New Rugs

I had a good time at Costco last week finding these rugs at great prices. It's good (and about time) to put some finishing touches on the kitchen project!

in the front entry way

inside the back door

close up of back door rug - love the center medallion

a runner to tie the entryway to the hall

and another in front of the island

island from another angle

Quote of the Week

from HouseHoldWords on etsy

Veggie Pizza Appetizer

An old school appetizer, recipe courtesy of our friend Traci.

2 cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 package dry ranch dressing (Traci likes Hidden Valley)
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup broccoli, cut in small pieces
1 cup carrots, shredded,
1 cup green peppers, diced
1 cup cauliflower, cut in small pieces
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Spread the crescent roll dough out on a large cookie sheet, covering the whole sheet and up the sides about 1/2 inch. Seal all the perforations. Bake at 375 10-15 minutes or until golden brown, then let cool. Mix cream cheese with dry ranch dressing, sugar and mayo. Spread mixture over cooled crust, then sprinkle with veggies and cheese. Slice into 2"x2" or 3"x3" squares and serve.

Our Weekend at Villano Beach

We spent Friday-Monday of Memorial Day weekend in Villano Beach / St. Augustine, Florida with friends. We loved the house Kellee picked - a great location, easy to find, close to the water and it had a pool. Here's a synopsis of the weekend in photos:

the view from our second floor deck

sunrise Saturday

 Waves... you forget about waves when you're usually at the Gulf of Mexico. Hello Atlantic Ocean!

 you could drive on the beach near our house - T thought that was pretty cool. Saturday the beach was covered with cars; Sunday it was much less busy (as seen here). 

tire tracks on the beach. you can see the red signs marking the edge of the parking area. our place was just past there. 

 signs at the entrance to drive onto the beach (above and below)

 Kellee and Chase

Chase feeling braver

the pool

Reading List for Recruitment

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie


Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, Charles Burck


Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz

Quote of the Week

from chasingthelight on etsy

Alpha Chi Omega Recruitment Weekend

I spent the weekend in Atlanta helping Alpha Chi Omega with a fantastic Recruitment Training. This was the first of three workshops that will be held this summer and it was jammed packed full of valuable information and real life skills we hope chapters will help their members develop. I thought it would be fun to share all the photos tweeted from the event, so here they are in chronological order. 

Thursday, we had training for the Recruitment Specialists, facilitators, and other volunteers. Here are Bonnie and Jenn taking a minute away from their lunch to pose for a picture: 

Here I am, explaining how to use one of my favorite tools, survey monkey, to handle large quantities of data:

"The Jens" taking care of the registration desk - from left to right: Jenny, Jenn and Jen

A small group session in action:

A whole group session in action. That's Allison presenting on Leadership and Change

Door prizes were chosen from among the attendees who tweeted about the event and those who checked in on foursquare. Nicole from Iota Psi chapter won this great Alpha Chi Omega tiara from Sorority Spirit:

Recruitment Specialists relaxing after a long day of volunteering - left to right: Elise, Jenn, Jodi and Katie

And finally (at the airport on their way home) our amazing Alpha Chi Omega Headquarters staff who planned and executed an incredible weekend!! Thank you all so much! From left to right: Jen, Amber, Allison and Jenny

Check out all the weekend's tweets at #AXORT2011 and be sure to follow @AXORecruitment on Twitter!