A Beautiful Day Downtown!

On Sunday, I spent the day in downtown Annapolis with my parents. We had a delicious lunch near the water and then walked around and explored areas that I had never seen before. While roaming the streets we came across a few lovely shops and cafes that I couldn't help but snap a few pics of! (Although I must admit that the above picture of the street was actually taken by my dad.) 

While exploring downtown my mom and I came across this art gallery filled with work from local artists. I've always wished I was artistically talented whether it be through drawing, painting, photography or some obscure talent like milk jug decorating. (Okay maybe not that.)

But seriously, almost my entire family has incredible artistic talent. My grandma and my uncle are both professional artists and a good amount of other family members are pretty darn artistic in their downtime. I mean, I've always liked to write but it's not quite the same. Sometimes I like to trick myself into believing I'm artistic by copying DIY projects from Pinterest   step by step then insisting that the creativity was all me.

After looking around the art gallery we found this coffee shop with a sofa in the display window for people. (Those are my parents on the sofa in the picture to the left.) It was a tad strange drinking our iced coffees while being on display but it was also a lot of fun. It was a great spot for people watching, and was also quite comfy!

My favorite discovery of the day was this bookstore/cafe combo! We stumbled upon this used bookstore and I had never been happier. The inside is filled with books from floor to ceiling and there's even a basement filled with more and more books. The backyard is a magical garden of wonder where you can sit and enjoy your coffee while reading. There was a children's area, cute signs all over the place and a bunch of random sitting areas. I would live in this shop if that were a possibility. 

After spending a good hour in this bookstore/coffee shop we walked around a bit more and spent some time in a cool pottery store looking at all of the amazing mugs, trays, vases,  and bowls (you name it, they had it). They had designed so many crab themed items, as we do in Maryland, and in the end my mom bought five crab shaped butter dishes. Yep, butter dishes. 

The lunch was excellent, the weather was beautiful, and the adventure was successful. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and it was made all the better when we ran into this perfect dog. (Don't worry we asked the owners of we could pet him and take pictures!) This picture doesn't do the dog justice - he was so big! Nothing makes a day better like seeing adorable animals out and about.

I hope for many more days like this one filled with books, dogs, and magnificent environments.
Until next time,
Dana :)

10 books on my TBR list for the summer!

So many pages, so little time! I must admit that I am somewhat of a bibliophile- I buy books much faster than I can read them (especially while I am in school). But what with summer coming up, I hope to have a little more time and a few more nights to take a couple of hours to dive into a book. Throughout my pile of books I found 10 (well 9 and one preview) that I really want to enjoy this summer!

And yes- there is somewhat of a YA adventure/fantasy theme to this list, but there are a few that go outside this genre.

1. Confess by Colleen Hoover

Oh Colleen Hoover. Her stores enthrall me, irritate me, and consume my attention until the moment I finish the last page. The characters and relationships are always relatable, and there's always some major twist that turns the story upside down. I don't really know what this story is about yet but odds are I'll read it in one day.
(New Adult story)

2. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby

I watched this movie on Netflix and quite enjoyed it. It's about 4 people who have all hit some sort of low in their life. They meet each other and their stories unravel from there. This is one of the few books on this list that isn't in the YA category. 

3. Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler's autobiography! Who wouldn't want to read about such a kickass woman? And yes - my copy is signed. I'm not too sure what to expect with this book but I'm pretty sure I can expect laughs and some great advice.

4. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Now, this is the 6th and final book in The Mortal Instruments series, and I have had this book in my TBR pile since it came out about a year ago. I have a lot of trouble reading the last book in a series that I really enjoy because once you're done the story is OVER. It's too much to handle. But I am determined to overcome this struggle this summer. 

5. Burying Water by K.A. Tucker

I don't know much about this book but it kept coming up on my recommended books list whenever I bought a Colleen Hoover book. Also K.A. Tucker is going to be at BookCon which I have tickets to this year! I'm set on reading a few books by authors going to BookCon that I don't know before I get there.

6. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Another book that I don't know much about! My brother's girlfriend gave me this series to read and we typically have very similar taste in books. I wish I could say more but I really am going into this series without knowing anything. 

7. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell 

Fangirl is another book that has been in my TBR pile for a while. I read Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell and really enjoyed how sweet and real it was. I bought Fangirl because the protagonist's situation seemed quite a bit like mine. As soon as I'm in the mood for a contemporary story this summer this is the first one I'll pick up.

8. The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

This is the second book in Richelle Mead's Bloodlines series. Her Bloodline's series is a spinoff of The Vampire Academy series which was one of the most fun, most agonizing (in a good way...?) series I have ever read. I really want to get into this spinoff series but I just haven't had the free time that I want to focus on them.

9. Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Again, no idea what this is about - but I've seen a lot of people reading this and enjoying it. Actually I wasn't going to buy it at all but I was at Barnes and Noble one day and the cover was just so lovely and pink. So I bought it. (I wish I could insert an emojii here because I would totally add the one of the girl shrugging with her hand up at her side.)

10. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

And last but not least, An Ember in the Ashes! The promotion for this book was on point because I first saw it in an issue of Cosmopolitan, then throughout booktube, and then I found this free preview featured in Barnes and Noble. Of course I bought it because who doesn't love a love story set in a fantasy world reminiscent of ancient Rome?

I really hope I can stick to this summer goal! Some of these books have been on my TBR list for far too long, especially City of Heavenly Fire. 

(Also, side note, yes I like fish statues.)

-Dana :)