Dos and Dont's of 21st Century Dating

Finding love is no easy feat.Searching for it leaves so many of us aimlessly wandering around seedy bars, going to bizarre meetup groups, or just hoping the perfect guy will just fall into our laps at a random party.

Even once you do find it, love is still no cakewalk. But not to worry! We got help from a professional. HOLLSYCOOP asked Bravo's Millionaire Matchmaker, Patti Stanger, for some dating dos and don'ts.

1. Make Friends with 'The Mom' 
Patti advises, "You gotta bring something for the mother-in-law to bait. Make sure you bring the cake,the wine, whatever her favorite treat is, always bring a hostess gift." It's good advice all-around to bring something for a hostess, but especially if the hostess is your significant other's mom. It shows you're thoughtful, considerate and polite. A lady in the streets; a…eh, you know the rest.

2. Shut-up about the Ex, Already!
"There is a tip for men that has been happening lately," Patti says. "Stop talking about other women who are…from your past, 'that’s my friend', when its really your ex-girlfriend who's standing at the bar eyeing you. Its like we don’t care about the women, if you don’t make us feel special were not going to give you this. " This ain't Back to the Future. Leave the past in the past.

3. Trade Up
Patti says finding love is "very tough, harder than ever before." We live in a "disposable society", Patti explains "Trade up- trade up-trade up." It's rough to compare love to owning a car, but I think what she means is, learn from your past, and uh…find someone better. Yeah, there's really no nice way of putting that.

4. Don't Put Up With Flakiness
"A deal breaker is when he’s not consistently asking you out," Patti says. "If he misses Saturday night." Most of us are extremely busy most of the time. Who has time to waste on wishy-washiness? Not me! I could be doing something important. Like laundry.

5. Get out of the House. And the Club.
According to Patti, "the club scene" is not a good place for meeting guys. Unless your type is "The Situation". She says the best places to meet people are doing normal, every day things like going to the supermarket, golf course, or enjoying a day at the beach. "Something that is connected to life not the BS at night," Patti says.

Here's wishing everyone a beautiful springtime romance. If you don't find it, hey, enjoy singledom while it lasts. And keep scouring the Whole Foods. If you don't find your mate, they still have some damn good pizzas.