You know when Valentine’s Day is REALLY tough? When you really, really like the person you are dating but you don’t have money to buy a gift that would “show” them. Thankfully, the right person won’t care that you are on a budget. They will care if you do or say nothing. It’s the zero effort and irrational anger towards the “made up commercial holiday” that won’t go over well.

The good news is that your serious love jones, coupled with a little attention to details can help you become a little creative. No money? NO problem! Here are a few of my favorite date ideas that are low-budget with a high romantic ROI:

Light the table and room with candles (tea lights are cheap!). Make a home cooked meal. Bonus points if it is their favorite food. Make a playlist of your favorite love songs (no booty music mixtapes!). Spend the evening feeding each other dessert while (insert your favorite non-sexual activity) watching sports, playing video games, reading a book, watching movie). …

Continue reading Valentine’s Day on a budget? »

There are those who believe that single people are afraid of committing to anyone. What is closer to the truth, though, is many people are afraid of picking the wrong person. This is a real fear because we hear all the horror stories, see the divorce rates, and start to to doubt if it is worth it.

It’s really interesting because some people don’t trust their instincts when it comes to finding the right one. Let’s face it, we have a long line of “what was I thinking” exes to point to our bad choices! The question then becomes, how do you handle the fear of picking the wrong person?

Do you ever worry that you could end up with someone who is not a good match? Do you wonder if the person you pick will change?

What is the best advice someone has given you about picking the right mate? Share the wisdom!

By Wise Diva, Misadventures in Atlanta Dating Blog

Continue reading Worry about picking the wrong one? »

My friend Brianna has dated someone for a couple of weeks and thought she had a “pretty good” sense of who he was. His personality, sense of humor, and his image was so attractive to her. It wasn’t long before she started getting those “butterfly” feelings about him.

This past weekend, she was introduced to his friends. Apparently, she was also introduced to a new side to her date. A side she had yet to see before now. The guy basically turned into a frat boy. Not in the good way, either. He was loud, obnoxious, a little misogynistic and nothing like the sweet dude she thought she was dating. She said even his voice sounded different!

When she pressed him later about his switch up in personality, he blamed it on the al al al chol (I’m sorry, I had to do it) and his boys. When they all get together, they kind of let it all hang out and let off steam.

I have seen men act differently around their friends, I’ve come to recognize this as some form of male bonding. I …

Continue reading Are you different around friends? »

So you know that saying, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, right? What happens when the woman from hell has access to your personal information, social media accounts, or private photos?

According to a study by McAfee (Intel Company), a revengeful ex can leave you vulnerable and exposed. The results of the study showed: “28% of people have regretted (once they broke up) sending intimate content and 32% have asked their ex-partner to delete the personal content. But despite these risks, 36% of Americans still plan to send sexy or romantic photos to their partners via email, text and social media on Valentine’s Day.”

That’s right. Before you get those dirty messages or pictures cued up for Valentine’s Day fun, decide if you really trust the person you are sending it to. Would they ever flip out in a fit of anger and put you on full blast on Facebook? Could you imagine them using the password you gave them (um, don’t do that) to wreak some kind of havoc in your …

Continue reading Dating Ex-files: Are you vulnerable? »

After Beyonce rocked the halftime show at the Super Bowl, I have heard a lot of people comment about her sex appeal. It’s always so interesting to see what people classify as beautiful and sexy. Especially when it comes to what is sexy for women of color, the standard of beauty seems different.

Many people believe that attractiveness and beauty is subjective, but what about sex appeal? Have you ever met someone who just seem to ooze sex appeal? Something about the way they carried themselves or their confidence that grabs your attention.

What do you consider sexy? What makes a woman sexy? What makes a man sexy? Do you think there is such a thing as being too sexy? Too provocative?

By Wise Diva, Misadventures in Atlanta Dating Blog

Continue reading What makes a woman sexy? »

I saw a really sweet video of a couple who broke up, wrote a song about it, then filmed a music video about it. This is Breaking Up 2.0 people. The mature, totally hip and cool way to end a relationship, complete with a video that goes viral.

If only all break ups can be so thoughtful and coordinated. I’d settle for just making it mutual! There really is no right or wrong way to break up a relationship. There is a way to make it as painless as possible, though. Clearly, sleeping with someone else or sending a random text message does not qualify as painless. Yet, I know two people who were dumped in this way recently.

Breaking up is hard to do, but does it really have to be? What is the most humane and kind way to dump someone? Should the length of time you were together make a difference in how you should end things?

By Wise Diva, Misadventures in Atlanta Dating Blog

Continue reading Best way to break up? »

Have you ever met someone, exchanged phone numbers and then launched a texting relationship? Weeks later and neither of you have made the move to set up plans for face to face time. Yeah. What IS that?

It’s funny because you have these “pseudo” conversations, in an email or through text messages, and it begins to become a deterrent! Is that a sign that there is no real attraction? I think when you start to get the sense that you are being “maintained” with half efforts, it’s time to cut your losses. If you do nothing and let things continue as is, one night, around 2:00 in the morning, you’ll get that random text: “What’s up? Are you busy?” We all know that nothing good happens after 2:00 am, right?

When should you put a stop to the text messages and emails as the sole means of communication? Do you think that getting to know someone via technology can lead you to a false sense of familiarity or security?

How do you handle late night text messages or phone calls?

By Wise …

Continue reading Dating: Nothing good happens after 2am »

I have been blogging about dating and relationships for a long time – yet somehow I am still amazed at the amount of crazy misadventures that happen in Atlanta. Many of these dating misadventures play out on radio – specifically Q100’s The Bert Show. Their entire bit about “closure calls” alone is enough to send you back to your sofa on Saturday nights.

People call into the show to ask for help in tracking down the guy or girl who pulled that oh so lovely disappearing act (my personal favorite!) without “closure”. The thing about closure though, it should not even matter so much. Why do you need to know the reason they bailed? The fact that they are gone is not enough?! But, I digress.

One recent closure called involved a woman who could not figure out why the guy she was seeing never called her back. Sure, he was engaged to be married while she foolishly believed he truly wanted to be with her.

She actually wanted to know why he did not come back for her after he broke …

Continue reading Dating: Dial back the crazy »

When it comes to dating, some of us have a sense of entitlement. We feel entitled to date the hottest, wealthiest, most eligible singles. We feel that we deserve the best because we are the best. This kind of attitude shows up in how we interact with people.

There is nothing wrong with having standards but there is such a thing as being a snob. Do people know the difference? I don’t know if people even realize when they are being a dating snob. This can be a problem to men because they meet snobby women all the time. Women who scrutinize their income, career, and even their cars.

How do you handle dating snobs? Do you recognize one when you meet one? Are you guilty of being one? What is the difference between having standards and acting like a dating snob?

By Wise Diva, Misadventures in Atlanta Dating Blog

Continue reading Dating: Are you a snob? »