home300about300contact300

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Santa Fe, New Mexico.
A Van Meter Family Tradition, Every Four Years, at Christmas.



Every four years, my grandparents generously take the family out to their timeshare, and we enjoy time with eachother, delicious food, and the beautiful outdoors.


This was my first year as a working woman to attend our traditional "Christmas in Santa Fe." That meant I had to fly out a day later, and met up with my family as soon as I could get off work. I flew out of DFW, and had a surprisingly pleasant time in the airport by myself.

DFW Airport...Beautiful Mosaic Floor
2 hours to kill. Pizza and (several glasses of) wine down the hatch! 
Some EXCELLENT reading material for the relaxing trip.
Boarding the plane to Santa Fe!
We stay at the Campanilla Compound, thanks to my grandparents!!! They have a timeshare and always provide ample accommodations for us when we arrive.

And once we arrived...pure heaven.

Snowbunnies <3

The food....DELISH.

The Van Meter Family in Santa Fe!

Our Unit of 4!

Laura, Me, Mommy 
Bud messing around, looking adorable.

La Fonda, a beautiful hotel in Santa Fe, where we eat brunch every trip.
Gingerbread House at La Fonda

Gotta love how GREEN the people are in Santa Fe!

Beautiful Christmas Decor

Native American textiles. Love the culture here.

My sweet parents. They honeymooned in Santa Fe. 

Cracking up at the "Eyes of the Night" shirt...complete with the Hawk, Bobcat, Owl, Coyote, and Snake.

My boots. The latter two of which I acquired in Santa Fe this year.

Supporting the local artists.

Eating and drinking well.

Laura (my sister) with our cousins, Andy and Allie.

Mimi and GrandDad, my grandparents, who make this awesome trip happen every 4 years.

Absolutely diggin my new kicks.
Ten Thousand Waves. Probably the best part!!!!

Hittin' up a Japanese spa in the mountains. 
Using "ski money" as "spa money" has never felt so right.
The co-ed hot tub.

The bidet. (bi-DAY). bi-YAY. So fresh, so clean. LOVED MY BIDET EXPERIENCE!!!
A little collage of all the greatness Ten Thousand Waves entails.
Sissies lovin' life.
Being silly in the sauna. Laughing about my Spandex, I'm sure.

Back to our Temporary Home.
Not too shabby.

Every Christmas Eve, we eat at the Pink Adobe. 

We always love our Christmas Eve dinner at "The Pink"!
Beautiful firepit at the Pink
Laura and me at the Pink Adobe

Mommy and Laura at the Pink

Okay. The entire town is always lit up via luminaries on Christmas Eve. It truly transforms into a magical Christmas Heaven on Earth.

And then we roadtripped it back home. 12 hours. In the snow and ice...

But there were some pretty photo ops!
Once we got back...George and I exchanged gifts. I got him the shirt he's wearing below while I was in Santa Fe, along with a handmade brass guitar pick with a heart engraved on it. I thought of him instantly when I saw it. He got me these PERFECT wall hangings (they will look so beautiful in my loft on that picture frame wall!), jewelry, and a promise to replace the needle on our record player. I hope he follows through on that last one (no pressure or anything....), because I've been wanting it for a while now and have no idea where to get a replacement.


 The next morning I went to my parents' home and we did our "Christmas morning" complete with Christmas Eve pajamas...on the 26th. 

I loved my gifts! This camera bag (below) is PERFECT!!!! 

Right up my alley! And I always love Volcano (an Anthropologie candle)...

but my favorite gift was the new iPhone. Despite the huge homework assignment! Usually Apple is so good about making transitions smooth and easy. I've upgraded from a "3" to a "3GS" before and had no problems. This time, I've had to talk to both Apple and AT&T, along with restoring multiple times...kind of a drag. Hopefully it will be up and running by tonight. Despite the hassle, I'm VERY excited to capture photos on this phone while I'm on-the-go with the (much improved) camera phone!

I gave my parents a Keurig coffee maker. I know they would never buy this for themselves since they are practical people and have a functioning coffee maker. But I also knew they'd enjoy the convenience this one-cup-at-a-time machine has to offer! I LOVE being able to buy "real" presents now that I'm a "grown up"!

Had to throw in a pic of my favorite Van Meter nutcracker...the adorable dreaded-out hippy! Ha!

Mmm...."Christmas" Lasagna...Thank you, Mommy!



After Christmas with my family, I went to the Tinker household! They spoiled me this year. I felt overwhelmed with gratitude! Everything from jewelry to sleepwear to slippers to face masks to hair conditioner to a butterfly keyring...but my favorite gift was this "Sexy Little Bride" tanktop. 

So cute!
William and his girlfriend, Cassidy. Love these two so much!

Joe enjoying the shirt I gave him for Christmas. The wolf explanation will be another blogpost, for another time.


 I had a wonderful, blessed holiday. I hope you all did as well. Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!



1 comment: