Café Con Monica

Show us Your Books: October

It’s that time again! Linking up with Jana Says & Life According to Steph for Show us your Books! I haven’t participated since July!

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So first I want to share my Book Goals updates.

  • 15/25: Books I didn’t choose for myself
  • 11/12: Non-Fiction Books
  • I’ve officially moved @Withcurlsandcocktails IG to just books as of October 15!
  • #Unreadshelfproject2019 – I am so far behind on this I dont even know!

Since it has been so long I decided to just talk about my favorite 4 & 5 star reads since July.

Audiobook

  • The Craftsman Best described as chilling. I did not guess who the killer was and didn’t find it too predictable. I felt like it really called on history a bit and the writing was fantastic. I am excited to read more by Sharon Bolton.
  • Theme Music This one really did me in, I was so sure I knew what was going on until I didn’t. I was slightly annoyed by Dixie but I think that is part of what makes it a good listen because you have to pay attention.
  • Daisy Jones & The Six I am so glad that I chose to listen to this book rather than read it. I was so weary about reading it to begin with because I wasn’t sure I would like the format. But listening to it did this book justice and it makes complete sense why so many people raved about it. I am going to do a full review later.

Kindle

  • Lock Every Door – I almost gave up on this book 1/4 of the way in. It was slow moving and not grabbing my interest. Had it not been for the fact that it the library time was coming up I might not have tried again. I’m glad I pulled through though because it picked up an ended up being a good twisty read.
  • Fix Her Up – I love a good slow burn and this one did it well! It was a sexy, fun read and just right for in between a lot of dark and scary books.
  • The Bride Test – I loved the Kiss Quotient so I was nervous going into this one thinking it was going to fail hard but it didn’t. It wasn’t as good but it was a solid cute romantic read. I’m excited to read the 3rd when it finally comes out in 2021

Physical Book

  • A Spark of Light – This book is hard to review. It touches on some very very emotional topics and should/does come heavy trigger warnings. It was far more graphic than I thought it was going to be but I love a book that faces things head on and really forces you to see. As my first Jodi Picoult book I can definitely say I want to read more. If I had a complaint it would be the going in reverse, sometimes I was a bit confused.
  • Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating – I identified with Hazel right away. I do a good job of being “normal” in public but if I let my weird out she and I could be the best of friends. Just like her having someone in my life who likes my weird makes me so happy. This book was funny, adorable, and a sexy slow burn without being too much (for those of you that don’t appreciate the really dirty stuff like I do). Is it going to be the best book you have read in 2019? No. But I always appreciate a book that has diversity in it’s romance, quirky characters and is light and fun. It is definitely a break from the virgins, assholes male characters, and hate to love.
  • Red, White & Royal Blue – So here is the deal. I went into this book not realizing that there was going to be a gay romance. OOoh was I super excited when I figured that out. I have zero idea how I missed that or if I had just forgotten by the time I got it from the library. (Thank you 8000 holds) I enjoyed it. I don’t care if it was unrealistically HEA and that the explicit scenes faltered sometimes because they built it up and you were like “𝕪𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘” and then it skipped to they had sex. Oof. #dammit and still I liked it. I appreciated the politics (Texan Democrat Woman….hey, it could happen…eventually💙) I’d recommend it to anyone who loves light, fun, romance books that aren’t your typical characters. ⁣

What have you been reading?

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How to Make a Reusable Beervent or Advent Calendar

It’s that time of year again when you have to think about Christmas gifts and who doesn’t love counting down with an advent calendar?

2 years ago I made AJS a Beervent (aka beer filled advent) Calendar and its been so much fun to fill. I’m already in the process of figuring out 2019’s theme and buying beers.

Since 2018 was our first Christmas in Texas I filled the beer advent calendar box with beers brewed in Texas.

This is a great gift that is relatively inexpensive to make and once completed can be reused each year. You can pretty much fill this with anything if the person doesn’t like beer. The spaces are a decent size to fit a good amount of small things or one larger item.

Beer Advent Calendar – Get your materials

  • Square Mailing Tubes
  • 6-7 Sheets of 12″x 12″ scrapbook paper – I used wood pattern but you can use whatever design you like
  • scotch tape or glue
  • mailing tape (clear kind)
  • 3×3 squares (on paper) – You can find printables for this size or you can make your own.
  • Markers, stickers, basically decoration

Get Started on your Advent Calendar

  • Assemble and then cut the long tab piece off each of the boxes
  • Arrange the boxes in rows of 5 (* Side note: you can absolutely do 24 instead of 25 so rows of 6 or 4 (I like to save a special beer for the 25th)
  • Once you have it set the way you want, you can do two things
    • put some glue in between the rows to keep them sticking to each other ( I did this)
    • tape each row separately
  • Tape all the rows into one big square. Try to keep the tape as smooth as you can.
  • Cover the sides and back of the big square with the scrapbook paper

The Fun Part – Decorate your Advent Calendar

I opted to do all the above steps and then stick on the 3×3 squares instead of sticking them on ahead because I feared they might get beat up. I think it’s fun to have the numbers out of order but if you prefer the more organized approach you can put them in order. Add stickers, write on the squares, basically personalize it for you or the person who is getting it.

Your Beer Advent Calendar is ready to fill!

I start looking for a theme and beers early in November so that I can find it without stressing.

I recognize that not everyone is looking for a beer advent calendar, but really these can be filled with anything.

Some ideas:

  • Candy/ Chocolates
  • Crafting items
  • Wine
  • Small toys
  • Gift Cards
  • Notes or prayers

A Note….

Once filled with beers this box is heavy so I suggest putting in the place it will remain for the 24-25 days and then filling it.

The best part?

It can be used for several years and it really does make a great gift for those guys that are hard to shop for. This is year 3 for us and it is still in great shape!

Have you made an advent calendar before?

Don’t forget to check out my Instagram! If you love reading I post all about that here! Or you can follow me on Twitter,  Pinterest or Bloglovin

State Fair of Texas

I love a good state fair so AJS and I were pretty excited to check out the State Fair of Texas.

Since I posted Fall Bucket List Ideas I have been trying to tick items off even though the beginning of the school year is crazy and Austin weather is not cooperative for Fall things. I’m looking at you 90° in October.

Deep Fried Everything

Everyone knows that if you are going to the State Fair you are going to eat some deep fried foods. I have never. AND I mean never seen so many fried food options in one place.

Because we went over 2 days here is what we ate:

  • Fletcher’s Corn Dogs
  • Chicken Fried Bacon
  • Big Red Chicken Bread
  • Deep Fried S’mores
  • Deep Fried Brownie

Yes. All of that. My favorites were the corn and the brownie!

My native Texan coworkers were adamant that we get the corn dogs specifically from Fletchers and that we take a picture with Big Tex. *side note here: he is kinda creepy looking*

Fun Fact: The State Fair of Texas is packed on Indigenous People’s Day since the kids are out of school. We did not plan for all the people, though, of course, that is why I was able to go on a Monday.

Turns out the entire thing is huge! We spent the first night just walking around and trying to get a feel for where everything was. Even with that we found a few things we didn’t see on the second day.

Our Favorites

Of course, AJS loved the auto show. I am hoping to not purchase a car anytime soon but mine is getting old so it was kind of nice to see what is out there right now.

There was an illumination & dance show in the evening that was really cute. Lots of lights, fireworks, and music!

We got to see Billy Ray Cyrus. Texas does not disappoint. Turns out he was playing the night we were going and I was so excited. Nothing like a little Achy Breaky Heart to round out your Sunday night.

You can thank AJS for his inability to take a nice photo of me for this one.

We had a really great time and definitely plan to go next year!

Do you have a State fair near you? What is your favorite deep fried food?

Don’t forget to check out my Instagram! If you love reading I post all about that here! Or you can follow me on Twitter,  Pinterest or Bloglovin

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