Sometimes it's just not meant to be...

When you are a woman and you hit that certain age, you start to look at your life through a different pair of shades. My friends and I often talk about the future - work, men, kids, etc. But sometimes you have that friend or two that bases their entire being and their entire outlook on what's to come on being with someone. Having a partner. Invitations no longer saying "you plus guest."

Here's an interesting article I came across on MSN.com

http://lifestyle.msn.com/relationships/article.aspx?cp-documentid=24682705&GT1=32023

Seven Surprising Signs He'll Never Marry You
The tricky thing about womanizers is that they usually have their game down pat, which means it's easy to get sucked in. Here are some of the subtle clues a guy has a case of commitment phobia. If he exhibits three or more of these, watch out.

By Niki Evans

1. All of His Exes Are "Crazy"

Be wary of a man who refers to his former girlfriends as crazy, psycho, or clingy — because what's the common denominator here? Him. The dude's either looney-bin glue, or he never really wanted the relationship to work in the first place.

2. He Plans Ultra-Romantic Dates

A cozy candlelit dinner is nice and all, but if he only takes you to secluded places, it could be a tip-off that he doesn't want other women to spot him on a date. Next time he asks you out, suggest hitting up a busy restaurant or popular bar and see how he reacts.

3. He's Hot and Cold on the Phone

He'll text you 10 times in a night, then go MIA for days. He'll chat on the phone for an hour, then ignore your messages for the rest of the week. Wondering what the heck is going on? We're going to be brutally honest: He's mostly likely busy dating other women.

4. He Guilt-Trips You

It's normal for a guy to be jonesing to sleep with you from day one. But this behavior is a red flag if he a) lays the pressure on thick, or b) tries to make you feel bad if you choose not to get physical — like by giving you a sob story about how worked up he is without the release of sex.

5. Stuff Is Missing from His Facebook Profile

Has he untagged any photos of you and him? Does he post updates often, yet never mention hanging out with you? Is his relationship status hidden? We smell a rat. A guy who's leery of commitment will make sure there are no traces of you on his page.

6. His Buddies Act Distant

Even though a player's bros may be friendly enough, they probably won't ask you many personal questions about your job, interests, etc. The ugly truth: They don't want to invest time and energy getting to know you because they figure you're not going to be around very long.

7. He Says You're Soul Mates

Okay, we adore the idea of love at first sight — but too much too soon could also indicate sketchy intentions. If a dude comes on super strong right off the bat (we're talking the first couple of weeks), telling you things like that he's starting to fall in love with you, just make sure you play it safe and trust your gut. Those powerful words might be rolling off his tongue so smoothly because he's spoken them so many times before.

SOURCES: William July, Ph.D., Author of Confessions of an Ex-Bachelor and Jenn Berman, Psy.D., Relationship Expert for Cosmo Radio.

I'm sure we can all check off at least two of the seven insights above. Ladies... as Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo once said... He's just not that into you.

Oops! RETRACTION

After accidentally stumbling upon my blog (I left the window open on the computer), my partner read it for the first time - the post on the Antique Show.

During our vacation last week, he brought it up, proudly announcing that 'he read my blog!' He commented that my writing was pretty good and I only had one grammatical mistake...

Then I was advised that some information in there was actually incorrect. He really wanted to go to the Antique Show! He had worked that morning and had been up since 4:30 a.m. so he was a bit tired, but he was really looking forward to it and I did not have to "drag him there," as previously stated in my post.

So I now write a retraction - my partner was not dragged; he excitedly kept me company.

He caught the dragged part, but did not comment on being referred to as my better half... men.

Going antiquing

A few weeks ago I managed to drag my better half to attend the Christie Antique Show again. This was my second time going; last year we went to the May show as well (you can check out my buys here) and I think it's safe to say it is officially my hobby. The show started at 8:00 a.m. and with an $8 cover charge I was free to roam the million square feet of antique goodness.

This year I was on a mission to find a vanity table for my wardrobe room. One of the many pros of moving out of your parent's house into your own crib is that you can decorate the whole place however your heart desires. One of my must-haves was a bedroom that I can turn into a walk in closet (stay tuned for fotos).

So with a $500 budget, we set out to find the perfect vanity table, with a mirror, of course. I came across a few that were 'OK', but nothing that I have been picturing in my head. I wanted one with a few drawers and a place for a chair. There were a lot of dressers with a built in mirror, but nothing I can put a stool or a chair at.

Then I found THE most stunning vanity EVER. It was HUGE. Drawers and a mirror, a place for a fabulous chair. All for the reasonable price of $3,496. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to raise our $500 budget. Now that I think of it, it was probably too large for my closet room anyways.

Then, as we were shimmying up one of the isles, I looked over at one of the booths we have yet to see (as it was a few isles over) and I saw the back of it. There she was. I bolted over to take a closer look and she was perfect! The booth owner must have sensed my interest as we came right over and offered me a "good price" for this. I said great, how good? Keeping in mind that everything else I remotely liked was between $300 and $699 (err, $3,496).

He said $150!

So I pretended to contemplate this purchase a little bit, already picturing where exactly I would put it at home.

"But if you really want it, you can have it for a hundred and a quarter."

SOLD!

But a vanity isn't complete without a fabulous piece of furniture to sit on. So after a bit more walking I found a perfect upholstered stool for $25 - but I got it for $20. Note to future antiquers: as the day nears the end, you can score some sweet deals because everyone wants to get rid of their stuff so they don't have to load it all back on the trucks.

The stool actually matches the Merlot on the walls and white in the baseboards perfectly. Check out the pictures below.

The Christie Antique Show comes to Dundas, Ontario twice a year. The next one is on September 11. And I'll be in there like swimwear!

Helllooooo summerrrr!

It's here! It's here! It's here!

After a ridiculously below par summer of 2009, I'm sure I'm not alone when I say bring on the heat! There is no better feeling than laying on the sand with sun on your skin. Unfortunately, tanning conditions aren't what they used to be when we were kids.

I remember going on vacation with my mom and my aunt and we would always hang out on the beach. My aunt had this black bikini with pink polka dots and all she did - all day and every day - was lather on baby oil and fry in the sun. She was darker than chocolate by the end of the vacation. I was always so envious of her tan - maybe that's why I now have a complex about my pastiness.

Nowadays, UV rays are stronger, cancer is more common and really - who wants leathery skin at the tender age of 40.

Before stepping out into the sun with your sunscreen in hand, make sure you check the UV report that's conveniently available on the Weather Network's website. We spend at least eight hours per day online, it's right at your finger tips. You have no excuse. Check it. Now.

This week I'm taking off for a much needed week at Le Cottage. I've stocked up on beach towels, tried on all my bikinis (thank God it's during the week and NO ONE will be there to see this), reading materials and sunscreen.

Hawaiian Tropic always reminds me of the good ol' days of worry-tanning, but until recently, their products were available in highest SPF of 4 (that I know of)... Now Hawaiian Tropic offers sun protection up to SPF 70, in cream and lotion form as well as the ever-popular oil (still only SPF 4), with UVB protection and moisturizing vitamin E and aloe. There is also a complete line of after-sun care. Because let's be reasonable here - true sun lovers can overdo it now and then.

LOVE.

Maria Sharapova is living young... and so should you

As I have recently embarked on my neverending quest to diminish my wrinkles, I've made it a point to stay hydrated all day and every day. It's so easy to forget about drinking enough water when life takes over your days - you're stuck at work with a million e-mails to answer, run errands, pick up groceries, look for new shoes. You know, the usual. Carrying a Klean Kanteen everywhere I go isn't always an easy solution. It's hard to find space in my bag for the essentials: BlackBerry, organizer (I'm very old school and still like to write things down... with a pen), a book for the daily commute, lip balm, etc. I would need a separate fanny pack just to house my 3 lb water container...

During one of my regular trips to Metro, I came across evian Les Petites - a 330 ml bottle designed to fit into a kid's lunch box. Lunch box - hand bag. Potato - potahto. Convenient, easy to refill if need be and keeps my hydrated.

And I'm not the only supporter of evian - three-time Grand Slam tennis champion Maria Sharapova just signed on to be the new face of youth for evian. “The idea of youth as a state of mind caught my attention. I took a great pleasure in revealing my ‘baby inside’ while modeling for these photographs with Nathaniel Goldberg,” said Sharapova. “I am a true evian® drinker and I really like this campaign as well as the idea behind it so it felt quite natural to join in.”

What a perfect match (no pun intended).

If you haven't seen the evian baby coaches video, what are you waiting for. In the meantime, read up on evian Live Young training here. If that doesn't give you a kick in the behind to get healthy, well... call Jillian Michaels.

Quarter (and a bit) Life Crisis

A few weeks ago it hit me - I'm turning 27 this year. Twenty seven. I'm closer to thirty than I'll ever be to the young twenty five. I've never been one to give much thought to my age, especially when my other friends have been complaining about feeling older. I always thought of getting older as a sign of experience, knowledge and career success that's right on track. This year, however, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Three more years and I'm over the hill.

My metabolism is getting slower and slower and my face is starting to show lengthy welts some may call laugh lines. My clothes are getting tighter, I have more and more bills to pay. The only bonus is I no longer have regular loads of homework to do when I get home from school.

I've decided to "get my shit together." I signed up to a gym and I'm starting to work on my fitness. This cottage cheese will not go away on its own - especially now that I'm OLD. I've started doing research (and by research I mean asking my fabulous friends with fabulous skin) about budget friendly products to help me iron out my skin. Stay tuned for updates, I'll be sure to share.

Although I'm turning TWENTY SEVEN, I still feel like seventeen. Even my pops asked my one day if I will ever grow up. No thank you. I have a lifetime ahead of me to be serious. Life is more fun when you can laugh your way through it.

With this resealable plastic box of bacon, I thee wed...

I'm sure by now, you've all seen the Maple Leaf Foods commercial of their new resealable bacon, where a crazy-in-love girlfriend proposes to her boyfriend with it and he immediately wells up and accepts the proposal.

While it's all fun and games when it comes to advertising, but this taboo notion of the female popping the question to her male companion seems to be a more and more common occurrence.

While listening to the Mad Dog and Billie morning show a while back, I heard the duo discuss Mangagement rings, which seem to be all the new rage in Miami. Seriously??

According to Details Magazine, the mangagement ring is becoming more and more popular. "'We get maybe 20 to 25 inquiries a week from women who want to propose,' says John Cordova, an expert at California-based Robbins Brothers, which calls itself the "world's biggest engagement ring store."

There seem to be two schools of thought on this.

One - once the man proposes to his girlfriend and she accepts, she then purchases a ring for him to wear as well. I guess as a warm up to when the actual wedding ring comes, or that both parties get to sport the pre-wedding bling. Sure, this seems legit enough. If us ladies spend months, if not years, hinting of what the perfect diamond ring should look like, the least we can do is spend a few (thousand) dollars and return the favour.

Two - the lady in the relationship purchases the engagement ring and proposes marriage to her boyfriend.

No, no and no. I'm all for getting the vote, ridding the business world of the glass ceiling, I'll even give away my cleaning and cooking responsibilities to any man that will take them! But I believe the proposal should stay the way it is... you won't see me on my knee anytime soon!

Ladies? Gentlemen? Thoughts?

What happens if it's a same-sex marriage? Coin toss or Rock, Paper, Scissors?