Monthly Review: june

The months are flying by. And like many of the photos I take of our daughter, it's all a blur. The month of June was a busy one. Mr. Price and I traveled to Charlotte to attend a Gov't Mule concert. If you haven't heard of Gov't Mule, then you've most likely heard of their lead singer/guitarist Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers Band. The band plays a lot of covers, and they simply just rock it out!

Since Charlotte is half way to our hometown, I had my parents pick me and V up, and we spent a week visiting family in Georgia. Now that I think about it, I think almost everyone saw her this month.  Mr. Price's father and paternal grandparents made a visit to Virginia. And his mother babysat for us while we were at the concert with his brother.

Mr. Price celebrated his first Father's Day. I really wanted to spoil him, but we were so tired from our long trip back to Virginia the previous day, that we spent most of the day napping!  I was able to surprise him with a few gifts.

The last two days of the month were crazy. A strong windstorm blew through most of Virginia, causing the largest non-hurricane power outage in Virginia history. Mr. Price and I lost power at about 9 PM Friday, June 29th, and it did not come back on until Monday, July 2nd. We had two large trash bags of spoiled goods to take to the dump. A lot of our Trader Joe's food was wasted! All I can say is thank goodness for our emergency account, and caring church members. We are now adding a generator to the list of things we are saving up for!

With a power outage during a triple digit heat wave, July sure did get off to an interesting start. Wonder what else the month has in store. We'll be sure to update you soon!

Monthly Review: May 2012

Here's a re-cap of the month of May!

My mom and sister made a visit to see us and the babe. My sister had not seen her niece since she was born. We took a little drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped at one of the overlooks for a picnic. We also picked up some amazing cupcakes from Bubblecake to have a belated birthday celebration for my sister.

We finally started making recipes from the magazine Everyday Food. We have a gift subscription and have about four issues already. We've had some tasty dinners. And I learned from Design Mom that the magazine has daily recipe videos. You can read more about it here.

I celebrated my first Mother's Day. Mr. Price cooked a delicious breakfast for me that we ate on our fine china. He makes the best scrambled eggs.  He gifted me a Pinhole Press journal. I received several other Mother's Day wishes from family members, and even received a gift subscription for a Birchbox. Have you heard of it? It's a neat box filled with the latest and greatest beauty supplies. It shows up in your mailbox each month. A great little surprise. I even found a similar concepts for babies! They are called Stork Stacks. Read a review and see packaging and contents here.

Our babe also had visits from both sets of great-grandparents. And they both babysat for a short time while Mr. Price and I went out for a bite to eat. I'm still not very comfortable leaving our daughter.  But it is nice and needed to have some alone time with the hubby, even if I am thinking about her a lot!

Although I don't have any pictures to share, Memorial Day weekend was the best. I'm starting to love Saturdays. That's when Mr. Price is home all. day. long. Baby was so pleasant. We took a trip out to the creek and she slept from 9:30 pm to 5 am. Oh how I wish that was the norm!!

She has really become more vocal and mobile this month. She's rolled over a few times and had a few babbling monologues. It's so cute. I just wonder what she is trying to tell us.

I'm looking forward to the month of June when summer season officially arrives. We already have a few activities lined up. And V may just go for her first swim!

I LOVE Pinhole Press

images 
There's certainly no shortage of online companies that produce photo books, stationery and other items that show off your personal photos. But I'd have to say one of my favorites is Pinhole Press. I discovered the company while reading one of my favorite blogs - A Cup of Jo.

Pinhole Press offers unique, high-quality photo products. Martha Stewart even teamed up with the company to produce story books.

My Pinhole Press wish list includes a photo book, large day planner, photo magnet, photo journal and I'm crazy about the big book of names and faces.

Take a look at their site and let me know what you would add to the list!

A Neat Story

Today I'd like to share with you what I think is a pretty neat story. The picture below is my baby book. The baby book my mother and father kept for me. It was purchased just months before my birth during a trip my mom took to New York.









One day in June while working at 2nd helpings, I was dusting off some books to sell, and I came across a baby book. Not just any baby book. A Metropolitan Museum of Art baby book identical to mine. I just had to buy it.







I remember telling a co-worker, "I'm not pregnant, but I have to buy this baby book because it is the same one my mom kept for me."

Well little did I know, I WAS pregnant. The very next morning I took a pregnancy test. Since several previous months' tests came back negative, I wasn't expecting anything. But sure enough, on June 4th, the test displayed the word - pregnant!

I think coming across the baby book foreshadowed what I was about to learn. Now my daughter and I share matching baby books!

'bout time

we finally received a real winter snow!

A Temporary Hiatus

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!

This week we are celebrating the birth of our first child. We praise God for a comfortable pregnancy and a natural childbirth delivery.

This blog will be on a temporary hiatus as we transition into our new roles as parents!

Love,

The Price's

Roanoke City Guide

A Roanoke City Guide

STAY

Downtown



The historic Hotel Roanoke is probably the most well-known and most luxurious hotel in Roanoke. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel. This Tudor-style hotel and conference center is located in the heart of downtown Roanoke and can be seen as you drive by I-581. Its location makes it convenient to walk to many of the shops and restaurants in the downtown area. The guest rooms feature many standard amenities such as ironing board/iron, hair dryer, Wolfgang Puck coffee, flat screen TVs and Internet access. The hotel has a couple options for on-site dining and room service. Their Sunday and holiday buffets are popular with the locals and might be worth checking out even if you do not choose to stay there during your visit.

Northside/Airport

There are a string of hotels located near the Roanoke Airport and the major shopping area.

I've heard that the Best Western is very nice and some rooms have mini refrigerators. Other hotels in this area include:

Hyatt Place

Mainstay Suites


Southwest County

Comfort Suites Inn

Hampton Inn

Holiday Inn

If a Bed and Breakfast is more your style, I've found two online that look suitable.

Maridor Bed and Breakfast certainly looks classy. Each time I drive by I always admire this estate, and was happy to learn that it was in fact a B&B. It is located in the Raleigh Court neighborhood near Grandin Village. Guest rooms feature queen or king sized bedding with private baths. Suites also offer private porches.

Brugh's Inn is a little more quaint. It is located in Salem in the southwest part of Roanoke County. Although the inn is located near a few large businesses and industries, the landscaping provides enough seclusion and privacy for guests. There are three guest rooms each with their own private bath. You can arrange to use the kitchen and laundry if discussed in advance with the owners.

EAT and DRINK

Fine Dining


For years Carlos Brazilian has been voted one of the best places to eat in Roanoke. Carlos is usually the place we go to celebrate a special occasion. And we normally insist that our family members go when they visit. Not only do they serve traditional Brazilian cuisine, but also delicious fish, chicken and steak entrees. Be sure to save room for dessert prepared by Bobby Amaral, an award winning pastry chef. Reservations are recommended. Ask to be seated in the Olinda Room with the windows (pictured above). Plan to arrive just before sunset, and you will be sure to have a fabulous and memorable evening! Carlos also has lunch hours.

Other fancy schmancy places we've heard are very good, but have not personally tried are:

Table 50

Frankie Rowland's

Shula's 347

Other great local (and more casual) dining establishments include

Local Roots - As the name suggests, Local Roots is farm-to-table restaurant. Their menu is mostly comprised of foods that are in season, and ingredients are provided by local farmers. We've only been to their Sunday Brunch, but Local Roots now offers lunch a few days of the week as well as supper most nights. Reservations are encouraged.

Rock Fish

On the Rise - is a bread bakery and a nice place to eat lunch if you are shopping in the Market Square. They serve paninis, sandwiches, pizza and desserts.

Grace's Place Pizzeria - Located in Grandin Villiage. This restaurant has a great pizza joint atmosphere. I love their bruschetta!

Thelma's Chicken and Waffles - Also located in the downtown Market Square. Offers great Southern food! Enjoy the traditional chicken and waffles dinner, or just a vegetable plate.

Wildflour Market and Bakery- Great atmosphere. An old grocery store was transformed into a lovely restaurant featuring fine artwork. Wildflour is also know for their assortment of desserts.

Cafe Asia is in Bonsack. It features a variety of Asian food including sushi.

Ben Gui - We've heard this restaurant is the place to go for sushi.

Allsports Cafe - Sports lovers this is your bar! Great wings!

Last but not least - 2nd helpings Cafe which is owned by the Rescue Mission of Roanoke. This is a fabulous place to eat and visit. The cafe features Boar's Head Meats for sandwiches and wraps, excellent soups and decadent desserts made by long-time baker, Georgia Crump.

Chain Restaurants

The two chain restaurants we enjoy and recommend are Cheddar's and Chipotle!

For Your Sweet Tooth

Of course cupcake bakeries are quite the trend these days, and there a couple to choose from in Roanoke.

Bubble Cake - now in two locations near Grandin Village and West Roanoke

Viva La Cupcake - in Grandin Village

Blue Collar Joe's is a must-see. The original bakery is located in Daleville, about 15 minutes from Roanoke, but well worth the trip. They specialize in gourmet donuts. They just opened a downtown location in the new Patrick Henry Hotel that I am dying to go check out. We think the donut prices are very reasonable.

THINGS TO DO

Roanoke is located in a valley surrounded by mountains, so taking in the beautiful scenery is a must. You can do this by hiking or traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway.



Popular hiking trails near Roanoke:

McAfee's Knob

Dragons Tooth

Tinker Cliffs

Sharp Top

If cruising the countryside in a car is more your style, try taking a leisurely drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are several locations to access the parkway from Roanoke.

Popular Stops along the parkway are Peaks of Otter (mile post 86), Mabry Mill (176.1), Chateau Morrisette Winery (171.5) and Floyd County.


There are also several places worth visiting inside the Roanoke city limits.


View art exhibits at the Taubman Museum of Art.

Visit 2nd helpings - an upscale thrift store, art gallery and cafe all in one location!

Tour the grounds, and get a behind the scenes look at the largest rescue mission in Virginia. Tours of the Rescue Mission of Roanoke are given every Monday at noon.

Visit the Virginia Museum of Transportation

Take in lovely views of the valley while sipping on award-winning wine at Valhalla Vineyards

A visit to Roanoke wouldn't be complete without viewing the valley from Mill Mountain. At night you can see the Mill Mountain Star. Children might also enjoy the Mill Mountain Zoo.

Have a picnic or take a walk/run through one of Roanoke's many parks and greenways.

SHOPPING

Of course Roanoke has your typical metro-area shopping stores. There are two malls, Target, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Kohls, Micheal's, Jo Ann's Fabrics, Walmart, Lowes, etc. These stores are convenient, but be sure to check out some locally owned stores you won't find anywhere else.

Downtown

One of the main attractions in the downtown area is the City Market. It is currently being renovated, but usually features three blocks of vendors who offer everything from local produce, flowers, and photography to hand-made soap. Outside this farmers' market you will find locally owned gift shops, clothing stores and restaurants.

Walkabout Outfitters - products for your camping, hiking and other outdoor needs. They supply big name brands such as Vibram Five Fingers, Merrell, Bogs, Chaco and Teva.

Chocolate Paper - This is a fun store for gifts and fine chocolate.

Ladles and Linens specializes in fine kitchen and gourmet cooking supplies.

310 Rosemont is a hip clothing boutique.
A complete list of retail shopping the downtown Roanoke can be found here.
Antiques

If browsing antiques is more of your thing, then Roanoke will not disappoint. There are several great antique stores throughout the city and in nearby Salem. Black Dog Salvage and Old Salem Mercantile are two of my favorite.

Black Dog Salvage must be worth the visit if Nate Berkus featured the store on his hit design show. Check out the episode here. The store re-purposes commercial and architectural elements such as mantles, doors and wrought iron. It also features a 40,000 square-foot space called the Marketplace which houses home, garden and other antiques from a variety of local vendors. It is sure to be a unique shopping experience.

Old Salem Mercantile Items from more than 50 vendors that specialize in hand-made, re-purposed and gently used items. I'm always able to find something I want here.

The streets of Salem are lined with local antique, gift and clothing shops. You could spend several hours here just browsing the area. Click here for a list of things to do in Salem.

West Roanoke

West Village and Promenade Park are two shopping plazas located near Tanglewood Mall.

The West Village is home to Olivito and another Chocolate Paper location. Olivitio is a new store that carries high quality olive oils and balsamic vinegars. There are several other retail stores, a spa and restaurants in West Village. Click here to check out the other attractions.

Our Little Cherubs is an upscale babies and children's clothing boutique located in Promenade Park shopping mall just across the street from West Village. Another fun attraction in this plaza is Roanoke's only pottery painting and glass fusing studio, Glazed Bisque-it.

Provisions and RSVP share one location directly across from Tanglewood Mall. It is one of my favorite stores. It features upscale kitchen items, home accessories and elegant paper accessories. Love.this.store!

Grandin Village

Grandin Village is nestled in a quaint Roanoke neighborhood just two miles from downtown Roanoke. It has retail shopping, restaurants and an old renovated movie theater. The Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op is a unique grocery store that is worth the visit.

January: a monthly review

Here's a look back at the month of January.

This has been a very mild winter for everyone. Today, February 1st, the high may reach 66 degrees. We did receive a dusting of snow earlier in the month.



Since it has been so highly recommended that we take date nights after becoming parents, Mr. Price and I thought, "Why wait?" We tried a new-to-me Japanese restaurant - Sakura.



Within one week I had three baby showers, hosted by these lovely people:

Our Price Family.





My friends and co-workers at 2nd helpings.




My Journey church family.



I experimented with baking.



We celebrated a family member's birthday with breakfast at the Cracker Barrel. I think breakfast is my favorite meal of the day!



I finally started taking some baby bump photos.



We are getting organized for baby to arrive....any day now!

Plans for the nursery

Baby Price's nursery will continue to be a work in progress. As you will see, I do not have a decorating bone in my body. Plus I've just been concentrating on getting together the basic necessities. I don't think Baby Price is really concerned about having a fully decorated bedroom. Here's what we have so far.

ART

The artwork displayed in the nursery has all been purchased at the 2nd helpings art gallery. The two works of art on either side of the window were created by Chris Campbell. Chris is a man with Down syndrome. He uses color pencils and sharpie markers to incorporate Bible verses into brightly colored graphics. He custom-made these two pieces for me!




The second piece is a photograph by Dwight Hayes. I'd have to say this photograph is probably one of the most popular pieces in the gallery. I found the subject - a lamb - and title of the piece - Innocence - to be quite fitting for a nursery.



Other artsy/crafty things I plan for the nursery are to create shadow boxes with mementos. We already have the boxes hanging above the changing table. I hope to include photos, sonogram pictures, footprints and other hospital mementos in them.



TEXTILES

Right now we have some really stylish (hehe) blackout fabric hanging from the windows. I tried to find some grey and yellow fabric to construct some no-sew curtains, but haven't had any luck yet. Wouldn't you know that I was drawn to the super expensive fabric? Maybe I'll have more luck later, but for now, the blackout fabric is serving its purpose well. The room gets lots of sunlight during the day!


So that's our starting point. I'll be sure to post more pictures as we get things arranged.

38 Weeks

Favorite Links For Your Weekend

I peruse a lot of blogs during the week. Sometimes it's not the best use of my time, but I love it! I occasionally also like to share my favorite links from these blogs. Here's the first favorite links post of 2012. Hope you enjoy your weekend!

:: I love quality (read: expensive) beauty products. But of course they're not something I can enjoy on a regular basis. JCrew's casting manager put together a nice little post of products that work wonders during the winter. Click here to check 'em out. Design Mom also featured beauty products that won't break the bank. Click here to check out the less expensive options.

:: I don't know if it's the "nesting" hormone, or just my nerves, but I am so ready to get this apartment organized and clutter free!! We have a problem with clutter. Please don't ever show up to our casa without calling first. We'll need to straighten up. I was thinking of enrolling in this Clutter Free Course. The benefits they talk about truly inspire me!

:: We've got a baby on the way. In just a matter of four short weeks our lives will be changed forever. We've all heard the phrase "A baby changes everything." I'm quite interested to find out how our marriage is going to change. We are excited to be having a new addition to our family, but we still want to keep our family marriage-centered versus child-centered. It's been recommended to us by several people to do our best to take time for date nights, and some alone time. This blogger features lots of good information for women on how to keep marriage a top priority.

:: Do I need to tell anyone that it's cold and flu season. It seems as though many people have already experienced it first hand this season. I know Mr. Price and I have. We're slowly getting better. I've been opting for more natural remedies than over the counter medications. I've recently read that garlic is a great natural treatment. Almost every article I found on the Internet suggested taking garlic, as well as zinc and Vitamin C. Of course their effects aren't proven. Here's a link about natural cold and flu remedies, but I hope you won't need to refer to it.

2012

HAPPY
NEW
YEAR!

The beginning of 2012 is bringing us frigid temps! It's not supposed to get much warmer than 29 degrees today. We finally got our first taste of snow. Although its not much to rave about, just a light dusting. Here's the view from our living room window:

A Christmas Date

On Friday evening we had a Christmas date! Since we never found the time to go pick out a Christmas tree this year, we decided to go view the 25 Christmas trees that the Hotel Roanoke had on display.

Each year local businesses decorate Christmas trees and display them throughout the hotel's large lobby and conference space to raise money for United Way. As visitors pass through the hotel, they have the opportunity to vote on their favorite tree by paying to vote. Talk about some elaborate trees! Most were so heavily decorated that you couldn't recognize there was a tree underneath.













More scenes from the hotel.




Mr. Price suggested I take the following two pictures.



After quickly browsing through the lobby, we headed to Carrabba's for a special Christmas dinner. (Thanks B B!) I love gifts that help create fun experiences and lasting memories. I don't think I will forget sharing this decadent triple chocolate fudge bread pudding dessert with the person I love the most! Oh my!



Could this pregnant woman be any happier?