#4.5: Read 25 New Books – Code Name Verity

Surprise, I read another book! A couple months ago I read Rose Under Fire, and when I realized it had a companion novel, I knew I had to read it.

"When 'Verity' is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. They'll get the truth out of her, but it won't be what they expect.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure, and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from a merciless and ruthless enemy?

Harrowing and beautifully written, Code Name Verity is a visceral read of danger, resolve, and survival that reveals just how far true friends will go to save each other. The bondage of war will never be as strong as the bonds forged by the unforgettable friendship in this extraordinary tale of fortitude in the face of the ultimate evil"

Although it took me a while to get into this book, I really enjoyed it. The plot twist towards the end is so unexpected, and it broke my heart. I couldn't finish it fast enough, and I really recommend it. I really liked that I was able to delve a bit more into the world of Rose Under Fire. Two thumbs up, for sure.

#3.2: Make 20 Recipes From Pinterest – Snickerdoodle Waffles

Can you believe it's already May? Where does the time even go?

This past Sunday was Mother's Day. I had been putting off buying a gift for my mom all week, as I wasn't sure what she'd like, and I decided at the last minute to cook breakfast for her and the rest of my family (it's the thought that counts, right?). After scouring over the Internet for a bit, I found this recipe through Pinterest. Waffles are always popular at our house, so I thought these would be perfect.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 TB sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup warm milk
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1tsp cinnamon

For the Topping

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cinnamon

Preheat waffle maker.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Beat eggs in a separate bowl.

Pour in the melted butter…

...vanilla and almond extracts, and milk. Mix well.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, and mix.

Add the cinnamon, and, once again, mix.

You're now ready to add to your waffle maker!

While the waffles are cooking, mix together the cinnamon and sugar in a dish.

Put the butter in a pan or on a plate. Make sure it's big enough to fit the waffles.

When a waffle is done, first dip it in the butter…

…and then in the cinnamon/sugar mix.

Voila! This recipe made 7 waffles with my waffle maker, but this can obviously vary depending on your waffle maker. 

The verdict? These were amazing! We polished them off throughout the day, and will definitely make them again sometime. It took about an hour and 15 minutes from start to finish, which may seem like a long time, but it didn't bother me. I enjoyed it and had a lot of fun.

Washington DC 2014

Happy Monday, friends! I can't believe it's been so long since I've last written. These last few weeks have been fairly uneventful – which I guess is why I haven't posted in so long. I've sort of fallen out of my reading routine, which makes me sad, so I'm hoping to start that up again. That'll give me some new material to write about.

Anyway, I wanted to share my recent trip to Washington DC! This past week was Spring Break for my brother and I, and we spent it in the nation's capitol. We stayed with my mom's cousin and her husband, who had just moved to DC in August. He's a physician with the state department, and they are usually stationed overseas at different embassy locations. They've lived in Mexico, Greece, Ethiopia, and South Africa. I'm jealous, too.

We spent Friday traveling. On Saturday, we watched the cherry blossom parade and competed in the DC Challenge, which was basically a big photo scavenger hunt, with our relatives. It was fun, although I was completely unaware that it was a race. As in, you have to run. As in, I almost had a heart attack and died right on the National Mall. As in, I was thisclose to vomiting everywhere. We ran upwards of 9 miles in an hour and a half, which was challenging, to say the least. Also, I was so focused on how much I hated running and how hard it was, I wasn't paying attention to the cherry blossoms, which was a mistake, as a storm wiped them out before we were able to see them again. Woohoo for rambling sentences.

On Sunday, my brother and I woke up bright and early and headed off to church. St. Patrick's, which is located in the midst of skyscrapers and office buildings, was built in 1792 to serve those building the White House. HISTORY IS COOL. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take any pictures of the inside.

Afterwards, we headed up to Mount Vernon.

18th century poop holes

The blacksmith was really good looking, whoopsies.

Shoutout to this girl who walked right in on my shot

Slave cabin

16 sided barn

These pictures really did not do the Potomac justice.

We took a tour and got to go in the greenhouse. They served us punch, nbd.

We went to the zoo on Monday. However, we only ended up staying about an hour. It was so packed we weren't able to see anything, and all the screaming children were really getting to me.

I did manage to take a couple pictures, though!

A house spotted on our walk back from the zoo. I thought it was cute. I'd love to live in a place like this.

We went to the art museum instead. I took one picture before I saw that photography was prohibited. 

We then took a walking tour with our cousin Rachel. It started at Ford's Theatre, and took us to various places around the city that all had to do with the Lincoln assassination. The tour was really well done. An actor portraying a detective who led the investigation way back when took us to all the locations, and described everything as if it were happening right then. I wanted to do this on Monday specifically, as it was the anniversary of the shooting,

The Petersen House, which is where Lincoln died. 

Our wonderful tour guide.

The back of Ford's Theatre

A hotel that catered to Southern sympathizers.

Tuesday was pouring, so we decided to hit a few museums. We first. toured the Air and Space museum for a little over an hour

Amelia Earhart's jacket. I'm obsessed with her, she was amazing.

After Air and Space we went to this little restaurant called the Protein Bar. We walked by it Monday night while doing the walking tour, and it looked amazing so I made sure we stopped there. I had a quinoa black bean bowl, and my brother had a chicken burrito. Delish.

Then, we went back to Ford's Theatre to tour the inside of it. 

There was this amazing street musician we saw while waiting in line. 

But, like, can we talk about how bangin' this guy was? So what if he was a co-conspirator to one of the most horrific moments in American history? He looks like a Greek god mixed with a male model. Mmmm.

After Ford's Theatre, we went to the Natural History Museum. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures.

Wednesday was our last full day in DC, and we wasted no time. Our first stop was the National Museum of American History.

They had this really cool exhibit about food and the history of food in the United States.

Shoutout to my own Fresno Bella, Shannon. Insert cheeky emoji here.

Julia Child's Emmy

My favorite picture to ever exist, taken in the America on the Move exhibit.

After the museum, we walked past the monuments.

We then walked all the way to Georgetown. This was definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip. Everything about Georgetown screams charm and history. I love it.

We then picked up a dozen cupcakes at Georgetown Cupcake to surprise our relatives. 

We took the cupcakes to Rachel's house and ate them along with her homemade strawberry ice cream. It was the perfect end to a wonderful trip. 

I had a blast, and I can't wait to go back. I'm hoping to visit my relatives before they move again (it sounds like they'll be stationed in Istanbul next!). Hopefully I can convince my cousin to come with me.


Thanks for reading! Sorry for all the pictures. Except I'm not really sorry at all. Zing.


Xoxo, Autumn