Take Me Out To The Ball Game: Thetas at the Mariners

I went to my first Major League baseball game this week! I know, I'm not sure how I missed this all American pastime but I did. My only explanation is that I spent my summers at a cottage on a lake, far out of reach of Tiger stadium. Anyhoo, when my sorority alumnae group planned a night at the ballpark, I couldn't wait to sign up. Twelve or so Thetas met for dinner and then walked  across the street to the game. Play ball! 

The T-Mobile stadium is open air and felt so grand when I walked in, that my oohing and ahhing caught the attention of the attendant and he sent us over to get my "first time at a Seattle Mariners' game" certificate. How could I not?

The stadium has a retractable roof, so the majority of the game was in the fresh air. I took this photo from open area on the 3rd deck. Hello Seattle! When it started to rain around 9 pm, the roof slowly and silently slide closed. That is a modern marvel!

When I was planning on what I would wear to the game (Mariners' colors are blue with a bit of green & the weather would be in the high 50's), I regretted not having any Mariners garb. I was driving when I remembered that I had my Dad's baseball charm. It was in his desk drawer my whole life and as a girl, I was most likely to wear a charm, so my mom said I could have it. It says "Champions 1951" and he would have been 18 years old that year. Was he on his high school baseball team? I need to ask his brother if he can remember a significant baseball event in Mount Clemens, Michigan in 1951.

I strung it on a chain and wore it to my first real baseball game, 68 years after "the championship." Isn't that wonderful? I think my dad would have thought this was great.

#seattlemariners #seattleblogger #baseballfan #sentimental #kappaalphatheta #thetakites 

Anne Held Reeves, Beta Pi, Michigan State has Moved to Seattle

I am honored to have this little article I wrote published in print in my sorority's national magazine, as well as online on their website. Enjoy!

(Photo during a trip to West Seattle farmer's market)

I was moving to Seattle and could count the number of people I knew out there on one hand. Kappa Alpha Theta has an alumnae chapter in Seattle, so I transferred my membership with high hopes of making friends out West.
I immediately joined the alumnae chapter’s book club. I famously arrived at my first meeting directly from the airport the night I moved. Now, when we all introduce ourselves at a chapter event, one of the girls invariably remembers meeting me when I first arrived in Seattle and tells everyone, "And I mean when she first arrived!" It's fun, and it tells the others that connecting and showing up when I say I will is important to me. 

That winter, I attended several Theta alum book club nights and it felt wonderful to belong. It might sound funny, but after a day of strangers, it felt so nice to be invited into someone’s home. The tradition in this book club is for the hostess to serve a light meal, usually a hearty soup with fresh bread. The members do their best to contribute wine, appetizers, and very often store-bought cookies. We have a glass of wine and spend the first little while getting reacquainted. It’s great because in addition to the core 10 members (who may or may not make it each month), we always have one or two new women drop in. The attendance ebbs and flows due to work schedules, and that’s okay. The members are understanding. You’ll be interested to know that our ages range from mid-20s to early 70s. 

The differences in our lives foster terrific book discussions. Although most of the book club members have lived in Seattle for at least a few years, when we start talking, our anecdotes and reflections remind us that we began our lives as Thetas at different times and places all over the country. It is that life experience that makes our discussions so rich. Making friends as an adult is challenging, but leaning on your affiliations (school, church, volunteer) can really help you get a leg up. I am so thankful to have our sorority to help us connect (finger snaps).

It has been two years since that first night at book club and I am indebted to these women who were the first in Seattle to learn my name. In that time, we have built a house, moved all our possessions out of storage and have started making a life for ourselves in the Pacific Northwest. 

It was such a nice night! We tried new recipes and ate a lovely meal out on the patio. We even talked about the possibility of making an all cookbook book club, because we all like to cook and really enjoyed having a full meal at our gathering. Who knows, it just might happen! I look forward to whatever my Theta sisters cook up.

I wanted to highlight our book club and this evening in particular because it was the night the Theta alumnae dedicated our August meeting to our love of cookbooks. The leaders suggested we check out fellow Theta and Seattleite, Heather Christo's cookbooks and blog for recipe ideas. Heather was the guest speaker at our 2016 holiday luncheon, and she has a gift for making allergen-free recipes look especially tempting.

Anne Held Reeves, Beta Pi/Michigan State, is a member of the Seattle Alumnae Chapter.

#kappaalphatheta #sorority #thetaforalifetime #seattle #bookclub #momentsofdelight #bloglife #theta #moving

Cookbook Edition: Our Sorority Book Club Branches Out

My sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, has a pretty active alumnae group in Seattle and I transferred my alumnae membership the moment I moved, with high hopes of making friends out West.

I famously arrived at this Theta book club from the airport the night I moved here and now when we all introduce ourselves, one of the girls invariably remembers meeting me when I first arrived in Seattle...and tells everyone "and I mean when she first arrived!" It's fun and it tells the girls that connecting and showing up when I say I will is important to me. 

It was November 2015 and I had just flown in for my first extended stay in Seattle. The plan was that I'd be in our apartment with Dan from November to April, and then I'd fly back to Michigan with my mom to start packing and selling both of our houses over the summer.

It feels like just yesterday, but now we've built our house, are completely moved in and can start making big plans.

I have always loved to cook and I was particularly excited to hear that the book club was dedicating our August meeting to the love of cookbooks. The leaders suggested we check out fellow Theta and Seattleite, Heather Christo's blog for our recipes. Heather was the guest speaker at our holiday luncheon. We did and had a lovely meal. 

I think it is so interesting that most members went to different colleges in different parts of the country, but we all ended up in Seattle and have our sorority to help us connect. (finger snaps) Making friends as an adult is challenging, but leaning on your affiliations (school, church, volunteer) can really help you get a leg up.

I made Heather's Blueberry Maple Mustard Grilled Shrimp and a bowl of cheddar biscuit nibbles called Cheese Wookies (from a different cookbook). The sauce was simple and flavorful - win/win! and everyone ate their fill.

My friend Clara made this magnificent Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables. 

Our hostess, Kristen made this satisfying Grilled Garlic, Rosemary and Mustard Shrimp and some gluten free cupcakes to satisfy our sweet tooth.

It was such a nice night! We were able to try new recipes and eat a lovely meal out on the patio. We even talked about the possibility of making an all cookbook book club, because we all like to cook and really enjoyed having a real meal at our gathering. Who knows, it just might happen! I look forward to whatever these women cook up.

#seattle #cookbookclub #bookclub #heatherchristo #finddelight

Fairy Godsister

Imagine my surprise (and delight!) when I opened a box that came in the mail and found all of these goodies from Paris, each chosen just for me.  

I am being spoiled by my customer-turned-friend, Sue.  She bought my book, "Paris: Delight in the City of Light" and as we emailed back and forth, we realized that we had more and more in common.  We both went to Michigan State University.  We both spend a lot of time in the small town resort areas of  Michigan.  We both love a lot of the same things (Paris, Caspari papers, travel).  She "got to know" me by reading my book, which is a very personal account of what and how I make the most of my trips to Paris.  

In one of our emails, she posed the question, "Were you in a sorority?"  When I responded, that I was a Theta, she responded triumphantly, "I knew it!"  We found that we were sorority sisters too.  What a small world.  We are kindred spirits, for sure, and have a "Theta is for a lifetime" connection as well. 

Sue has since been to Paris twice and brought back little goodies that she know I would like.  She knows because I wrote about so much of it!  Above you can see packets of vanilla sugar, buttons and cord to make a necklace, artistic postcards to frame, a pop-up card with a scene from Paris and a package of pastry post its from my beloved Laduree.  How can I be so lucky?   

I decided that Sue is my Fairy Godsister.  Isn't that a wonderful way to describe her?  We have yet to meet, but are sure that our paths will cross some day...perhaps in Paris?  Friendship is a delight. 

Painting Party

I am a member of the local alumnae chapter of my sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. The group strives to connect members socially, raise money for our philanthropies and keep a strong post-college connection to the group that had such an important part of our college years.

Every once in a while, the group's schedule of fun, member-connecting activities coincide with a quiet night on my calender and I am able to attend.  I was so happy to see that one of our members (a trained art teacher) was donating her time to host an acrylics painting class last Friday night.

I had forgotten how relaxing it is to paint.  I really felt my blood pressure wind down as we layered color upon color to create a realistic country field.  

Although I must admit, I did feel a big grip of fear/hesitation when she told us to load our brush with paint and create the sky - right across the clean, empty canvas.  I felt it again when we launched into building the field with purple paint.  And again when we started to build the trunk of the tree. My instinct was that it wouldn't be right somehow - too big, too bulky, too off center.  Our patient teacher assured us that it was normal to feel hesitant, but to push on and give it a whirl.  It was art, after all and in art, it is hard to do something "wrong."  She was right, of course, and we all managed to make a tree that looked like a tree.

We brushed on clouds, dabbed on flowers, worked in grasses and "found the light" shining on the leaves.  It was really fun.  My mind let go of the lists and commitments that keep me running at a clip and I sat at the table with friends new and old and we all "lived in the moment" for a while.  We were creating something some scratch and it felt great.

We learned about color being lighter in the distance.  That by having a variety of colors among the branches of the tree it created depth, as if the wind was tussling the leaves.  We implied blue bonnets blooming naturally in the field by making small dry brush dashes with a lovely dusty blue shade of paint that we had mixed up ourselves.  

The whole evening was good for our brains and our hearts.  What could be better than that?  Thank you, Melissa, for a lovely and informative evening.