Talya Tate Boerner's Blog, page 11

Book Reviews: January 2022

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Hello readers! Today I bring you my reviews of the books I read in January, 2022. Before we get into the book reviews, I have a couple of small bookish announcements.

In 2022, my monthly reading goal is to include a book published independently or via small press, as well as a classic novel. With respect to indie books, there are many well-written and engaging books that deserve an audience (and the resulting reviews...

Sunday Letter: 01.30.22

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

I’ve had a busy-busy week and a very productive one. I can almost taste the launch of my next book, and I’m so excited about it. The book likely won’t be available until this fall, but you know how fast time flies. You will have it in your hands before you can shake a stick at 2022.

I don’t want to get ahead of myself though.

Right now I want to tell you this—if you are interested in my next book, make sure you are subscribed to my email newsletter. I will be gearing...

Grapefruit Vanilla Shortbread

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Stop whatever you are doing and feast your eyes on this Grapefruit Vanilla Shortbread. I’m here to tell you this is the most fabulous dessert I’ve ever made.

It’s oh so dreamy.

I baked this loveliness during the Christmas holidays.

Texas grapefruit are so sweet in wintertime, and I look forward to them each year. Since I had purchased a tow sack filled with grapefruits at Sams, I was looking for recipes tha...

Sunday Letter: 01.23.22

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

This is the Sunday Letter that almost wasn’t. Last night when I should have been writing, I got wrapped up watching Earth vs. the Flying Saucers on MeTV. How I waited my whole life so far to see this 1950s black-and-white cult classic, I have no earthly idea. It had everything a good ole’ piece of sci-fi should have, including mind control and impenetrable force fields.

When I was a kid, there were several worries that swirled around in my mind. These troublesome th...

Word of the Year and my 2022 Resolutions

Word of the Year

Have you decided on a word for 2022? For the past several Januarys I’ve been choosing a word to focus on during the year ahead. I think it helps keep me on track and gives me an anchor when I need to recenter myself. One year, I forgot my word altogether, and that was a less than stellar year… So you see, I think there may be something to it—sort of a ‘you are what you think’ magic?

I’m afraid not to choose a word of the year. I’m mean, who wants to be drifting through an entir...

Vintage Christmas Photo Garland

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! This fun vintage Christmas photo garland will take you all of five minutes to string along your mantel or bookcase or windowsill.

Vintage photos deserve to be displayed, y’all.

What You’ll Need

How easy is this? All you need is old photos, a length of tinsel or ribbon or string, and clothespins or other clips.

I used plain, small clothespins. You could fancy them up by adding glitter or paint. Or, you could purchase holiday-themed ones at a craft shop. I went the e...

Christmas Cards and Nature ~ 2 days!

Today I want to show you how I display Christmas cards and nature together, creating a festive holiday mood board of sorts. But first, I would like to thank everyone who keeps me on their Christmas card list. I’m not very consistent in mailing out cards. Last year I mailed Thanksgiving cards; this year I never got around to sending any sort of cards. But I really do love receiving them in the mail, and if I had been a bit more organized, I would have mailed you one this year.

Next year, I’ll tr...

Charlie Brown Snow ~ 3 days til Christmas!

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Today’s Christmas Countdown post is…wait for it…how to create Charlie Brown snow!

Did you watch A Charlie Brown Christmas this year? PBS has been playing it for the past three Sunday nights. I doubt I’ve missed a year since it debuted on December 9, 1965.

This year when I watched it, I thought about all the fabulous snowfall in Charlie Brown’s neighborhood. And I wondered where Charlie Brown lived. John guessed somewhere in th...

Christmas Countdown: 6 days!

Christmas Countdown

Are you ready for something a little different? For the next six days, I’ll be counting down to a merry little Christmas here at Grace Grits and Gardening. After several busy weeks of going and doing, I’m ready to focus entirely on yuletide cheer. The waiting and anticipating. The sights and sounds and memories. The sheer delight of it.

Consider today’s Christmas Countdown post to be the first of a (nearly) week-long Grace Grits advent calendar. My plan is to provide one sim...

Botanical Christmas Cookies

Botanical Christmas Cookies ❃

I baked six dozen sugar cookies for a garden club luncheon last week. Since we are all rather fond of plants, I went with a semi-botanical theme using fresh violas and fennel from our garden. I also used dried herbs and other nuts, fruits, and candies from my pantry.

My goal was to create simple, delicious cookies that looked like those I imagined Marmee might have baked for Jo, Amy, Beth, and Meg. She would have used whatever goodness had been put up from the Marc...