East Dallas - grace grits and gardening

The Face of Homelessness.

December 16, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

The man in the picture above? He is the face of homelessness. And I know him. But before I get ahead of myself, let me explain. During the month of December, my Northwest Arkansas Blogger group (NWARKcares) is focusing on the issue of homelessness. The goal of our group is to bring awareness to a different cause each month. September was literacy. Literacy was easy for me. I love books and reading and have my own Little Free Library in the front yard. October and November? I didn’t do so well pushing the topics of domestic violence and women in politics/leadership roles. No particular reason, they are both worthy, important topics, I was busy with other things. Excuses, excuses. And now December is homelessness. What better time than the holiday season to talk about the homeless? December is the time when people gather in their homes with family and friends. The weather outside is frightful and shelter is needed more than ever.

Homelessness makes me uncomfortable, sad, angry. The idea that in our country, a country of luxury, excess, and wastefulness, people are without basic necessities. Seriously, I can’t stand the thought of a homeless animal. The sweet cat that keeps showing up on my porch? I’m one bowl of cat food away from adopting him.Continue Reading

Road Trip to Texas (food, friends, Mavs who forgot to show)

March 24, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

Hey. I’ve been out of town. The girls (Lucy and Annabelle) and I took a little road trip to Texas. I saw my niece perform in her high school musical—always a fun thing!—ate at some of my favorite restaurants, saw the Dallas Mavericks lose to the Memphis Grizzlies, and hung out with a few friends. Now we are back in Fayetteville, which by the way, is in full spring bloom. Gorgeous!

Fayetteville blooms!

Since I can’t think of anything clever to say, I’ll share a few pictures of the weekend.

I love seeing a random balloon floating on the water or sailing through the sky. And I saw one in Las Colinas.

Las Colinas, Irving, Texas – Red Balloon!

John and I took the dogs for a walk along Campion Trail smack dab in Las Colinas near a branch of the Trinity River. Nice! Annabelle promptly picked up THREE ticks. Not so nice!

Campion Trail, Las Colinas

We had fantastic seats at the Dallas Mavericks game (my Mother’s Christmas gift to John). Even though the Mavs forgot to show (rude), we had a great time. Riding the Dart rail to ACC felt very urban and eliminated the whole parking thing. I had a huge, ice cold beer and a yummy hot dog, so all was not lost. Plus, the Grizzlies are my backup team anyway.

We spent time with good friends in our old Munger Place neighborhood. Lucy and Annabelle enjoyed seeing their buddy, Chester, who kept a lookout for the Scalini’s pizza man.

Yes, we drove by our house which I must say makes me cringe a little. The front room, which was painted a soothing (to us) paint color has been replaced with red raspberry that glows like a beacon down Worth Street. To each her own.

How was your weekend?

[tweetthis]Roadtripping. #WeeklyVenture @DallasMavs @lascolinastex #CampionTrail @sarahshotts[/tweetthis]

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

Dallas Mavs Run DMC

I miss Dallas at Christmas

December 17, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

Yes, there are a few things I miss about Dallas. Especially at Christmas. Not that I don’t lovelovelove Fayetteville, because I do. But I miss Chester and his people, Harold and Gale, and other Munger Place friends too numerous to mention.

Chester and Annabelle. Best buddies.

Munger Place porch parties, impromptu get togethers and holiday parties are unique and special.

Especially at Christmas.

I missed my nephew march in his first ever Christmas parade. I’m all about a Christmas parade. Shout out to Zach!

I don’t think Zach is in this picture, but he’s somewhere in this group. Jasper Band (Plano, Tx) is HUGE.

I miss Pei Wei. I do. And Scalini’s. And Tex-Mex in general. Tex-Mex is hard to come by in Fayetteville (or at least I haven’t found it yet).

I miss my rosemary plant. For the first time in at least twelve years, I had to buy rosemary at Thanksgiving. Craziness. I’ll be planting rosemary soon, but I’m not confident it will survive Northwest Arkansas winters.