Monica - Café Con Monica

Book Review: Becoming

April 8, 2019

A book review of Becoming by Michelle Obama ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Why I chose this book

I’m a big fan of the Obamas, have been for a long time and I knew I had to read Becoming along with seeing Michelle Obama when she came to Austin. My friend and I got online an hour before the tickets went on sale to make sure that we were able to get tickets. I asked for the book for Christmas but I actually ended up getting gift cards for Barnes so I bought it for myself! I was very interested in getting an inside look into the lives of the Obamas.

What I liked

Everything. I fell in love with Barack all over again reading about how they met and became a family. I loved getting to know Michelle as her own person and what her background entailed. I learned so much I didn’t know about her family and her career before she became First Lady. I really loved the writing style and how well it was written. The pictures in the middle were a great touch, it was nice to see a couple of the things that were in the book in photos. I always wondered how Michelle handled all the negative things that were said about her and her family in the news. It was great to see how the family changed and the ways they stayed the same as the years passed and they became more and more prominent.

What I didn’t like

After that previous paragraph, you might say…what is there not to like? It wasn’t long enough. The book was plenty long don’t get me wrong but I really wish there had been more on their time in the White House and what is going on now. I like to think that another book will come and it will all be in there. What I really didn’t like was finishing the book and feeling so emotional. As soon as I finished and closed the book I started to cry. AJS was wondering what the heck was wrong with me and all I could say was “How did we go from this (pointing to the book) to what is going on in your country right now?”

Would I recommend it?

Absolutely. I don’t care what side of the political road you consider yourself on this book really helps you get to know the Obamas, in particular, Michelle and where she came from. It helps to understand what drove their interests and see how much they both really want to help people.

I had someone comment on my Instagram: “I won’t read the book since I don’t particularly like her but I’m glad you enjoyed it.” I think if you are similar to this person I would especially recommend it because you may be able to learn something beyond the awful things the media said about her and their family over the years!

Seeing Michelle Obama

First, I am so happy that we went. I can now say I have been in the same building/park as both the Obamas and I really hope it is not the last time. (I was at Grant Park the night of the Barack’s acceptance speech in 2008.) Rachel Ray was the moderator for the evening. I was pretty excited about this because I am a Rachel Ray fan. She opened up with some comments and let me just say she was so nervous! You could totally tell. The only thing that struck me was when she was talking about how much she loves Austin she said “Austin is a place without isms”. As a person who has lived here now for almost a year I would say that is 100% incorrect and plenty of people who went that night agree.

She discussed her childhood, answered questions from Rachel from the book. We didn’t really learn anything really new that wasn’t in the book. I loved her bits of humor scattered into the comments though. Like her quip about being a family in the White House for 8 years without even one scandal. Let that sink in ya’ll. 8 years and zero scandals. We got to understand her frame of mind at Trumps inauguration and how her and Barack are handling their lives after a Presidency. I loved that even with some quips there was zero negativity and she 100% lives to….

All that said I hope that I get to see her and Barack again at some other event in my lifetime and I look forward to reading more books written by and about the Obama family.

Have you read Becoming? Did the Becoming tour come to your city?

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Craving a Dairy Free Latte in Paris? I’ve Got You Covered!

April 5, 2019

Hello, My name is Monica and I am a coffee addict. Oh, I’m also lactose intolerant (non dairy). When we started planning for Paris & Amsterdam I was mostly concerned with how I was going to get my latte fix without dairy.

The easy answer is Starbucks. It always is. But I gave it up for lent and we traveled in March. I am really glad for this though because I found some wonderfully delicious lattes in Paris.

Quick side note: I feel like now is the time to tell you that I am an Oat Milk convert. It is just so delicious in coffee and hot chocolate so you can imagine how excited I was to find it gaining traction in Europe!

Here are three places that I tried as well as three more listed at the bottom that I didn’t get to visit but know that they have dairy-free or vegan drink options!

The Hardware Société

I found recommendations for this adorable place all over the interwebs for their delicious food. Which we did have before visiting the Sacre Couer but you will see all about that in my next Paris post coming next week. I did not know that they had non-dairy options for the coffee though! There is a lot of English spoken at this cafe but in general I try to ask for soja or vegetarian laite (vegetarian milk).

Kozy Paris

This cafe is very close to the Ecole Militaire which leads to the giant lawn before the Eiffel Tower. We were on our way to take our last morning pictures in front of it and I was Grumpy (see the capital G) and needed some coffee. We walked right by and I made us turn around. If all else failed I would just have to drink a black coffee (ewww) luckily for me they 1) spoke some English, 2) had oat milk! Yay!

We got it to go so I don’t have a fancy photo!

Cafe Kitsune

This cafe is all over the internet too but not because they have non-dairy options but they are super instagrammable and delicious. They also have oat milk and soy milk as an option! I ordered my usual latte with oat milk!

I know that this post is pointing out where to find non-dairy options but know that they all offer normal milk options as well and are all delicious!

I thought I’d also share some other notable mentions that I did not get to try:

Shakespeare & Co. – A Bookstore with a cafe. I wanted to go here so bad but it didn’t fit into our plans.
Kb Cafe Shop – I found this place online while looking for non-dairy cafe options.
Vegan Folies – This place is special because its completely vegan and they have coffee & sweets! I really wanted to get here but didn’t have the chance. If you go please let me know how it was!

Three on Thursday

April 4, 2019

Another Thursday post of Favorites thanks to Steph @ Not Entirely Perfect

Designlovefest luggage I got a set of luggage from AJS for Christmas. The carry on, the full size luggage and a matching travel wallet. I’ve now used all the pieces and I love them! They are sturdy, finally have the wheels that let you turn it and walk next to it instead of dragging it behind you. I’m a fan! Also they are not terribly priced since they are for Target! I got purple and teal set!

Mrs. Meyer’s Basil Laundry Detergent – Obsessed. I’ve used Mrs. Meyers all the time for cleaning and hand soap but I had never tried there laundry detergent. I am a big fan, I love the scent plus I love that they are 97% plant derived and cruelty free. I know that there are probably still safer products to be using but this has been my go to for about a year now.

Finger Combing – My hair obviously. But I am semi-new to this. I’ve done it numerous times over the year out of necessity but over the past 4 months I have switched almost entirely to finger combing my hair in the shower after doing a good job of conditioning. I’ve really got the washing down to only on the weekends before going out so my hair can get pretty tangled during the week but the finger combing has been so much better for my hair. A lot less knots being pulled out, it hurts less and I am forced to take my time!

What are some of your favorites this week?