grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

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

Two Little Words: 2018

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Two Little Words 2018

2018 marks my fourth year to choose One Little Word. Only this year I’m choosing two words. Two words to get me back on track.

The Concept of One Little Word

One Little Word is the brainchild of blogger Ali Edwards. Rather than setting resolutions broken by Groundhog’s Day, I choose a single word to focus on throughout the year. Sort of a theme for the year. A word to rally around. Something to keep you grounded when life goes bonkers.

My prior words turned out to be pretty powerful. This year I’m choosing two words because I believe two words are needed to restore balance in my life. Yes, I feel out of sync in a lot of ways.Continue Reading

December Book Reviews

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December Book Reviews

‘Tis the season to hole up with a good book in front of a cozy fire. In December, I didn’t do as much of that as I’d have liked, but January is already shaping up to be a hibernating sort of month. Brrrr!

I read five books in December, all very different in genre and themes. My December reads ranged from a heart-wrenching war tale to a fluffy Christmas yarn. I explored secret passageways behind bookshelves and launched missiles beneath the sea. December brought a heist involving rare manuscripts. I went along for wild rides as one mystery was solved using old-fashioned girl sleuth clue-gathering and another using Google-designed pattern recognition software.

But first.

Before I get to my December Book Reviews, let’s talk about the 2017 Goodreads Book Challenge. Did you participate? My goal for 2017 was to read 55 books. With the addition of these five December books, I exceeded my goal and read a total of 68 books in 2017. I read some fantastic books, and I’m not exaggerating when I say I’m a changed person for having read them. I’ve reviewed each book here on the blog, so if you missed any of my reviews, the links are included at the end of this post. (I’ve posted my reviews on Goodreads, too.)

I’m setting my 2018 goal at 70 books which may be wildly optimistic on my part, but hey, goals are good, right? If you are interested in participating, click HERE. It’s fun!

Enough with the blathering. On with my December reads.Continue Reading

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