his coffee.” 

“He did?” She threw up her arms in a cheer.“He is nervous. I feel better. I want him to be nervous, too, and I want his ears to blush the way they do, and I want . . . Since I'm the bride it can be all about what I want, right?” 

“Absolutely.” 

Happy Ever After

One Call Away

She curled on the couch, dragged the throw over her. 

She’d sleep it off, she promised herself. Sleep off the misery. 

When the phone rang again, she tucked into a defensive ball. 

“Oh God, oh God, leave me alone, please leave me alone. Give me some peace.” 

“Ah, hello. It’s Carter. You must be working, or you needed to go out. Or, ha, you’re just not in the mood to talk.” 

“Can’t talk,” she murmured from the couch. “Can’t. You talk. You just talk to me.” 

She closed her eyes and let his voice soothe her.

Vision in White

_________________________

I'm only one call away

I'll be there to save the day

Superman got nothing on me

I'm only one call away

How to Ask Someone Out on a Date

“Wait.”

As she stopped and turned, Carter laid a hand on her arm. “Would not misinterpreting include it being okay for me to call you?”

“You could call me. Or you could meet me for a drink after school.”

“Do you know where Coffee Talk is?”

“Vaguely. I can find it.”

“Four thirty?”

“I can make five o'clock.”

“Five. Great. I'll . . . see you there.”

Vision in White

_________________

 

Por April Killingsworth de Los Angeles, United States (Flickr)

[CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], undefined

 

 

Whether it's in person or online, simpler is better when it comes to asking someone out. "Tell them that you enjoy their company and would like to see more of them," Petra Boynton, a sex and relationships columnist for the Telegraph, wrote in her advice column.

YAHOO!

_________________

“I’d like to take you out tonight. Dinner, a movie, a drive. Your choice. A date,” he continued when she only studied him with eyes that grew more speculative. “I realize I’ve neglected that particular ritual with you.”

“A date?” She rolled the idea around. “Such as you pick me up, we go somewhere and do some
planned activity, then you bring me home and walk me to the door?”

“That’s more or less what I had in mind.”

“Well, it would be different.” She cocked her head, considering. “I have to be up at five, so we’ll need to make it an early evening. I wouldn’t mind seeing a movie, say a seven o’clock show. Maybe a pizza after.”

Now it was his turn to consider. It wasn’t the sort of evening he’d expected her to choose. Maybe it was about time they learned about each other. “An early movie and a pizza. I’ll pick you up around six.”

He tipped up her chin, kissed her almost absently.

“Hey, Slater,” she called after him. “Do I get to pick the movie?”

He kept walking but glanced over his shoulder. “No subtitles.”

“On a first date?” She laughed at him.


True Beatrayals

What your Sleep Position Says About Your Relationship

An elbow in the ribs brought Brianna groggily out of sleep. Her first view of the morning after a

night of love was floor. If Gray took up another inch of the bed, she'd be on it.

It took her only seconds, and a shiver in the chilly morning air, to realize she hadn't even the

stingiest corner of sheet or blanket covering her.

Gray, on the other hand, was cozily wrapped beside her, like a contented moth in a cocoon.

Sprawled over the mattress, he slept like the dead. She wished she could have said his snuggled

position, and the elbow lodged near her kidney, was lover-like, but it smacked plainly of greed. Her

tentative pushes and tugs didn't budge him.

So that was the way of it, she thought. The man was obviously unaccustomed to sharing.

Born in Ice

___________________

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Because your subconscious mind controls the way you sleep with your partner, sleep body language can be an amazingly accurate way to assess what's going on in your relationship -
even if you can't or don't articulate those things while you're awake.

YAHOO!

___________________

She awoke with the winter sun slanted over her face.

She awoke warm.
Sometime in the night he’d spooned her, and now she lay snugged back up against him, wrapped close. Cozy, she thought, rested and relaxed.
He’d wanted her to sleep, so she’d slept. 

Wasn’t it funny how he managed to get his way without demanding, without pushing?

Vision in White

What Your Coffee Order Says About You

He glanced up at the waitress. “Morphine. A double.”
“Ha-ha,” she said.
“Try the tea,” Carter suggested.
“I’m not quite that bad. Yet. Coffee, regular.”

Bed of Roses

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 CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=689573



Are you searing hot with a dollop of syrup?
Or are you more on the frothy side with lots of whip?

We're talking coffee orders, naturally. 

Coffee-shop stops are a must when anyone goes on the road, so we got a little curious about what kinds of signals you give out when you order your freshly ground with Haribo peach gummy (yes, it's a thing).

YAHOO!

________________________

 “I didn’t ask how you take your coffee.”

 “Oh. I don’t suppose you have two percent milk.”

 “I often wonder why anybody does.”

 With an easy laugh that shot straight to his bloodstream, she wandered over to study the view outside the glass doors that led—as she’d suspected—to the rear portion of the circling deck. “Which also means you probably don’t have any fake sugar. Those little pink, blue, or yellow packets?”

 “Fresh out. I could offer you actual milk and actual sugar.”

Blood Brothers