2014 Garage Sale a Huge Success!

Another garage sale is in the books!  We raised more than $2000 this year for the Arthritis Foundation, the AOII Foundation, Children's Research, our chapter scholarship, local collegiate chapters, and other chapter projects.  We couldn't have done this without the selfless effort of our garage sale leader, Karen F., and her amazing family!  Thank you to all of the sisters who donated items, tables, tents, clothing racks, set-up, priced, advertised, sold, brought snacks, cleaned up, and numerous other tasks.  This was a huge chapter effort, and we are extremely grateful to all of our members who helped.

Yvonne, Natalie R., Karen, Judy S., and Kathy.  We started collecting items and organizing a week before the sale.  Karen blocked out an entire Saturday for sisters to bring items and start pricing.

Karen(middle) and our 50-year Nu Iota sisters: Judy S., Patti, Kathy, and Jan

Just getting started....

It's Friday morning, we've donned our red alumnae chapter t-shirts, and we're ready to sell!   Friday was a crazy-busy day.  We've never seen it that busy before.  It could have been from the online advertising Karen did in local garage sale sites.  This year we raised a few of our prices a tiny bit and didn't bargain too much on the first day.  We made $1,200 on Friday alone!

Karen did a phenomenal job keeping us organized and focused.  She sold some of our nicer items online.  She is a wonderful hostess, and we've enjoyed getting to know her family who graciously lets us take over their home : )

Vicky started us on our garage sale run several years ago when she joined our alumnae chapter.  We started small, and our sale has grown every year!  We use a color-coded sticker pricing system that works very well for us.

Patti and Chris M.  Patti is a retired Spanish teacher.  Her skills come in extremely handy throughout our sale as we work with customers.

Fran and Suzette

Fran, Patti, Diane, and Kathy showing off some of our elegant dresses and a cashmere sweater.

Kathy and Fran enjoying a much-deserved break in the shade!

The Sunday Crew: Sue (from Chicago South), Vicky, Julie, Natalie R., Chris M., Karen F., Lori, Patti, and Dina.  On Sunday EVERYTHING is $0.25, and we get rid of as much as we can.  Customers come from far away to take advantage of this deal.  Every year we get customers who purchase clothing and shoes to send overseas.

Do you see our shrunken head mascot enjoying the breeze?  She came from Suzette's parents' basement years ago, and we just couldn't let her go.  She's not for sale : )

Here's a close-up.

Running our garage sale is a huge undertaking....for the hostess as well as for our members.  It takes a lot of time to collect items, set-up, and sell, but we have a lot of fun doing it together.  We get quality sisterhood time while also doing something wonderful for our community.  In addition to offering fabulous deals, we donate leftover items to local charities.  It's a win-win all-around!

Garage Sale Fundraiser August 1-3

We're having our annual HUGE garage sale this weekend at Karen's house in North Aurora. We have a whole alumnae chapter's worth of stuff that are waiting to find new homes. A portion of the proceeds from our sale benefit the Arthritis Foundation, the AOII Foundation, local collegiate chapters, and other alumnae chapter endeavors. Please come out and support us. Email us for the address.


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Leadership Institute 2014

Our new president, Sharon, represented our alumnae chapter at Leadership Institute in June.  We are excited to hear all about the wonderful time she had and learn fun new things she has to share with us.

We were honored to receive the following distinctions at Leadership Institute:

Ruby Level Chapter

Excellence in Communication

Excellence in Membership Recruitment

Excellence in Operations

Excellence in Collegiate Relations, Honorable Mention

Excellence in Community Involvement, Honorable Mention

Philos - Excellence in Alumnae Panhellenic, Honorable Mention

Sharon took the HQ tour with (clockwise from front left) Pat (Chicago Northwest AC President), Sue (Lake County AC President), Sharon, and Stephanie (Network Specialist-Alumnae)

What Our Book Club is Reading This Summer

We hope you can join us on Wednesday, August 6 for our next book club meeting.  We'll discuss The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  Location TBA.

The circus arrives without warning.  No announcements precede it.  It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.  Within the black and white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements.  It is called Le Cirque des Reves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians., Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors.  Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing.  Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

Book Club Movie Night - The Hedgehog

We met at Lori's house to watch the movie version of our recent book, The Elegance of the Hedgehog.   The story takes place in Paris, and we enjoyed French treats during the movie. 

Lori's mother-in-law made these adorable cookies for us!

This gloutof cake was featured in the story.  Our version is molded into a rose.

May Ladies Night Out

We had a delightful evening at the Waterleaf restaurant which is part of the College of DuPage.  Fran and Vicky planned a wonderful evening for us filled with yummy food and a tour of their kitchen facilities.  We had a great time visiting and eating together.  Thank you to everyone who was able to join us!

 Fran and Vicky work together at the College of DuPage teaching young men and women with special needs practical cooking and life skills.

Vicky's collecting amber pill bottles to send to Africa.

May 2014 Book CLub

We headed to Mon Ami Gabi in Oakbrook for our May Book Club meeting.  We discussed Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog which also happens to be Chris M.'s favorite book.  The book's narrators, Renee and Paloma, tell parallel stories of the residents of a fancy Parisian apartment building. The consensus was that we all enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

Barb, Lori, and Chris M.

Kate, Natalie R., and Kathy

Sooooo good!