Weekend Recap - Day in DC

On Sunday we made a trip up to Washington DC. We picked up my brother, parked our car at Union Station, then walked over to the Capitol building. 

I was really happy to see all the trees were still full of colorful leaves! Fall came really late over here (I mean, we just started seeing the colors a couple of weeks ago!) so it made for some really nice pictures!

We spent some time walking around the Capitol, then we went in search of some lunch. The first place we were going to go to was closed, so my brother brought us over near Chinatown to eat. My mom, brother, and dad ate at Chopt, and my sister and I, who didn't really see anything we wanted there, went across the street to Chipotle. 

Anyways, after eating we walked down to the National Geographic Museum. My brother had been a few weeks ago and thought it was interesting, so we decided to check it out.

They had two exhibits: The Tomb of Christ and Titanic: The Untold Story. I found the Tomb of Christ to be kind of boring, it was mostly just watching a few short videos on a screen. I thought the Titanic was a little more interesting as there was different exhibits set up with stories from some of the passengers, items recovered from the wreckage, and several props, costumes, and sets from the Titanic movie.

After the museum was walked over by the White House.

These birds were just chilling on some bushes at Lafayette Square

Since it was Veteran's day, we made sure to stop by the war memorials. We missed the services that were held there, but we got to see all the wreaths that were left. And it was very moving seeing all of the mementos left at the wall at the Vietnam War memorial. It's just nice to see how many people still come to leave things to honor those who fought for our freedom.

Things Left Unsaid by Courtney Walsh Book Review

Things Left Unsaid by Courtney Walsh
Publisher description:
Lyndie St. James is thrilled that her best friend, Elle, is getting married but unprepared for the emotional storm of the wedding week and returning to her childhood summer home of Sweethaven. The idyllic cottage community harbors some of her best-and worst-memories. It's not only the tragic death of her childhood friend Cassie that has haunted her for ten years, it's the other secrets she's buried that have kept her from moving on.

But Lyndie isn't the only one with secrets. Cassie's mother, father and brother, still struggling with the loss, have been drifting further and further apart. And Elle herself, the last to see Cassie alive, carries an impossible burden of guilt. Not reunited, each of them has a choice: to reveal the truths of that night or continue to live in its shadow. That means embarking on a personal journey of the heart-to escape the darkness and all its regrets and to finally come to terms with the past and, especially, with each other.

I had a hard time with this book. I think it was mostly due to the fact the characters were so hard to connect with. Lyndie especially just came across as very unlikable for most of the book, and I figured out her secret pretty early on. 

Karen was probably the most identifiable to me. Her struggles with her marriage and her need to almost smother those around her seemed very real for someone having lost a child.

I felt myself getting a bit frustrated with each character. As in: why won't you just talk to someone about this? GO SEE A COUNSELOR OR SOMETHING! I can understand that sometimes it's hard to admit we have a problem or that something is wrong, but all of their issues were so big that it seemed weird that they couldn't see it.

Minor spoiler ahead:
I got extremely frustrated by the fact that Lyndie spent SO much of the book lamenting the fact that she just wanted Tucker to notice her when they were young, but after we learn what happened between them it was like, well he certainly noticed you! I couldn't understand how there was 'nothing' between them until the night Cassie died. Really?

I guess I was expecting something a little more. There's this huge secret surrounding Cassie's death and I guess maybe it's the Dateline watching/true crime junkie side of me that was expecting something more mysterious relating to Cassie's death. There just was a bit of a letdown once everyone's secrets were out. There was this buildup to a big moment and then sort of a letdown once it was all out.

This book is packed with emotion and maybe that was part of the problem for me. I am more logical and not one to base decisions on emotions, so it was hard to identify with that aspect of this book. I can certainly understand other people who are more emotional, it's just every emotion seemed so extreme here.

While I really like some of Courtney Walsh's other books, I'd recommend skipping this and going with Just Look Up.

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

Five for Friday

Hello and welcome to my Five for Friday! I am linking up with Cup of Tea , Bright on a Budget, Della Devoted, and BYBMG!

1. I finally bought a new Target bird. I wasn't going to buy one, but then I realized I don't have a Halloween one, and this one was pretty cute, so I figured why not?

2. We went to DC last weekend to see my brother and it was pretty much a bust. We were going to go to the natural history museum, but the line was so incredibly long (like out the building and down the street) that we ended up just leaving. So we decided to go to Georgetown, which was pretty much a nightmare. There was just SO many people! It was solid people all up and down the main area of town. We walked around for a while before leaving. I had brought my camera so I could take some pictures but I never got a chance to because everywhere was so crowded.

Needless to say it wasn't a fun day.

View from the parking garage at Union Station.

 Georgetown University.

3. I finally finished painting my bedroom. I had to do it in two phases since I had to move the furniture to one side of the room, paint that half, then move everything back to the painted side so I could paint the other half. It took some time but I really like how it turned out! I painted all of the trim as well which was quite a chore!

The lighting isn't very good in this picture, but you can kind of tell the color okay.

4. Thought I would share a handy tip I found on Pinterest. I was putting up a curtain rod in my room (which is literally a pain since I had to do it with just a screwdriver and there was four anchors I had to put in.) but if you fold a Post it note in half and place it under wherever you are using your screwdriver it will catch all the drywall mess!

5. In case you missed it, I shared a review of a new book by one of my favorite authors!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Royally in Trouble by Jenny B. Jones Book Review

Royally in Trouble by Jenny B. Jones
From back cover:
If an ex-popstar-turned-event planner can't find a Ren-faire killer, she may not survive the final act. 

As a former member of a popular girl-band, Paisley Sutton knows what it means to be in the spotlight. So after she takes on an event- planning gig for the new Sugar Creek Renaissance faire, she's counting on a smooth opening night. But when one of the cast is murdered, Paisley knows her event has gone lethally off-script. 

When her old flame Beau is named the prime suspect, Paisley enlists the help of her trigger-happy, ex-CIA grandmother and aunt. As she tries to keep the faire alive and fights off her matchmaking family, she uncovers secrets that might just get her killed. Can Paisley shine a light on the killer in time, or will the faire be her final curtain call?

I'm excited to talk about this book today because Jenny B. Jones is one of my favorite authors! I've read every one of her books (multiple times!) and really enjoyed them. This one was no different!

I really enjoyed the first book in the series, Engaged in Trouble, so I was excited to read the second book!

This book has it all. Mystery. Humor. Sass. Romance. And even a little bit of suspense!

Every single character (yes, even all the minor ones) in Ms. Jones's books are so well developed and interesting. I never once got confused over who was who. Paige is really fun and likable. I wish I knew a real life Beau! And don't even get me started on grandma Sylvie and Frannie! There were numerous times I was laughing about their antics!

Plot-wise this book had me from the very beginning. This was one of those books I didn't want to finish because I didn't want it to be over, but I also didn't want to put down because I had to know what was going to happen next!  

I had a different suspect in mind, so I was a bit surprised at who the killer ended up being. While I was a little disappointed it wasn't who I thought it was going to be, I was still pleased with the outcome.


Overall I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend buying the first book, Engaged in Trouble as well as Royally in Trouble. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for a review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.