In Print.

Remember when Mr. Price and I ran into Peter Frank Edwards, a photojournalist for Travel + Leisure magazine? (If you don't, you can read about it here.)

I finally saw some of his work published in the most recent issue of Garden & Gun magazine. Even though we only had a random and brief encounter with Mr. Edwards, it was still cool to see his name in print. I liken it to seeing a city you've visited featured on TV. It's always cool to say, "Hey, I've been there!"

I think I'll enjoy saying, "Hey, I've met that photographer!" when I see Mr. Edwards' work now. Who knows maybe I'll even stumble upon the picture he took of Mr. Price and me!

H2O

After watching this interesting video on Mark's Daily Apple...




I bought this:




A Camelbak Better Bottle.

I had become so caught up in the "drinking clean, pure water craze" that I didn't even think about the waste those plastic water bottles produce! One of the first things Mr. Price and I registered for when we were engaged was a Brita Water Pitcher. We rarely buy bottled water for our home, and thanks to the Brita, I rarely drink water straight from the faucet.

The places I am most tempted to buy bottled water are at work and on the road. I guess it's the convenience factor. The bottles are right there, the water is already filtered, and I don't have to do anything but pay for it.

To me drinking water from a refillable glass or container just seems like common sense and not too novel of an idea. But it took watching that YouTube video for the light bulb to go off in my head. I guess somewhere along the way, I got caught up in the craze just like many folks (which reminds me of the bible verse Romans 12:2).

Check out another cool invention I saw in Popular Science magazine:

It's a Bobble. It filters water as you drink! I must try this.

Weekend Review

It was a lovely 74 degrees here in Roanoke this Saturday! Mr. Price and I decided to treat ourselves to a free lunch today by using some Downtown City Market gift certificates he received as a Christmas gift.

We decided to eat at Awful Arthur's, and since the weather was so cooperative, we dined outside! Soon after being seated, we couldn't help but notice people frantically sprinting around downtown, all of them wearing yellow shirts. Mr. Price guessed right away that they were participating in a scavenger hunt. Sure enough that's what they were doing!

Today was Roanoke's Diamond Dash sponsored by Fink's Jewelers. Participants were dashing around downtown Roanoke to find a $15,000, 1.5 carat Ritani diamond ring!

It appeared that most of the participants were couples. Some were running, some were walking, some were biking and some were pushing strollers. But all of them were using their cell phones to receive the treasure hunt clue riddles. It was quite entertaining, and I found myself wanting to cheer on the participants!

After Mr. Price finished his Caribbean tuna sandwich, and I finished my citrus glazed salmon, we had to part ways. Mr. Price headed back to work, and I took a leisurely stroll around downtown to snap a few more photos of the market and the hunt! I hope all of you are enjoying your weekend!

Music Monday

He's baacck. That's right, Mr. Price has another installment of Music Monday. If you missed the first check it out here!

I enjoy listening to music while I am at work. I have about 6500 songs on my external hard drive that I keep on shuffle.

Most of us probably can't imagine not being able to skip to our favorite song on our playlist or CD.

Music albums are rarely listened from beginning to end anymore. And advances in technology have only contributed to our random/shuffle mindset.

Think about this: The first commercially available recorded music was on records. People would put the needle at the beginning of the record and listen to it! There was no shuffle feature. Then tapes came along and they were similar to records in their inability to shuffle. Also skipping to the next track was a pain. Constant rewinding/fast-forwarding. Then of course, the invention of the glorious Compact Disc. Shuffle? Sure! Skip a song I don't care for? Absolutely!

With all the changes in the ways we listen to music, I think something has been lost along the way. Most new music is well-suited and even created for this type of "shuffle" listening. But a lot of quality music is not, especially classic concept albums. I have a lot of respect for people who compose the music that they play, and I want to listen to their art the way they intended.

I just dug out an old classical favorite that reminded about listening to album beginning to end. Liszt's Dante Symphony is an incredible, exciting piece of music. The first movement is 21 minutes long, and as with most classical music, not intended to be background/shuffle music.

I think most POPular music is popular because it is easy to listen to. It requires no mental activity. To me the mark of quality music is it's ability to stimulate my brain.

If you don't have time now, come back later when you aren't busy, sit down, avoid all distractions and listen intently to this. (It's about 50 minutes total.)
(I wish I had a link to the entire symphony, but these will have to do. If you want mp3s, let me know and I can send them to you.)

Inferno (part 1)
Inferno (part 2)
Inferno (part 3)
Purgatorio (part 1)
Purgatorio (part 2)
Purgatorio (part 3) + Magnificat

Here is what Steven Wilson has to say about the iPod/playlist mentality:

It doesn’t take a genius to figure that my albums aren’t meant to be listened to in that way. They are created as musical continuums. I put a lot of thought into the idea that someone will listen to my record from beginning to end and I can take them on a kind of musical journey. So, the idea that somebody might program my music in a play list or they might have their iPod on shuffle and hear a track from Insurgentes after a Coldplay track, and then followed by a Britney Spears track, or whatever it is, again is an ugly idea to me.

While I do enjoy my music on-demand "shuffle", I try to be careful that it doesn't make me numb to the art. I challenge you to do the same!

Read the entire interview here:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/71940-an-eclectic-master-craftsman-an-interview-with-steven-wilson/

Bits of our weekend

A photo post from the past two weekends.


Valhalla Vineyards








Down By the River - an outdoor concert featuring the Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Band. Ryan, Katie, me and Mr. Price in attendance.









Price Family Reunion - Craig County, Virginia

Birthday Bash

I celebrated my 29th birthday earlier this month. My husband did a wonderful job creating a special day for me. He first surprised me with breakfast from Chick-Fil-A! I love their Cinnamon Clusters. I brought out my Rosanna "Birthday" plates, just for the occasion. Eating breakfast or dessert on these plates will become a Price family tradition.



During breakfast he presented me with a gift. I was surprised to see how creative he got with the gift wrapping. He wrapped the package in materials he had at work. The box was covered in brown package paper, and the bow was created from the rim of a decorative paper plate! I was quite impressed.



Inside the box I found Bvlgari White Tea soap and shampoo. The same soap we swooned over when we stayed at the Ritz-Carlton ten months ago. It smells a little manly, but I love the fresh and clean scent.






For my birthday dinner we headed to Carlos. Definitely suited for special occasions, Carlos has been voted the Best Restaurant in Roanoke many times by Roanoker magazine. Carlos is so wonderful, I could do an entirely separate post on it! The restaurant is situated on top of a steep hill with excellent views of the surrounding mountains.







I have to say the whole day was wonderful, and I thank all my friends and family for remembering me with cards and facebook shout outs. And mostly my husband for making me the most important priority of his day. He really knows how to make a girl feel special!

1 of 7

2010 is the year of weddings for Mr. Price and me. Seven great couples we know are tying the knot. Unfortunately because of time, a new job and the distance we were unable to attend the first wedding of 2010. But we'd like to send our very best wishes to Daniel and Andrea!

On May 22nd we attended Will and Sara's wedding in Augusta, Georgia at Saint Mary on the Hill Catholic Church.

It was a lovely wedding with lots of personal details. And of course those personal details are what make weddings memorable. Here a few things I loved about Will and Sara's wedding:

I was thrilled to see that the Bride chose bridesmaid dresses the attendants could actually wear again! J Crew's Juliet Dress



At the reception I couldn't take my eyes off the flower girls' dresses. Don't they look like little angels!



Will and Sara's reception was held at a restored fire station in downtown Augusta, now called the Mabry Center. They served a delicious grits bar! I guess it wouldn't be a southern wedding without grits! Our favorite was the creamy grits with jalapenos! (Evidently we are lovin' some jalapenos. See this post.)

The bride and groom gave two of their favorite things as favors - coffee and a bag of basil seeds to symbolize their love for gardening. Not only was this a unique favor, but it also gave guests a glimpse into their personal lives. What a great day to learn something new about the bride and groom.



Unfortunately we had to leave before the bride and groom's grand exit. The wedding program stated that Will and Sara would leave the reception in Polly's car. Polly is Will's late grandmother. We were so disappointed that we had to miss it.

Another great thing I love about this couple is that they registered for board games! Monopoly and Scrabble! When I saw these games on their registry list, I immediately thought, "Why didn't I think of that!" Mr. Price and I had to buy the games for them, and we included a little note that said "Don't forget to make time for fun!" But I'm betting they won't forget.

That wraps up the second wedding of 2010. Three, Four and Five are back-to-back in September/October. If you love weddings like I do, stay tuned for more! And here are two more pics from Will and Sara's wedding...

We're lovin'...

Mr. Price and I are loving Homestead Creamery, a locally owned dairy processing plant in Burnt Chimney, Virginia. They produce the most delicious milk and ice cream we have ever tasted! Just another reason to love Virginia.

Here are a few reasons to love Homestead Creamery:

Most of their milk is sold in refillable glass containers. If you purchase the milk at grocery stores, $2.00 is added to your total. Once you finish the milk, rinse out the glass bottle and return it to the store to receive your $2.00 back! Eliminates plastic.

Homestead Creamery is dedicated to delivering quality products. They keep their dairy neat and clean, and focus on the comfort of their cows. They also do not inject their cows with milk production hormones.

They brought back the milkman! That's right, they make home deliveries. A 1960's style refrigerated truck will drop off and pick up your glass milk bottles in certain areas across southwest Virginia!

We love Homestead Creamery so much that we bought three tubs of ice cream, packed them in a cooler full of ice and then prayed they wouldn't melt before we reached Georgia, seven hours away!! We just had to share this local Virginia specialty with all of our family. They were quite delighted!

Do you have a favorite brand or flavor of ice cream? Let us know, we'd love to try it!