When my husband and I arrived in Healdsburg eight years ago, we rented a house in town and I often rode my bike to the Downtown Bakery for coffee. Among the group of regulars who gathered in front of the bakery was a man I noticed because he seemed so...

With the anticipation of every trip comes the stress of packing for that trip. If ever a saying were true, it's this one: Less is more. If you've read my book, A Traveler's Passport to Etiquette, you'll know the No. 1 rule for packing is to pack lightly so you...

Do You Talk or Text?

Like many of the X generation, my sister and I shared three-course dinners with our parents nightly, and during that meal, we talked. My parents asked us questions such as: How was your day? Was your science test hard? How's your friend Katina? These days,...

Food trucks are the newest urban dining trend. They are everywhere these days, in business districts and neighborhoods, in front of art show openings and concerts, at farmers markets, and in parks and parking lots for regularly scheduled food-truck nights. Food-truck grazing is a great, casual, and often inexpensive way...

One of my favorite quotes is from a literary critic named Will Cuppy, who said, "Etiquette means behaving yourself a little better than is absolutely essential." Thank-you notes show that you are respectful, they make you look good, and they are absolutely necessary! If we simply ask ourselves why anyone...

I have written a book on travel etiquette, but unfortunately, many people have not read it, and many more people are not aware of the ABC's of travel.

Enroute to Arizona last month, I boarded a Southwest flight and was seated in section A. Travel warriors know the Southwest...

For a forty-something female (ok, I turned 50 this week), I would bet that I've had more nonelective surgeries than most people my age. It's funny, though--surgery does not scare me. It never has. I have always loved my doctors, and I regard general anesthesia as a chance for the...

Learn the right things to say to get the item you want at the best possible price.

There are certain rules of etiquette that should be respected when shopping for antiques at flea markets, garage sales, antiques stores, and market stalls.

Antiquing is a fun way to...

Mark Twain once said, "I can live for two months on a good compliment." Me too! When someone pays me a compliment, it's always so unexpected that it puts a bounce in my step. And although I am no Dr. Drew, I know that when we're nice to others, they're...

I met President Clinton twice during the time I worked for the City and County of San Francisco. He was more charming than I could have imagined. Upon our first meeting, I had to remind myself that I was about to shake hands with the leader of the free world....

Our society has become advanced beyond measure. New technology is being created before we can develop rules for using it. Who would have thought 20 years ago that e-mail would become a common form of personal communication? Or that fax machines would practically become obsolete?

Etiquette, very simply, is about...

Knowing the rules of etiquette allows us to feel comfortable and confident in every social situation we encounter. Etiquette is not frivolous; it's based on common sense. It's really all about how to get along with other people by treating them the way you would like to be treated.

E-cards are a growing presence on the Internet, but according to statistics they still generate only a fraction of the traffic of paper cards. E-cards are easy to send, they are often well designed, and many of them are free. The downsides of e-cards? They raise electronic security questions, they...

Time and time again I get emails asking for gift ideas. Why, I ask myself, when there are a zillion giftie items on the market? To make things easier on both sexes this (and every) holiday season, here's a list of my favorites. Some are generic, some might seem downright...

1. Are elbows ever allowed on the table? Yes. In between courses or when no food is on the table. This holds true for everyone at the table.

2. When eating soup, should you spoon the soup away from you? Yes. Soup is always spooned away from, not toward you....

Name Tag Etiquette

If you attend cocktail parties or other events where networking is the name of the game, name tags or badge holders can be lifesavers. Providing well-printed name tags is one of the most effective investments you can make if you're holding a networking event, and they're just...

Because they are hands-free, speaker phones allow more than two people to take part in a call at the same time, even though this can result in a "tunnel effect"--a kind of echo that distorts the sound of the speakers' voices. Speakerphones in offices, which can be activated by the...

Today the world is divided into two groups of people: those born in the paper age, and those born in the digital one. I am in the former group. Some of us might not be comfortable sending invitations online, but whether we like it or not, welcome to the new...

Does anyone use the telephone anymore? Apparently not, if you're between the age of 15 and 29. I can't tell you the number of times I've tried to leave a message for my 17-year-old niece, only to find her voice mailbox full. When I ask her about it, she says...

After waiting nine long months for a baby to arrive, most parents are excited to share their news with family and friends. Birth announcements make the event official. Here are some tips on how/and what to share in one.

Birth announcements and personal notations? It's not necessary to write a...