Two for Tuesday: Huntington Beach

Brown sugar cinnamon latte at Grim in HB (my photo)

1. On Sunday, I had a very early coffee meetup with two friends at Grim Garden in Huntington Beach (Warner and Newland). What an adorable little place! The whole café is "grim" (dark) themed, complete with an open vertical coffin in which you can pose for pictures (see my Instagram @lightm0tifs). There are green plants everywhere, giving it a tea party vibe. My friends loved their iced drinks, but I have to have something hot first thing in the morning (even if it's already 80 degrees out), so I ordered their special brown sugar cinnamon latte. It was so yummy! They had pastries too, which looked delicious, but I didn't try one. (I have a bunch of wonderful cookies at home due to my decorating class on Saturday morning ~ also on my IG.) Grim gets a 10/10 from me, and I would definitely return.

2. In the afternoon, I decided to go to a romance novel pop-up event in HB (Warner and Bolsa Chica), despite taking a break from the genre at the moment, especially from contemporary romance. I recently received a set of Regency romances that I will read soon. Anyway, back to the pop-up... there were several books I might have been interested in, but the prices, eeeek! I didn't realize that it's normal to charge $30 for a new book! Yes, they are pristine, and some even have the highly desired sprayed edges, but I'm happy to read a library book that's been paged through a hundred times and return it. I don't have space in my place to hoard books, and I keep only special or meaningful ones, which excludes most romances.

I went inside the pizza place where some local romance authors had their own books for sale. Same thing: I might have bought a few if they weren't so expensive. I felt kinda bad just looking and leaving, but oh well. Back outside, I browsed the "merch," some of which was cute, but I don't need a hat or a book bag. There were cheaper "mystery date" books that I could have gambled on at $12 each (covered in wrapping paper with an enticing blurb taped on), but I didn't end up getting anything at all. To be fair, some of the (uncovered) books were “only” $22.50, but still. I am not saying that authors don't deserve these prices for their books... I just can’t afford it at the pace I read. 

When I read a romance or a thriller novel, I gobble it up like a package of candy. I can read a 300 page book in a day! Contrast that with a deeper, crunchier read, which I savor and take my time with, maybe even make some notes… those type of books I do pay more for and keep on my shelves. I don’t expect them to appear in the KU program either. No offense to any romance or thriller writers ~ these books can be very fun reads ~ but I am not paying $30 for one.

See you at the next T4T!