Singles Scene San Francisco

Fun Ideas for Summer Dating

Work stress tends to lighten in the summer months. Less deadlines, more vacations and focus turns outside of the office for the first time in months. Winter holidays such as Hanukkah and Christmas revolve around family and established relationships while burdening us with financial and time commitments. Summer holidays are more easy-going with BBQs and beach parties while encouraging all to join in the festivities and new connections to be made. We all want someone special for the winter holidays but rarely give thought to summer being when those connections are made.

So now that your eyes and hearts are open, where should you go on these first few dates?

Adrenaline, activity and admire. These are three words to remember when dating someone new. You never want to make a new interest sweat (physically or mentally), but a little adrenaline helps us feel good and be more receptive. Activity helps not only with these good feelings but also provides entertainment outside of each other. Admiring your date comes from watching, yes, but more so from conversation. This is where it can be a good idea to slow the date down into a more intimate setting for the chance to open doors to the mind, heart and if you are a man, building.

A beach day with some surfing, water park or drive-ins are some great ideas for third dates but try to hold off on anything that implies looking for action or seeing your date in a bathing suit until then.

If you do want to go to the beach on a first date, hitting the boardwalk is a great idea and there's usually a versatile selection of restaurants close by. Amusement parks follow in the same vein but may be better to hold off on until a later date unless there's half day pricing available. On the first time out, it's better to only hit the rides for an hour or two (try to keep it at that) and then talk over a fun bite to eat. If you're looking for a different scene, there's plenty of outdoor restaurants and bars to choose from with great ambiance; especially if there's live music. Ask those around you, check places on the internet for ideas. Check your local Chamber of Commerce and search engines for local festivals as well. It's a great two or three hour date with limited cost that offers live entertainment, drinks, food and more. Fishing or an easy hike can be unexpectedly fabulous. They give you the chance to talk while outdoors in a surprisingly romantic environment. Just make sure your date doesn't despise the idea and keep the physical exertion at an easy level. You're not likely to be aware of your date's abilities yet and no one is going to feel sexy panting and perspiring while trying to get to know someone new.

Concerts, theater, sporting events, museums and art shows are great ideas as well but save those until the second or third date when you have a better feeling for your new honey-bunnie's tastes and are sure you want to spend longer periods of time together. If you're looking for more romantic ideas, a sunset dinner cruise could be one of the most romantic ones out there and you can almost match it on a budget with a sunset picnic followed by a moonlit stroll. Wine tasting can be surprisingly cheap if you research your wineries before-hand and can be made even better by renting bikes to ride from winery to winery. Once you're comfortable meeting each other's friends, BBQing or camping are great ways to go. Just make sure your new sugar-britches has what they need to make it a good experience (blow up mattress, location with a shower, bug spray). And last but not least, you'd be surprised how fun and meaningful volunteering together can be.

Now that you've got the info., all that's left is to get out there and get 'em tiger. Happy hunting!

6th Annual Pinot Days Grand Festival, Sunday June 27th

 
It's Just Lunch and Pinot Days have partnered to offer our mailing list members a 10% discount on all of the festival's spectacular events. Just enter the discount code JUSTLUNCHSF10 when ordering tickets from the Pinot Days web site and you will receive an immediate 10% discount on all events. This year's Pinot Days Grand Festival is on Sunday, June 27th from 1-5pm at the Festival Pavilion in the Fort Mason Center, San Francisco.  

In this, our 6th year, we will again showcase over 200 producers of Pinot Noir from California, Oregon, New Zealand, Germany and Burgundy. The Grand Festival is the single largest tasting of Pinot Noir on the planet, and it is difficult to find a better time for the price; $60 covers entry to the event and a complimentary Burgundy-style glass you may take home.  So mark your calendar!

We all know how amazing the experience of our Grand Festival is for those who love Pinot Noir. If you enjoy the Grand Festival, please also consider attending one of our other events (Focus Tastings, Winemaker Dinners, Russian River Valley Pinot Day Tour) scheduled for the week prior to Sunday’s Grand Festival, as we think that these events are not only unique, but they embody the essence of what makes the pinot noir industry so captivating.

There is no other wine industry niche that has as strong a community as ours – our pinot producers are accessible and actually desire to chum around with you, and our consumers are passionate, looking beyond simply tasting the wines to the compelling stories behind each of them.  And finally we have a grape, a noble grape, that is versatile, finicky, fascinating and, most importantly, delicious.

Our Focus Tastings, Winemakers Dinner and RRV Tour personify these elements. You will get to spend time with our gifted and colorful producers, immerse yourself in their noble wines, taste foods perfectly paired and crafted by some of the finest chefs in the Bay Area and, most importantly, taste insanely good wines.

So - !  Please check all of our events during the week of festivities preceding Sunday’s Grand Festival and join us for a truly unique experience in the world of wine. Click HERE to see all the Pinot Days events.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make me a match!

"Everyone has three sides that come into play when looking for love. What we think we want, what we need and what we actually go for." -- Kelly Numair -- Director of the San Francisco South Bay 

How many times have you heard someone say the person they were in love with wasn't their normal type? And how many times have you heard there's no one good out there? This, my fellow love-seekers, is the difference between getting out of our own way and continuing to use Cupid's arrow to shoot ourselves in the foot. 

You're your own worst enemy. Just deal with it. You don't have to feel bad; we all are. It's those of us that come up with the right love potion of what has to be altered and what can stay that find that sweetest thing we don't even know we're looking for. 

That's where Matchmaking comes in.

Everyone should have that friend that knows us inside out and will tell us when we're behaving like a donkey's patoot. Welcome to Matchmaking. A Matchmaker gives us so much more than what you will find online. A Matchmaker is a professional that will not only tell us how we're hurting ourselves but also help us fix it. They have no bias involvement with our personal lives and sift through the rubbish while keeping a higher level of quality with those we meet and our experience as a whole.  In addition, we only work with clients who are serious about finding a good match, whether it be for finding a steady relationship or for marriage.  

Recently a therapist confided in me about how her fears for the horror stories she thought would come from counseling war refugees turned to bewilderment when their stories focused on romantic relationships instead of the death, war and loss she expected. It's easy to forget how important this aspect of life is in a culture that teaches us that independence is strength. We consult experts for life's other big decisions. How could it not be strong to invest in becoming better, stronger and wiser here too? And what better way to invest than through a good 'ol fashioned Matchmaker?