Fayetteville - grace grits and gardening

Lucy and Annabelle go Downtown

July 14, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

Lucy and Annabelle love their walks and, lucky for me, Fayetteville is a very walkable city with a fun downtown area. We’ve been living here about ten months now, and so yes, people are beginning to recognize the “girls” when we are out and about. They’re popular that way.

Recently, we explored downtown starting with Fayetteville’s Farmer’s Market. And by the way, Fayetteville’s Farmer’s Market is THE place to be on Saturday. Like the Wal-Mart in my hometown only not. People bring their dogs and babies and the local farmers sell wondrous produce and flowers. There’s live music and crafts, too.

Lucy loves the crowd and activity. Annabelle gets a little nervous and prefers to hang out in the peripheral area. All in all, it’s a good dog watching / people watching place with the bonus of fresh veggies and fruit.

After the excitement of Farmer’s Market, they pulled me toward Chunky Dunk Milk + Cookies. I think it was the signage that lured them over.

Seriously. Look at that cookie sandwich. It’s called Regina George Got Hit By a Bus. Ha. If you are a fan of Mean Girls, you know she so deserved it. Ingredients = 2 chocolate chip cookies, fudge sauce, vanilla icing, and crumbled sugar cookies. Wowza.

Lucy and Annabelle liked the picnic tables and water bowl.

I gotta admit I kinda loved the garden on the back of the Chunky Dunk food truck. Food truck gardens should be a thing.

Next stop, The Curious Book Shoppe on Block. First of all, I’m partial to any shoppe with an “e” on the end. That one extra vowel makes the place seem more quaint in an enchanted sort of way—like maybe tucked within a secret shelf they sell magic wands or crystals than cure allergies or something equally exotic. And the fact that this shoppe is smaller than Harry Potter’s room underneath the stairs makes it even more intriguing.

Lucy and Annabelle enjoyed their visit, but it was their first book shoppe so they really had no frame of reference.

On the way home, Annabelle stopped for a quick drink in this natural tree root dog bowl. Water slurped out in the wild is always best. Or so I’m told.

Naps all around when we got home. Stay tuned for Lucy and Annabelle’s next adventure.

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Lucy & Annabelle go exploring. @ExpFayetteville #ChunkyDunk #CuriousBookShoppe #FayettevilleFarmersMkt #schnauzers[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:
Rufus Thomas, Walking the Dog

another 4th of July

July 6, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

We celebrated another 4th of July with good food, family and friends, and a mixture of pleasant, not-too-hot weather. Of course, I must post a few pics for posterity…

We made a trip to the Confederate Cemetery in Fayetteville which is only a few blocks from our house. I was in search of a particular tree (for an article I’m writing elsewhere). The cemetery is beautiful and peaceful and parklike and being there on the 4th of July seemed right—different battles yet integral American history no matter what you think about the Confederate flag.

Saturday in Fayetteville means the Farmer’s Market. Yes, we went. Yes, we conquered by buying local Arkansas peaches and blackberries.

And we bought Pedal Pops which are all natural, low-cal, made with simple ingredients, and sort of perfect for the 4th of July. I got banana-orange-strawberry. John got honeydew-peach. Delicious!

Our Sunday included a trip to the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks. Oh my, what a wonderful place. The botanical garden is only a few minutes from our house and SO EASY! (Parking, admissions, everything.)

Let me just say this about living in Fayetteville—everything is easy, every day’s the 4th of July.

This week I’ll be showing you what I made with those peaches and blackberries—yum! And, I’ll be talking more about my garden (specifically about butterflies), plus Lucy and Annabelle have a post coming up. I may even do my first periscope broadcast. We’ll see. In other words, for once I’m not blogging by the seat of my pants. Crazytown.

Here’s to a great week!

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Another fab #4thofJuly! @BGOzarks @PedalPopsIce #Fayetteville #buylocal[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Chicago – Saturday in the Park

Fayetteville Find: Vintage Cargo

May 22, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

Fayetteville Find… Something new I’m testing out. When I lived in Dallas, I had a regular blog feature called Six Blocks from my House. Interesting things, yes, only six (or so) blocks from my house. Now that I’m discovering Fayetteville, I thought it would be fun to focus on cool places, people, things in Fayetteville. Those I find interesting, and you might find interesting too.

First up, Vintage Cargo. Vintage Cargo is new to Fayetteville. This fun boutique, which recently relocated from Eureka Springs, now occupies the former Sara Kathryn’s space on Mission. And fyi, Sara Kathryn’s moved to College and is as wonderful as ever. Winner-winner for Fayetteville.

My favorite shops are those located in old buildings or houses like this one. If I can poke around inside a charming old house while shopping, I’m more likely to buy something. That’s a fact. The new owners, Jeff and Stan, who welcomed us like old friends, have done a fantastic job transforming the inside space while maintaining the wonderful facade.

Go to browse. Get inspired. Clear your head. Buy yourself a little gift. You will easily find something for every room in your house. Dangerous, I know. And guess what? There’s a hair salon too!

Check out the vivid summer colors of this pottery line.

I bought this cute little bird hook for the powder room.

For whatever reason, none of our bathrooms have towel racks. Whatsup with that? This bird hook is perfect. It’s made of iron, is sturdy enough for a towel or even a robe, and is painted in a distressed blue-green color. Comes in gray too.