#BookWorm: The Light Between Oceans

Hello fellow readers,

I am so lucky to have found such great reads this summer! The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman was my most recent pick, as I had heard from many how good it was. Let me start off by saying yes, I enjoyed this book, however it was not what I expected. It took place back in the early 1900s in Australia. The main characters, Tom the lighthouse keeper and his wife Isabel, find a boat washed up to shore with a man and a baby inside. The man isn't alive, but the baby is. The book deals with their ethical dilemma of what to do with the baby, and why they have such a hard time deliberating on what to do. The book goes back and forth between their lives together, how they met, and when they found the boat. The plot kind of teeters off in the middle, constantly going back and forth between, should we keep this baby or not? So that got a little repetitive. Otherwise I liked the beginning and ending, but the middle was just the same thing happening to me.

Overall I think this writer is really talented. Their research on Australia was interesting, as I didn't know much of Australia's history or information about lighthouse keepers. The characters frustrated me, especially Isabel, but when you're reading there are times where you are feeling for everyone. Worth the read, but not as amazing as I had expected it to be. They are however making it a movie, which will be interesting and I think worth the watch. The movie is set to come out in the US in September 2016, but we will see how many theaters it appears in. Rating? 7/10.

Digging my way through stacks of books, I've come across some great ones this year and am excited for the rest of my stack to dwindle down if only for another reason to head back to the library again. I have a few good ones on my list coming up including All the Light We Cannot See and  After You (which made it's way onto my list per request of some DHTBB frequent readers so we will see ho it goes!) Have you read The Light Between Oceans? What were your thoughts?

Thanks for reading with me,
- Olivia

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things: Wilmington, NC

Hello everyone!

Over the Fourth of July weekend we went to Wilmington, North Carolina for a family vacation. Madi and I had already been here once before we moved to NC in 2013. At that time, we basically spent the whole time finding One Tree Hill and Dawson's Creek locations (see the post here).  If you're a fan of either show, you have to go. It's incredible how much you can see. And it makes it more fun when you go back and watch the shows again after you come back from your trip! This time, we got to see more of the actual city and did some pretty fun stuff! Below is what I would recommend to do if you take a trip to Wilmington!

1) Hollywood Location Walk
We did this in 2013, and although it's cheesy, you get to learn a lot about the movie making process and see just how many movies and TV shows are filmed in Wilmington (FYI it's A LOT).

2) Hell's Kitchen
Basically a bar, but their tacos are dang good. They also have the boat from Dawson's Creek hanging in the bar!

3) Airlie Gardens
What a hidden gem. I wish we would have gone here in 2013 with cooler weather, but I still loved it. Beautiful flowers, a cute little butterfly garden, beach glass sculptures, and a gorgeous area that looks like it was abandoned which they use a lot in Dawson's Creek and a few times in One Tree Hill.

4) UNC-Wilmington
Also a surprising find. We had gone here in 2013, but I did not realize how big the campus is! We only saw the front portion that is up against College Road but it goes back so much farther than I had realized! Gorgeous campus.

5) Mahanaim Adventures
This is a family owned kayaking group that has many different course options, but we did the Cape Fear River. If you haven't kayaked before, it was intense here. The boats create bumpy water and the wind the day we went was 25 knots once we got out. Yeah it was difficult paddling against that. My arms still won't forgive me. But it was beautiful. They provided a nice little dinner and snacks once we got to the island before we paddled back. If you like to kayak, go with them!

6) Wrightsville Beach

Of course, 4th of July weekend it was SUPER crowded. But it is a gorgeous beach. Especially middle of May when no one is there like when we went in 2013! 

Overall Wilmington is such a gorgeous place. Downtown is adorable with lots of cute shops and places to eat. But these were my top favorite things. Have you ever been there? What were your favorite parts? We did have some fails, including a place called Flaming Amy's Bowl which didn't make anyone sick but wasn't what we had expected either. I'm not sure if the chicken was legit or not... Anyways onto our next adventure!

Thanks for keeping up with us,

- Olivia :)

#BookWorm: Orphan Train

Hello fellow readers,

OH boy guys. I just finished the book Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. All I can say is WOW. People actually went through things like this. And currently go through modern day versions of this. Blows my freaking mind how blessed I am with the life I live. That is all I can say after reading this and reading White Oleander. Wow. So what is this book about you may ask? It's about a girl named Molly who gets into trouble because she stole a library book. She has to do community service hours, and her foster parents have just about had it, but decide to give her a chance to complete her hours before making any drastic moves. Molly's boyfriend Jack sets her up with an opportunity to help a ninety-one year old lady unpack and get rid of items in her old mansion. While helping Vivian go through the items, Molly finds out each one has a special meaning and memory attached to it. Hearing Vivian's story changes both of their lives forever.

This book was semi-predictable. But there were times of unpredictability as well. It kept me interested, going back and forth between present day and the past, as well as the lovable characters. The ending was kind of anti-climactic, but it was a good book nonetheless. Overall I'd say it's an 8.5/10. It really makes you count your blessings. Hearing the things some people go through in their lifetime can really make me think twice and appreciate things in my life more. Definitely a recommended read.

What did you think of Orphan Train? Did you find it to be an eye-opener too? Let me know, I would love to hear!

Thanks for reading with me,

- Olivia :)

DIY Patriotic Baking

Hello everyone!

Hope you all had a happy Fourth of July! With the 4th spirit last weekend, my younger siblings and I got to baking on a rainy day and came up with some patriotic treats! Here's what we made:

1) Star Shaped Brownies
Basically make regular brownies, and use a star cookie cutter to cut it. This was difficult and they don't like to stay together, but they turned out super cute! A tip would be to make them on the thinner side.

2) Flag Cupcakes
This was a super cute and super easy idea. We made funfetti cupcakes (hint add an extra egg to make them more delicious). Then we took regular frosting and used a frosting tip to make it come out neatly.

3) Chocolate Covered Oreos
Melt whatever kind of chocolate you want, either white chocolate, red morsel chocolates, or blue morsel chocolates. We then used decorative icing to decorate the cookies, but you could use different colored melted chocolates to make designs as well, it just may be more difficult.

There are so many different ideas, but I found these to be pretty easy and cute! What other ideas have you seen for patriotic treats? Let me know! I always love to try new things :) We had a great long weekend in Wilmington, NC. More coming up soon about my favorite things to see, do and eat in this great city soon!

- Olivia :)

#BookWorm: Wilde Lake

Hello fellow readers,

On my last trip to the library I went in to pick up three reserved books and came out with five books and a movie. Can you tell I have a hard time just picking up a couple of books? I found some great reads, and new-to-me authors that I am looking forward to exploring! Our library has a sections called "Lucky Day" reads. Basically new and popular books that you can't reserve online, and can only keep for a day. This pushed back Orphan Train on my list, but I actually was glad I picked this new read up! It's called Wilde Lake by Laura Lippman who is a NYT Bestselling Author, yet I have never read anything by her. I LOVE finding reads like this because now I want to read her other books! Anywho, about the book. So Wilde Lake is about a lady name Lu, who is a lawyer just like her dad. It goes back and forth between present and past, which I liked, and there are three cases that she is trying to figure out, all which end up involving people she knows including her older brother AJ. When Lu becomes a new state attorney, she gets a new murder case dropped into her lap about a man who went to her high-school that murdered what appears to be a random woman for unknown reasons. As she digs into the case she finds out more about her past, and things in her life begin to change.


This book, while an easy read, kept me interested. There was a little too much cheating and sexual stuff in it for my liking, but besides that the plot was interesting! I've never read Laura Lippman before, so I was unsure what to expect, but I would read her again! It wasn't the best mystery I had ever read, some predictability to it, but overall I couldn't guess the ending from the start. I would rate it a 7.5/10. Not amazing, but pretty darn good for a random find!

My stack of reads has grown, and I am trying to take more time to read at night if I can keep my eyes open! I'm hoping to spend more time reading throughout the summer and dwindle my list down again! Have  you all read anything by this author? Or have any other mystery/thriller books you love? Let me know! I'd love to add them to my ever-growing list!

Thanks for reading with me,
- Olivia :)