grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

happy autumn!

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Saturday was the first day of fall. Autumn Equinox. Same length day and night. We begin to wind down the year, rebalancing our bodies and minds as the days begin to shorten and cool. 

Football. Harvest. Chili. State Fair. Pumpkin Spice Latte. 
The first day of autumn went by completely unnoticed in Munger Place. 


We were too busy with Munger Place Days to notice the sun cross the celestial equator. Autumn? What autumn? The mercury topped out at 97 degrees yesterday. The home tour date was moved from early May to late September for cooler weather…

According to the calendar, we have survived another scorching Texas summer. But it sure didn’t feel like it yesterday afternoon as I corralled sweaty, sugared-up kids and tired dads with strollers around the cakewalk. 

Next stop….State Fair and Halloween!
cakewalk goodies!

Happy Fall!

talya

Musical Pairings:

Autumn Almanac, The Kinks

Autumn has caught us in our summer wear. – Philip Larkin, British poet (1922-1986)

My new friend – Martial Arts Man in the next booth:))


Let Them Eat Cake!

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I’m in charge of the Munger Place Days Cakewalk. Because I thought we needed one. That’s how those things work, right? Open your mouth, make a suggestion, and bingo – it’s your project!

No respectable festival should be without one.

A cakewalk is the perfect throwback to yesterday’s childhood Halloween carnivals, when cake had no calories and dessert came with no consequence, no hips.

I downloaded perfect cakewalk music and made large, colorful numbers, one through twelve, to adhere to the pavement. The lucky number wins a homemade cake or pie or brownies or cookies for dinner. 

What’s not to love about a cakewalk?!

I think next year we need a Kissing Booth!  xoxoxo
Last year this man kept trying to sneak into the cakewalk…

talya

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

Musical Pairings:

The Entertainer, Scott Joplin

Click here for my prior cakewalk blog post….

Munger Place Days

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In January 1977, the National Apartment and Home Builder Convention met in Dallas. On the agenda, a home tour of newly built Fox & Jacob homes, zero lot model homes at the Villas of Las Colinas, several recently constructed multi-family developments scattered throughout city and almost as an afterthought, a remodeling tour with stops in Munger Place and along Swiss Avenue.
These turn-of-the-century-built homes were slowly being saved thanks to a handful of tireless folks with the grace and forethought to recognize these treasures were worth saving.
The first unofficial Munger Place home tour?

This year’s home tour, Munger Place Days, kicks off Friday night with a wine walk and intimate preview of the homes on tour. Saturday’s activities include a tour of six historic homes with riveting histories – including a ghost and an Olympic gold medalist. The tour will continue on Sunday along with an old-fashioned street festival, complete with live music, six food trucks offering everything from whoopee pies to grilled cheese sandwiches, a pet parade, cakewalk, an art fair with over fifty artisans, and much more.  
If you live in the metroplex area, take a few hours to step back in time at Munger Place Days. If you live elsewhere, it might be worth a road trip!
talya
Musical Pairings:
I looked to the past for guidance…We may talk of saving antique linens, species, or languages; but whatever we are intent on saving, when a restoration succeeds, we rescue ourselves. – Howard Mansfield

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!