YVONNE&YVETTETIQUETTE

Bussing, According To Yvette

2012-01-29T20:18:00.000-05:00

I think I’m a courteous rider; I don’t hog the empty seat next to me with bags. I give up my seat to the handicapped, elderly, pregnant women, and anyone else who should be sitting. If I’m in an aisle seat I don’t have that, “Don’t you even think of asking me to move look.” I do have a pet peeve with some window seat riders. I’ve noticed that riders just can’t seem to express in words their

The Fork and Knife Don't

2012-01-25T12:30:00.000-05:00

Please don't do this under any circumstance. It looks as though this diner thinks someone is going to come and snatch his steak from his plate, notice how he's holding his fork.

CANDLES, THE OLDER YOU GET THE MORE YOU GET

2012-01-18T08:20:00.001-05:00

When did candles become the choice of gifts for friends and family of a certain age? Seems like they've taken the place of handkerchiefs, the old school gift for the mature set - nothing like a box of hankies for Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill. When, I, Yvonne, paid a visit to a friend's bedridden mother, I brought her a scented candle in a beautifully painted votive. When she opened the box,

My Johnny Depp Hat, Do You Like It Or Not? By Yvette

2012-01-11T09:18:00.003-05:00

I’m a hat person. I wear them well, and I know I look good in hats. I just cannot figure out why, when it comes to hats, my hats, it’s so hard for some folks to give a compliment instead of giving an unsolicited comment. No one is obligated to like my hats, but, if all one can offer is a flat out reference to some cartoon or figure from another century, well, some things are better left unsaid.

Thumbelinas and Tom Thumbs

2012-01-03T21:29:00.007-05:00

No, this isn't a post about the lack of etiquette found in fairy tales. It's about texting, the Twenty-First Century's call waiting. That convenient service that forced you to field calls in your home and weigh who was the more important caller among your friends and family. Texting isn't that insidious, it's just expensive and can be annoying. The colons and parenthesis, and the abbreviations

2011-12-21T09:02:00.000-05:00

ARE YOU A HAPPY OR A MERRY WELL WISHER?

2011-12-14T09:36:00.000-05:00

In this age of political correctness, few subjects have escaped its grip including a well intentioned 'Merry Christmas'. What do you say? Do you dispense your holiday wishes according to the receiver? If you live in a city like New York, this could be a mess. Do you say Happy Holiday to your Jewish friends and Merry Christmas to your Christian friends and Happy Kwanzaa to your African American

Re-gifting: Beware, It Can Go South by Yvonne

2011-12-07T09:49:00.000-05:00

A very good friend of mine visited me last Christmas holiday. She'd just come from another mutual friend's home and he'd given her a gift. Photo by allerleirau "What's that in the bag?" I asked, knowing it wasn't for me. We'd already exchanged gifts. "It's a gift from HIM." (From here on he shall be referred to as The Re-Gift Guy.) She whipped two books out of the bag, one was about Dorothy

Toothpicks Are Picky And Tricky And Tacky

2011-11-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

We're about to enter some serious dining as the holiday season begins, so we thought we would revisit this artifact of poor taste. (We would like it to become an artifact.) Beware of toothpicks, they are like a trick question, use one, especially in the company of others at a table, you're done. Cathy Treboux of Le Veau D'or wishes diners wouldn't ask for them. And please, covering your mouth

TURKEY TIPS

2011-11-15T23:21:00.001-05:00

Show up on time. Show up with something. Don't pile up your plate, you can always go back for more. Don't yell, "I want some dark meat". Offer to help but don't insist. If you're hosting, don't treat your guests like the help. Spare your guests from endless recipe secrets, e.g. "I rubbed the bird with roasted bourbon buttered salt." If they ask, do tell. Be grateful and gracious even if your

BABIES: YOU CAN LOOK BUT SHOULDN’T TOUCH.

2011-11-09T07:23:00.001-05:00

“I can’t believe it when perfect strangers come up and touch my baby,” a new mother told us. She understands how people find babies cute and cuddly but touching is a no-no. • If you know the baby’s parents, offer to wash your hands first before asking, and you should, if you can hold the baby. • If you’re the parent, there’s nothing wrong with you offering a sanitizer or suggesting that

SIPPING PRETTY, A STRAW VOTE By Yvonne

2011-11-01T21:34:00.004-04:00

These straws are a bit fat, imagine the slender, red elegant ones. I never really know what to do with straws in cocktails because I usually drink wine. But, tonight I had a Lillet (Okay, two.) with my friend, Tom. It came in a wine glass on the rocks with a slice of orange and two skinny straws. “Should we use the straws?” I asked. My inclination was to use it as a stirrer, not that

Carpooling Dos & Don'ts

2011-10-25T21:56:00.002-04:00

1. No eating breakfast sandwiches even if the meat is turkey. 2. No talking on cell phones, you can text. 3. Do not be late. 4. Do not talk incessantly if quiet seems to be the rule. 5. Do not complain about the choice of radio stations or make a request if you haven’t been asked. 6. Do not complain if the driver keeps changing stations and ask, “Why do you keep doing that?” 7. Do not suggest a

Egg in Your Face For Free!

2011-10-19T08:41:00.000-04:00

In between kitchen shifts, some bars around town offer boiled eggs for free. At Balthazar one bartender tends to supply a small plate but you can use your napkin to crack, peel and salt. It would be tacky to ask for mayonnaise and some bread. If you're that hungry, ask for the menu. Cheers!

TWIN RULES (OURS ANYWAY)

2011-10-11T15:45:00.000-04:00

Yvette and I don't think that being twins is one big barrel of fun. A lifetime of being mistaken for someone else can be trying. The script rarely varies. "Oh, I thought you were your sister. You two look so much alike." That's what identical twins do, they look alike. When we were little girls, adults used to ask us to stand back to back to see who was taller. And since we had to respect our

HANDSHAKES, WHAT’S SHAKIN?”

2011-10-05T06:52:00.000-04:00

“He’s made a horrible mistake,’ a man whispered to his girlfriend.” I, Yvonne, didn’t understand the big deal. “What’s wrong with a man doing that?“ I asked my friend’s fidanzato. “Maybe in America, but the person in the lower position doesn’t extend his hand to a person in a higher position.” His fidanzata wasn’t of noble blood and neither was the man who had the audacity to want to shake her

French Fries, Super Finger Food

2011-09-28T07:51:00.000-04:00

There's nothing wrong with sharing a plate of French fries amongst friends and eating them with your fingers. Eat the one you touch and put the ketchup or mustard on a side plate. Play fair, no forks, especially if you've used it.

SAVE YOUR SOLES

2011-09-21T07:24:00.000-04:00

This is so gross, we’ll be brief. The other day, one of us had lunch with a very nice group of people. One of the women felt so comfortable with all these nice people that she tucked one leg under the other exposing the filthy sole of her shoe. Surely, she didn’t have any intention of ruining our lunch but every time we looked at our handbag or had to dig for something, we had to

GAY MARRIAGE, LET’S GET SOMETHING STRAIGHT

2011-09-14T09:27:00.001-04:00

Two of our near and dear friends, both men, recently married. For them, it was the natural thing to do. However, there have been some interesting observations and clearly there are some kinks to work out, not on their part but on the part of friends, family, and acquaintances. They have been teasingly referred to as, “Husband and Husband.” They have been asked, “Which one is Spouse A and which

Labor Day Weekend - Four Tips for Guests and Hosts

2011-09-02T08:30:00.001-04:00

Some of us are going away to be guests in someone’s home. Some of us are staying close to home and either planning a barbecue or going to one. We chose what we thought were the top four dos for both guests and hosts. GUESTS 1. If you’re contributing a dish to a barbecue, arrive on time. If you’re an overnight guest, arrive at a decent time. 2. Offer to help but don’t insist to the point

HAVE MANNERS, WILL TRAVEL

2011-08-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

No matter where you’re taking your vacation, unless you’ve opted for a staycation, you’ll be traveling by car, rail, air or boat, in each case there are rules and considerations. Here’s our tip sheet. If you’re traveling in someone else’s car… • You shouldn’t have more luggage than the driver unless there’s been an agreement upfront. • Offer to help, whether it’s contributing to gas, or

What Time’s Dinner? It Depends.

2011-08-12T10:00:00.001-04:00

“Please don’t come to my house at 8pm sharp or earlier,” a friend in France pleaded. “Here we don’t like it when people come early. A little late is better, 20 minutes is fine.” “Older Dutch people come to dinner right on time. I hate it,” explains Melvin in Amsterdam. “Most of my friends come later, good friends come early to help.” If you don’t want to be invited back, show up late at a

IT’S MY PARTY AND YOU’LL PAY IF YOU WANT TO…

2011-08-04T13:00:00.002-04:00

Even before the recent financial crunch, people have thrown birthday parties that require a fee. For some, it’s the only way they could have had a party. They’d rather their good friends join in on the fun at a reasonable cost than not to have anything at all. Sometimes the celebrant or friends and family execute this plan. While that’s understandable, it may not be to guests who want to

CLOTHING OPTIONAL R&R, SOME BARE FACTS

2011-07-27T11:53:00.004-04:00

“People think that clothing optional places are a sexual free for all. They are not, in fact you see nuclear families as well as extended families,” explained a friend of ours who vacations with her husband at a clothing optional resort. Stephen Payne, Managing Director of Club Orient in St. Martin, points out that the beauty of nudists is that they’re not hiding behind labels or fancy

Polish vs Polished

2011-07-20T05:24:00.001-04:00

A lady on the bus polished her nails, hands and toes. Her goal was to be polished. The fumes were awful and so was her lack of polish.