and unique? Problem is, the more you want to blow her away, the more frustrated
and stressed you become by trying to come up with an original idea!

Not to worry. Here are 3 ways to get your creativity flowing and come up with
your winning proposal idea:

1. Find the “personal” touch

Aww… your girlfriend likes restaurants. Well guess what? So does everyone
else!

You need to dig for those unique and special things about your girlfriend that
stand out, and use them as your starting point for proposal inspiration. Nothing
speaks louder than a proposal that says, “I love you and understand you
deeply” at the same time.

If you’re stuck for ideas, grab a piece of paper and think back to all the
memorable moments while you two were dating. What are her favorite things to
do? What place does she hold dear to her heart? If she grew up on the beach,
maybe you could take her to a high cliff near a magnificent beach where she
grew up, and arrange for her to see the words, “Kim, will you marry me?”
written in giant letters on the sand down below as the sun sets. As another
example: I once knew a girl who was totally OBSESSED with Superman. So in this
case, instead of parachuting into a party to propose, why not do it in a Superman
costume?

See where I’m going here? Your first step to a perfect proposal is making a
list of all the things that are special to your loved one and using them as
inspiration for your proposal.

2. Ask her friends and family

Believe it or not, no matter how long you’ve been dating, you’ll
almost always discover some new “little known facts” about your
girlfriend by simply asking her family and close friends. While these hidden
gems might not spark a proposal idea themselves, they’ll certainly guide you
in the right direction and further inspire you.

3. Find The “WOW” Factor

Want to know if your proposal will be exceptional? Explain your proposal idea
to a female friend and if she isn’t “mouth-hitting-the-floor-with-astonishment”
surprised, go back to the drawing board!

I’m serious.

This is the most important moment in her life (and yours!) If the proposal
stinks, what’s she going to think about the YEARS ahead? Some people say
that you should keep proposals “safe” or “simple” by doing
something that everyone’s already done before, but considering 80% of women
said their proposals were less romantic than they’d hoped for, isn’t that telling
you something? While most men spend lots of money on the ring, they often lack
originality, which leaves the woman feeling disappointed.

In conclusion, if your proposal doesn’t excite friends and family, it certainly
won’t excite your wife-to-be.

About the author:

Michael Webb is the author of “The Romantic’s Guide To Popping
The Question,” a book filled with 101 Creative and Unique Marriage Proposals,
hand-picked as award-winning stories from a total of 7,329 entries in his worldwide
competition. To learn more, visit the marriage proposal ideas website

What is an aphrodisiac? It is something that arouses our libido. It can be a scent, an image, or even a food. Eating that particular food will get the eater hot and bothered in a good way.

If that is the direction you are looking to go with your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day, then look no further than the kitchen. They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. On February 14th, we will wow his or her brain to turn on the rest of their body.

Here are some of the foods you might want to add to the menu on Valentine’s Day.

1. Oysters – these hard-shelled ocean beauties have long been used to initiate sexual desire. People who never even dared touch an oyster were looking to the slimy delights to help them turn on the charm. Oysters can be eaten in a number of ways from on the half shell to dipped and fried in batter. However you can get them down your gullet, they are said to be a natural aphrodisiac.

2. Chocolate – Over the last couple of years, everyone has been touting the amazing properties of chocolate. We aren’t just talking about any chocolate but dark chocolate. It contains the largest percentage of cacao and produces those “feel good” endorphins that make us ready for anything. Even the Aztec ruler, Montezuma, used to indulge in a drink made with cacao before spending the evening with his concubines.

3. Hot Peppers – Have you ever eaten something very hot and felt the warmth run through your body? The substance in hot foods like peppers and cayenne pepper is called capsaicin. It causes a thermogenic reaction in the body that speeds up the metabolism. Combine that with some chocolate and oysters (maybe not all together) and you could have an evening of love that is made to order.

4. Alcohol – Here we are specifically talking about wine and champagne. Some would argue that the reason that alcohol acts as an aphrodisiac is that it lowers our inhibitions. Even so, we wouldn’t do anything that we didn’t already have in our minds to do. The alcohol is a convenient excuse to have some fun. Let the bubbles tickle your nose and light a fire in your loins.

There are plenty of other things that act as aphrodisiacs, too. If a food gives you that “all over” good feeling, use it to get you in the mood on Valentine’s Day and every day of the year.

You’re not alone. After dating someone for a long time, it’s easy to
slip into a stable and comfortable routine. However, you often lose the spark
that made your relationship so special in the first place. Not to worry, here
are three simple, fun and creative ways to reignite that magic:

1. Give them a unique gift – Name a Star after your partner.
A number of astronomical agencies allow individuals to name stars and you receive
formal documentation identifying the star that you have named. Or how about
this: Give your partner a magic gift box, and every month place a new small
gift in the box for your beloved to discover.

2. Say “I love you” in a unique way - Take a book
that your partner is reading and, using a pencil, underline letters in a section
of the book she has yet to read to spell out a secret message of “I love
you” or an entire love letter. Doing it just like this. Or for something
really unique: You can buy special plants that grow and after 14 days display
a message of your choice on the leaf. Cool or what!

3. Start going on dates again – One thing that separates couples
with ‘out of this world’ relationships, is they never stop doing new, fun and
exciting things with their partner. In other words, they never stop dating and
neither should you.

Spend the day doing fun things: go to the carnival, the beach, have a water
fight, stare at the clouds on a grassy hill, go on a picnic, walk in the rain
without raincoats and umbrellas, dress up in funny costumes and hit the town.
Or how about this: Pick your partner up for a date and blindfold her before
driving to a special destination. Try to make the destination something really
unexpected like a table set up at the top of a cliff or a dinner on a boat or
old-fashioned ship. It needs to be something that will have an impact when she
removes the blindfold.

Believe me when I say that NOTHING can rekindle the love, passion and excitement
in your relationship more than going on fun and creative dates together.

About the Author:

Oprah Love Expert Michael Webb is the author of 300 Creative Dates,
a book jam-packed with ways to rekindle your relationship with creative and
romantic outings, including including ideas for every day dates, long distance
relationships, birthdays, anniversaries and more. To learn more, visit the creative
date ideas site