It was a nice, relaxed dinner while listening to a fantastic jazz band. I felt like I was in the backdrop of an old film… where I should have been wearing a top hat and trench-coat amidst a cigar-filled room.
Here are a couple places to check out around town for some top notch jazz.
Downtown and right next to a bunch of other bars and spots to hit afterwords. Great spot for dinner and a cozy setting that sits you right next to the band.
Dark and sexy, this place is a nice spot for a cocktail with some soothing background music. The music has been stellar and the overall vibe is very cozy.
This is more of a social spot. Open late and plenty of room to spread out. There are two stages here that trade sets hour after hour. So if you don’t get a good spot the first time around, hop over to the other side and feel that music!
Let’s paint a picture like Bob Ross. Only this painting isn’t going to have happy trees and a secret bush that only we know about.
You’ve just started talking to this girl and it’s still fresh… maybe just a month or two. A handful of dates and a couple sleepovers. During your disheveled stay at her place, you’ve met the roommate and the playful banter has begun to move one notch above ‘friendly’ in your mind. You may find yourself laughing with her more, have a easier flowing conversation, or even simply find her more attractive.
Entree envy.
This puts you in a very sticky situation. What are you going to do if the roommate is a better fit for you than the original? (more…)
I stopped by this hot spot recently and was definitely digging the vibe.
The Violet Hour in Wicker Park.
This hidden gem has a dark, trendy atmosphere that is sure to promise for a pleasant evening. Even if you might confuse yourself for being in a giant game of Tetris (the high backed leather chairs look like “L’ pieces and all tables are small perfect squares), the drinks are impeccable and the intimacy is just right.
While I wouldn’t say this is an unknown spot from reading the crowd, it’s for sure a good place to stop by for a quiet evening of getting to know you.
This is a hilarious video from the 80’s with online dating videos. I don’t understand how some of these people can say this stuff with a straight face. Maybe it’s the radical mustache or the bodacious hair that gives them the sharp intellect to spout off favorites like “I’m a 25 year subscriber to Playboy” and “I consider myself a refined valley dude.”
If you’re tired of the drinking that can sometimes make your liver pack up and move out of town, something a little low key can always make for a great date. A coffee shop is a great place to stop, grab a non-alcoholic beverage, and relax with your date. It allows for great conversation and is a great atmosphere to get to know each other without having to scream in each others ears as you would at a bar.
Instead of running the typical play and taking her to a Starbucks or Caribou Coffee, opt for a something a little less commercialized and check out these hot spots around town. (more…)
Your apartment has become a revolving door. Like the office buildings in the Loop, you’re beginning to check them in at the front counter. Fill out your name, who you’re here to see, and the time you arrived. Here’s your visitor pass with a crappy photo of yourself and please… wear it proudly for all to see.
Finding potential love interests tend to come in waves. Both sexes have an extraordinary sense of hunting the other when they’re taken. Call it dumb luck, a hormonal hurricane, or simply confidence.
So what are you to do when you’re dating a few different people at the same time?
Halloween is a fantastic night in Chicago. Plenty of Chicagoans are dressed up, out and about, and geared up in party mode. This is a great night to go out and meet a special crush out on the town.
Do you have your costume yet?
If not, here are some places you can hit last minute to throw something together.
Always full of the most random pieces of clothing and accessories, this is a great place to hit up that won’t break the bank. If you are going to go here, make sure you have a reasonable plan of what kind of costume you want. There are so many types of clothes and strange items, your head will be spinning and you’ll feel like you’ve walked into a life-size version of that old smelly box full of random crap in your parents basement. (more…)
Sometimes, people just don’t have the guts to break up with their latest crush in person. While there are certain rules to when this can and cannot be done, generally speaking, if the relationship is very young (a couple weeks), it is not necessary to break up with someone in person. But what happens if you know it won’t work with this person and have no desire to call them up and let them know they didn’t make the cut? (no guts, yes. does it still happen? absolutely.)
Enter: The Phase Out
The phase out occurs when you gradually remove this person from your life. Like a dying heartbeat, the tempo and rhythm of the short lived relationship pace themselves slower and slower. Text messages become ‘no-response’ statements instead of questions and phone calls become a rare gem. While there is nothing you can do on the receiving end of a phase out (dust yourself off kid and get back out there!), there are a couple keys when implementing it so you don’t come off as a complete jerk (or bitch).
Have a plan – Once you decide that watching paint dry is more entertaining than this person, commence the phase out and stick to it. Start hitting the brakes and slow that train down.
Keep it gradual - Slow and steady wins the race (or in this case, douses the flame). Draw out the texts and ease up on the calls. Baby steps.
Avoid weekend dates – If you’re going to hang out, hang out during the week. Weekends are prime real-estate, and you don’t want to play with fire after drinking… which leads to…
Don’t have a sleep over – This just resets the clock at zero. Everytime you get it on between the sheets, it sends a signal to the other person you’re in it to win it.
Axe the late night calls and drunk texts – “What you up to?” at 2am isn’t as innocent as your drunk mind convinces you. Have a little restraint or else you’re back at square one and just extending the phase out.
Whatever your opinion of the phase out might be, it’s still a tactic that is used in the streets of Chicago and many other cities around the globe. Do you phase out? Have you been phased out? Share your thoughts in the comment section!
To piggy-back off of last week’s suggestion, this week’s date idea involves a spot downtown called Bin 36.
Bin 36 is a great American cuisine restaurant that holds an event about once a month called “Movies in the Loft”. While dinner and a movie might be a little cliche, it is definitely a date that will occur at some point in your fresh new relationship. If you’re going to do it, do it in style…
Instead of taking your crush out to dinner and cabbing your way to a movie theater, why not kill two birds with one stone? These events have a 3 course meal coupled with some wine that will keep your belly’s pleased while your eyeballs are entertained.
They play classic movies, the two upcoming being ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ and ‘Bottle Shock’.
The next event is coming up on November 22nd, for more details click here.
Living in the city has some great perks. We have the beach at a stone’s throw, festivals to fancy anyone’s delight, and different nightlife activities to cater to even the unique of circles.
This leads to meeting many different kinds of people… tall, short, strange, beautiful, different races, religions, ethnicities, and so on… Which helps us create a mental checklist of things we want and don’t want in a potential partner.
Straddling the line of staying in the game and being kicked to the curb, lies the deal-breakers. With so many options, which breakers are valid, and which are part of your own neurosis? (more…)
One of the most fun date’s I’ve had in Chicago was at a Jazz club.![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=36caf8c8-2ab6-4624-ac5e-e06939c2a36e)
If you’re tired of the drinking that can sometimes make your liver pack up and move out of town, something a little low key can always make for a great date. A coffee shop is a great place to stop, grab a non-alcoholic beverage, and relax with your date. It allows for great conversation and is a great atmosphere to get to know each other without having to scream in each others ears as you would at a bar.
Sometimes, people just don’t have the guts to break up with their latest crush in person. While there are certain rules to when this can and cannot be done, generally speaking, if the relationship is very young (a couple weeks), it is not necessary to break up with someone in person. But what happens if you know it won’t work with this person and have no desire to call them up and let them know they didn’t make the cut? (no guts, yes. does it still happen? absolutely.)![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=e36abd0b-53aa-4738-9674-c0b16e55c05d)
To piggy-back off of last week’s 
This leads to meeting many different kinds of people… tall, short, strange, beautiful, different races, religions, ethnicities, and so on… Which helps us create a mental checklist of things we want and don’t want in a potential partner.