Gifts that Give Back: a purchase from 2nd helpings

2nd helpings is one of Roanoke's hidden treasures. It surprises me to find out that either 1) people haven't heard of 2nd helpings, or 2) people haven't visited. For those of you who live in the Roanoke Valley, purchasing a gift from 2nd helpings is a great way to give back to your local community. Because the business is owned by the Rescue Mission of Roanoke, the profits earned help provide shelter, food and medical care for the homeless and recovering addicts.

2nd helpings is a unique place. It features an upscale resale shop, an art gallery featuring local artists and a cafe featuring delicious food. You can feel good about making a purchase at 2nd helpings because you will receive a unique item plus help support the homeless.

Want to know how the Rescue Mission helps those in need? Take a look at these statistics from 2010. Then browse some pictures from the gallery, shop and cafe below.

Meals served: 320,917
Clothing & Furniture Help provided for Families: 24,845
Nights of Shelter: 112,267
Volunteer Hours: 82,969
Professions of Faith: 808
Family Shelter Classes: 679 hours
Recovery Classes: 17,271
Learning Center Classes: 8,212
Clinic Patient Visits: 14,004
Value of Healthcare Provided: $2,306,190
Case Management Visits: 4,989
Legal Clinic Visits: 30
Toured the Mission: 3,435

I've got quite a wish list at the 2nd helpings art gallery. They have such a variety of art that you are sure to find something you love!

From the print bins:



Stained glass:



Pottery:


Mixed Media:


You never know what you might find at the 2nd helpings upscale resale shop.







The cafe also has a variety of food to satisfy your appetite.

Favorite Links

Happy Monday! Today begins the seven day countdown till Christmas. It feels a little different this year. For one thing we don't have a Christmas tree, and we won't be putting one up this late either. And guess what? We are totally fine with it!! I kind of like being a rebel about it. So glad we don't feel burdened to put one up just because "it's the season and that's what we are supposed to do."

How will you be spending these last few days before Christmas? Baking? Shopping? Traveling? Decorating? Relaxing? If you have any down time, check out a few of my favorite links.

Have a MERRY, MERRY Christmas!

The Pioneer Woman has done it again. Can the second cookbook be as good as the first?

This is a really awesome app. Mr. Price's new job actually has him waking up before me. But the alarm is on my side of the bed. Just check out this new technology for waking up! Be sure to watch the video!

Some good advice.

Please note that asparagus is a finger food! I love info like this.

Can Christmas be fun without Santa? Heck Yeah! Read these opinions: 1, 2 and 3. Glad this trend is catching on!

Gifts that Give Back: Punjammies

Punjammies are a premium brand of pajamas created by the women of the International Princess Project. Shannon Keith founded the IPP after a life-changing trip to India, where she saw the realities of women and children trapped in sex trade.

The Project seeks to restore hope and dignity to women formerly enslaved by prostitution. Punjammies is a self-sustaining enterprise the IPP uses to provide needed jobs for women, and resources for their healing and restoration.

Purchasing a pair of Punjammies helps support these women in two ways.

1.) The proceeds from Punjammies provides wages, living expense and savings for the women who make them.

2.) Creating the pajamas helps build self-esteem, and is an integral part of their emotional healing.

Punjammies is another great gift that gives back. The pajamas are made from beautiful Indian fabric and are available in many different prints. The recipient of Punjammies is sure to feel great! Not only will she be lounging in style and luxury, but she will also wear them with fondness, knowing the purchase helped empower another woman to live in freedom.

Shop for Punjammies here. And please leave a comment with your favorite style.

Gifts that Give Back: Mission Aviation Fellowship

If you know Mr. Price, you know he has a passion for aviation and has a career in technology. So it's no surprise that he is very interested in the Christian organization Mission Aviation Fellowship. The goal of MAF is to share the love of Jesus through aviation and technology, so that isolated people may be physically and spiritually transformed.

People who serve with MAF provide aviation and technology support for mission teams, humanitarian teams and government organizations in remote locations throughout the world. They use a fleet of planes to transport medical supplies, Bibles, and respond to disaster relief. Their technologies help provide distance learning tools.

They state it best on the their website: "Mission Aviation Fellowship maximizes the effectiveness of mission organizations and indigenous churches in their effort to extend God's kingdom on earth."

MAF is the organization working behind the scenes making sure mission teams have what they need to reach people for Christ!

If you are looking for a Christmas gift that not only helps those in need, but those who serve people in need, please consider looking through the MAF Gift Catalog. You can give a gift in honor of someone you love! The gifts are categorized as follows: Fly Help, Fly Hope, Fly Relief, Fly the Plane, Gift of Water and even Stocking Stuffers.

There are gifts in all price ranges. Fly vaccines to children or Bibles to remote villages for only $36. You can fill plane's fuel tank or even help purchase a Caravan airplane for $55-$1,800.

A Christmas gift from MAF is a gift that is sure not to be forgotten or eventually given to Goodwill! It's a gift that keeps giving!

Check out the MAF Gift Catalog and let me know what gift strikes you most! MAF also has an online store. Check it out here.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving meal: take one

take two

take three
Mr. Price and I had three Thanksgiving meals this year. We traveled home to Georgia the week before Thanksgiving and celebrated with two Thanksgiving meals. And then our cousins here in Virginia hosted us for dinner on Thanksgiving evening. Three thanksgiving meals!! We surely have a lot to be thankful for. By now, your Thanksgiving is probably just a distant memory. You've probably moved on to decorating your tree and making Christmas gift lists. However, I would still like to share a few things I am thankful for...

my husband. i'm thankful that we have the same views about marriage. i am thankful that we communicate with each other more than fairly well. i am thankful that our relationship has just gotten better after each passing year.

food. i am thankful that i do not have to worry about where i will get my next meal.

i am thankful that my needs are met. i have shelter, food and a closet full of clothes. i even have a car, which makes me rich! richer than a large majority of the rest of the world.

for this baby that God created, and i have the privilege and responsibility of bringing into the world.

i am thankful that God never leaves me, and loves me no matter how many times i turn from Him, or how many times I belittle his existence by trying to bargain with Him.

i am thankful for my family, and i am thankful that i now recognize their importance in my life.

i am thankful for hot water. boy do i love hot showers.

i am thankful for my health, although i could improve it.

i am thankful for our extended family in craig county, who makes us feel like we're not so extended by including us in their family get-togethers.

i am thankful for this earth and universe that God created for our enjoyment.

i want to be thankful for the trials that are yet to come my way, but sometimes i am a little fearful.

i am thankful for all the friendships I have enjoyed over the years. even though I've lost touch with many friends, i look back on our times together with fondness.

i am thankful for the word of God. the bible is truly an amazing book. we don't have to wonder about God's love or how we should live our lives - it's all right there for us to read. how it would enrich our lives if we just took time to read and apply.

Did you make a list of things you were thankful for this Thanksgiving season? If so please feel free to share below in the comments section.

Boy or Girl?

Take the poll! Will baby P be a boy or girl?

Many people just don't understand why we aren't finding out the sex of our baby. And Mr. Price and I can't figure out what the big rush is. I love surprises too much to find out.

Supposedly the heart rate of the baby and the way the mother carries the baby are indicators of what the sex will be. Our baby's heart rate has consistently been 150.

You can see in the picture above how I am carrying the baby at 30 weeks. Is it high or low? I don't know.

Our Mimi even convinced me of doing the Ring Test. The Ring Test is an old wives' tale that involves holding a wedding ring or a needle from a piece of string over the mom's belly. If it swings in a circular motion its a girl, a pendulum motion its a boy. According to this test we are having a boy!

Please let us know your guess by taking the poll that is featured at the top of the right menu of our blog. In just about 10 weeks we'll let you know if the poll results are correct!

Fall Leaves

It's the middle of November and the peak season for the vibrant fall foliage has come and gone. It's interesting to watch the process of the leaves changing colors. In just two weeks, a tree's leaves can change colors and then subsequently all fall off, leaving a bare tree. From what I've noticed, the leaves at the top of the tree change first and then the color makes it way down. By the time the leaves near the bottom of the tree start turning, the leaves at the top are falling off the tree.

Each tree is different. Some change colors earlier in the season and some later. So even though it's not peak season, there are still many vibrant colors to see. Most of the time pictures don't do the beauty justice. I only snapped a few pictures of trees behind our apartment to give you an idea of the beautiful scenery we've been able to view. Soon the trees behind our apartment will lose all their leaves leaving us another great view of the mountains.

Anniversary Trip: part two

Mr. Price did an excellent job of scouting out a place to stay during our anniversary adventure. He found a custom built cabin on the outskirts of Abingdon named Old Fairview Cabin. It was the perfect location, only a few miles from downtown. Close enough to drive in for lunch or dinner, yet we still had the experience of being in the countryside.

For less than the price of a four star hotel (my usual favorite), we had a small cabin that included a kitchen and living room. It definitely had a rustic feel, which I really happen to dig. But it also had granite bathroom countertops, hardwood floors and stone wall backsplash. The carpentry was executed beautifully.

The owners were very hospitable. The cabin is located near their more modernly designed home. The wife of the couple greeted us as we arrived on Thursday, and checked up again on Saturday evening.

Old Fairview Cabin is a wonderful place to stay when exploring the Abingdon community, and just a short drive from many of the Virginia Creeper Trail starting points. You can view more pictures of the cabin at their website, here. If you ever take a visit, please tell them we sent you!

Anniversary Trip: part one

To celebrate our second wedding anniversary we decided to take an adventure. We biked part of the Virginia Creeper Trail! We've had it on our list of things to do since moving to Virginia, and thought we'd better try it before we embark on the adventure of parenting.

The Virginia Creeper Trail is located on a 34-mile stretch of old railroad bed between White Top and Abingdon, Virginia. The trail is part of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, which is a nonprofit organization that is creating a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines. This portion of the railroad was likely named Virginia Creeper because of the train's slow speed through this mountainous area.



About 100,000 people bike this trail each year. Once you take a look at our pictures you might understand why. Along the trail there are beautiful mountain scenes and trestles. There are also bathroom and food stops along the way.




You can bike the entire trail in one trip or just a section at time. There are several places to rent bikes with shuttle services that will take you to your starting point.

We biked the easiest part of the trail, which lies between White Top Mountain and Damascus. You can almost coast this entire 17 mile section.

We rented bikes from JC's Outdoors in Damascus, and they shuttled us and three other couples to the top of White Top. The total cost for the bikes and shuttle was only $50 for the two of us.




The trail starts off on flat terrain, but its not too long before you are just coasting.




There was a great place to stop and take in the scenic mountain views about a mile from the starting point. There were already several people there having a picnic.





After a quick stop, we jumped back on the bikes, enjoyed the lovely scenery, and stopped for the occasional photo op. Three miles later we reached Green Cove. This old station now offers snacks, food, restrooms and a little history to visitors.






The trail was so fun and beautiful, but it was a cold and windy day. The day started off with beautiful sunshine, but we were under the trees for the most part. Toward the end of the trail, the sky became overcast. Luckily seven miles from Green Cove, there's the Virginia Creeper Cafe where you can grab a bite to eat and refuel (and for us, warm up)!





The cafe is known for their World Famous Chocolate cake. I couldn't pass that up!



From the cafe it's only six more miles to Damascus. This section of the trail does require more pedaling and was definitely a workout for me, but still worth it. We were running a little late so we didn't stop very much during this section. There seemed to be more water stream views. There's a small waterfall somewhere along this section. But with the threat of rain and being late to return our bikes, we didn't stop.

Although it was a bit colder than I would have liked, we still had a great adventure. Biking is such a nice way to view the local terrain. The trip wouldn't have been complete without getting a souvenir sweat shirt at the cafe. It saved the day!

Cash Envelopes

I feel blessed that Matt and I have very similar views about money and debt. Before we got married we created a budget, and we have successfully tracked our spending in an Excel spreadsheet for the past two years. But sticking to our budget has been another thing.

We don't go out and spend money on frivolous or expensive items. Nor do we usually go in debt, but we seem to always go over budget in our dining out and grocery category each month. This means that at the end of the month we have less to save or invest. I feel discouraged when we can't get a handle on the amount of money we spend on food. Of course food is a necessity, but when we don't stick to our food budget, I feel as though I am not being a good steward.

Mr. Price recently suggested we try the envelope system, and I thought it was worth a shot. It seems like such an old school idea. And I think I had the impression it was for people who had trouble balancing a checkbook. We've been using the cash envelope system for two paychecks, and, for lack of a better phrase...it has been AMAZING!

It has really opened my eyes. I was skeptical that we could do it, because at times, we've gone over our food and dining budget by $50 to $100. The first time we used the envelopes, we came UNDER budget! I was completely surprised.

Dave Ramsey was right - if you have cash in your pocket, you are more likely to think twice about how you spend it. You don't experience any pain when you whip out your debit card to make a purchase like you do when you hand someone cash for a purchase.

Not only does using cash envelopes help us stay on budget, but it also makes balancing the checkbook at the end month a little easier. Not to mention that many banks will soon be charging a fee for using a debit card.

I am a huge fan of the envelope system now! Hopefully we can keep up the good work. If you are interested in learning more specifics or about our Excel budget spreadsheet please e-mail us.

Playing Catch Up

My blog posting has been pretty light over the past few months. Therefore I thought I'd write a brief catch-me-up post. Hopefully this will get everyone up to speed and I can begin posting more regularly.

So here's what we've been up to...

We've gone to the cash envelope system and it has worked wonders! I will have a detailed post about this coming up soon.



We tried a new-to-us restaurant in downtown Roanoke. Thelma's Chicken & Waffles is just the place to go for some good southern cooking. Mr. Price actually ordered chicken and waffles. I opted for the vegetable plate and still had trouble finishing my meal.






Mr. Price celebrated a birthday, and this year I actually got him a gift. I am such a slacker when it comes to getting gifts for people, even my husband. But this year I planned it perfectly. I had a portrait of his dog painted.




We celebrated two years of marriage! The second year was just as wonderful as the first! This year we took a little trip to Abingdon, Virginia to celebrate.




Lastly, I'm finally getting a baby bump! Sorry we didn't make a big announcement about my pregnancy here on the blog, but I'm sure I'll start sharing more soon.

Models on the Market

Sometimes I dream about being a model. Well, okay. You got me. Every time I get a JCrew catalog in the mail! But not because I think I have the looks or ability, but because the life of a model seems so glamorous. It incorporates so much of what I love: photography, traveling and clothes!

I was recently able to get a little taste of the model life.

National Thrift Store day was celebrated on August 17, 2011. To promote the Rescue Mission's thrift store, several employees modeled formal wear on the market square in downtown Roanoke. Twelve other mission employees and I chose formal wear and accessories from the two Rescue Mission shops. The Thrift Store and 2nd Helpings (upscale resale) shop are operated to generate income to support the medical, food and shelter needs of the homeless.

The weather couldn't have been any better for modeling on the market square. Clear skies and sunshine followed us as we all rotated modeling on different street corners during the busy lunch hour. Women striking poses in formal wear is not an everyday occurrence on the market. Needless to say, I think the event generated interest in the Rescue Mission's Thrift store. Several people stopped to find out where the store was located, and many couldn't believe the prices of our formal wear.

The day after the event, someone actually called to find out where she could buy the shawl I modeled!

I think it was a success!

Online Magazines

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We all know the world is going digital. There's almost nothing we can't do from our computer or even our cell phones. Wouldn't you pretty much say that you feel lost when one of these devices crashes?

Even the leisure activity of reading has gone digital and wireless thanks to devices like the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook. My family loves to buy books. Barnes and Noble is one of our favorite stores. To have all our books available at anytime in one small, handy machine would be awesome!

Although I'd love to have a Kindle, I'm not as excited to jump on board with digital magazines. A few home design and decorating magazines have been popping up. They have loads of great information and inspiration, but I just can't get into them.

One of my favorite ways to relax and unwind involves magazines. I love to either a) go to B&N and spend an hour or so in the Starbucks cafe looking at magazines or b) sit in my favorite recliner, porch seat or bubble bath with a recent edition of my favorite magazine.

It's just not that easy to do when they're online.

However online magazines have a couple of benefits. They are usually free. And it's easier to save and file information on your computer instead of tearing out and keeping important pages. Bookmarking services such as Pinterest and Delicious really make it easy.

If you've never seen an online magazine, please browse through my favorites below. Don't forget you have the ability to view them full screen.

rue magazine

Lonny Mag

Kinfolk Magazine