apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

A friend taught me an easy way to remember which bread plate and glass is yours. Simply make an "okay" sign with your hand. The left hand looks like a "b" for bread plate and the right hand looks like a "d" for drink. Silly but handy at a crowded dinner table when the "is this my bread plate?" discussion starts.

Rules schmules (though they are always good to know), it's the linens in this post that I love!

Another way to deal with the bread plate/glass thing is BMW: bread, meal, water/wine.

Who's with me on this? The rules are important even if we don't always use them - learn them and pass them on to your kids!

I'm with you Callmecath. Totally.

I absorbed all these rules from various places so I've never been sure if I was on-point, but I'm happy to confirm I learned it all the right way!

Emily

Heck yeah, the rules are important. I learned the B is for Bread thing at a business seminar. Very handy.

Ooooh, I'm with blackbird, nice linens.

Any chance someone knows where they are from or if someone made them? This might be enough to make me take up my sewing machine again.

Being left-handed, I always seem to put the bread plates and glasses on the wrong side (and get corrected when my mother sees it). I guess Emily Post was a "Rightie".

Love the linen, too, but I just started to sew, so maybe next year I'll be ready for this beautyfull project...

In case anyone wants to know, the chopsticks go to the right of the dinner fork (being humorous here, but not kidding.)

All I remember is Kate Winslet saying, "Start from the outside and work your way in." I don't formally entertain, but I suppose it would be nice to know just in case I'm ever invited to dine with any dignitary.

LilyC, left/right confused people are supposed to be more creative. (I have to think about it a bit, myself.)

A tutorial for the linens can be found at the Purl Bee:

http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2008/11/7/thanksgiving-table-appliqued-quilted-runner-fringed-napkins.html

Actually, chopsticks go below the plate (between the bottom of the plate and the edge of the table) with the tips on a chopstick rest (the handles to the right on the table). Never the other way, because all Japanese use their right hands to eat and write (most lefties are trained to be righties at a young age...their writing style requires it).

But I presume most of you will never have to worry about that. :)

Ahh....charm school memories....

I love how in even the simplest meal the "lowest common denominator" glass is a wine glass. Go Emily P.!!