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Curiosities, East Dallas. Always feels like home…

September 16, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Grace Grits and Gardening
For two years, I was drawn to this painting. Although it was partially hidden on a top shelf buried behind seashells and pieces of coral, I studied it each time I wandered into Curiosities, my favorite Lakewood haunt for treasures, trinkets and yes, curiosities.

There was just something about the way artist Glenn Ramey (1953) captured the ocean’s mood at first light… Plus, I loved the frame.

Several months ago, I took it upon myself to reorganize the shelf in this particular booth. I dug the painting out and moved it front and center. I stared at it with a feeling of deja vu.
Each time I visited, (yes I go there often), I was relieved no one had purchased it. I admired it again and again, but left empty-handed determined not to bring anything else into our house. (I pretend to be downsizing…)
Finally, on the day I took my friend Dorothy to visit Curiosities, I bought it. For whatever reason, the time seemed right, plus the owner of the painting was there which made it even more exciting for me.
Now the painting hangs on the wall in my office where I write.
One week later, John and I went to the Pacific Northwest for vacation. Cannon Beach felt serene and calm and familiar. I’d never been to the Oregon Coast, but that spot on earth felt like home.
And then I remembered my new old painting.
Cannon Beach, Oregon

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life



…though we know we had never been there before, we knew we had been there before. ― Margaret Atwood

Musical Pairing:

Feels Like Home, Bonnie Raitt

Old Photos

September 13, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

I’m always intrigued by black-and-white photographs, especially those stacked and forgotten in flea market booths. Even young people look old in these images, a reflection of a time and life much more difficult than ours.

Grace Grits and Gardening - Curiosities, Dallas, Texas
Curiosities, Dallas, Texas

I feel a certain sadness for these forlorn sepia-toned photos hanging in curved antiqued frames.

Who were these people? Soldiers who fought in our wars, babies who grew up to be town leaders, a row of teenage girls flashing big smiles…

What did these people contribute? Does anyone remember?

Will my family photos end up in a musty stack somewhere?

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life

Musical Pairing:

Jamey Johnson, In Color

Wildwood Antiques

July 27, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

If you’re an antique buff and find yourself in Northeast Arkansas, take a drive over to Wildwood Antiques in Etowah.
Surrounded by cotton fields on the Wildy’s one-hundred-year-old home place, Wildwood Antiques is like a mirage in the Mississippi Delta, only it’s no mirage. The rambling farmhouse is filled to the rafters with silver and china and linens meticulously collected by proprietor Katherine Wildy. 

On my hands and knees I searched through stacks of well-loved, hardback books written by Twain and Poe. I discovered an egg dish I couldn’t pass up (of course!)… 

This beautiful little watercolor now fills the blank space in my tiny Dallas powder room.

Her property is shaded by towering trees the same era as many of the vintage treasures inside. If you plan in advance, you can enjoy lunch in this bucolic setting. Wildwood Antiques is well worth the drive from Little Rock or Memphis or St. Louis. Its well worth a detour off Interstate 55 no matter where you’re headed.
Wildwood Antiques, Etowah, Arkansas

talya

“Priceless things matter not for their value, but because they offer us an enduring reminder of stability and permanence.” 
― Barbara Taylor Bradford

For directions, information, private showings or lunch appointments contact Ms. Wildy at (870) 531-2110.

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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: 11.23.25
  • Maggie and Miss Ladybug: My New Children’s Nature Book
  • Sunday Letter: November 9, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Oct 26, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Oct 5, 2025

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

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