Grey Moggie Press

Etiquette in a Post-Emily World

I traveled a whole lot for work in the fall, and everywhere I went I'd find a used book store and search for etiquette books. New ones, old ones, trusted books, hokey books, paperbacks and hardcovers (a pain to add to already overstuffed luggage). When I first mentioned my fascination with etiquette here on the blog, I threw out the idea of maybe trying to come up with my own definition for etiquette. I'm not there yet, but I have come up with a few of my own rules of etiquette, adapted for today's life and printed on bookmarks. A few people have suggested I just start leaving the bookmarks in books at libraries and bookstores, or on tables at coffee shops. If seeing these bookmarks reminds people to be thoughtful and kind, then I'm all for it!

monday manners: inebriated guests

After one particularly difficult law school semester, I got together with a few of my classmates to celebrate by wasting a whole afternoon drinking wine and margaritas and eating cookies. Eventually the party migrated to my apartment and it became clear that one of the revelers had sipped a bit too much wine (from a box!) earlier in the day. He took up residence on our kitchen floor for a while and we made sure he drank lots of water.

Warning: the story gets gross for a second... When the party started to wind down, mostly because a karaoke bar somewhere was calling us, our guest took the kitchen trash (containing the evidence of his having been ill) out to the curb. And I guess that's the classiest thing a guest can do when caught in that situation.

But as host[ess] what can you do when a guest has too much to drink? Fortunately, Elizabeth Post has an answer.

 

monday manners: special guests at your formal dinner

Last week I received a very sweet email from my college roommate. In her email, my former roommie, mentioned that she had just finished reading Julie & Julia. The writer had reminded her of me...in some ways. While Mastering the Art of French Cooking does live on our shelf, I have not been poring over it, channeling Ms. Child. I have, however, been quite drawn to the Misses Post lately (Emily, Elizabeth, and Peggy).

I started reading wedding etiquette books a few months ago when a friend asked for help planning her wedding. And then, each time I visited a used book store I'd find some out-of-date and inexpensive etiquette book or letter-writing guide. Without any real planning, my shelves began to host a new collection.

While they are synonymous with "etiquette," I've not limited my reading (and collecting) to books by Emily & family. I'm not sure what to do with all of these books and the advice contained within. A think a good long term goal might be to determine my own definition of etiquette. For the short term, I'll share snippets here starting with: