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Thursday, February 9, 2012

Miss Manners

Have you ever been to a restaurant where a person has been less than stellar with their table manners? It can truly make for a horrible dining experience indeed.

I've always had great manners, but honestly I've never taken a course or even read an etiquette book. I've always kind of winged it! I place the napkin on my lap, sit up straight and basically know the differences between a dessert/soup spoon and a dinner/salad fork. LOL

When dining at a fancy restaurant, I truly avoid ordering anything that requires a lot of fuss. Like lobster! Someone would literally have a lobster claw on top of their head if I had to pull it apart. I avoid it! The simpler, the easier, the better. LOL I also stick with white wine or chardonnay. I leave red wine out of the equation. A slip of the lip and... Hey, you're talking to one that gets butter imprints simply from sitting the bag of movie popcorn on my lap!

WELL, thanks to Natalie Cottrell of Use Your Words Little Girl I know a lot more. And you guys, there IS a lot more! HAHA She hosted a giveaway, of a fabulous book entitled, "The Little Book of Etiquette: Tips on Socially Correct Dining" by Sheila M. Long and I won. I was really happy! No, I was overjoyed!

It's an easy read, that discusses place settings, how to be a gracious hostess, etiquette for dining at restaurants, conducting business meetings while dining, how to eat certain foods and YES how to handle some common blunders. HaHa It's a fabulous read. Natalie, I'm so glad I won because this has taught me so much. I thank you for your kind words. I thank you for your daily posts. They are truly an inspiration and you're the epitome of class. I encourage all of my readers to subscribe to Natalie's blog. It's truly a refreshing read. This post made me bust out plates and stuff! HAHA I'm so use to paper plates. All the placemats, napkins and ring holders came from Linen's and Things a loooong time ago. LOL Plates came from Crate & Barrel.

Illustration Sheila M Long The Little Book of Etiquette

Contest Time! US Residents Only! 
How would you like your own personal book of etiquette 
by Sheila M. Long? I'll pick 3 winners!
Illustration Sheila M. Long The Little Book of Etiquette
Contest Rules: Simply leave a comment below about a personal/group/couple/business dining experience you had. It can be about you, someone else, it can be funny, or even a situation that made you blush. Whatever you would like to share! I'll assign your comment a number and let random number generator pick 3 winners! Entries should be received no later than 9pm CST Saturday (2/11)! I'll announce the winners in MONDAY'S post! It's that easy! This book is out of print, but there are new copies of it on Amazon.com. I'll order and send it through one of their listed distributors. Have a Great Thursday Everybody and Good Luck!

Oh Crap! Where are MY manners? I won a couple of blog awards a loooong time ago...In a galaxy far, far, away! LOL I want to acknowledge: Nelah of 52 New Days who awarded me The Cute Blog Award, Jax of Raviolis and Waterworks who awarded me The Liebster Blog Award, and both Paps of Thoughts of PAPS  and Johanna of Handmade Dreams of Mine who both awarded me The Versatile Blogger Award. I betcha thought I forgot huh?



The Versatile Blog Award Questions: See this post from my former blog. 
The Liebster Blog Award Questions: See this post from my former blog.

The Cute Blog Award Questions: 1.What is your go to make-up brand? A little of everything. hahaha 2.What was your favorite fashion trend of 2011? Leopard 3.What is your favorite dessert? Cupcakes 4. Favorite color? Neutrals, LOL 5. What is your middle name? Elizabeth 6. What is the last song you listened to? I can't tell you, because it will be the title of one of next week's blog post :P 7. Cats or Dogs? AFTER the Jason Wu cat fiasco, it just CONFIRMS my love for dogs! Bow Wow Wow Yippie Yo Yippie Yay! 

I award the Cute Blog Award to:
Sandy of Ooh La Frou Frou
Lindsay of Black and Blonde
Shea of I Would So Rock This
Corinne of Cat Eyes and Thigh Highs
Jacqueline of Je Ne Sais Quoi
Cara of iDabble
Kizzy of The Dainty Dolls House
Sheri of Sweet Pea
Marie of The Joy of Fashion
Jax of Raviolis and Waterworks
Nico of Satin and Salt

Side Note: Jessica of Walking, Believing, Running who won my DIOR Garden Party nail polish giveaway, made a post showcasing it! Click HERE to see how beautiful that color was on her.

Thanks Everybody For Your Sweet Comments on my 
Outfit Post Yesterday! 
You guys put a SMILE on my face!
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46 comments

  1. Thanks for the award girl!! I get so excited everytime I get one of these.

    I love stopping by your blog. Everything is always so energetic and exciting!

    Ok, My Dining Experience:

    I work for a Japanese company, so everytime we go out for lunch or dinner I always second guess my etiquette. They don't do the napkin on the lap. They don't order coffee. It's intimidating!!

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  2. Ahh..that's precious!! Thank you very much! I appreciate it. You derserved those awards really. I enjoy coming here all the time, always a pleasure!! Hope you have a great day darling girl!! xoxox BIG hugs to you my sweet friend!!

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  3. THANK YOU so much, darling Kim! How lovely! I feel very, very cute now that I have an award to prove it! LOL Love everything about manners, as I think they're very important. I'm a fan of handwritten notes, remembering little things people have mentioned and kids not running wild in restaurants. Speaking of kids, here's my story. It's sort of and sort of not a manners story, but it was so funny when it happened. My husband and I were sitting at a lovely outdoor cafe with lots of people last summer. Next to us was a table with a grandma, grandpa, little boy and his father. I noticed that all during the meal, the little boy (somewhere under 5 yrs old) was staring at his grandma's bustline. I mentioned it to my husband and we kept trying to be inconspicuous and watch him. It was hard not to laugh, he was staring quietly for SO long! Pretty soon he reached out and pushed hard on his grandmas breasts and shouted "BIG BOOBS!" hahahahaha The whole restaurant roared! (don't know if teaching him manners would have helped in this instance, as he obviously found his grandma very interesting! LOL Love your blog, Kim, and YOU! xoxoxoxo

    Sandy at Ooh La Frou Frou
    http://oohlafroufrou.blogspot.com

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  4. What a gem of a book...I'd love to have it! *wink*

    Hmmm, I can't say that I eat out that much...I've started cooking and watching what I eat so I mostly dine at home...but let me tell you I'm there with you on the lobster...heehee...Someone would end up having a piece of it in their lap or hair...so I think I really...really need that book!! haha...

    First time to your blog and it's so *SWEET*! Following you on twitter too.

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  5. I need that book Kim. My manners are falling apart now that i have a child. When we eat out our table is always a mess, cant even tell which is a soup spoon or a dessert spoon. Everything is the same..haha.

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  6. Very interesting post!!
    I´m agree with you in all the things.
    xoxoxo
    http://janakitchen.blogspot.com

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  7. Unique post I like it sweetie <3

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  8. congrats!! very nice post and i agree, your a great reader and commenter

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  9. I couldn't agree more: nothing worse than having a restaurant meal and somebody close by has really bad manners... That book looks greg, shame the giveaway is only open to the US... :-( Hope you're having a lovely week xo

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  10. Good manner5s are more important than being trendy;-)

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  11. OH what a great book idea! Yes, I've seen so many people with horrible manners. The worst is when you're on a date ;(

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  12. P.S. I love manners and books like this! And the above as was said..manners are much more important than being trendy, it's so true. And manners in some places are hard to find!! I love books like this and buy them all the time even if I have learned the info already, I just love looking at them and re-learning!! I hope the lucky readers/winners in the US enjoy it!! Hope your having a wonderful day petal!! xx

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  13. Cute book! I really smiled when you mentioned the lobster and red wine
    but I know exactly what you mean!
    http://missbbobochic.blogspot.com/

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  14. aw i love the little book series :)

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  15. That looks like a great book to have! congrats on the awards!!
    ~Anne

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  16. Oh, Kim, you did such a fabulous photo session with your prize! Hehe. I'm SO glad you won and appreciate your kind words so much. You are a gem and congrats on all the well-deserved awards! :D

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  17. Congrats on the awards Kim dear! You are so very deserving and I'm sure there will be many more in your future :) And you're such a sweetie for holding another giveaway. I've always winged it with etiquette too. I think alot of it is common sense. So my story is that I was eating at a Chinese restaurant with a girlfriend who is also Chinese and she asked the waiter for some tea and he brought her a fork. The word for both is visually "cha" but phonetically they're pronounced differently and her inflection was off so she got a fork instead of tea. There are many subtleties like that to the Chinese language. I still like to tease her about her Chinglish :)

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  18. Kim I truely love logging onto your site! You are so well spoked (or should I say written?) and you always have unique post ideas! I'm feeling so lucky to receive this award! Especially from you!

    -Nico

    www.SatinandSalt.com

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  19. congrats on the award my dear, so very deserving.

    did you know that we had to take an etiquette class for law school to learn our table manners when meeting with clients? it was so much fun!

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  20. That is AWESOME! I actually have a few people in mind I'd like to get this for :)

    XO
    www.pearlsandpaws.blogspot.com

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  21. Congrats, Kim! I'll have to buy the book. It'll come in handy for clumsy ol' me.

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  22. Good manners are essential. Thanks for my mother, and etiquette class in school I'm so happy to have them. :)What a great book! I get flustered when some folks have a formal dinner party and their table setting is all wrong. le sigh! Good Post. Congrats and hugs to you on your lovely blog awards.

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  23. As much as I'd like to think that my manners are impeccable, that's probably not the case as all, haha. Though I have to admit that I am probably a lot more well-mannered when eating out than when I'm home with the BF and ripping off pieces of baguette!

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  24. this is a great post, Kim! :)
    i've never read a book or taken a class for etiquettes. luckily, i don't think i have embarassed myself badly, yet. lol
    i don't know this counts as a valid experience (for entry), but a couple days ago, i went to this really authentic and humble chinese restaurant in chinatown. i usually go there with my chinese coworkers and i don't have to say a word since they always order for me in chinese, but this time i was with another korean person and i was trying my best to describe what for my order. waiters there hardly speak english. the waiter got really frustrated and finally yelled out "i know what you want!!" and i was quite embarassed in the middle of the restaurant. (ugh)
    but i will go back there with my chinese coworkers anyway because food there is really good and cheap! ;p

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  25. Another great post. It's amazing at how many people have no manners when they are in public. It's nice to see that proper manners and etiquette are still important to some people.

    My hubby and I had a seven course meal at a couples retreat resort and it was sooo fancy! Ladies had to wear dresses and the men had to be in ties and jackets. It was a little overwhelming with all the different tableware, but we winged it and it ended up being a great experience for us. Heather

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  26. What a sweet note you got with the book!! That is really nice, and very true :)

    As far as a dining experience... my fiance and I went on a cruise recently and at dinner one night our waitor started congratulating us on our marriage (he thought we were on our honeymoon). We tried to correct him and tell him we were just on vacation, but he wasn't listening. Later that night we got SUNG TO in front of the entire dining room and they made us kiss the whole time they sang. We were bright red... afterwards everyone was saying congratulations to us and we finally just started saying thank you :D

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  27. I'm sure I have committed a few manner faux pas, though I think I have good manners!

    Dining Story: This is really more of a protocol for us that a story. Now that my husband and I have a son and he's old enough to eat table food he always wants to feed himself. He wants to be a big boy and eat like mommy and daddy. Any time we go out to eat dinner at a restaurant we ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS have to leave the waiter/waitress a big tip. By the time we are done with our meal there is food everywhere!! My goodness it's so embarrassing, the last time we ate at one of our favorite wing places he threw his chicken over the booth and hit the guy sitting in the booth behind us!! AH! I couldn't apologize enough!

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  28. I really don't have any wonderful etiquette stories to share. I have to try very hard to be proper! I used to sit at the dinner table at my parents house with one leg up - like, that's how improper I used to be!

    http://theclosetintervention.blogspot.com/

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  29. Congrats on the awards!! You totally deserve them. The book sounds very interesting. Since etiquette can vary from place to place, traveling to different countries always makes me think a million times about it :)

    xx
    Heel in Mint

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  30. Thank you for the award! You are too kind! What a lovely book, you are very lucky!

    -Jacqueline

    www.jenesaisquoifashion.blogspot.com

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  31. anyone who really knows me knows that i'm anal about eating fat on foods. i will sit there and cut off every piece of fat/skin from my chicken and steaks. so, in college i was on a first date, went to dinner, took a bite of chicken and it was a huge piece of skin and fat. i was grossing out inside, but didn't want to be rude and spit out the food in front of him. but he kept talking to me and asking questions...i had to push the fat to the side of my mouth and try to talk and not throw up. ffffinally, he looked down long enough and i was able to spit it out in my napkin. ugh...gross!

    [oomph.]

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  32. Beautiful! :)

    Join my GIVEAWAY! ;)
    http://liberty-walk-sara.blogspot.com/2012/02/giveaway-la-coste-perfume-pour-femme.html

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  33. congrats!
    your comments indeed brighten my days as well!

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  34. This is perfect! You know me, I love manners too! I will have to check this book out!

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  35. Thanks for the shout out.
    www.thoughtsofpaps.com

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  36. Thanks mucho for the award again! I love your blog & your comments are always a treat (& not just because your blog is very sweet;) )! You are such a doll, thanks so much!!

    Even though I totally missed the contest I definitely think that a lot of people need their own book of etiquette, it is so few & far between these days!

    xx Corinne!

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  37. Congrats on winning this book. I love the little pictures of the utensils..so cute. I took a class ages ago for a school project...I think it's a good thing to learn.

    xo erica

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  38. Thank you for the award Kim I hate I missed the giveaway but I will still tell you my funny story.

    I was out eating sushi and although it's still new to me I am very fearful of raw sushi and my friend girl informed me that this particular sushi wasn't raw immediately I put it in my mouth and tasted yuckiness and spit it out in my mouth keep in mind it's like one of the sushi bar that rotates and everyone sits around needless to say no one else wanted to try that sushi lol.

    Kim thanks again fir the award it really made my day.

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  39. a very nice book... its nice to really learn the right and correct etiquette for dining especially in a resto to avoid being embarrassed... as for me, i do practice the correct etiquette in dining but i order food which i really wanna eat... eating what i really love means a lot to me, it is a fulfillment which would really satisfy me and make me really happy... love love love your blog!!! following you now.. hope you could visit my blog too.. kisses!!!

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  40. I love reading etiquette! great post!

    xoxo navy & orange

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  41. i was having a dinner for my birthday and i wanted my dinner table to look impeccable and i fixed it for hours and then a friend of mine comes and tells me that i arranged the spoons and other things wrong, i felt soooooo embarrased, i guess i need this book more than i thought.
    marianne of http://lureofthedarkside.blogspot.com/

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  42. Kim I had to read all of your comments on this post as you said you were in stitches over them. You have such a great way with words that I consider a gift from God. These stories are great, people love to share with you because you are so open and warm, yourself. Loving your blog. Dawn Suitcase Vignettes xo

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  43. Congrat Kim! I agree you brighten my day every time I see your comments too Thanks you:)

    ibeauty85.blogspot.com

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