ZTA Dad's Weekend

We had been back at school for about a month and it is safe to say that we were all ready for some good food. The weekend of February 20^th was Zeta Dad’s Weekend, the one weekend a year when we get to have our dads all to ourselves, a highlight of the year for this daddy’s girl. Fun times, good food, and even greater company were right around the corner and I couldn’t wait to get it started!

On Friday night we were treated to a delicious dinner with our dads at Hill’s Café on SOCO and let me just tell you – it did not disappoint! There was a whole buffet of southern cooking and queso (a Texas Zeta favorite) along with a live band and the perfect outdoor atmosphere for spending time with our dads and mingling with everyone else. Saturday proved to be another fun day that started with a trip to the UT basketball game against Baylor. Although the Longhorns weren’t quite able to pull out a win, we all made the most of the energetic atmosphere and spending time with our dads. With the evening open to us, my dad and I enjoyed a delicious dinner with some friends and their dads and topped it off with a daddy daughter date to Amy’s Homemade Ice Cream – Yum!

While all of the events were fun, my favorite part of the weekend was spending time with my dad and showing him a little bit of what life in Austin is like and where all his hard earned money is going. ;) It was so fun to see all the dads interact and even teach a few of them how to “throw what they know” while they learned the Texas Zeta way of life. While the weekend ended with a little rain, it couldn’t have ended on a brighter note with our favorite guys! Until next year dad’s weekend!

ZLAM,

Brittany Stevens PC ‘15

Love Truly is the Greatest of All Things

On Sunday, February 14th, also known as Valentine’s Day, the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority
house held a social gathering that reminded Zetas, both current and alumni, that love really is the greatest of all things. ZTA alumni brought their children to participate in the festivities on this sunny Sunday afternoon. Zeta really outdid themselves with cookie decorating, valentine making, face painting, and even a petting zoo. I expected to simply make an appearance at this event, but being thoroughly entertained, I was one of the very last people to leave the house. I even helped bring in the giant ZTA letters from the front yard because I was still lingering.

When I first got to the house the cutest baby boy, Conrad, was waiting to greet us at the door. Before we could even get passed the foyer, we were taken back by all the love in the air. We look to the left and see pink lemonade, copious amount of candy, and cookies ready for decorating, and to the right was a table of valentines seeking to be written on. As we walked around the house we saw sisters of all ages giving hugs and smiles celebrating this day of love in the best way possible. There was not one, not two, but three face painters at the house that day. I sat down and told the artist she had artistic freedom to paint whatever she felt like. She used purple, pink, and lots of glitter to transform my face into a whirl of colorful spirals and hearts. With our faces freshly painted, Jolie and I headed to the back yard to see these animals everyone had been raving about. We stopped to wish Mama G a happy birthday of course! Once we sat down two of the fluffiest bunnies I have ever seen were placed in our laps. After taking the obligatory selfies with our new valentines, we had to sadly give the animals back and let other kids have a turn petting them. We then headed inside to decorate some valentines and talk to our sisters about our lives and what not before calling it a day and going home.

I cannot think of a better way to spend Valentine’s day than with my sorority sisters and animals. The weather was great, the animals were nice (even when the hedgehog decided to poop on Jolie’s lap), the face painters were pulling out their A game, and everyone looked genuinely happy. Contrary to my usual lazy Sunday plans of simply preparing myself for the week that lies ahead, I am confident I made the right decision to leave my apartment and partake in the light hearted day of love. Now at chapter when we all yell “LOVE the greatest of all things” I know that our sisterly love is truly there. 

Alyssa Zucker PC '15