gamma chi gifts

this year i was asked by our vice president of recruitment to be in charge of gifts for our gamma chis during recruitment. if you don't know, gamma chi's are members that have disaffiliated with our chapter for the recruitment period to serve as a sort of counselor/mentor for girls going through recruitment. we are not allowed to communicate with the gamma chi's at all during recruitment and retreat in order for them to remain unbiased to the PNM's. since we miss them so much, the chapter gives them gifts to show how much we love them during recruitment week. i immediately said yes when cassie asked me to be in charge of the gifts because i knew how much fun i would have shopping and making crafts for them over the summer. i had a budget of course but i feel like i did a pretty good job with the gifts! the gamma chis receive their gifts after the conclusion of each round at what is known as roll call. roll call happens three times so they get showered with gifts three times!

the first round of gifts were for the pool girl! i put a beach towel, beach ball, sunscreen all in a little beach pail. i also threw in a clif, bar, peanut butter crackers and some cookies along with their new letter shirts to round out the day!

roll call #1 gift bucket

roll call, sha-boom, sha-boom

the second round of gifts for the gamma chis had a little bit of everything in them. in an adorable reusable shopping bag, they each got a movie, an AXO tervis tumbler, popcorn (the good kind that has its own bowl!), movie theater candy, their chapter philanthropy round t-shirt, gum and mints, a diet coke, and a "hangover cure" goody bag (filled with tylenol, travel size toothpaste, travel size shower stuff, etc.). i also baked them some cupcakes and had the entire chapter sign posters saying how much we miss and love them. 

roll call #2 gift bag

cupcake towers for the lovelies!

the last round of gifts i put in a bucket. they received their bid day shirts, senior tanks if they were seniors, skit round nametags, goldfish, water, fruit snacks, crackers, a UT pom-pom, power-t face tattoos and a lily and laura bracelet. i also mod-podged lilly pulitzer paper onto their first initial and made them UT themed coasters. for a treat, i iced lyre and power-t shaped sugar cookies for them!

roll call #3 gift bucket 

power t and lyre cookies

anxiously awaiting getting to see our gamma chi's 

our beautiful gamma chi's after skit round

last roll call in TBA

i actually had a lot of fun preparing gift baskets for the gamma chi's this summer and i hope they enjoyed each round's gifts. however, as fun as it was, i am glad to have my sisters back! not being able to talk to them was super difficult, especially in class. they are now back where they belong: the lyre lair.

xoxo,
clp

whirlwind of a week

well the first week of junior year (if three days qualifies as a week) has come to an end and i am glad it is over. it has been a whirlwind of a week. thankfully it is the weekend and i am hoping to let myself relax some and rest.

yesterday was a busy day despite having only one class. i would rather have none at all but one at 12:20 on a friday is nothing to really complain about. i did get to spend two hours of my friday afternoon at the genius bar getting them to install windows on my mac (oh the irony). though it took way longer than i expected, they did get my computer to run all the programs i need for class. i was there so long that i lusted over a kate spade phone case so long that eventually i convinced myself i just had to have it.

this morning i woke up and went to power hot yoga at Real Hot Yoga here in knoxville. i love going to hot yoga. not only do you sweat out all your body's toxins, but it also gives you a great strength workout and is a nice break from cardio.

i also made a trip to another one of my favorite places, Trader Joe's. i like grocery shopping at trader joe's because they offer healthy, organic foods at a lower price point than what you find the same products for at larger supermarkets. while they don't have absolutely everything on your shopping list, they do have a great selection of produce and their brand is top-notch. they also sell things that are exclusive to only their stores, such as their infamous cookie butter (which i have yet to try but am going to soon). today, along with many fruits and veggies, i picked up some of their frozen tamales, ravioli and their layered hummus, all of which i have heard are excellent. trader joe's is definitely one of my preferred places to grocery shop.

at the grocery store, i try to buy only what i know i am going to eat. i plan my meals out extensively so i don't waste any food, especially since i buy so much produce that will go bad. meal planning also helps to control your budget and helps with weight management. i find that i spend less because i buy only what i need. meal planning helps to manage weight because you see exactly what you are eating. though it can be time consuming and isn't as flexible, it has more advantages than disadvantages.

today is the last day of formal recruitment and i am quite excited for bid day tomorrow! not only will things get back to normal, but we will get our new pretty little lyres! since i have been on the setup committee i have not seen how the rounds are going firsthand, but i hear that alpha chi omega is a force to be reckoned with! i look forward to seeing who will be wearing our letters!

i made myself breakfast for dinner tonight! this was a quick and easy meal that came together in less than thirty minutes. i didn't want anything too heavy tonight so i fixed zucchini corn cakes with a fried egg, turkey sausage and added a sliced tomato and some watermelon and cantaloupe on the side. the recipe makes just enough for one, but can easily be doubled.

zucchini and corn cakes

1 large egg

2 tbsp + 1 tsp milk

2 tbsp + 1 tsp whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup corn kernels (i used canned)

3/4 c grated zucchini

1/4 c chopped onion

pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, etc. to taste

tabasco, if desired

goat cheese or feta cheese, if desired

1. Stir together all ingredients in mixing bowl until combined. 
2. Drop batter in 1/4 cup measures into heated skillet (sprayed with PAM!). Cook until browned on both sides. 
3. Serve warm, topped with cheese or tabasco hot sauce if desired. 

(adapted from Whole Foods Market)

today is one of my most favorite person in the world's birthday. my sweet, sweet grandmother is celebrating another year of her fabulous life. she, like my mama, is one of people i look up to the most. her life has been nothing short of admirable and i hope i can be half the woman she is. she is the source of my red hair which i am now and forever grateful for.

my mawsie, as she is affectionately known, has always been my biggest fan. the time i spend with her is time that i cherish the most. i know she is always just a call away when i am in knoxville or a five minute drive from my house in murfreesboro. so, happy birthday mawsie and here's to many more years of you! 

xoxo,
clp

p.s. coming tomorrow: favorite september arrivals from j.crew!

its only tuesday?

what a whirlwind of a past two days i have had. now back in knoxville for the semester, i feel like i haven't had a moment to sit down...

yesterday, the plan was for my mom and i to move in everything (with the exception of things that required manly-men) into the apartment that i would be living in this year. however, upon arrival we were informed that the unit was still under construction and that i was supposed to move into a temporary apartment until it was ready (which was a 3 bedroom - there are 4 of us). the funny thing was that we had called over two weeks ago and were told that the unit would be ready for me to move in. also, my uncle, who owned the unit, had given me the key to my room that very morning. obviously there was some miscommunication. you can imagine our frustration when we learned that we would be having to move my things not once but twice and also that we couldn't unpack everything and get settled. and then to top off this saga, i discovered that diet coke leaked onto my clothes on the drive here. the cards were just not in our favor. nonetheless, after a few tears and a breakdown or two, my mom and i got everything moved in the best we could (neatly stacked in piles) and my cousin was kind enough to let me sleep on her mattress. fingers are crossed that the apartment is ready by saturday so i can officially move into my first apartment!

my little bedroom for the week! 

after our horrible day, mom and i went to Sunspot for my first dinner back in knoxville. it is one of my favorites and mom had never been there. i love the sweet potato tamale (i need to branch out and try other things) and mom loved her fried green tomato BLT sandwich. i must say hers looked as good as mine! they also bring you yummy salsa and fresh chips to accompany your meal. 

it is officially recruitment time in tennessee! retreat began today and as a chapter we are working on getting the best possible pledge class. i have no doubt that we will do so with all the improvements that our recruitment team is making. 

since i will be spending the majority of the day at the alpha chi house and the TRECS is closed, my workouts will not be as intense this week. i think it will be good for my body to treat this week as sort of a "recovery week" and give my body a break for once. i will still be doing some cardio, but it will mostly just be walking at a fast pace on an incline and then some light weights and ab work. everyone needs to lighten the load sometimes. 

being the homebody that i am, i am already missing my mom and dad (and i guess my brother too). it will take some adjusting for me to get back in the swing of things here in knoxville, especially with the craziness and stress that comes with recruitment. add in the apartment saga and i am about at my stress limit but i will just have to keep on keepin' on. there may not be many recipes or OOTDs this week but i will be trying to blog as often as i can. fingers crossed that the rest of the week goes smoothly and that the unit is ready for move in saturday! 

xoxo,

clp