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

photo credit
photo credit
photo credit

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

A new-to-us game

Yahtzee has been around for awhile, but Mr. Price and I played it for the first time a few weekends ago. Yahtzee is a dice game in which you try to score the most points by rolling certain combinations of dice. During each turn you have three chances to roll five dice to get a full house, small straight, large straight, four-of-a-kind or three-of-a-kind. Plus you must roll to get three matching dice with each number 1 through 6. There are thirteen possible combinations and you only have thirteen chances to obtain them.

Of course you hope to roll five-of-a-kind, which is Yahtzee! Rolling a Yahtzee earns you 50 points, the most of any combination. Both Mr. Price and I had beginners luck. We both rolled a Yahtzee during our very first turn.

Our step-mom showed us how to play on Sunday night. And we must of played this game three times on Monday, during our relaxing holiday at the creek. Have you ever played Yahtzee? It's not a new game, but I think it's definitely worth having in your game collection.

Thank You

I'd like to thank my mom and sister for driving seven hours to Virginia to keep me company while my husband was away last week. Mr. Price spent five days in Durham, NC repairing roofs with the mission group World Changers. I was so glad to have some company for three of those five nights. Even though I didn't take them on any exciting excursions, we still had some nice quality time together. I can't wait to do it again!

This week's favorite links

Before I share some of my favorite links from the week, I thought I'd show you a few pictures from Memorial Day weekend. I took my first trip ever down the creek. On a raft that is! It was so much fun. And we think we may have seen A bear track.





More tracks...



Now I've got lots of party inspiration for you...plus a really inspirational story.

1. Now this may be my kind of party. A party for two.

2. I love parties with cool color combos.

3. We're not the only ones who love Peter Island!

4. A grown up version of this would be great for my husband.

5. You've got to read this series of posts about a writer who visits the Philippines with Compassion International. Scroll to the bottom and then read up. Blog world is in reverse order.

6. Mr. Price and I use our check cards like there's no tomorrow. So we are thinking about giving this a try. It might be as exhilarating as throwing out all my stuff.

Minimalist Living

I wasn't kidding a few weeks ago when I said I wanted to embrace minimalist living. Check out the pictures of this home:

photos from littlebrownpen

I don't know if this blogger considers her style to be minimalist, but it sure looks that way to me. I love to organize. But now I just want to throw all my "stuff" away. To have an apartment not bursting at the seams with stuff seems so freeing and exhilarating.

I've taken a few little steps to clear my clutter.

I went through all my magazines. I ripped out all the good articles and recipes and filed them.



I cleaned out my stationery drawer. As much as I'd love to bring back the lost art of letter writing, I just don't use note cards. I saved two sets. That's all I need. I will be donating the others to the Rescue Mission where I know someone else will enjoy using them.

I am also getting rid of a few knick-knacks around the house that go unused. I had tons of old hotel toiletries. Don't know why I even have those. I cleaned out my Christmas decorations. I've been holding onto these decorative tin cans thinking I would use them one year for gifts. But I haven't.



I'm giving away a few clothing articles.




And finally I went through some of our pens. Looks at all the pens! We only need as many as Big Al can hold.



I've gone through some stuff, but it feels as though I've only scratched the surface! I've been thinking I should make a list of categories such as kitchen, linens, office, pictures, books...and if something doesn't fit into one of those categories, or even if it does and we don't have space for it, we can't buy it or keep it.

Wish me luck!

Happy Weekend!

Hello Friends! I hope you all have a splendid Memorial Day weekend. I've got just a few links for you to enjoy during this extended weekend.

The YouTube video above is the band at NorthPoint Community Church in Atlanta, Georgia. Instead of shunning our culture, NorthPoint embraces it to create irresistible environments for its attenders. The band's montage of love songs is just one way they succeed in creating these environments. This song kicked off the series to Love, Sex and Dating, a topic I'm not sure many churches would have the boldness to preach.


Here's some inspiration for your Memorial Day meals.

This would be a cool birthday surprise for a person who loves puzzles.

I'm tired of the stuff that clutters our apartment. I really want to embrace the minimalist lifestyle. Oh to have the power to throw out my old yearbooks.

An interesting tidbit of news.

Wouldn't this be so cute for one of your summer picnics.

I LOVE

QUILTS

Yes, I love quilts. I love the weight and feel of them. I love the way they fit on our beds. I love how sentimental they can be.

The first quilt I ever remember having was made by Willie Lou. She was a sweet lady that helped my mom iron clothes, cook dinner and watch my sister and me. She made the quilt with fabric from a set of curtains that used to hang in our house. I think the curtains were made by my grandmother. I loved how the curtains could be re-purposed into something else useful and meaningful. I don't have any pictures to share with you, unfortunately.

The second quilt I owned was not hand-made, but when I saw it in the Pottery Barn catalog I just had to have it. I loved the luau inspired patchwork! The quilt along with the coordinating palm tree sheet set and shower curtain helped transform my college bedroom into a tropical resort. It now lays on the bed in our guest room.



As the cold weather subsided this year, we threw off our down comforter and replaced it with a very special wedding gift. Mr. Price's cousin made us a quilt! She used my wedding color, yellow, as the main fabric color. I love the way it fits so nicely on our bed. It provides just enough warmth and security for the warmer nights. I know we will enjoy this quilt for years to come.




Do you have a sentimental quilt? Or have you ever made a quilt? I'd love to make a quilt using all my old sorority t-shirts. See how this blogger re-purposed some of her used fabric.

Bummer

Blogger decided to crash yesterday. That may not mean much to you, but it does to me and thousands of other bloggers. You see, I spent most of my day off yesterday composing a blog post that is now lost in cyberspace, never to return again. And since I can barely post something once a week, I was really bummed that my work was gone.

Anyway, I do have a few links to share with you today. Do you have any big weekend plans? We're attending a young adult fellowship at church tomorrow night. I'm whipping up the ingredients in the picture above so I can take a sweet treat! Can you guess what I'm making? I hope you have a lovely weekend!


Aren't these invites amazing? I need to throw a party soon!

Oh My! These treats may not be Better than Sex, but apparently they will Knock You Naked.

I bet this book will just make you hungry.

All about THE dress.

Super Easy Recipe

Today I have a super easy recipe for you. It only includes three ingredients: a sweet Vidalia onion, butter and a beef bouillon cube. Mr. Price introduced this recipe to me soon after we were married. I have to admit I was quite skeptical at first. I love onions, but only used them to garnish or enhance a dish. I'd never eaten them all alone. Now my mouth just starts watering when I think of a tender, sweet, butter and bouillon flavored onion.






Here's the recipe.

Peel your sweet onion.

Slice the bottom just enough so it will sit upright on a microwavable plate.

Cut a hole in the top that is wide and deep enough for some butter and a bouillon cube.

Now layer a small amount of butter, bouillon cube and another dab of butter in the hole.

Cook your onion in the microwave for 4 to 5 minutes until tender and easy to cut with fork.

Enjoy all the juicy goodness!!

Weekend

Our wonderful weekend included...

a Good Friday Tenebrae service at Journey Church. This was the first Tenebrae service I have ever attended. Tenebrae is Latin for "darkness" or "shadows". The service usually takes place on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday or Holy Saturday. I think it was very meaningful that our service took place on Good Friday, as that day some 2,000 years ago was certainly a dark day. During the service seven candles are gradually extinguished while a series of readings or psalms are read. At Journey Church we recited the seven last words Jesus spoke. Throughout the service Mr. Price and the AWE (Acoustic Worship Experience) Band led the congregation in several praise songs. It was a great time of worship! You can view a few pictures of the service and the AWE band on my facebook page.

On Saturday a group of 10 girls from Journey Church met up at Valley View Grande Movie Theater to watch Soul Surfer. The movie is based on the inspirational true story of pro surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost an arm during a shark attack, but didn't lose her will to surf. I think it's a must-see movie. We all know movies that encourage Christian values are hard to find these days.

On Sunday it was another Easter at the Abbott's. The Abbott/Price family has been so thoughtful to include Mr. Price and me in many of their family get-togethers. You can view last year's Easter picnic here.

This year the weather was again perfect for dining outdoors. There was plenty of wonderful food and desserts to enjoy. The sun was blazing and there was an Easter egg hunt for the kiddos.

Mr. Price and I dream of having place like the Abbott's. I love how they always give God the glory for blessing them with a home to host family and friends.






How was your Easter? Please tell me, do you have any special traditions?

Links for your weekend

i haven't posted any inspirational links in several weeks! here are a few for you to dive into this weekend.

Did you know Martha Stewart was a model?

This video makes me wish I had of stuck with dancing.

Who doesn't love eating and a good view?

Need a new prayer routine? Try this.

One pretty cool DIY project.

My big 3-0 is coming up soon. I'd love to throw a party, but I'm getting bogged down thinking about when and where to have it. But I'm loving this party inspiration.

e-mealz

Do you dread figuring out what you'll eat for dinner?

Do you feel like you are eating the same meals over and over?

Does menu planning bore you?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, boy do I have something to show you. There's hope for all of us who like to cook, but dread all the planning and shopping that accompany it. Let me introduce you to E-mealz.

E-mealz is an online service that does all your menu planning so you can spend more time with family and less time in the grocery store aisles.

For only $5 a month, the talented team at E-mealz creates weekly dinner menus based on your grocery store's weekly specials. Not only do they provide the menu, but a shopping list categorized by aisle.

I have no problem paying $5 for someone else to scour the weekly grocery specials and then create a dinner menu. It's still saving me time and money!

Oh, and no need to worry if you are on a special diet. They have several plans to choose from, such as Low-Fat, Gluten Free, Portion Control, Vegetarian and Low Carb.

If you don't have a Kroger, Publix, Aldi, Walmart or Ralph's in your area, you can still save time and money by using their Any-Store meal plan.

After hearing about E-mealz from Dave Ramsey, Mr. Price and I decided to give it a shot. E-mealz requires you to buy a three month subscription, but you can cancel anytime before the next quarter to discontinue.

I've been pretty pleased with the service. The recipes are easy and not time consuming. Now that I am working two part-time jobs, I don't want to come home and cook a complicated meal. I haven't been crazy about every single recipe, but all in all I think it's a wonderful service and has been a great help!

If you decide to try E-mealz, please comment and let us know how you like it.

I LOVE

madewell


jcrew


emersonmade

STRIPES

lately, i've really been drawn to stripes. check out more of my faves at anthropologie, old navy, jcrew and loft. and loft again.