may twenty-fourth: munch on some brunch

Hello once again! Back at the blogging game after a few days of being stuck in a rut about what to blog about. Seeing as my summer has been at a constant level of basically-the-same-things every day, there was a severe lack of topics to divulge into. Thankfully, I have been saved by Friend A (refer to the previous post) for the past few days to relax and take my mind off things for a bit. Unfortunately, Friend A returns back to her "humble, sweet abode" located in New York, so our adventures will have to take a momentary pause. Which brings me to how today's endeavor even came to be. Earlier yesterday, the two of us were discussing various brunch places in New York, which I am completely jealous that she is able to enjoy often. The idea of sweet smells of roasted coffee with the savory scent of a hearty omelette were guilty of causing my mouth to salivate. That is when Friend A brings up Turning Point. As my fellow "Jerseyans" may know, Turning Point is a quaint cafe that specializes in breakfast and lunch options, more specifically brunch. The two of us agreed almost instantaneously that this would be the best way to complete her final day down here, and I waited for today to come with an excited heart.

Once Friend A picked me up, we were talking about the type of comfort that relaxing in a bookstore can give you. On impulse, the two of us decided to try searching up a bookstore near the neighborhood to go to after our brunch. However, as we were pulling into the parking lot of the plaza that Turning Point was located in, we noticed the almost characteristic forest green color of Barnes and Noble. At that moment, I literally had a "I can't believe what's in front of my eyes right now. Do you see it too, am I the only one?" kind of expression on my face, and my friend shared the same thoughts as I did. Sensing this as a message from some higher force, we headed towards the cafe with glee for the plans to follow suit.

Barnes and Noble? Is that you?

I swear, Friend A was in a happy mood...

The homely feels exuded from the cafe made me feel like I was entering someone's actual house, and it would be a warm meal straight from the heart (also, straight to the stomach). Granted, I have gone to a few other locations before, but the mint-colored walls was a perfect 10 for me, and I sat in my seat, giddy about the menu options.

Truly a perfect balance of quaint and cozy.

The menu that may have stolen a few leaps of my heart.

If you know me, you would know that I am probably the worst person at ordering food. The amount of options are numerous, but there is only one of me! I think this was some irregular equation made outside of the universe to spite my taste buds and I. It probably took me a good ten minutes (or two trips for the waitress) for me to finally decide on a dish, and even then, I was wondering if I would sulk in regret at what I ordered.

Thankfully, I did not! The salad I ordered was a Fruity Chicken Salad, which was nothing short of being an epitome of what summer freshness should be. As someone who doesn't really enjoy raisins unless they are covered in flour, sugar, and oats in a cookie, the raisins gave a slight sweetness to the chicken salad, and I was completely content with my order. My friend ordered off the seasonal menu, and decided on the Zucchini "Spaghetti" (quotes courtesy of Turning Point's menu).

Fruity Chicken Salad
"Two scoops of homemade chicken salad accompanied by California raisins, fresh seasonal fruit on a layer of baby spinach leaves."

Zucchini "Spaghetti"
"Served with sautéed artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, fresh portabellas, basil pesto and parmesan."

Content with our dishes, we left the restaurant in positive spirits and decided to walk around the plaza to scout around what other stores were around. After a quick browse in Michaels and Ulta, our feet took us towards Barnes and Noble, and we sought a corner to meld ourselves into after grabbing drinks from the Starbucks inside. I decided to try a new thing this summer to improve my writing in general, and this goal is to read as many books as possible. I am guilty of being part of the instant gratification generation where books tend to be placed on a backburner. However, my desire to enhance my writing skills set a new standard for me, and I will record a list of how many books I complete for the summer. So if there are any specific titles you would like to suggest for me, please do so! I don't really have a preference right now on what I want to read this summer.

Anyways, before I may offend any romance novel devotees, I have to say that the hype for "Me Before You" was pretty high for me. Granted, I hadn't heard anything much about the summary prior to grabbing the book off the shelf, but with all the gushing raves about it, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try the book.

However, I was rather disappointed on how the book was written, and felt that it was not my cup of tea. Something about the prose as well as the book's diction didn't appeal greatly to me, and I returned to place it back on its shelf. Maybe I'll leave the book up to the modern day romantics. I continued my browse for an interesting book to plunge into, and approached one of the tables. Personally, I enjoy non-fiction forms of literature over fictional novels, so I was intrigued by the following book titled, "Columbine".

The coffee has decreased a significant amount...

Written by Dave Cullen, the non-fiction book examines the Columbine High School massacre and its two perpetrators, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. The style of how the book was written in immediately captured me, and it was interesting to view the situations through various eyes. Although I was unable to complete the book prior to leaving the store, I rented the book from the neighborhood library and will definitely update on my thoughts about it. My day was completed with a walk around the town thereafter. Anyways, as always-

Another day, another "hyej" jumped.