Love in the Time of Chanel

With spring on the way, love is not only in the air but in fashion as well! Check out these bold and flirty pieces that scream romance

Chanel

Yves Saint Laurent

David Yurman

GUESS

The Way to a Girl's Heart

Maybe this is the foodie in me speaking, but I can't help but feel the same positive feelings I often have in love when I see or taste something delicious. Okay, maybe this a little over the top, but there seems to be some correlation between the two.  After walking around the city today and passing numerous bake shops, I realized that simply looking at all the desserts made me happy.

At first I seriously questioned the extent of my food obsession, but then I thought that maybe sweets do have the power to provoke some sense of euphoria.  With further research, I learned that when something is appealing to our senses, especially something sweet like a dessert, the reward part of our brain triggers similar feelings of contentment and satisfaction that can be felt in love. This definitely explains why our indulgences fluctuate with our moods.  Maybe chocolate is the way to a girl's heart after all...

Date Night

"Dating" is considered the stage leading up to a relationship, and once we pass this step we sometimes forget its importance.  Yes, getting to know each other is primarily reserved for the courting period, but it is also critical when it comes to making a relationship last.  We can never stop learning about our significant other, and dating is a fun and exciting way to do it. This time together allows us to continuously relive the excitement of something new and to generate (and maintain) the spark that attracted us to someone in the first place, and that can keep us together.

Date night, for my purposes, is not solely characterized by "going out" but also by staying in. Doing things together and planning time reserved for two is what establishes a night (or day) as a date. Renting a movie, walking through the city, grabbing drinks, cooking dinner and visiting local museums or gardens are all fun things to do. Personally, there's no date night that I enjoy better than choosing a recipe off the Food Network and fumbling my way through it with the one I love. Aside from providing alone time, this activity can bring two people closer together as they work toward a common end.  This end, of course, is not just the satisfaction of a job well done but also being able to enjoy a romantic meal for two.  If you're not too quick in the kitchen, baking is easier, and nothing says "I love you" better than sweets!

In honor of the weekend, think up something romantic, silly, fun, or crazy to do with your man and remember that dates are not just for those who are dating. Happy Friday!

Here are a few of my favorite on-screen couples, enjoy!

The Breakfast Club: Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald

 Serendipity: John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale

 The Holiday: Kate Winslet and Jack Black

Sixteen Candles: Molly Ringwald and Michael Schoeffling

How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days: Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey

Love at First Sight: Fact or Fiction?

I consider myself somewhat of a hopeless romantic. Yes, I've fantasized about the destined romances depicted in movies and the perfect love affairs that follow one simple glance, but I'm not naive. When it comes to love at first sight, that's something I find hard to take seriously.  How could two people possibly fall in love without knowing anything about each other?

For those who "just know" that they've met their match off the basis of one vague interaction, how could you form a romance without so much as a word?  A spark, an attraction, and even a connection may be found at first sight, but a complex feeling such as love is more difficult to pinpoint.  Spending time together, getting to know each other and finding your counterpart in another is something that involves divulging deeper into another's history and personality.  The first moments of a meeting may determine if you feel that relationship could have a future, but it can hardly make you fall in love. Love is so hard to find simply because it takes time to develop, and it is an emotion so wrought over when lost because of its rarity.  It couldn't possibly be such a simple process.

I find that the majority of people who claim that "it was love at first sight" are those whose relationships have worked out in the long-run, so they romanticize their initial interaction because they feel safe doing so.  Why shouldn't they? Their "just knowing" ended up being accurate.  As for those who were misled by an instant connection, you will rarely hear them boast about this instinctive feeling.

The next time you feel drawn to a guy, don't set yourself up for disappointment by calling it destiny off the bat, remember that love takes time, and that eye contact does not substitute for getting to know each other on a more intimate level.

Romantic Movie Pick of the Week: Serendipity

When an event is serendipitous, it means that something wonderful happened by chance. I absolutely LOVE the movie based on this concept. It follows two characters who have a single meeting and years later find each other again. Yes, the idea of destiny is a bit cliche, but the movie will leave you feeling like anything is possible in love and in life.

One Word Can Make All the Difference

I always hear people justify the problems in their relationships by claiming that they are "fighting to stay together", and that may be true, but there appears to be a misconception regarding what that phrase actually means.  If you are actively trying to overcome obstacles in order to strengthen a relationship, then you are fighting for something. On the other hand, if you are constantly nagging at one another and picking each other apart, then you are simply fighting.

Ignoring all of the arguments and associating them with an effort to "make a relationship work" just hides the fact that it doesn't.  An unwillingness to accept that something isn't right is NOT compatible with trying to correct it, and if the same issues arise over and over again without resolution, there is probably a deeper problem. Arguments should end with a common understanding and improvement among a couple, rather than a meaningless "I"m sorry" until the next time the same fight comes around.

Consider how big or small and frequent or infrequent these arguments are, and if both of you can grow past them without seriously compromising who you are. Instead of putting up with the fighting, try to correct it.  If your relationship is spent in a perpetual battle, neither one of you will be happy. Decide if your fighting is constructive or destructive, and remember that fighting with and fighting for are not synonymous terms.