Tag: Married

Guest Post: 7 Reasons Why It’s Good To Shop With Your Other Half!

She sees it as the ultimate cardio work out. He sees it as the ultimate test of endurance. It could mean only one thing… couples shopping!

Take a look around any town centre in the UK and you’ll see a familiar sight – women, the hunters of fabulous clothes; men, the carriers of bags and the heroes that help their ladies shoulder barge through the hoards of bargain hunters.

But while women are the Queens of the high street, it’s men who reign supreme on the internet. In this Infographic ‘Men Vs Woman – Battle of Spending Habits’, from financial solutions company Baines & Ernst, men actually come out on top as the biggest spenders, with alcohol, vehicles and gambling appearing in their top 5 purchases.

Men spend on average a total of £3,495 online every year and 15% more than women on their credit cards, making them the surprise cash flashers.

Although guys prefer the comfort of shopping from their armchair, there are certain benefits to being a co-pilot on a shopping trip…

Here are 7 reasons why it’s good to go shopping with your other half…

1. You earn excellent boyfriend brownie points! This is the only reason you really need to go shopping. Want a night out with your mates? Don’t want to be relegated to the other room to watch Match of the Day? Want an all night Xbox marathon with the boys? Well, you earned it buddy!

2. It’ll make your lady happy. A shopping wing-man is always good. And if you’re there to hang out with, tell her she looks good and treat her to lunch, your lady will be happy. And by doing all of this you’ll get… excellent boyfriend brownie points! *see point above for boyfriend rewards.

3. Pretty good way to while away the hours. If you’ve got nothing planned, then a trip to the shops can be a good excuse to check out the things you want to see and treat yourself to a few well deserved treats. Many big shopping centres also double up as entertainment complexes now, so if you get bored of wandering around the shops, you could go and have a really nice meal in one of the restaurants or catch a film.

4. Coming up to a special occasion? Use the time to plant seeds! Whether you’ve got an anniversary, birthday or Christmas coming up, you can use this time to look for what you want and plant some seeds. And it’ll give you the chance to check out what she’d like too.

5. You get regular sitting intervals. They’re in the changing room – you get to sit. Shops seem to have all designed dressing rooms with the gent in mind – creating little social areas for abandoned boyfriends so that you don’t get funny looks for loitering around outside changing rooms.

6. You get the gift of time. When you’ve been relegated to the boyfriend bench in the changing rooms, you can use this time to catch up on your phone admin. So you can message your mates, answer emails, check out Facebook, read the news and anything else you like without being asked “Who are you messaging?”

7. Its mutual ground. Okay, it might not be your most favourite activity, but it’s a good mutual ground for you to spend some time together and have a bit of fun. Grab a coffee, people watch and do some browsing. It could be worse!

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January 28, 2013
Guest Post: 7 Reasons You Should Get Married

If you’re a single, broke bachelor who spends his time hopping from bar to bar trying to get some action on a Saturday night, marriage might be the best thing that could happen to you. So what if the divorce rate is over 50 percent in the United States? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

1. You Get To Have A Stag Weekend. When women get married, most of them want the wedding of their dreams, but what’s in it for you? If you have the right groomsmen, they will make sure you have the best stag weekend that you could ever imagine. Your stag weekend can last for as long as you want. You can have it all: scantily-dressed women, booze and music. Sky’s the limit. It’s like Mardi Gras meets your birthday. What’s there not to like?

2. Say Goodbye To Condoms. When you tie the knot, you are no longer under obligation to use condoms because you are both officially off the market. Even if you’re not trying to knock up your wife, she will be more willing to look into other birth control alternatives that don’t involve a slipping on a piece of rubber during moments of passion.

3. She’ll Do Your Laundry For Free. It’s probably been a while since a woman was more than happy to wash your dirty clothes. The last time that happened to you was probably when you used to drop off your laundry at your mother’s house during your weekends home from college. Take advantage of the opportunity.

4. Your Debt Becomes Her Debt Too. If you’re like most Americans, you’ve accumulated some debt. You probably have credit card and student loan debt, and you can have someone to share it with until death do you part. Marriage is about commitment, and your wife will be also held legally accountable for your debt.

5. She’s Under Contract To Love You. Even if you’re not a romantic, it’s nice to know that your wife has promised to love you no matter what you do. You don’t have to spend so much time impressing her because she must have been impressed with you to marry you in the first place. You can be yourself. Leave the dishes in the sink. Watch sports all night. Burp in bed. She loves you.

6. Marriage Makes You More Attractive. You may be a one woman man, but once you get married, single women will love you more than ever. Your attractiveness will quadruple as soon as you get back from your honeymoon. Even if you’re not one to cheat, it sure feels good to be wanted.

7. You’re Guaranteed More Sex. Once you put a ring on it, you’ve locked down your sex life too. The idea that married men get laid less than single men do is only based on 1 percent of the population, according to Kinsey Institute. While 23 percent of non-married men often go up to 12 months without sex, only 1 percent of married men experience dry spells that last an entire year.   Everyone around you may be running away from marriage, but these guys don’t know the real benefits of marrying a beautiful woman who can make your life ten times better. After you say “I do,” you will not only have a built in sex buddy, cleaning lady and financial advisor, but a lifelong friend who has your back.

Post contributed by Andrew Jones on behalf of Chillisauce.

March 17, 2012
7 Reasons This Is Wedding Photography At Its Finest

Next year I am getting married. And, as luck would have it, so is my fiancée. Unlike the more obvious considerations – such as deciding on the date – one of the first decisions we made was that of our photographer. You do that type of thing when the groom is really vain. We’ve decided to go with this young lady. Now, I was more than happy with this choice. Until Monday. Because on Monday I was listening to the radio and Jeremy Vine started talking about wedding photography. In particular he was talking about the wedding photographer and videographer extraordinaire that is Clayton Bennett. I don’t know Clayton and he doesn’t know me, which is a great shame. Because if I did then he would almost certainly be the man in charge of capturing the greatest day of our life. He’s done some great work in the past and has quite rightly received tons of press coverage. The below is what I consider to be his finest work.

I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s a tremendous piece of photography, but just in case you have your doubts, here are seven compelling reasons as to why:

1. Style. Believe it or not, I am not a great fan of posing for photos. I’m not very good at smiling properly and I always look slightly constipated. That’s why I love candid photography. I love the natural look. Which probably explains my dislike for Katie Price, tattoos, make-up and transsexuals. Based on this, Clayton Bennett is clearly the photographer for me. Weddings are full of people wearing clothes they wouldn’t normally wear, being nice to people you don’t like and me pretending to enjoy dancing. It’s all a bit fake. Nice, but fake. It’s brilliant therefore that Clayton provides a bit of everyday naturalism in his work. And what is more natural than a pair of calves, ankles and feet walking across grass?

2. Mystery. Whose body do these legs belong to? You get more than memories with Clayton, you get a game. Are they Aunt Mildred’s? Sally’s? Suzie’s? Stephanie’s? Simon’s?* No, in fact they don’t belong to anyone who attended your wedding. This is one of Clayton’s major attributes. Not only will he photograph your wedding, he’ll also get a photo of a randomer in there somewhere. Above and beyond the call of duty I think they call this. Fantastic.

3. Blending. Apart from when I say hello and accidentally break a tripod, I don’t want to see the photographer. Not because I don’t like her, but because the sight of her long lens might put me off my quickstep. Or my slow step. Or whatever step I decide to bring to the dance floor. I suspect it would be too much to ask if requested not to bring any step to the dance floor?** That’s why Clayton is a genius. This photo aptly demonstrates his technique at camouflaging himself. I can only assume he is dressed as a small mole here. A woman in a skirt is hardly going to walk over a photographer she can see, is she?

4. Reminder. You may think this is slightly strange, but I love the graves in the background. A lovely reminder that this life won’t last forever and to make sure you enjoy every minute of married bliss. And of course a reminder not to waste valuable time in marrying again. You’re already missing Wimbledon and the European Championships for this. That’s enough missed sport to last a lifetime.

5. Legs. So, who could be bothered to shave their legs for the day? This is when you find out who your real friends are. And which bridesmaid wants the ushers. All three of them.***

6. Shoes. Women like shoes. I know this, I live with fifty pairs. The thing about wedding photography though is that it is 99% above the knee shots. How ridiculous! One of the things women love most and yet hardly any photographers cater for it. Clayton does. And that’s why he’s a pro.

7. Different. Yes, it is. How many wedding albums have you seen with this kind of photo in it? If you’re a woman, probably none. If you’re a man, certainly none. In fact, if you are a man, you are probably wondering what a wedding album is. The truth is, you don’t need to worry about it. If you are a soon-to-be-bride though, Clayton will make your wedding album unique. No more, ‘Oh that’s nice’ and ‘Ooh, I like that’, instead you’ll hear, ‘That’s interesting’ and ‘What the fu…erm…that’s different.’ Which is great because it means they are paying attention.

*Obviously not. They’d be a spoon attached. Or a set of salad spinners.

**Yes. Apparently it would.

***Yes, I do know to which of my future wife’s bridesmaids I am referring to here.

April 20, 2011