Blog Posts by HowAboutWe

By Chiara Atik for HowAboutWe.com

I have a rule about dating, and it's sort of controversial among my friends: I will go on one date with anyone who asks me. It's called the "One Date Rule," and if you're a picky dater, maybe you should consider adopting it as well.

Here's the theory: When I was little, I refused to eat anything besides pasta, pasta, and pasta, with a side of more pasta. Maybe chicken fingers, but only if you caught me in the right mood.

Related: Should I Go Out With This Totally Unappealing Guy?

My mom eventually instigated the "No Thank You Helpings" rule: One spoonful or bite of what I didn't want to eat (aka anything that wasn't pasta.) I had to eat the bite, and if I still didn't like it, I was never pressured to have any more. But I did have to try.

I soon discovered that I loved asparagus and pot roast and mashed potatoes, still hated spinach, and would gladly pass the rest of my life without ever eating another bite of catfish. And now I happily eat much

Read More »from The One Date Rule: Why I'll Go Out With Anyone Who Asks Me

By Chiara Atik for HowAboutWe.com

Being shy doesn't have to be the kiss of death when it comes to dating. These 5 tips are all easy ways to start boosting your dating confidence. Try them out & tell us how it goes!

1. Practice Striking Up Conversations

If the idea of approaching someone at a bar gives you heart palpitations, try striking up conversations in less pressure-filled situations. Elevators are easy -- you can comment on the weather, their outfit or the coffee they're carrying. The subway also works, or the gym. The point is to just practice talking to strangers -- the more you do it, the more confident you'll feel.
Worst case scenario? You made a comment about the weather to someone in an elevator and it fell flat. Not the end of the world.

2. Branch Out From Your Usual Spot

Instead of going to the same old coffee shop or bar, try someplace completely new, maybe even in a different neighborhood. According to Cosmo: "It's easier to step out of your comfort zone and make a

Read More »from Super Shy? Here Are 5 Easy Ways To Boost Your Dating Confidence

Okay. Here's the situation. You've received a clever, relaxed message in your inbox. You've checked out the sender's profile and pics and they're attractive and interesting. You have every intention of responding because you really think you might actually like to meet them.

And you will.

Respond.

As soon as you've come up with something equally clever and relaxed.

Which is impossible because you've already spent too much time thinking about it. Maybe you should go look at their profile again, and see if anything jumps out at you as a possible topic for your reply. Oh, boy. They seem really cool. And witty. But you're cool and witty, too! Aren't you? Maybe you're just distracted because you're hungry. That's it. You're just having a snack attack. Go to the fridge and get a pudding and then you'll be back to your hilarious, charming self.

Two weeks later, for a variety of perfectly good reasons, you still haven't responded. Not because you're not interested, but

Read More »from Online Dating 101: Don't Wait Too Long To Respond (If You're Interested)

by Scott Alden for HowAboutWe

Some couples are lucky enough to have an amazing "how we met" story for the grandkids. Some couples, like Rachel and Keith, are even luckier -- they have an amazing "how we met" story that you really shouldn't tell the grandkids. At least until they're older.

Related: How About We... Meet Cute? 8 Dates Tp Put The Butterflies Back In Onine Dating

Rachel was working as an artist's model in Chicago when she first "met" Keith online. On Facebook. Through an application called "Are You Interested?," actually.

"It was basically a cruising deal," Rachel explained via email (Facebook, actually). "You could look through pictures of the other people using the application and tell them you think they're cute. So every time I logged on to Facebook - it would tell me that a bunch people thought I was cute, and I could say 'I think you're cute too' and then we could be pen pals. So I was pen pals with all these dudes from all over the world... and

Read More »from Rachel And Keith: The Wildest First Date Story You've Ever Heard

By Chiara atik for HowAboutWe.com

Are you going through a dating dry spell, having a really hard time finding someone you're interested in? Here's a novel, if somewhat counter-intuitive solution: go on a date.

As anyone who's been through a dry spell can attest (and, if you haven't gone through one, you should just pretend that you have for the sake of other people's self-esteem), the psychological toll can be heavy. You start to lose confidence. You start to approach every trip to the grocery store or night out with the dangerous mindset of "Maybe I'll meet someone! Maybe tonight I will END THE SPELL!" In other words, you become desperate.

Related: The Top 10 Traits That Attract Men

The thing about desperation is that, in addition to its annoying psychological ramifications, other people can sense it. The second you meet someone, they can see it in your hungry eyes, hear it in the tremor of your voice, smell it in your pheromones, which are screaming "Please, PLEASE, I'm yours for

Read More »from Breaking The Dating Seal: Why Going On Dates Gets You More Dates

by Scott Alden for HowABoutWe

Let's be honest, here. As much as I want to know your life story (and I do... eventually), the first thing I'm going to look at on your online dating profile is your pictures. (Notice that I said pictures. Plural. We'll come back to that later.)

Most online daters are looking to answer to questions about you when they look at your profile: 1. Are they attractive? and 2: Are they interesting?

Related: Facebook Etiquette: When Is It Okay To Friend Someone You're Casually Dating

Of course, people find lots of different things attractive and interesting, but if a person hasn't answered "yes" or "maybe" to at least one of these questions within the first 30 seconds of looking at your profile, they're going to move on. If they do find you either interesting or attractive or both, based on your pictures, then they will read your profile and find out that you are also witty, charming, stable, fascinating, etc. But if you don't tell your story in

Read More »from Online Dating 101: Say It With Pictures

By Chiara Atik for HowAboutWe.com

One of the more difficult parts of being single is having to field comments and questions from friends and family members who are inexplicably invested in your dating life. One innocuous question in particular can be hurtful, no matter how well-intentioned.

Related: Your Friends Know Why You're Single: Do You?

A friend recently vented to me about her personal pet peeve: she hates when she tells a friend about a really great encounter with a guy, and the person responds with "So when are you seeing him again?"

Ah, yes. The dreaded "So when are you seeing him again?" Every single person has encountered it. Every single person has then felt immediately deflated if in fact they don't have a concrete answer yet.

The problem with this question is that it immediately puts the dater on the defensive. They've just described a happy romantic experience, which, need I remind you, doesn't happen every day. The polite thing to do is to let the single person

Read More »from The Seemingly Harmless Question You Should Stop Asking Single People

By Scott Alden for HowAboutWe

The rumors are true: Men love sex. It would be a mistake, however, to think that the ONLY thing we like about sex is the actual intercourse. Here's six other things about intimacy that we like (almost) as much:

Related: What Sex Means To Men - 6 Deep, Dark Secrets

1. Cuddling

True. Guys like cuddling. It makes us feel big and strong and all "providey" to wrap a woman up in our arms.

2. Spending ALL day in bed

Getting to the point where you're both so hungry that you have to get up but you still don't want to? That's the best.

Related: Guys- Stop Being Jealous And Just Get Better At Sex


3. Saying things you've never said before

It's hard to say why, but guys tend to get loose lips after sex. Sometimes during that post-coital high, we get lulled into telling women things that we've never told anybody before. Acceptance is big for us, so being naked with a woman and sharing something really personal and having her not run screaming down the street is Read More »from 7 Things Men Love About Intimacy (Besides Sex)