Dine Like You Mean It

Maggie Rulli

May 13, 2013

O.K., so table manners might not be the coolest thing to talk about, but nothing feels less cool than feeling clueless at the dinner table with a mouthful of sandwich.

So here are a few tips I picked up during my shoot with the Eatiquette program that will definitely help up your dining swag.

Chew with your mouth closed. Alright, so this time Mom was definitely right. It’s probably the simplest dining rule but it’s also the most important. So keep that mouth closed when eating and avoid slurping, lip smacking, blowing your nose, and picking your teeth. Your best bet is to try not to do anything that involves loud, messy eating and you should be all set!

A few tips for cutting your food: Use your fork and knife to cut your food. Cut it into small enough pieces so you’re not shoveling huge hunks of food into your mouth. And only cut one piece of food at a time before you eat it (you can rest your knife on the edge of your plate while you’re eating).

The elbow conundrum. You’ve heard “don’t put your elbows on the table” a million times, so here’s the deal. No elbows on the table while eating, but it’s okay to rest your elbows on the table between courses. Just avoid slouching and getting too relaxed and you should be okay!

Be careful reaching for food across the table. A slight lean is okay, but avoid crossing over people. Instead – just ask! Normally food is passed from your left to right, but during a casual dinner it’s okay to just ask your friend to pass the ketchup on over. But don’t intercept a pass...nothing angers a fellow diner like stealing the last piece of bread when it’s being passed over the table.

Silverware -- this gets a little tricky but let’s give it a shot together.

First - when setting the table, I always use this rule: a fork has four letters, and so does the word left – so it goes on the left!
Knife has 5 letters and so does right, so it goes on the right! If there is a little fork and a big fork, use the little for salad and the big for dinner.
That small, flat, rectangular shaped knife is for butter and not cutting food.
The biggest spoon is for soup, and the smaller one if for dessert. Use serving utensils to serve from the shared bowls, never use your own personal silverware.

Whew… got all that?! We can do it.

Put away the phone, at least most of the time. When you’re out to dinner with adults, parents, bosses, etc. I would avoid using your phone except for emergencies. When you’re out with friends, it’s definitely O.K. to be more relaxed and check your phone sometimes – I mean I’m gonna need to take a photo of my meal to instagram...amiright?!

Really, try to make sure the phone doesn’t become the focus of the meal.

Those are just a few tips on dining etiquette I picked up while shooting with the Eatiquette program. But the number one thing I learned is that lunch time is chance to catch up with friends, chat about your days and have fun!

And if the only rule you can remember if to just have a great time with your friends, I think you should be all set

COMMENTS

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Karen Knapstein

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May 10, 2013

Now that it's Friday and you've had all week to celebrate your favorite educator, we want to hear about it!

Who's the world's greatest teacher and why? And how did you appreciate him or her this week? Tell us about it in the comments!

COMMENTS

The Mortal Instruments Sweepstakes

May 08, 2013

Did you read the Mortal Instruments: City of Bones? Did you love it? (Of course you did!)

Did you know it’s now a movie coming out August 23rd?

Well now you do – and we want to give you and your Shadowhunter friends a chance to win an in-home sneak peak of the flick on your brand new big screen, that goes with a Sony Entertainment system that’s also part of the prize.

All you have you to do is enter, here. Get your runes ready and enter for a chance to win now!

COMMENTS

Maxwell's 5 tips for an Awesome Study Space

Maggie Rulli

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May 06, 2013

image: Maxwell's 5 tips for an Awesome Study Space

Before Maxwell Ryan founded ApartmentTherapy.com, he worked as a school teacher. He found that his students who had great study spaces did better in school and get this – they had an easier time doing it.

It’s that last part that got me...make your study space awesome and you’ll have an easier time getting A’s??! I’m sold.
So there you have it – Maxwell's 5 tips for an awesome study space!

Make sure it's YOU!

One of Maxwell’s number one rules is to make sure your study space reflects who you are - after all, you’re the one who is going to be sitting in it for hours! So that’s a big yes to pictures, posters, messages, and in Naomi’s case: flags. Nothing is off limits… as long as it represents who you are. But (you knew a but was coming…) make sure everything is arranged on the wall in an organized way (don’t be afraid to break out the ruler to make sure everything is straight and spaced equally). And when it comes to hanging larger items like Naomi’s flags, Maxwell says to hang everything at “gallery height” – that’s 57 inches from the middle of the piece to the floor.

Need help figuring out what study space style works best for you? Try our study style quiz!

Keep it clean!

I know...I'm sorry. The last thing you need is one more person telling you to keep your room clean. So I will keep this point brief: keep it clean.

At least Maxwell has a tip to help make cleaning as easy as possible: arrange all the furniture in your room so that you can easily vacuum and dust around everything. Because let’s be real – the last thing we need when cleaning is for it be harder than it needs to be.

It’s all about the desk

Maxwell reminds us that as a student, homework is the basis of your professional life… and the desk is the basis of homework. So yeah, the desk is kinda a big deal. Here are some desk tips from Maxwell:

Make the desk the focal point of the room by giving it the biggest wall space possible.
At your desk, you need just enough storage space for what you’re working on every day.
Make sure your space is well lit.

Care about the chair

Think about this – all the time you’re studying, your chair is supporting you. And come finals time… that chair might have to support you for quite a few hours. So Maxwell says it’s important to invest in a comfortable chair. You’ll work better and your body will say thank you.

Spruce things up with bedding

O.K. so the bed isn’t technically part of your study space. But as Maxwell reminds us – sleeping well at night effects how well you study. Make sure your bed is comfortable and a great place to recharge after a long day of studying. And an extra bonus? Maxwell says bedding can be an area to add some fun to the room – so grab a crazy color and go wild!

Bonus Tip: How to share a space

All those who share a study space – Maxwell has got you covered with this bonus tip. He says having your own personal space is important, so make sure each person has a desk that faces a different wall. That way, even if the rest of the room is shared, each person can personalize their desk and wall. And here’s an extra perk - Maxwell says shared spaces can actually be helpful – two people with four arms can work to maintain a clean space.

So what do you think – any study tips we missed? Let us know!

COMMENTS

Caption Maggie!

Alex Honeysett

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April 30, 2013

Ready for this week's Caption Contest? You know what to do!

Maggie Rulli will pick her favorite on Thursday. Happy Captioning!

COMMENTS

Seventeen's "Pretty Amazing" Contest

Alex Honeysett

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April 29, 2013

image: Seventeen's "Pretty Amazing" Contest

For all you amazing ladies out there, this one's for you! Our friends at Seventeen Magazine are hosting their third annual "Pretty Amazing" Contest. The contest is open to girls 15-22 and the winner will be on the cover of the magazine - and win $10k!

To enter, Seventeen wants you to share what makes you amazing! They’re looking for one lucky lady with a great story to tell, a passion for what makes her amazing and an understanding of how her gift benefits other people.

Think this year it’s you?! Then head over to Seventeen.com to enter. But hurry! The deadline is April 30th. To learn more about the contest, get tips from the judges and hear from last year’s winner (Hint: last year's winner did some pretty amazing work with a pretty amazing org, She's the First.), check out Seventeen.com.

COMMENTS

Goodbye, Jess!

Karen Knapstein

SEE MORE POSTS BY KAREN

April 26, 2013

As you probably know by now, Jessica Kumari has delivered the last "Channel One News starts right now" of her career.

We thought the only way to send her off was with a singing hot dog. And yes, we have a video. Watch it below, and farewell Ku Ku!

You will be missed.

COMMENTS

Six Pics from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Shelby Holliday

SEE MORE POSTS BY SHELBY

April 24, 2013

image: Six Pics from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Sometimes pictures do a place much more justice than words, so I'm not even going to try and describe the beauty of Volcanoes National Park.

Here are some of my favorite photos from our shoot:

Exploring a steam vent

A Crater rim

Hot lava!!!

"Where the lava meets the sea"

Inside a lava tube

A hardened "pahoehoe flow"

COMMENTS Tags: Inside Channel One News

Scott Evans

Scott Evans has been working in entertainment and media since the third grade. After studying communications and theatre at Purdue University, he worked as a NBA On-Court Host for the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. He most recently worked as the West Coast Correspondent at the millennial news organization, One Minute News.

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Maggie Rulli

Maggie Rulli was born in Georgia and raised in Boston by Midwestern parents. She graduated from Boston College before before joining the prestigious NBC Page program, and then Channel One.

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