Blog
Read Samantha’s blog. Tips on dating, relationships, marriage, trendy restaurants, romantic travel, unique gifts, worthwhile events and more.
If you like gossip, (and you know you do), this is the site for you. Gossip Cop actually polices all the other gossip and gives you “the true” skinny on what’s what… in gossip; that is, if you believe gossip to begin with!
If you are planning a trip to Costa Rica or if you are considering planning a trip to Costa Rica, this hotel should seal the deal. Only a few years old, this breaktaking resort in the Arenal region of Costa Rica is a place not to be missed. It sits 1000 feet above the Arenal Valley where an active and real volcano is the first thing you see every morning along with a rainbow array of birds chirping on your balcony. They have 18 hot springs and pools on a 165 acre property where you can linger and enjoy while watching the volcano lava and taking in the natural and lush Costa Rican scenery. The rooms themselves are the perfect mix of rustic and luxury with many of them having their own hottub on the balcony and/or 2 floors of living as if you had your own little house. Each balcony also comes equipped with a hammock where you can luxuriate and relax. This place is not to be missed!
The fear factor alone makes people hug, caress and lend support.
on the way from Arenal to San Jose.
hot springs, neon red, blue and yellow birds on your balcony, a straight-shot view of the volcano and plenty of little hideaways to get all cozy and intimate -- a surefire way to revitalize your romance.
which will give you time to reconnect with your beau.
across the countryside. One of the most romantic drives is from Arenal to Monteverde, it's about 4 hours, and you can bond over the music, fight over the directions and before you know it, arrive to your next vacation destination.
and share the excitement of getting up on the board. What could be more romantic than that?
Do you ever feel stumped when it comes to celebrating Valentine's Day and picking the right gift or card?
Here's what I know...
- Keep in mind that if you are dating someone, you need to acknowledge Valentine's Day in some way. If you try to pull the ol', "Valentine's Day is just a Hallmark holiday and I don't believe in it," you will just end up in the doghouse. Trust me.
- Valentine's Day can be a tricky holiday because you want to do enough so that you get brownie points for effort but you don't want to do too much or go over the top because that could scare someone off or give the wrong message. Doing enough means doing something, anything, even if it's stopping at the Food Emporium Supermarket on the way home and picking up candy and flowers. Doing too much means putting on the full court press for someone you barely know with flowery love cards, and dinner at the most romantic restaurant in the city like One if By Land, Two if By Sea.
- You need to give gifts and cards that are commensurate with the level of your relationship. This means that if you have only been out a few times, you need to pick a Shoebox Greeting card that is more playful, sarcastic and funny rather than mushy gushy. In this instance, mushy gushy will make things awkward and give off the wrong message. Just the same, if you have been dating a long time, you can't get away with a funny card or an impersonal card and you can't get away with just signing your name. If you have been together for awhile, your beau is going to expect a sentimental card, a Hallmark card that has script font and with a handwritten message in it from you.
- Keep in mind that women always compare their Valentine's Day gifts, cardsand experiences with their friends and colleagues. The women always do a play by play for each other, so you need to step up. You definitely don't want your gal to be the gal by the water cooler who has nothing to brag about. You need to give her something to cluck over. And the water cooler winners are not always the ones who get the most expensive gift or were taken to the fanciest dinner. The admired woman by the water cooler is always the one who tells the most romantic story about her Valentine's Day evening that is met with the most "Ohhhhhs and Ahhhhs" about how sweet and adorable you were. Can you be that guy?
- Lingerie is a risky gift. A lot of men want to give lingerie to their ladies. First of all, they like seeing their gal in it and secondly, they think this is a good way to signal to their gal that they think she is sexy. However, if you are thinking of buying lingerie, make sure you are at the "lingerie" stage of your dating or the girl might get offended and think it is an inappropriate sexual overture. Equally, make sure that you pick tasteful lingerie- if you pick out a raunchy teddy straight from the pages of Hustler, your girl might think you don't respect her. You can only go with sleazy lingerie if sleazy and edgy is part of your sexual repertoire with your gal; don't use Valentine's Day to change things up.
- Make sure to choose a gift that your beau would like, not just something thatyou would like. For example, don't get her tickets to a Sixers basketball game rationalizing that it's a night out for the two of you and at least you get to see some basketball. Instead you should get her tickets to a Broadway show like Wicked that SHE would enjoy and you should go along with a big smile on your face. And girls, don't get him a manicure and pedicure for Valentine's Day because you think he has grody feet and you think of it as a "pampering day"; men don't find pampering to be enjoyable. Instead, buy him a day at Skip Barber race track and save the hygiene intervention for another day.
- Make sure you choose a gift that has something romantic and thoughtful about it and isn't just practical. Don't buy her a new blow-dryer because you know she needs one or a gift certificate to her yoga studio. Take the time to pick out a gift she would like and wouldn't buy herself. And think about going to yoga class with her; she will find this to be romantic
- If you can't spend a lot of money, go with a creative and sentimental gift. Some good ideas are things like a handmade gift certificate redeemable for one back massage or a gift certificate redeemable for 5 "non- veto-able" movie choices. Or sprinkle rose pedals and Hershey kisses all over the bedroom and have a bubble bath drawn in a candle lit bathroom. Or make a mix CD of all of your honey's favorite songs but remember it's about his or her favorites, not yours! Gifts don't have to be expensive to be romantic.
Samantha Daniels is a well known Professional Matchmaker, President of Samantha's Table Matchmaking and the author of Matchbook: The Diary of a Modern Day Matchmaker (Simon & Schuster). Follow Samantha on Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/matchmakerSD
Have you ever wondered what foods and things are the biggest bad breath offenders??
Here’ s what I know…
-Red wine is the biggest offender. A lot of people prefer red wine, a lot of people say that red wine is good for your health and a lot of people think red wine is more sophisticated. However, red wine makes your breath smell bad and its stains a lot of people’s teeth. Translation- you breathe smells bad AND you are talking to someone you like with purple teeth. Choose vodka instead. Its odorless
-Not eating gives you bad breath. If you didn’t eat all day, then you have that I am hungry breath and that is very hard to get rid of. Make sure you pop several mints when you leave you office and grab something like a banana that should take the smell away.
-Peanuts give you bad breath and the smell lingers on you. I know its tempting to eat those peanuts on the table at the bar but choose the cashews or the pistachios instead.
-Olives give you bad breath. Don’t eat a bowl of them at the bar and on a date, don’t ask for extras in your martini so you can chow down on them, they are bad for your breath.
-Garlic- everyone knows garlic is a breath killer but these days a lot of people don’t care because they love these Pasta Puttanesca. Keep in mind that not only does garlic kill your breath but a lot of people sweat garlic out of their pours so you wind up with body odor as well as bad breath! If you want a good night kiss, save you pasta craving for football night with the guys!
Did you ever wonder what are the things upon which women judge you?Welcome to Samantha's Table, the exclusive, discreet and high-end matchmaking service for the ultra-successful, ultra-busy, ultra-cultured and the ultra-educated. Samantha’s Table was founded by Samantha Daniels, an ivy league educated, modern-day Cupid over 10 years ago. At that time, Samantha decided to ditch her day job as an attorney and to start a business out of her hobby of matchmaking her friends. Now over 132 marriages and 1000’s of significant relationships later, Samantha is considered the best in the business.
Samantha strategizes with her clients to find them the only thing that is missing in their lives, that special someone with whom to share all of their successes. Samantha’s clients are very busy individuals so they hire Samantha focus on “quality” over quantity. Her clients date on their own all the time but they look to Samantha to find them “the one”, that special someone with whom to take “that final step” as opposed to the people they are choosing to “date for fun”.
As a result, Samantha maintains a database of more than 20,000 quality, high caliber individuals, just the type of people that her clients are interested in meeting. Samantha’s goal is to try to help each and every client get into a meaningful and long lasting relationship with someone who has “the full package” for the client- beauty, intelligence, success and good family values.
Samantha introduces people one-on-one over drinks. She finds potential dates for her clients by partaking in many charity committees, attending the most prestigious and exclusive events in New York and Los Angeles, traveling all over the world and consulting her large and confidential database.
