Linx Testimonial from 50-something Male

50-SOMETHING YEAR OLD MALE, BAY AREA BASED, PRESIDENT OF FIRM, PASSIONATE ABOUT CARS

“Amy has considerably exceeded my expectations – and that is rare.

Contacting Amy, I was interested in meeting someone special to have a family with. Until then, my dating life was active and enjoyable, yet seldom in a relationship likely to lead to marriage and children.

Before becoming a client, I recall discussing the “leap of faith” new clients make – having never worked with a matchmaker before. I vividly recall all concerns about becoming a client evaporating as soon as I met the first match.

Through Amy, I met accomplished, attractive, vivacious women I would not have met on my own.

Matchmaking is an art, not a science. If it was science, combining 50 handsome men and 50 beautiful women would create 50 adorable couples. As a matchmaker, Amy is a very talented artist.

Amy is conscientious. She personally knows me as well as the woman she is introducing me to – so it’s more like meeting someone through a mutual friend. We both know each other’s backgrounds, interests and aspirations. So the first date doesn’t seem like a first date. Our first conversation is much more interesting about what matters to both of us, on a deeper more intellectual level.

Amy is encouraging and insightful. Encouraging when there is future potential in a match and insightful when there isn’t, allowing me to better understand what I’m looking for in a person.

If you are accomplished, selective and interested in meeting someone special, I suggest meeting with Amy. Expect to be surprised by her capabilities and quality of match she may have for you.

Amy greatly exceeded my expectations. She might exceed yours, too…”

New Year Q & A with CEO of Linx Dating

New Years is right around the corner. Make 2014 YOUR Year to find the love of your life. I spend a lot of my days talking with prospects about Linx and answering questions about the business. Since there are so many inquiries coming in with 2014 on the horizon, I thought it would be helpful to post a basic Q & A about the Linx network.

Q: It sounds like you work mostly with men who need help dating, true? Can you generalize about your clientele and what they are looking for—long-term relationship, or something more casual?

A: Linx is an offline dating and social network created for the commitment-minded… professionals looking for a hookup or a quick fix are not our target and we have an extensive screening process for all candidates that weeds out those who are not “in it for the long haul.”

Though we do a lot of date coaching work with some of our clients to help them be successful in the early stages of dating (getting past date one, to date two, three, and so on), we are doing this to nurture budding relationships that, projecting ahead, could be perfect matches and ultimately marriage.

Of course, not all Linx clients are on exactly the same timeline, but all of them are seeking, and comfortable with, commitment.

Linx is one of the few matchmaking networks that represents BOTH men and women as clients and, depending on the type of membership, either or both will pay fees.

For example, we represent many females who are struggling as they try to locate a match for marriage. This typical female client is healthy inside and out, feminine, very well-educated (often Ivy League caliber), over-achieving, and has an impressive career. The dating background on such a candidate is usually binary – either (1) she has dated too many eligible, yet emotionally unavailable men, who cannot commit to her and has been repeatedly burned, so now it’s GAME ON, like RIGHT NOW; or (2) on the other extreme, she has not dated that much at all, is not really sure where to turn as she refuses to do online dating (or is highly skeptical of it), has zero interest in dating colleagues from work, and has severe time constraints. We work with all ages of women and represent many women who have been married before and have children (often children in their teens and even out of the house).

And, just like the women, my male clients also have it all going on! When people think Silicon Valley, they think all the men are like young Bill Gates clones running around with “coke bottle glasses” and pocket protectors….sort of like out of Revenge of the Nerds. My clients are anything but socially inept. Like any other guys out there, they have dated in varying degrees.

My typical male client has a graduate degree, a great job, exudes confidence, and now it’s all about finding the right woman. It’s like a light goes off in his head and there is no stopping him. This type of guy settles down and game playing is simply not in his DNA. Even if I gave him a guide to be a player like the schools for PUA (pick up artist), he wouldn’t know how to do it. Many of our male clients are very presentable, polished, and are perfectly social. We represent a lot of male clients at companies such as: GOOG, CSCO, FB, ORCL, Palantir, Box, AAPL, LNKD, eBAY (including lots of hot smaller VC backed start-ups) in the tech space and countless VCs on Sand Hill Road and savvy angel investors who remain pretty off the grid and are pretty private sorts of guys.

One common thread I see, from both my male and female clients, is that they have extraordinarily high standards in what they seek, and they absolutely should, when they come to a service such as Linx. No one is telling them to “settle.” But there is a difference between being discriminating and being picky – the latter connotes an attitude of being unproductively critical and not ever quite being satisfied.

More often than not, when clients first approach me, it is a “needle in a haystack” match that they want in terms of endless objective characteristics. I really work hard to determine what is MOST important to them and to go after those characteristics. For example, what if a woman says she won’t date a guy shorter than 6 feet tall and I manage to locate a man with every other important quality she wants and he is 5’ 10”? She is likely eliminating a huge portion of the population by not being flexible with that…

Not surprisingly, in Silicon Valley, my highly educated and analytical clientele often apply the same methodology to their dating that made them successful in their careers, and that does not always work because here we are dealing with matters of the heart.

Q: A lot of employers like Google strive to give their employees everything they need—food, entertainment, even massages—mostly so they’ll be happy working all the time and never leave. Does that make it more difficult for some to go out with a stranger and work for something—a kiss (or more) and maybe a second date? Since people work all the time, office romances are not unheard of. This happens in other businesses too, obviously, from Washington to Wall Street, but are there particular dangers, or advantages to the office romance here in Silicon Valley?

A: Well, with the kinds of perks that Google or Facebook or Palantir, for example, offer to employees, it is easy to see why an employee, on the margin, might stay at work rather than venture out. Google really started this trend a decade ago as the first startup company that tried to preserve a startup culture – like a fun, innovation playground – as the company grew, and that has become more of an expectation now amongst typical young talent qualified to work at these companies.

If you think about it, the culture at these companies for 20 and even early 30-somethings is not unalike the dorm experience at a top university – project teams bond over what they do all day… it’s more about living to work than it is about working to live, and so you do everything together. The movie “The Internship” might have been fiction and was probably a bit exaggerated but it was pretty much on target. With that in mind, it is not surprising that this culture (like college dorms) would lead to inter-office dating. When you have lots of smart, eligible people around that can empathize on each other’s current life mission, it is very attractive, casual, and convenient. At Facebook, for example, it is known to be very common.

All of that said, most companies, of course, frown upon their employees dating one another. And many of my women clients (and some men, too) tell me that they do not want to do this primarily because it could jeopardize how hard they have worked to get to where they have gotten at such young ages and thus harm their reputations – it often is not worth it. Others have even said “you have one shot” if you do this and it had better be “the one.” This statement is very akin to the clients we have at Stanford University GSB. Otherwise, you could get a reputation that sticks with you.

Reputation is everything and only you can control this. Once you start dipping the pen in the ink at work, the problem can be that people talk, gossip, and the spotlight can be on the person you’re dating and not what you are really meant to be focused on – which is work. So it can be a calculated risk.

Announcing New Search | 27-Year Old Attractive Female in Palo Alto

Our client is a beautiful, funny, and sweet 27 year old who is Caucasian, 5’9″, athletic and feminine. She is a true California girl with bright blond hair, blue eyes, a fair, clear complexion, long legs, and is busty.

She is stylish, very feminine, and active- sharing with us that 2014 is her year to get serious with her yoga practice. She enjoys walks, the occasion hike, spin class, and cardio to keep active and healthy.

Our client moved from San Francisco to Palo Alto to be near her work in high-tech investments. She works for a top-tier firm in the Silicon Valley and finds great fulfillment in her work. She is well educated, hard working, responsible, and very smart.

Although she is only 27 years old, she is ready to get serious when it comes to finding love. She’s had a couple of serious relationships although has never been married and would consider herself to be marriage minded. She’s excellent with children and would embrace the opportunity to have a family of her own one day! In fact, she is pretty traditional and would like to raise a family adhering to more traditional gender roles.

She is down-to-earth, loyal, balanced, sensitive (yet strong-willed), an independent thinker, compassionate, and loving. Her hobbies outside of the scope of work are: her close friendships, family (who are local to the Bay Area), cooking (she’s a skilled cook), volunteering, snowboarding, and travel. She has continued her education through various classes Stanford University and would love to learn calligraphy this year.

Her best suited match is hands down a guy who will make her laugh! He is between the ages of 28-40 years old. He is Caucasian or Asian American (yet tall). Height is important to make this match work. You are between the range of 5’10”-sky is the limit. Personality is key. Did we mention you are funny (maybe with a humorous yet slightly cynical view of the world)?

You are social, masculine, intelligent, family centric (ideally you have a great relationship with your family), responsible, and full of integrity. In terms of career- you’re a professional who is ambitious and well-liked by your colleagues.

If you are eligible or know anyone who might make a great match for this young client of ours, please email Amy at: amy@linxdating.com

There are NO FEES with this opportunity to potentially find the love of your life.

What Do Bay Area Men and Women Really Want? Turn-Ons and Turn-Offs

We compile a lot of very useful data about eligible men and women based on our extensive get-to-know-you process. Sometimes we see interesting trends and nuggets of dating wisdom that clients and friends of Linx share about what they really look for in a match and what turns them off.

Here are some random insights into the world of matchmaking at Linx in Silicon Valley.

Men don’t want to hear about a woman’s dramas, dramatic past breakups, and complaining in general!!

A lot of women who feel a connection on a first date feel that it is completely appropriate to do a “data dump” of tons of information on that first date. This includes talking at great length about the ex, the numbers of guys she is dating, how desirable she is, and just unleashing a lot of emotional baggage on the date- this could include saga stories about work (i.e., hating the job and so on) and just being plain negative. This comes a situation of “too much too soon” syndrome and information that is inappropriate for a first date. No one wants to hear it. That is why women have girlfriends and do mani and pedi days with one another. Husbands don’t even want to hear this stuff half the time, let alone a first date!

First date turn-offs for women…#1 stop playing games!!

After a great first date where there appeared to be sizzling chemistry on both sides it can become a dicey situation of game playing. There are so many guys that obsess about calling on the right day after the first date, playing hard to get, not returning calls, and the list goes on. If you are into someone, communicate that. If they aren’t into you, move on. My advice is to be yourself and take ownership of how you feel. Although men are often even more scared of rejection then women are, you gotta jump all in…or else….you might never know!

Top three most oft-cited first date turn-ons for men


#1 A woman who accentuates her femininity and flirts with ease.

#2 A woman who laughs easily and is confident in who she is.

#3 A woman who is complex and intellectually provocative. She possesses knowledge around a wide range of subjects. It means being interested in ideas, regardless of the topic, and being willing to engage with them. This often goes hand in hand with being interested in books, politics, film, the arts, dining, and travel.

Top three most oft-cited first date turn-ons for women


#1 He was a total gentleman throughout the evening. He is polite, opens doors, is attentive, thoughtful, and is always making sure his date is content throughout the meal, asking good questions, and is paying attention to his date versus looking around the room with a wandering eye or a “grass is always greener” mentality.

#2 He ends the evening with conviction and declares his intent to see his date again. He looks her in the eye and states his intentions of wanting to see her again and kisses her softly saying he will call her tomorrow and he does so the next day as promised. This is so simple but so many guys seem to miss the ball with this one.

#3 Tall, dark, and handsome ok, ok…. at least clean-cut, nicely dressed, wearing a good pair of Italian shoes. Gets them every time. 😉

Holiday Heartbreak – How to Put Back Together the Pieces

According to statistics compiled from Facebook status updates, the holidays are one of the peak times of year when breakups occur. This adds an extra layer of difficulty to an already complicated time of year. It is essential to take care of yourself and your aching heart so you can get back into the game as soon as possible.

Friend of Linx, Daniela Tempesta, who is a licensed psychotherapist in San Francisco has put together some great insights into holiday heartbreak. If you are experiencing some holiday blues this season, consider gaining a fresh perspective that Daniela offers in order to gain momentum in 2014 in your personal life. Here are some of Daniela’s tips on strategies for putting back together the pieces and how speaking with a therapist can assist that process.

1) Don’t Carry The Baggage Of Your Last Relationship Into Your Next One

People often run from one failed relationship to another in a desperate attempt to forget the pain in the arms of a new love. But if we don’t seize the chance to really process the grief from a breakup, we are likely to bring it with us into the next relationship. We may project feelings and memories onto our new partner that have nothing to do with them. For example, your ex may have severely broken your trust and as result you are constantly suspicious or accuse your new partner of deceiving you even though they are not. This is likely to result in you walking away from someone wonderful, or pushing that person away. Therapy can help you clear the marks of your last love and give you a clean emotional canvas to work with.

2) Own What Is Yours And Let Go Of The Rest

Many people incorrectly blame themselves for a relationship not working out. They are so busy feeling bad about themselves that they fail to take responsibility for the way they actually did contribute to problems with their ex. It is important that you are able to examine what happened with someone who can help you see it objectively. It is essential that you stop blaming yourself for things that are not your fault, because sitting with blame and shame weighs us down and keeps us stuck. It is also important that you uncover the problematic behaviors or patterns that you did engage in that were not helpful. A lot of the problems that came up in your last relationship probably existed long before you ever met your ex. That is because we have internal dynamics in place for understanding ourselves and relating to others that have been in place since childhood. It is essential to untangle this web before you step into the next relationship so that you don’t repeat the same patterns again.

3) Re-Discover Your Identity As A Single Person And Learn To Love Yourself

A large part of coping with the loss of a relationship is learning how to be single again. This involves learning how to be alone and really getting to know and love an independent you. Skipping this step can lead to dating people who are not right for you as a way of filling an empty hole in your heart. We often lose parts of our identity in our relationships, and therapy can help you connect with your truest self and put the pieces back together. In order to really love someone else, we must learn to love ourselves.

4) Improve Your Communication Skills

Effective communication is hard. It is both an art and a science. Communication problems are often the number one culprit in a failed relationship. Before moving onto your next relationship it’s important to examine how your communication style may have been the source of strife. Is your communication style passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive, or altogether non-existent? For a relationship to work you need to be able to express yourself in a way that honors your voice and desires, but does not alienate or harm others. Remember, it’s not usually what people are saying, but how they are saying it (or what they are afraid to say) that is getting them into trouble.

Introducing Guest Blogger : A Best-Selling Author, Chef, & Friend of Linx

It is my pleasure to introduce a remarkable Bay Area based woman named Jessica Theroux to the Linx blog. I had the opportunity to visit with Jessica in the Spring of this year and we shared a wonderful afternoon getting to know one another. I was so impressed hearing her passion for cooking, but even more so at how soulful her story is. Jessica spent a year traveling throughout Italy, cooking and talking with Italian grandmothers as part of her research for her celebrated book – Cooking with Italian Grandmothers: Recipes and Stories from Tuscany to Sicily. Not to mention that celebrity chef, restaurateur, and author, Alice Waters, did the introduction to her cookbook!

I not only adored Jessica’s enchanting cookbook but loved how she truly embraces the “old world” and doesn’t forget how important tradition is, particularly in today’s fast-paced modern era. Her philosophy and passion tie so nicely into what Linx represents. So, on that note, with the holidays in full swing, I thought I would reach out to her to see… just see …if she might be able to suggest a recipe for our faithful readers. To my surprise, she presented me with a romantic, yet healthful and balanced, holiday menu for two, written especially for our readers! Enjoy!

~~
By: Jessica Theroux

Each year, as the craze of the holidays begin, my mind returns to the tranquility of the small Sicilian islands that I visited while researching for my book, Cooking with Italian Grandmothers. Life happened at a slower, gentler pace on those islands, the result of which was a rich experience for the senses. Days were spent in the warm ocean breeze, which carried with it the aromas of wild fennel and native mints, and the distant sounds of local men deftly catching fish for dinner. Breathtaking Sicilian coastline

With the pressure and demands of modern life lifted (there were barely any cars, let alone cell phone reception), endless hours were passed talking with and helping local grandmothers slowly prepare their delicious traditional dishes. Sicily

This simple, elegant menu for two evokes the ease and sensuality of those islands, while also bringing health and balance to the holidays through its focus on high-quality protein, and seasonal fruits and vegetables. A delightful dose of subtle hedonism runs throughout the dishes– in their use of heady fresh herbs and toasted spices, punchy citrus and creamy avocado, and in the silky texture of melted bittersweet chocolate tucked within plump dates.

This is the perfect seasonal meal to prepare for a love interest or dear friend—someone for whom you would like to offer an indulgent way to wind down and relax during, or after, the holidays.

MENU

Seared Tuna with a Coriander-Fennel Rub
Mache Salad with Clementine, Avocado, and Mint
Warm Dates with Hazelnuts and Bittersweet Chocolate, Fresh Mint Tisane

Serves Two

Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Execution Time: 15 minutes

Seared Tuna with a Coriander-Fennel Rub
This seared tuna is inspired by the Sicilian all-male tradition of hand-spearing migrating bluefin tuna; the most extreme expression of this being the annual “mattanza”, or culling, that happens along the west coast of the main island during the summer months. When the tuna is brought to land, local housewives spend weeks both grilling and oil-curing the bounty of their men’s catch. Here, crushed fennel and coriander seeds combine with citrus zest to create a bold crust upon searing; the tuna is also delicious grilled.

2 tuna steaks (yellowfin or bluefin) 6-8oz each and ¾ inch thick
*You can also substitute with another firm fish, such as halibut
Salt
Black pepper
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 clementines or tangerines, zested, with the flesh reserved
3 Tablespoons olive oil

Lightly toast the coriander and fennel seeds in a small skillet set over medium-low heat, 3-4 minutes. Remove the seeds from the heat immediately and crush them in a pestle and mortar, or clean spice or coffee grinder. Mix the ground spices together with the clementine zest and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.

Rinse the tuna under cold water and pat it dry. Sprinkle generously with salt and black pepper on both sides, and rub thoroughly with the spiced oil.

Warm the remaining tablespoon of oil in a ridged or flat skillet set over medium-high heat. When the surface of the oil starts to shimmer, add the tuna steaks to the pan and turn the heat down the slightest bit.

Sear the tuna for 2-3 minutes on the first side, until lightly browned. Flip the steaks, and sear the other side for 2-3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the tuna. You can check its doneness by cutting into it. The above method and timing will cook the tuna so that it is still a little rare in the middle when you take it off the stove; it will continue to cook once removed from the heat and will be just pink at the time of serving. If you prefer a more rare-seared tuna, simply sear it for less time on each side; or, for a more well cooked fish, sear it for a little longer on each side.

Mache Salad with Clementines, Avocado and Mint
This salad offers a healthy and refreshing accompaniment to the seared fish, to be served alongside it. Be sure to combine the tuna with little bites of avocado and clementine—the combination is divine!

4 cups Mache, baby arugula, or other salad greens, washed and dried
1 tablespoon minced cilantro
1 tablespoons minced fresh mint
1 avocado, cut into medium sized cubes
3 clementines or tangerines (from above)
1 scallion, washed and finely sliced
1 teaspoon sherry or champagne vinegar
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt

To prepare the clementines, use a pairing knife to trim away the skin left over after zesting; to do this, cut from the top of the citrus down the sides to the bottom, as close under the white pith as you can manage. Slice the clementines crosswise to make pinwheels, or supreme them into wedges.

Place the salad greens in a large bowl and toss them with the scallion, chopped herbs, and a sprinkling of salt. Drizzle the vinegar over the greens, and toss lightly to distribute. Repeat with the olive oil. Lastly, add the avocado and clementines.

Plate the tuna on top of the salad, or with the salad to the side, as you prefer.

Dates with Hazelnuts and Bittersweet Chocolate, Fresh Mint Tisane
These warm, chocolate-stuffed dates are just about the easiest dessert on the planet! They take only five minutes to prepare, but provide a long lasting impression.

4-6 medjool dates
1-1.5 oz 90-99% cocoa chocolate, such as Lindt (the higher the cocoa content the better)
1 tablespoon roughly chopped hazelnuts, raw or toasted
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, rinsed

Preheat your oven to 250°F.

Make a slit lengthwise down one side of each date, remove the pit, stuff with a piece of dark chocolate and a sprinkling of hazelnuts, and press the date back together to close. Place in the oven for 7-10 minutes, until the dates are warm.

Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Place the fresh mint leaves in a teapot (I like to make tisanes in a glass teapot, for the beauty of it), pour water (just off the boil) over the mint, and let steep 5-10 minutes.

Serve the dates on small plates, and enjoy with the refreshing mint tisane. Warm dates with Tisane

If you loved what you read here and want more of Jessica’s rustic Italian cooking, you can buy her book on Amazon for convenience sake here. Ustica

Jessica’s film found here

Holidays at Linx and beyond…

On my way to work this morning it was so cold my car was covered in ice! I had to call my husband to come out and scrape off the ice…poor guy was freezing….around 25 degrees! Ice on my car this morning!

The office is warm, decorated, with the scent of nutmeg and cinnamon. Holiday treats at Linx for our Friday screening day

We had a long day of interviews already today meeting spectacular men and women. Tomorrow is another huge day with meeting clients of all ages and very interesting backgrounds. We have another series of screenings for VIPs this week that sold out weeks ago. All in all something like 20 plus interviews this week alone! Cozy Linx fireplace Decorating for the holidays can be as simple as placing a variety of candles inside your fireplace and putting some colorful ornaments on the bottom of the fireplace. The fun is mixing and matching candlesticks, candle shapes, and having fun with it. The squirrel fireplace cover is made out of iron and is incredibly old. If my building dates back to the 1700’s, I imagine it is at least a century old.

With the holiday parties in full swing, I would encourage you to accept any holiday invitation. Make a point to get out of the house (even though you might want to be all cozy in your PJs)…get out and mingle! Keep the business cards at home and get some simple personal calling cards with your first name and non-work email address. Silver tea service for clients with almond cookies from Sicily. Who doesn’t like a cup of warm tea during the winter months?

Put your best foot forward and be friendly to everyone. Go out of your way to introduce yourself and be “that” person who sort of “shines” at the events. Radiate confidence and just be friendly. You’ll be amazed what happens when you present yourself this way. If you meet someone nice at the various holiday parties, follow up and make plans to connect for a drink or casual bite. Leverage the holiday season events as your time to meet someone special. You just never know how you will end up meeting the love of your life. Now RSVP YES…

Gorgeous Gingerbread display at Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel in Menlo Park. The 90-square-foot edible village used 800 pounds of gingerbread, 750 pounds of candy, and 700 pounds of royal icing to complete. How stunning is this? A client sent me this photo from Central station in Zürich of this incredible Swarovski crystal tree! My client also shared this photo from a sweet shop in Zürich with stacks and stacks of incredible chocolate…. And a photo of a cozy street in Zürich decorated for the holidays. Christmas market in Zürich. I found this photo on FB and just loved the feeling of a NYC decorated brownstone with pretty lights and a tree outside of the front door. So festive, sparkling…simply magical! Happy holidays from my almost 2 year old big boy Marshall…Woof Woof!

Intangibles

This year has absolutely flown by at such a ridiculously fast pace that, at times, it is very hard to keep my head above water!

I feel like I say this every year but this truly has been the busiest year ever for us at Linx. So many happy couples, countless new clients (quite a few high profile individuals), incredible press (generated proudly with no publicist or PR agent), fascinating creative projects, and much more.

This week we are conducting screenings for one of our Silicon Valley VIPs and are super excited to be meeting a select handful of lovely women who have qualified. Our client wants us to be able to really determine if each “finalist” has that “it” factor and obligatory intangibles that are required for the long-term.

We help our clients define their list of intangibles when we first talk to them about their ideal match. To give you some sense of the depth we go with our clients, I want to take you through a simpler but illustrative exercise that aims to prepare you for 2014 regarding your hopes and personal goals. Start now and get ahead of the curve.

Take an hour in the next couple of days to write down (on a piece of paper) the top 5 intangibles that your dream match would have.

You might now be googling “intangible.” Go ahead and Google it to see what comes up as step one. Step two in my exercise is to think about people that you have met in your life that really just STOOD out and nearly *zapped* you like a thunderbolt because of their chemistry/energy… their magnetism that drew you in, somehow, some way…for whatever reason.

As you start to think about this person, do not limit my exercise to be about someone towards whom you have necessarily felt romantic. Instead, create a neutral slate where this person could be literally anyone you have ever had the pleasure of getting introduced to whether for business, academics, friendship, through your travels, family, volunteering, etc. For the purpose of this exercise I do think it is helpful to choose someone of the opposite sex. So if you are a female think about any man who somehow impacted you even on the smallest level. And for the men reading, think of any female (again this does not have to be romantic) who left an indelible impression (even if a very distant one). If your mind is leading you to your mom or dad, that might be telling.

If you are having trouble thinking of that person, take a break and come back to the exercise. Frankly you might have your “a ha” moment when you are least expecting it….driving to work, shopping for weekly groceries and all of a sudden you have your person. Excellent! Once you have selected one or maybe more than one person take the piece of paper and pen and begin to write down what you think were some of the qualities that impressed you the most. Why has this person left an imprint on your life? Was it that he/she was particularly gregarious? Compassionate? Curious? Sharp? Tender? Loyal? Devoted? Analytical? Ridiculously funny? Creative? Spiritual? Family oriented? Tenacious? Decisive? Nurturing?

Once you have penned your list of, say, 5 adjectives that stood out, you are well on your way to creating the core ingredients that you need to find in a dream match for the long haul. These essentials are most likely the intangibles most key in your dream match. Even if you didn’t realize it until now, this could be what you have been missing in the search for the love of your life. It is very hard to find all of those qualities in one person so I’d like for you to extract just TWO that you cannot live without. Once you have two intangibles, keep those super glued to you as you date.

This exercise is also designed to focus you a bit more to better vet the men/women you date (especially if you are doing high volume online dating in conjunction to everything else you are doing to meet people). If you can tell he/she does not have those TWO intangibles from the start…move on. In conclusion, by doing this exercise you will start dating with a heightened perspective and keen awareness that most do not have. You are officially ahead of the curve and on a fast track to a bright 2014.

‘Tis the Season

With the holidays in full swing, I wanted to do a quick post for a fabulous pie that we made over Thanksgiving. This was such a hit and I recommend it for any dinner party you host or need to bring a dessert to. It is so easy and a nice twist to the traditional apple pie thanks to marzipan and the crunchy crumb topping. We bought the pie shells at Draegers for efficiency sake and doubled up the ingredients for two pies. As an option for guests we offered vanilla bean ice cream and insanely rich dulce de leche sauce to pour over the top (a lovely gift from my client.) Pure bliss!

Serves 8

Time 25 minutes to assemble ; 50-60 minutes to bake

INGREDIENTS

1-7 oz box Odense Almond Paste
1 unbaked 9″ pie shell, chilled
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup uncooked oats
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
6 tablespoons cold butter, 1/4″ pieces
1/4 cup granulated sugar
5 baking apples, peeled, cored, sliced

TOOLS & EQUIPMENT

Wax paper
Pastry cutter

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Shape Almond Paste into flat disk. Roll out to 9” disk, between 2 sheets of wax paper.
Press disk into bottom and up sides of pie shell. Refrigerate.
For topping combine flour, oats, brown sugar, almonds, and half of cinnamon. Cut butter into mixture until crumbs are formed.
For filling mix sugar with remaining cinnamon, toss with apples and pour into pie shell.
Spoon topping over apples. Bake 50-60 minutes or until golden brown*. Here is a video of the pie…please disregard the boring music.
* If top is browning too quickly, loosely tent with foil.
My rolling pin was a bridal shower gift from my aunt. All the guests signed it and wrote a message on it. After everyone signed it, she shellacked the rolling pin. Such a clever and creative gift for the bride-to-be. Look at that perfect crunchy delicious top! And the smell….oh my!