grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

4th of July: gentle on my mind

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4th of July

Before we went to the lake for the 4th of July, we drove over to a fireworks stand near Luxora to buy a sackful of Roman candles, bottle rockets, stink bombs, and Black Cats. We carried them with us like luggage, as though we couldn’t buy sparklers in Mountain Home.

How the whole bag didn’t combust when we stopped for butterscotch malts in Lake City was a great mystery to me. In the time it took the Tastee Freeze waitress to whip up our orders and slide them through the window, Momma’s car morphed into an oven. We could have baked chocolate chip cookies on the dashboard, if we’d better planned.Continue Reading

St. Paddy’s Day Cake Balls

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cake balls for St. Patrick's Day

I failed to make a pie for Pi Day (boo), but I made cake balls for St. Paddy’s Day (yay). And since St. Paddy’s Day isn’t until tomorrow, I’m ahead of the game. This morning I enjoyed one with my coffee. The great thing about cake balls is you really can have your cake and eat it too. Satisfy your sweet craving in two little bites.

Yum.

If you’ve never made cake balls, I’ll tell you this—it’s a process that takes a little patience, but it isn’t difficult. And if you’ve ever bought cake balls for a party, you know they can be pricey. But there’s no reason to spend your hard earned money. Make your own instead.

I thought about my Daddy when I made these because he REFUSED to eat green desserts. No green Jell-o, green ice cream, green popsicle or candy. Haha, it’s funny what we remember.Continue Reading

Lucy and Annabelle go to West Village

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Lucy and Annabelle go to West Village (Dallas)Lucy and Annabelle’s latest adventure? West Village in Dallas. We spent Christmas in Texas and rented a dog-friendly Airbnb in West Village near our former neighborhood and favorite haunts. We saved lots of money this way. Not only did we enjoy a very cool Uptown apartment for less than the cost of a hotel room, but we were spared the expense of boarding Lucy and Annabelle for five days. Saving money at Christmas is very much appreciated, am I right?

Lucy and Annabelle grew up nearby, but this was their first official visit to trendy West Village.

They had a #BIGWoof time.Continue Reading

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