Smooch dresses up as a Santa Fe tourist for Halloween

Not really. But yesterday's encore post with the lamb pelt reminded me that in the hubbub of a houseguest, I had neglected to share bore you with the treasures found on our trip to Santa Fe. Tradition dictated that I bring home a hide, so I did, this time in the form of a cowhide-quilt rug for the bathroom. It wasn't nearly as heavy as the hides purchased on two previous trips, but it did get its own seat at lunch.

And no trip to Santa Fe would be complete without bling. 

I told Smooch she could borrow my new necklace, but only on special occasions.

Tradition also dictated that I bring home some ponytail holders. As my collection of these continues to grow, I'm destined to wear long hair forever.

Before we left Santa Fe, we ventured over to Canyon Road, where more than a hundred art galleries line both sides of the street. There was some sort of special event going on, and many artists were outside their galleries painting.  We walked up to one artist to take a peek, and imagine my surprise to see what she was painting...

Burros!

The artist, Barbara Meikle, pointed us to her gallery, where we found boldly colorful paintings of burros on every wall. I was all set to start a new Santa Fe-shopping tradition ... until I saw the prices. Maybe I'll win the lottery and can pick one up on my next trip.

Saturday encore ~ The 9:03 to Santa Fe

I'm off to Santa Fe today, but this time I'm driving my truck because what I'm going to pick up won't fit on the train. It doesn't breathe...yet...so don't get too excited, but it will mark the beginning of a new adventure here at the 7MSN. Here's an encore from March 2009 to whet your appetite for all the free ranging that's about to commence.

It's been a long time since I've shopped in a real store (Walmart doesn't count), or since I've been to Santa Fe. Now that there's a commuter train between Belen and Santa Fe, on Saturday I decided to do both. I boarded the 9:03 northbound, welcomed my friend J. aboard in Albuquerque at 10:01, and arrived in Santa Fe at 11:15. Train schedules are the only things in New Mexico that are precise. We're really much more laid back.



Travel time is about the same by rail or by car, but had I driven, I would still be driving around Santa Fe looking for a place to park.

Did you know that "Santa Fe" is also known as "The City Different"? Truer words were never spoken.

Our first stop was the Farmer's Market, just down the block from the train station. It is a bustling indoor mercantile featuring free-range, organic, grass-fed everything.


Whatever I would buy here would have to be lugged around all day, so I had to be very selective.


As lovely as these sprouts were, I didn't think they'd survive a day at the bottom of my bag. I'm not really a sprout kind of gal anyway. But they sure were fresh and green and organic.


I was dazzled by this display of radishes, so artfully arranged on darling $4 mini bales of hay. Sort of makes the $7.50 I've been paying for a 60-pound bale seem like a real bargain. Yep, things are always a little pricey in Santa Fe. But I'll bet those little bales were organic and grown on a free range.


Here we have some grass-fed singers. They were singing in a language other than English - I never could figure out what it was. The important thing to note in the photo above is the yellow sign that says Shepherd's Lamb. Can you hear it? Lin-da, come over here.


It was hard to hear over all the certified free-range singing, but that sign kept calling me and I obeyed.


And here we are at the Shepherd's Lamb booth. There are several things I must bring to your attention.
1. Skeins of organic lamb's wool - $12 each
2. Fresh lamb
3. Weird guy buying fresh lamb who must have thought I was taking a picture of him. (To take this overview, I aimlessly raised the camera high above my head and clicked the shutter. I had no idea that Weird Guy was looking at me until I downloaded the picture. Eww.)
4. Lamb pelts

Now which one of these things spoke to me so loudly that I bought it?



Why, the lamb pelt, of course. It was so luxurious and warm and wooly and wonderful. I had no idea what I would do with it once I got it home; all I knew was that I had to have it. So I bought the darned thing and lugged it all over Santa Fe all stinkin' day. What a p.i.t.a. But it was worth it.

I'm sitting on it right now as I type this. It has turned my desk chair into a warm cloud. The trick will be to keep my beautiful, white, clean (but machine washable) lamb pelt for myself. If I get careless and leave it unattended, someone else is likely to lay claim to it.


Here is Smooch, looking a little sheepish, don't you think?


Here is part two of my personal attempt to stimulate the economy. Sadly, it does not feature a new hat, but does include a little bling I can wear under it.

Santa Fe – it brings out the dead animal in me

My sister and I took the train to Santa Fe yesterday. After my last excursion there, I vowed to skip the shopping and focus on the city's historical and cultural offerings. Let's just say I was never very good at that vow thing.

We began our day with breakfast at a sidewalk cafe in Burro Alley and a visit to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Not surprisingly, I've always appreciated St. Francis of Assisi, him being the patron saint of animals and all. He also happens to be the patron saint of Santa Fe.



We also toured the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. Not surprisingly, I've always appreciated her, too, seeing as how she was a loner living in New Mexico who appreciated nature and said things like: When I got to New Mexico, that was mine. As soon as I saw it, that was my country. I had never seen anything like it before but it fitted to me exactly. It's something that's in the air. It's just different. The sky is different, the stars are different, the wind is different. I shouldn't say too much about this because other people may get interested and I don't want them interested. Her painting of a cow pelvis against the New Mexico blue sky is one of my favorites, and I got to see it up close at the museum. It just speaks to me.

Sort of like how everything at my favorite store in Santa Fe speaks to me. And how this sculpture called Truffles spoke to me. Something in the picture below spoke loudly enough to jump into my shopping bag.


All that culture, followed by all that shopping, made us parched and ravenous, so we headed to the Cowgirl Bar and Grill on the way home. The shrimp tamales with a chipotle sauce, the quesadilla de la casa, and the mojito and margarita shouted out from the menu. We had to order them all just to shut them up.


Remember how last time I went to Santa Fe, I lugged around a lamb pelt all day? This time I lugged around a cow hide. I even took it to lunch. It looked so stylish in this Georgia O'Keefe Museum recycled tote bag. What is it about Santa Fe that brings out the dead animal in me? I don't think St. Francis of Assisi would approve.  

Smooch, however, does seem to approve of the new hide. And she likes the new ponytail bling, too. 

Note to self: you're running out of room to put animal hides. Stop going to Santa Fe.



But I haven't run out of wall space yet, and this painted canvas of a pistol-packing cowgirl found its way into my shopping bag.



It seemed only fitting.

You see one silver and turquoise shop, you've seen them all.

Once we left the Farmer's Market and headed over to the Plaza, I remembered why I stopped shopping in Santa Fe in the first place: I o.d. on silver and turquoise after 10 minutes, and everything is expensive.

But I do appreciate the jewelry that is sold under the portal at the Palace of the Governors. The artisans must belong to New Mexico tribes or pueblos, and their jewelry is the real deal. I'll bring in Smooch to model the one bauble I bought there, since it's hard to take pictures of the back of my head.


It's a ponytail holder, which I put to immediate use. It was a very windy day.

Next stop, my favorite store, Simply Santa Fe. This three-level emporium of all things western is the kind of place that makes you want to burn your house down and start all over again with stuff purchased exclusively from here.


If I were willing to take out a second mortgage, here are a few things I would have bought. Come on, all you cowgirls, let's drool together, shall we?

A colorful platter with running horses ...


A colorful rug with running horses ...


A painted canvas of a colorful cowgirl on a running horse...


A colorful ottoman with running horses ... ok, ok, I'm a one-trick pony.


This hide-on chair was very comfy, but it tried to get fresh with my lamb pelt.


As for this suede duster...

It was on the 25% off rack, and I was SO tempted ... until I realized I've bought cars that cost less. Just couldn't do it. I left the store empty handed, except for my cumbersome, getting-heavier-by-the-minute lamb pelt.

We took a break for lunch. Table for three, please - two adults and one lamb pelt.

Then we walked over to the Santa Fe Boot Company.

But by now, I was too tired to try on boots. All I wanted to do was curl up in my lamb pelt on my own couch. Gone from the ranch for eight hours and she's already homesick.

On the way to the train station, we passed Burro Alley and this little guy.

In days gone by, Burro Alley was the gambling and red light district of Santa Fe. It was named for the burros who carried the firewood down from the mountains to heat the brothels and pool halls.

The history of Santa Fe is far more interesting to me than anything I would ever find in the stores. Well, maybe with the exception of that suede duster. So next trip, I'll skip the shopping and do one of the historic walking tours. Without the lamb pelt.

The 9:03 to Santa Fe

It's been a long time since I've shopped in a real store (Walmart doesn't count), or since I've been to Santa Fe. Now that there's a commuter train between Belen and Santa Fe, on Saturday, I decided to do both. I boarded the 9:03 northbound, welcomed my friend J. aboard in Albuquerque at 10:01, and arrived in Santa Fe at 11:15. Train schedules are the only things in New Mexico that are precise. We're really much more laid back.




Travel time is about the same by rail or by car, but had I driven, I would still be driving around Santa Fe looking for a place to park.

Did you know that "Santa Fe" is also known as "The City Different"? Truer words were never spoken.

Our first stop was the Farmer's Market, just down the block from the train station. It is a bustling indoor market featuring free range organic grass-fed everything.



Whatever I would buy here would have to be lugged around all day, so I had to be very selective.



As lovely as these sprouts were, I didn't think they'd survive a day at the bottom of my bag. I'm not really a sprout kind of gal anyway. But they sure were fresh and green and organic.



I was dazzled by this display of radishes, so artfully arranged on darling $4 mini bales of hay. Sort of makes the $7.50 I've been paying for a 60-pound bale seem like a real bargain. Yep, things are always a little pricey in Santa Fe. But I'll bet those little bales were organic and grown on a free range.



Now here we have some grass-fed singers. They were singing in a language other than English - I never could figure out what it was. The important thing to note in the photo above is the yellow sign that says Shepherd's Lamb. Can you hear it? Linda, come over here.



It was hard to hear over all the certified free-range singing, but that sign kept calling me and I obeyed.



And here we are at the Shepherd's Lamb booth. There are several things I must bring to your attention (you can click on the picture to enlarge it).
1. Skeins of organic lamb's wool - $12 each
2. Fresh lamb
3. Weird guy buying fresh lamb who must have thought I was taking a picture of him. (Please note that to take this overview, I aimlessly raised the camera high above my head and clicked the shutter. I had no idea that Weird Guy was looking at me until I downloaded the picture. Eww.)
4. Lamb pelts

Now which one of these things spoke to me so loudly that I just had to have it?




Why, the lamb pelt, of course. It was just so luxurious and warm and wooly and wonderful. I had no idea what I would do with it once I got it home; all I knew was that I had to have it. So I bought the darned thing and lugged it all over Santa Fe all stinkin' day. What a p.i.t.a. But it was worth it.

I'm sitting on it right now as I type this. It has turned my desk chair into a warm cloud. The trick will be to keep my beautiful, white, clean (but machine washable) lamb pelt for myself. If I get careless and leave it unattended, someone else is likely to lay claim to it.



Here is Smooch, looking a little sheepish, don't you think?



Come back tomorrow for part two of my personal attempt to stimulate the economy. Sadly, it does not feature a new hat, but does include a little bling I can wear under it.