Lavender Farm Visit

Back in June my mom and I visited a local lavender farm. To prevent overcrowding, you had to reserve a time slot online. We weren't quite sure what to expect from this farm as we had never visited before, but since my mom loves lavender, we thought it would be a fun thing to do considering how long we've been stuck in the house!

After arriving and checking in, we were a little put off by how expensive it was to pick lavender. It was $8 for a single 1-inch key ring size bunch. (Compared to the lavender farm we went to in Idaho where it was $5 for huge bundles.)

The field seemed pretty picked over, but my mom was able to pick 2 bunches while I managed to take quite a few pictures. There were so many bumble bees as well as butterflies and moths flying around it made for some nice pictures.

Have you ever visited a lavender farm?

Five for Friday

Hello and welcome to my Five for Friday! Today I am linking up with Andrea!

1. I always enjoy flowers from Trader Joe's and this was my latest bouquet. There is just something so nice about having a bouquet of flowers around!

2. Hurricane Isaias came through last week and we lost power for about 30 hours which was frustrating! There were a lot of trees down and I believe there were 300,000 people in Virginia without power.

Obviously losing power isn't such a big deal, it's just the not having A/C that's hard! And also the thought of losing everything in the fridge and freezer. We ended up being fine, but we were really pushing it with the freezer. If we'd gone any longer without power we probably would have lost everything.

3. I made macarons a couple of weeks ago and they turned out really good! I used a different recipe and they were much better than the ones I had made in the past. I did a cookie dough filling in some of them and funfetti for the others!

4. If you're using Blogger, what do you think of the new design? I hate it when sites suddenly change things, so it's going to take me a very long time to get used to it. For the most part it's not too different, but there are quite a few things that are really annoying me. 

5. In case you missed it, on Monday I shared my July Photo A Day Pictures, and then on Wednesday I shared a review of the book Everywhere to Hide by Siri Mitchell!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Everywhere to Hide by Siri Mitchell Book Review

Everywhere to Hide by Siri Mitchell
How can she protect herself from an enemy she can’t see?

Law school graduate Whitney Garrison is a survivor. She admirably deals with an abusive boyfriend, her mother’s death, mounting student debt, dwindling job opportunities, and a rare neurological condition that prevents her from recognizing human faces.

But witnessing a murder might be the crisis she can’t overcome.

The killer has every advantage. Though Whitney saw him, she has no idea what he looks like. He knows where she lives and works. He anticipates her every move. Worst of all, he’s hiding in plain sight and believes she has information he needs. Information worth killing for. Again.

As the hunter drives his prey into a net of terror and international intrigue, Whitney’s only ally, Detective Leo Baroni, is taken off the case. Stripped of all semblance of safety, Whitney must suspect everyone and trust no one—and hope to come out alive.


First off, wow. I really enjoyed this book! I almost never rate anything as a 5 star because I can usually find something I don't like (My only real criticism is that I hate the cover. I mean, this is a book about someone with facial blindness. So why are we featuring a cover with faces? But I digress.) and while I did think Whitney kind of came across as almost robotic and not very personable (I found the characters in this author's previous book to be the same way.) I will still say I liked her. I just didn't have a real connection to Whitney.

I have a vague knowledge of cryptocurrency and I thought the author did a great job explaining it all. I didn't have any issues keeping up with the plot and what was going on. It's almost eerie how closely this book follows actual current events!

I really appreciated the fact that Leo was protective of Whitney without being overbearing/borderline coercive-controlling like 75% of other males in Christian books. I thought they had a good relationship and I appreciated the fact that the plot took center stage instead of the romance. I get really annoyed with a lot of books (Christian fiction especially) that start out with a great plot but they focus so much on the romance that the suspense aspect loses out and it ends up being all about the romance.

The plot is complex and unique and one that definitely keeps you guessing! Generally I can figure plots out very early on and while I did figure out who the bad guy was, there was much more to the plot than just that. The author reveals just enough about the plot throughout so you are figuring things out along with Whitney instead of way before if that makes sense. 

I thought Whitney's face blindness was an interesting aspect to the story. At first I was afraid it was going to detract from the narrative since we don't get facial descriptions, but it was very well done to the point that, after a while, I didn't even notice. 

In closing, if you are looking for a easy, light read, this is not for you. There is a lot of fact and information and complexity to the plot which I enjoy but know is not for everyone. Overall a very well don't book and I can't wait to see what this author writes next!

Everywhere to Hide releases October 6, 2020!

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.