By Terra of ahoy friend
Terra is a music loving, wine drinking, book reading, art making, dancing fool who transplanted to the hills of Northwest Arkansas from Kansas City in 2011 with he man and their mutts. Ahoyfriend is where she shares her story and occasionally gets on her soap box. It is also, and perhaps most importantly, home to daily photo posts from Terra and her sisterfriend, Liz. If you don’t want to commit you can just stalk her on Instagram, Twitter and/or Pinterest.
Written by Miss May 2014, Talya Boerner
Arkansas Women Bloggers’ May theme is Grow Your Garden. Perfect subject for me! Gardening is an important part of my day-to-day routine. Digging in the dirt makes me tick.
I grew up surrounded by the ultimate garden. Cotton fields. Acres and acres of fertile delta soil. Sometimes Daddy planted soybeans and wheat, but there was always a crop surrounding our house in every direction. And our yard was filled with trees—a plum tree heavy with fruit and cherry trees by the pump house provided lots of good summer picnicking. Momma’s pecan trees now tower over the house still providing fruit for holiday pies.
No, our farm wasn’t a garden in the strict definition of the word, but I grew up aware of life growing beyond our front porch.
I consider myself to be a learn-as-I-go gardener proving anyone can do it. Maybe I inherited a greenish thumb from Nana who seemed to be able to stick a root or seed in the soil and grow all kinds of flowers and vegetables. Or Uncle Rex who always had the most gorgeously landscaped yard in town.
Today as I yanked a pathetic looking collard green plant from my veggie garden, I thought about my gardening life and what I would share with you. Looking back, I realized I’ve come a long way from my early days of only planting flats of pink annuals in straight rows. I’ve put my share of sweat equity into our yard (and the yard before), and I’ve made plenty of mistakes. That’s okay. It’s all part of the gardening journey.
In no particular order, here are a few of my tips and tricks learned along the way…
1) Before planting trees and flower beds, get to know your property. Study the sunlight patterns, shade and drainage.
2) Good soil is essential. No skimping. Lowe’s Garden Centers (and others) sell test kits. Your local cooperative center provides testing as well. Once you determine your soil’s structure you can make amendments.
3) Keeping learning. Many local nurseries offer free classes. These are invaluable as they are geared toward your specific climate and location.
4) Don’t be afraid to break the rules. Mix herbs and veggies with flowers. Hang ferns from trees. Every sliver of dirt is a potential space for growing something. Add whimsey. Plant in uncommon, found containers.
5) Add color with shrubs and vines. Variegated and contrasting leaf color provide interest with a range of hues from pea green to deep purple.
6) Buy perennials after they have bloomed at end of season sales. They will bloom again next year for half the price.
7) Notice what thrives in your area. If you don’t see it blooming in your neighborhood or along the Arboretum sidewalks during summer, it probably won’t grow for you either.
8) Don’t ignore fences and walls—plant vertically to soften the landscape and enlarge your garden area.
9) Spend time with your plants. Photograph your garden, noticing change from day to day. This will help you understand what each plant needs to thrive.
10) Go organic. Period.
11) Don’t forget the magic ingredient—water. But don’t over water.
12) If a plant isn’t working, transplant it to a more suitable location or toss it into the compost pile where it can be useful. Life’s too short to babysit a wimpy plant.
That’s it for my down and dirty gardening tips, but before I go, take a look out your window and tell me what you see. Pine trees? The glorious Ozark Mountains? An expanse of bright clover, sunrise over a lazy river, a pasture? Maybe you live in a town or city with a view of houses or buildings. There are gardens tucked away there too.
You have to know where to look. But more importantly, you have to be able to see.
A little well known fact about me is that hosting is not one of my strong points.
Yes, it’s true. I am many things, but being hostess with the mostess is just not one of them.
Which is why I am a big fan of easy-peasy throw together appetizers that scream, “I’m DELICIOUS eat me now!” without having to break your back in the kitchen. (I also abhor dish cleaning, and this recipe pays favors in that regards as well. You can thank me later.). These Mexican Wontons are the perfect blend of melt in your mouth salty yum with a crisp wonton holding it altogether to give you that crunch. It’s perfection… trust me.
A friend of mine actually introduced me to this recipe several years ago during a little shindig where we all were asked to bring an appetizer and/or drink. This pairs nicely with your favorite daiquiri or margarita (lime, frozen, salted rim – thank you), and is brought to you just in time for you to try it out for your Cinco de Mayo fiesta. Or just for your friends coming over to have a little picnic on the back porch. That works too.
Without further ado, I give you…. Mexican Wontons.
A Dollop of My Life
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Lindsey is a self-professed Sonic Happy Hour addict and lover of all things Southern (though far from a Southern Belle). Lindsey is the writer behind A Dollop of My Life, where she chronicles life as a wife to Drew and a mama to the three sweetest, most ornery boys that God has ever created. Lindsey has a pension for putting her foot in her mouth, coming across too blunt and not being afraid to be honestly truthful about the hard parts of life. You can find Lindsey on various social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest).
I am excited to be the May calendar girl for Arkansas Women Bloggers. And really, I never thought I would achieve this honor because I live in Texas. BUT, my Arkansas blogger friends know I’m an Arkansawyer at heart. Lately it seems I spend more time in Arkansas than Texas, either at our family farm in the Mississippi River Delta area or in Fayetteville. Or Little Rock. Or Mountain Home. Or Eureka Springs. Or Jonesboro. Or Piggott.
Really, I consider the entire state my home and count myself lucky to have dual blogger citizenship.
Once the excitement of being asked sank in, the most difficult part settled over me—writing an intro post about myself. This post. Writing about myself is not something I enjoy. Give me a crazy prompt, a first line, a strange word and I’ll throw together a piece of flash fiction or a poem. But tell us a little about yourself leaves me staring at a blank piece of paper.
What’s worth telling?
Last year while attending a writing retreat at Hemingway-Pfeiffer, I was charged with writing a six word memoir. Only six words to describe myself? Yikes! But here’s the thing…the beauty of memoir writing is the story can be an epic journey covering birth to death or a teeny sliver of time. As in six words’ worth…
The memoir I wrote provides a quick introduction to my current life.
Our nest is empty. I write.
Yep, these six words sum me up quite well.
Two and a half years ago, I left my banking career of twenty-plus years to write. The time felt right. (See, I even made a rhyme.) Our two children had flown the coop. T is finishing up his junior year at the University of Arkansas, and K is nearing the end of her first year at the University of Texas School of Law. (Can you say house divided?)
So now with an empty nest— and trust me you will survive toddler years, teenage angst, college entrance essays—I spend time pursuing my dreams. Writing. Gardening. Cooking. More writing. My cup truly runneth over.
I’ll be hanging out here during the month of May, and I hope you’ll join me. What will I write about? I’m not sure. But I can promise my posts will be in keeping with my general life theme of living simply and finding beauty in the ordinary, because that’s what I know these days.
If you’d like to check out my social media obsessions, here they are:
Instagram (new favorite thing), Pinterest (where my world is perfect), Facebook (the place I post too many dog pictures), Twitter (for stalking the Dallas Mavericks and Robert Griffin III), Google+ (which I don’t quite understand), Bloglovin (I sometimes forget I have) and of course, Grace Grits and Gardening.
See you soon!
Grace Grits and Gardening
By Natalie Zanatta of Great Contradictions
Natalie Zanatta is the mom of 3 wonderful boys who recently moved to Central Arkansas. Natalie writes about inside and out healthy living covering gluten free cooking (due to Celiac Disease), DIY, gardening, fashion/beauty, and more to help us all be healthier inside and out. Check out her blog Great Contradictions to be inspired!
my neck swelled up during a playThat’s my rain storm.
It was full of “hail” and lightening; strong winds and torrential down pours (aka – my new emotional gushes).
But, a storm is only as bad as you call it and allow its path to leave destruction.
Hopefully I’m not the only one who has Braveheart, The Patriot and Remember the Titans in my top 10 movies (yes, the rest are chick flicks…you have me pegged appropriately). But what I love about these 3 movies are the “game day” speeches as the turning point in the movie. All of them take place at dark, stormy, foggy moment. I lived most of 2009 in a fog. Call it remnants from “chemo brain”, but I’m more convinced that it was my own little pity party. I was too worried about the scars from the past to look forward and live beyond my storm.
In an interview on 103.7 The Buzz last week, Bret Bielema (yes I listen to sports radio while I drive) made 2 strong comments and, to me, neither is really about football –“history is something that has already happened. It’s great to read about, some people write about it and a lot of reporters talk about it. But, the people who live their dreams live in the present and try to concentrate on today and look forward and scars are a great reminder, they are markings of things that have happened in the past”.
I have a big scar on my chest. It’s a marking that cancer left beyond, but it’s also something I don’t even notice is there any more.
Until someone sees it for the first time or makes a comment about it, I forget it’s even there. It’s a part of who I am now. It’s part of my past, but it’s the perpetuator to how I move forward.
Life experiences do not have to be something we live in spite of. We can LIVE FULLY and like a warrior, we can live LIVE BEYOND.
For rainbows to show up after the storm, a little sun always has to shine.
Thanks for letting me hang out with you this month. April, the month of my birth and my cancerversary, always proves to be super busy and intentionally connecting with you each week has been my privilege. Make sure you stop by and see me sometime over at bigpittstop, my landingpad to the life beyond. (or you can chirp at me on Twitter or “see” me on Instagram)
by Julia Malinowski, ARWB friend and Director, Helena Advertising & Promotion Commission
I live in Helena, Arkansas – population 12,000. I moved to Helena for a job and stayed because of the community I found. I didn’t realize it before I moved here, but in every place I’ve lived I’m been searching for a sense of connection and family, and this is where I’ve found it. Helena is the kind of place where people actually do bring you homemade soup when you’re sick or chocolate pie if you’ve had a nasty break-up.
As a southern town, most of life’s critical moments are marked with the cooking and sharing of food. The Delta region in which Helena is located is particularly known for its soul stirring, make you want to slap yo’ mama, good food: charred and chopped BBQ, fried chicken, turnip greens, sweet potatoes shiny with sugar, fried catfish, and the list goes on. There are plenty of small locally owned storefronts where all this good food and more can be purchased from someone’s granny, auntie or cousin. I love this food. I love it probably more than I should given the increasing rates of type 2 diabetes.
However I have a confession to make…any time I go out of town I seek out a different type of restaurant. I crave an atmosphere more appropriate for a date night with my husband. I crave a greater variety of dishes: Indian, Thai, Italian. I crave fresh salads, menus described as “New American”, more complex pairings, and sometimes even a more restrained use of sugar, salt and vinegar. And the thing is, I’m not alone. According to an ESRI data report from 2010, a retail gap of approximately $4.6 million exists in the sector of Food Services and Drinking Places. At the same time, Clarksdale, MS has a surplus of $7.2 million and Southaven, MS has a surplus of $49.6 million. I may not be a data analyst, but the numbers seem to clearly show that not only is Helena’s local demand for dining and drinking experiences not being met, clearly our population is going other places in the region to get what they’re looking for.
The hard thing is that facts don’t always sway decision makers as decisively as emotional reactions and qualitative observations. After seeing this data, I had conversations with chefs and restaurateurs about the opportunity that exists in Helena and it became clear that doubt exists that a rural community could support a “nicer” restaurant. Doubt exists that rural folks actually care about things like presentation, atmosphere and culinary experimentation.
Not willing to take no for an answer, we started talking with chefs about pop-ups, with the idea that if we can’t get a chef to open up a full-time restaurant, at the very least we should be able to get a chef to open up a one day or two day pop-up. I’m excited to share that this coming Saturday, May 10th, we’re partnering with Shane Henderson (Executive Chef with Ben E. Keith but most known for starting Argenta Market with Jody Hardin) and Jason Godwin (Executive Chef for Eurest at Acxiom but most known for starting Dogtown Coffee and Cookery) to launch our first one-day pop-up restaurant in an empty storefront in historic downtown Helena.
Entitled Interstate Grocery, after the company that initially sponsored the world famous King Biscuit Time radio show, the pop-up’s menu will highlight the products and flavors of the Arkansas Delta, in coordination with this year’s Arkansas Heritage Month theme, “Come to the Table.” The menu features items such as “Duck Bacon, Ancho Sorghum, and Pickled Vegetable” and “Strawberry shortcake with angel biscuit and basil syrup.” The four course prix fixe menu will be offered at $30 per person, with adult beverages available for purchase. We’re excited that Four Roses Bourbon has come on as a sponsor, with well-known Memphis bartender Chris Ferri crafting a couple signature cocktails. All proceeds from the event will benefit the historic downtown through our partnership with the Main Street Helena program.
This pop-up is part of an effort to demonstrate a real demand for dynamic food in the Helena and the Arkansas Delta region. While we love the homey cooking we’re known for, our local community and our burgeoning influx of tourists are looking for a range of dining experiences from down home to date night. This is an effort to show that rural foodies do exist and we’re ready to support a chef or restaurant adventurous enough to give us shot. If the May 10th pop-up is successful, we hope to develop it into a series of pop-up restaurant events.
On behalf of First Security Bank, I am happy to announce the launching of OnlyinArk.com, a site focusing on and celebrating the uniqueness of our state.
The Women Bloggers has been hired to provide five posts per month for this wonderful site through our Arkansas Women Blogger gals.
Go check out some of the wonderful stories already published on the site, such as;
Hoof it for Heifer by Lisa Mullis
Canoeing the Mississippi River by Talya Tate Boerner
Spies, Traitors, and Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America by Sarabeth Jones
Museum of Discovery by Natalie Zanatta
An Ode to Hwy 71 by Bethany Stephens
“There’s a lot to celebrate in Arkansas. It’s unique. Southern. Delightfully eccentric. Which is why we love every nook, cranny, cave and corner. In fact, some of our favorite things can’t be found anywhere else. They’re only in Arkansas. So we love them even more. The attractions we visit, the food we crave, the festivals we attend, the mountains we hike, the rivers we float, the stories we tell and the company we keep – it all adds up to one incredible state. And that familiar, meandering silhouette? Looks like home to us.”
