Darden Days and Other Fun!

Wow, this week was a whirlwind and I cannot believe how much fun I had!

Monday: Chicas y Margaritas at Guadalajara. Once a month, the staff/faculty ladies at Darden get together for an evening of relaxation and mexican food. Not only was my conversation with Kellie and Pam refreshing and inspiring, but fajitas made with steamed veggies, guacamole, and homemade corn tortillas is simply divine!

Tuesday: Fiesta book club at my house. This month the Charlottesville Book Club discussed "The House at Riverton" at my casa where we dined on black bean and chicken enchiladas, layered salad (courtesy of Alisa), avocado/tomato salad (thank you Elizabeth), and chocolate chip cheesecake made by my beautiful neighbor Katherine. We had a delightful evening and settled on reading the recent phenomenon "Battle Cry of the Tiger Mom"

Wednesday: In celebration of one of my great friends and mentors, Karen, being at Darden to help our First Year students with some career coaching, a group of co-workers/friends gathered at Brixx for Happy Hour. We had such a great time and a delicious pint of micro-brewed Porter for $2.50 can't be beat!

Thursday-Saturday: Darden Days! For those who are not associated with Darden, this weekend was a celebration of our newly admitted students in the Class of 2013! My boss Whitney (have I mentioned how amazing she is?) and the Student Admissions Committee did a fantastic job planning and executing a great weekend filled with fun social events, workshops, and case discussions. The whole community came together to host over 200 guests. Here are some highlights:

-Judging Iron Chef: This week's Cold Call (a weekly Darden community gathering on Thursday evenings) was Iron Chef and the secret ingredient was beets! Not only do I love beets but I had the opportunity to judge the inventive creations. I was impressed with a mixed green salad with red and yellow beets in a tabasco dressing, a red velvet cake made entirely with ingredients from Whole Foods, a creamy beet gratin, and a spicy beet chutney. My favorite dish of the evening (I went back at least three times) was a beet and goat cheese risotto that was absolutely divine!

-Sunny weather at King Family Vineyards: Every year I look forward to our event at King Family Vineyards where all of our guests, current students, faculty, staff, and families gather for an evening of great wine, local beer, bbq pork, and Bluegrass music. This year I was nervous that it may rain but the weather was great (a little breezy) but the venue truly epitomizes the Virginia countryside. Everywhere you look there is green grass, blooming tulips, majestic horses, and smiling faces!

-Loving what I do: How did I get so lucky? I have a job where my main responsibility is to build relationships, spend time with people, and make them feel welcome and happy. While the hours this weekend were long, I loved every minute of it! I had the opportunity to spend time with colleagues whom I like and respect, current students who never fail to impress me with their leadership and spunk, and future students who have incredible energy and spirit! I left Darden yesterday on an emotional high and cannot wait to return tomorrow.

Sunday: Breakfast and a Bridal Shower! Today started off wonderfully with breakfast at Bluegrass Grill (refer to previous posts for recommendations of fantastic dishes) with Sara and Matt. Sara is a First Year student who is on our Student Admissions Committee and is one of my Kappa Delta ladies! She is absolutely gorgeous and I love spending time with her. Matt is an incoming student (and Sara's boyfriend) who has energy that fills a room. I knew from the moment I met him, that we would be friends (plus, Blake and Matt clicked at the SHE Auction in February) so it makes getting together easy and fun! Luckily, the fun wasn't over and after dropping Blake off for his baseball tailgate (he woke up three times in the night anticipating his date with Evan), I joined Joy, Julia, and Kristen for Molly's bridal shower at Petit Pois. We had a wonderful time celebrating Molly and Chris's June 18 wedding and my brunch salad of spring greens, asparagus, yellow beets, and goat cheese in a mustard vinaigrette was delicious!

I am one lucky lady and am looking forward to another week filled with friends, festivities and fun!