How I Found My Husband in San Francisco…

After several years of fun, but unsuccessful husband hunting in San Francisco, I discovered that the love of my life lived only 2 blocks away. Dating pretty much every single college-educated guy over 6 feet tall in New York and San Francisco during my 20s was a thrill! Meeting men through friends, in bars, and on Match, Tinder and eHarmony, I certainly met my fair share of men who never asked questions, expected to split the check on a first date, older men who claimed to be around my age, and extremely short men who claimed to be over 6 feet. Despite a few uncomfortable conversations and awkward hugs, I feel so fortunate to have met so many interesting men, several of whom have become good friends and business contacts. Most importantly, my active dating life enabled me to determine exactly the type of man who would be my ideal match. All I needed to do was find him…

I remember feeling frustrated when people told me that I would only find someone when I stopped looking. How can you find someone when you’re not looking? As I approached my late 20s, I decided to take this advice, but with a twist. I deleted my dating accounts and stopped going out as much socially. I also worked with Amy Andersen to complete my ideal match profile, which helped me become very clear on the traits I valued most in a life partner. Instead of Tindering to find the tallest, hottest guy, I set forth my intention to the universe to find a loyal, intelligent, charismatic man, and I stopped looking for him.

To fill my free time, I pursued my two passions – rowing and yoga. I signed up for a 200-hour yoga teacher training and started a group of Bay Area women who rowed in college. Between work, yoga and the rowing group, I had virtually no time to date, and guess what? I met my husband right away. In the first 5 minutes of a co-ed rowing event I helped organize at an upscale bar near my office, my future husband and I locked eyes. Our chemistry was off the charts, and we quickly discovered that we had several common interests a ton of mutual friends in San Francisco.

After 6 months, I moved 2 blocks away into his apartment, after 9 months, we were engaged, and 2 years later, we are married. As cliché as it sounds to find your match when you aren’t looking, it’s exactly what happened to me. I feel so fortunate to be married to the man of my dreams, and I’d love to share some tips I learned along the way.

5 Tips to Meet your Ideal Match

1. Enjoy dating! Interacting with new people helps to broaden your horizons, learn more about yourself and the traits you value most in a partner, and to appreciate meeting the right person for you.   Especially in San Francisco, dating is an opportunity for you to grow both professionally and socially. In such a small city, you will run into former dates frequently, so focus on building a strong brand in the dating world. Your future husband may be your awkward Tinder date’s best friend! And meeting people through location-based apps like Tinder enable you to meet new friends and tour guides while traveling.

2. Identify the traits you value most in your ideal partner. Spend time thinking about similar traits in people you have dated, in your parents, and what you value most in a life partner. Be specific on the key traits, flexible on others, and understand your non-negotiables. Write everything down and discuss with friends, family, a therapist, or a matchmaker. Don’t write off someone whose company you enjoy just because they don’t check every box. It wasn’t until I became clear about what I wanted in a relationship and shared this vision with people that my ideal partner walked into my life.

3. Focus less on finding Mr. Right and more on becoming Ms. Right. Be the best version of yourself. We hear this advice all the time because it’s so true. If you aren’t into watching sports and you love running, join a running club instead of trying to meet men at a sports bar. I am not interested in watching sports and have been guilty of this many times! If you don’t like your job, get a new one. Don’t pretend to have your life together and rely on Mr. Right to fix your problems. We continue to work on ourselves throughout life, so get to a good place where you and your future partner can work on yourselves together.

4. Choose happiness! – Life is full of challenges. Make a conscious decision to be happy and stay positive though the worst of times. Radiant, happy women attract similar qualities in others. Be the happy, upbeat person people want to be around. Greet others with smiles and compliments. I have always found volunteering, celebrating others, and travel to lift my spirits and open my heart to endless gratitude. And it’s so easy to meet new people while volunteering and traveling!

5. Refine your body and mind. Exercise, drink more water, and get enough sleep. Your body will thank you, and fit, healthy people are valued in athletic cities like San Francisco. Attend classes and groups you enjoy, to meet like-minded people. Your husband may be waiting for you in your next boot camp, rock climbing or meditation class! Go outside, breathe deeply, feel the endorphins, and appreciate the natural beauty around us. Get into the best shape of your life, take care of yourself, and SHINE!

Christine is a 30-year-old, Ivy League educated, East Coast transplant in San Francisco.  She believes that the meaning of life is to love and be loved, and she is passionate about volunteering, technology and yoga

San Francisco Guardsmen Bachelor Auction! June 18th!

Grab the girls and join The San Francisco Guardsmen on June 18th from 6pm for the 11th Annual San Francisco Bachelor Auction Presented by The Guardsmen

This premier event includes the most eligible bachelors, specialty drinks, surprise performances, and a really fun, lively night to be had. All proceeds will be benefit at-risk youths in the Bay Area.

A friend of the network, Luke Kilpatrick, is one of the fabulous bachelors up for auction. Ladies, Luke said for readers of the Linx Line to use lkilpatrick for a 20% discount code. Tickets here.

For those who are not familiar with the Guardsmen, you can read a history here. The sister volunteer organization in San Francisco that does many events with the Guardsmen is the San Francisco Junior League (I was part of the JLSF for 7 plus years). Another phenomenal way to get involved in your community, network, and give back with an outstanding group of charitable women.

What’s Happening in Silicon Valley & Beyond

Silicon Valley and the world is buzzing with last week’s FB acquisition of WhatsApp for 19BB! That’s right, 19BB – each founder is walking away with approximately 4BB. Talk about a nice payday.

WhatsApp has been around 5 years and is the most popular messaging app for smartphones. It is believed that the WhatsApp acquisition will secure Facebook’s already leading position in the crowded messaging world.

Last week I had the pleasure of being treated to an amazing night at the exclusive and chic Battery in San Francisco by three amazing, awe-inspiring male clients. These guys all referred one another into Linx, were co-founders of a tech company together, and have had great experiences with Linx, choosing it as another strategic option in their arsenal of dating resources.

They commiserated about how the scene is tough for guys, that filtering online profiles is extremely time consuming, and how they are committed to making 2014 “their year” to each find the woman of his dreams. These good solid guys are late 20’s to early 30’s, each super fascinating.

I ran into a ton of familiar faces at The Battery – former and current clients, friends, and new connections. Definitely a who’s-who sort of establishment – folks having dinner, people drinking late into the night upstairs, playing cards, and encouraged not to talk about work…in fact, no photos are allowed (that’s right, not even “selfies”…man, I loathe that expression!), and the membership is curated to bring together like-minded influencers from all sorts of unique backgrounds – many not in tech. Computer use and business talk is discouraged in favor of discussions about the arts, current affairs, culture, and travel. Photo: Ken Fulk, Inc.

The five-level, 58,000-square-foot club at 717 Battery Street is a very unique one-of-a-kind elite club-designed by Ken Fulk and with the most spectacular interior filled with modern art, sculptures, terraces, restaurants, a wine cellar, and much more. This impressive establishment is the creation of Michael and Xochi Birch. This cool couple sold the social networking site Bebo to AOL for $850 million in 2008 and later were inspired by the private social clubs of London as they conceptualized The Battery. I encourage you to tap your network of friends to see “who” might be members and ask a friend to check it out….

Linx Visits Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley

Today started out very early in hair and make-up getting ready for a TV interview for ABC 7 local Bay Area news about the Bay Area dating scene and the professionals that hire a firm like Linx to find love.  Air date in May TBD.

I was clearly very focused and shall we say serious here?! Listening and seeing if our first screening appointment meets a match for one of our current VIPs. 

I arrived to the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley to meet the lovely anchor, Kristen Sze, who I worked with behind the scenes to develop exactly the fun story she wanted for the piece.

Beyond the story, my assistant and I were at the hotel meeting a ton of female candidates who submitted their information to see if they have that “it” factor to meet a Linx VIP guy. The first female agreed to let her screening with Linx be filmed for the piece which was great. All mic’ed and wired up, we chatting as we would anyways about men (in some cases boys 😉 ), dating, and what she desires in finding a mate. 

After the first screening, I had a male and female 40-something client show up for mini chats with Kristen on camera about their quest to find love. Everyone was super enthusiastic and generous to carve out time out of their busy days for this unique opportunity.

We also got footage of my male clients lunch date at the hotel which was fabulous and it turns out it is a match! I found a smart, fun, and adventurous client to match him to who also willingly agreed to be part of the story (caveat not showing her face and revealing identity). Outside of the context of the TV date, they actually hit it off and plan to see one another soon both texting me saying they were pumped up and excited to have met one another. Yes! I finally use a Mac after years of being a PC user. I love my Mac!  Was I ever resistant and getting me to switch was an uphill battle but no regrets. 

At around 12:30pm, the cameraman and Kristen cruised out and off to other stories and Aimi (assistant) and I resumed our business as usual. We met with many additional ladies who were each impressive in their own way. It is now up to my team to digest all of the information we gathered and see if there is a unique fit at this moment for one of our VIPs. If that is not the case, I will hold their info and ask they they touch base in a few months. As “not so sexy” as it seems, running a matchmaking business is a game of inventory, supply, and demand.

As always the Four Seasons Hotel Palo Alto went above and beyond the call of duty being so gracious and kind to us. From free wireless, little berries and chocolates to keep us going (on the house!), super friendly staff, and a very easy place to meet clients, I highly recommend the hotel for any of your business needs and also for date night (head to Quattro for amazing food and wine!) I hold the hotel close to my heart as for some of you know, it’s where my hubbie proposed back in 2007! Yeay for getting engaged! Excuse me…bonjour! …the way to a matchmakers heart is absolutely through fresh berries and little “guilt free” chocolates (in a silver box no less).  

A matchmaker’s job is never ending. I now have many clients emails to tend to, a match here and there, quick trip to the office, and then to bed early for another casting day tomorrow!

 

Romance in the Air | Linx Love

I am delighted to learn about another Linx couple who is exclusive and just shared their first Valentine’s together in San Francisco. Both are young and very bright, dynamic entrepreneurs and so nicely matched on many levels.

She shared with me, “He really went all out. Since he’s still getting his place set up, he came over to mine, bag full of groceries and a bouquet of a dozen long-stem roses and white star lilies in hand, which were exquisite! He immediately popped open a bottle of champagne and made a beautiful cheese plate (which included a heart shaped goat cheese with cranberries and brie covered with sliced strawberries). I volunteered to help, but he resisted and told me to just sit down and enjoy. I lit some candles and sipped on champagne as I watched him prepare dinner. He brought his jambox and had a whole playlist ready to go. For dinner he made a calamari pasta dish and a beautiful salad, which we enjoyed with a bottle of red wine he brought over. We then lit a fire and stayed up pretty late….”

Here is a darling collage from their Valentine’s together. Talk about rolling out the red carpet and setting the stage for incredible romance together! This gentleman was raised very well and certainly knows how to treat a woman. His match is a beauty and has a brain for business yet is ultra feminine and loves a man who “is a man.”

The Linx girls are excited to see you both progress together and so happy to have another Linx match and two fantastic members off the market!