Wood door 1

I’m back from my New Mexican adventure with Ms. Finny. We hadn’t seen each other since September and yet with the first embrace at the airport, we immediately fell back into place. I quickly got the feeling she’d packed a four leaf clover.
Rental car dude: “Oops. We don’t have your tiny car. Here are the keys to a much nicer one. Have a great trip!”
Hotel manager: “Oops. We gave away your tiny room. Here are the keys to your hacienda. Your butler will take your bags.”

My O'Keefe

Me: “I wonder where the Georgia O’Keeffe museum is? And will it be far for us to walk there?”
Butler: “Walk? We have a free driver. Right this way ladies.”
And so on. I can’t remember how many times Finny and I both looked at each other with goofy grins and said, “Pinch me!”

Santuario de Chimayo, print, horizontal

Highlights:
~The Georgia O’Keefe Museum is worth the trip alone. Her work, her vision, her incredible talent made my heart beat differently. I wanted to climb inside her paintings and spin around to see the color from every angle possible.

~The Loretto Chapel. I could feel God’s presence.

princess leah, santa fe style

~Beautiful Native American art at every turn.

~New Mexican food. It is similar to Arizona’s take on this cuisine, but with more green chile. Thankfully I didn’t have a hard time finding vegetarian options. {Finny, on the other hand, threatened to order a side of beef with her ground beef burritos. She too was in food heaven.}

Tin milagros

~The endless galleries and Hispanic vibe.

tulip opening, print

~Tulips! I couldn’t get over the wild streaks of color popping up from the soil. You can tell I’m a Phoenician.

Genius packing skills

~Snow! We took a quick trip to Taos and threw the Boy Scout motto out the window. Be prepared. Who wants to be prepared when you can flaunt pedicures in shades of spring tulips?

on the gorge

Three cheers for being able to get away for a few days and catch up with a girlfriend. I’ve returned with an enlivened spirit and the feeling I can do anything I set my mind to. I’m also rather encouraged to get back to my studio and be creative. I could easily see myself living in Santa Fe one day. I’d have long hair pulled back in a loose braid, a great pair of detailed cowboy boots on my feet, a big dog by my side and a warm cup of tea in my hands. And a giant mortgage, but that’s another story.

Cheers,
Kelli