Holiday Tipping Etiquette Many people in the service industry count on holiday tips. Below is a guideline on who to tip and how much and what you should give them. If you’re deciding between money and a present, it might help to know most people prefer the cash. I will say, what really matters is that […]
The 65th Annual Room to Bloom Celebration hosted by the Mint Museum Auxiliary represents local fellowship and philanthropy at its best ~ a series of beautiful and entertaining events hosted by the Auxiliary’s 600+ members spanning seven generations of women who, since 1956, have gathered to support and raise over $13 million in funds and […]
Tiny Prints and Shutterfly, even Minted, are flooding our inbox with their holiday card promotions – highest quality paper, foiled holly leaves and perfect family photos – of course perfect family photos. Whose family do they use for those stock photos, anyway? Maybe child models who are used to posing? Our best attempt at photos […]
This year’s Giving Book truly lives up to its mission to create a beautifully designed coffee-table-book to showcase the Society Guide’s Charlotte nonprofit members, their impact in the community, and the projects and initiatives that need community support. With a cover designed around artwork provided by local artist Windy O’Connor, the 2017-2018 Giving Book will easily […]
A few weeks ago, I attended a formal dinner party and the host, and many of the guests, admitted to me (knowing what I do for a living) that they didn’t know some of the basics of a formal dinner like how to properly set the table. While we might think we know what to […]
The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art provides a collection of beautiful works of art, amazing cultural events and, of course, a famous Charlotte landmark with The Firebird, instagrammed, known and loved by many locals and visitors. What you may not know is that the museum also makes an impact on our community through initiatives that […]
Conversation Skills Etiquette There is an art to elegantly starting, sustaining and ending a dialogue with strangers or friends. Experts call it conversational intelligence. Others call it the gift of gab. Hard as it may be for chatty people to believe, not everyone is born with it. For many, it takes study and practice. Some […]
Please consider this article a work in progress. Since I am new to Empty Nesting, I have not had time to get all my “experiences” lined up and experienced. (Basically I’ve spent the first month of Empty Nesting trying to find a happy middle ground between My Peace Of Mind and Mind My Own Business). I’ll […]
Hi, I’m Niki Hardy. Did you know, in 2017 an estimated 1.7 million people in the USA will be diagnosed with cancer? The chances are you’ve either been diagnosed yourself, know someone who has, or know someone who’s close to someone who’s walking this journey. That makes just three degrees of separation folks. Just three […]
MiddlePause. That’s a term I read yesterday when googling Turning 50. (although why I, having already done it, needed to google it, is a good question). I like it though. Middlepause. I like that “50” would be the middle of life, so we’d live to be 100. And we’ll all be a spry 100 too, sound […]
From political messages, to paying homage to the past, to showcasing strong women, to just being beautiful, the murals that have been popping up around Charlotte have made a statement. Artists such as Nick Napoletano, Nico Amortegui, Rosalia Torres-Weiner, Matt Hooker and Matt Moore have spent years transforming bare walls into colorful masterpieces. Rich blues, […]
Going digital in our house has meant we almost never actually look back on all those fabulous trips, vacations, family fun and friends captured in our iPhone photos. We have them, but we don’t really enjoy them like we used to, way back when we had to get them printed and put them in scrapbooks […]
