Week Forty-One: Santa Fe

Before this week I knew four things about Santa Fe:

1. It's the capital of New Mexico.
2. It was founded in 1610, making it the oldest US capital.
3. Artists flock to Santa Fe.
4. The lyrics to "Santa Fe" from one of my favorite musicals of all time, RENT.

I'm not entirely sure the last one is a thing I know about Santa Fe or just a song about it, but I'm going to count it anyway. The idea of visiting a place for the first time is always exciting and a little overwhelming. How much would we really do? Where would our wandering take us? Why did the car rental company give us such an enormous SUV? 

This trip was a replacement trip. Earlier this year, I was named a President's Club winner at work. If you don't work in corporate America and aren't familiar with the concept, these types of trips are usually for sales team members who make their quota for the year. In most companies, including where I work, people from other business groups are chosen to attend as well. I was selected as my team's person this year and was supposed to go to Grand Cayman in May. The trip was canceled given some of the travel restrictions on other parts of the world, so we were given the rewards points to use instead. I decided to go on a trip and invited my best friend, Kelly, to join me. We decided to go to Santa Fe since neither of us have ever been and both of us are artists. We figured it would be an inspiration. 

I guess I do know a fifth thing about Santa Fe - Georgia O'Keeffe sent most of her later life in Santa Fe, specifically at her two homes outside of the city. Both homes are in Abiquiu, a small town about an hour north of Santa Fe. O'Keeffe began restoring the studio home we visited in the late 1940s following the death of her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz. She had been coming to New Mexico since the late 1920s, but didn't move to the state full time until after the completion of the house in Abiquiu. Stieglitz never came to New Mexico.

There is a museum of her work in Santa Fe, but it was closed while we were in town. The trip to Abiquiu was the better choice for us anyway; being in an artist's space and creative environment is always way more interesting than seeing their work in a museum. I love museums, obviously, but there's something so very powerful about being in a person's space. 

I'm jumping ahead a bit. It's been a long time since I've really traveled anywhere for fun, so it's all jumbled around in my brain. Santa Fe is a wonderful city. We were able to walk to a lot of where we wanted to go, which was awesome given the fact that the rental car company only had an enormous SUV available when we arrived (a free upgrade since that was the only option). Santa Fe streets are not made for large cars and trucks, but I did the best I could and we kept the car parked at the resort for most of the trip. 

We spent the first afternoon, before checking in, walking around the plaza and downtown Santa Fe. We had lunch at Cafe Pasqual's - worth the wait if there is one. We found a few places to come back to shop later in the trip and finally checked into the La Posada Resort. The resort has its own curator, so there's art everywhere in the main building. We checked out the galleries and enjoyed a free tequila tasting for our first night. I actually found an artist I liked in one of the galleries and ended up buying a small painting from her website before the end of the trip. Check out Addie Draper's work here. 

From the Rose Room in the resort

Day two started with a trip to CrashMurderBusiness coffee, one of the best coffee experiences I've had in a while. I found it online a few days before we left and it did not disappoint. All of the specialty drinks are named for the groupings of different animals and birds. I had a drink called a Rafter of Turkeys (what every pumpkin spice latte wishes it could be). We took our drinks on the road and drove the hour to Abiquiu. 

I think the spider got stuck in the parking meter and died. I couldn't help myself - I really enjoy spiders now.

The drive to Abiquiu is beautiful (Kelly took a ton of pictures as we drove). The sky was the most beautiful shade of blue and the expansiveness of New Mexico is just overwhelming. O'Keeffe said of her move to the state, "My world is beautiful and impossible and I am so pleased to be here." It's easy to see the beautiful and impossible in the landscape of the state. 

I can see why O'Keeffe would want to live in Abiquiu. It was beautiful and inspiring. She said she bought it for the door and went from there. 

The door - it's in many of her paintings including Patio Door with Green Leaf.

One of my favorite quotes from her about the house is this,"The house is just another of the odd things I have done in my life." The oldest rooms were built in 1744. It's a combination of a traditional adobe house and Spanish colonial styles. She bought it in 1945 and started a three-year restoration project. Marie Chabot oversaw the project. O'Keeffe lived in the house from 1949 until 1984. She died in Santa Fe in 1986. We were able to walk around the garden and outside spaces, like the patio, and go inside to see her kitchen and studio space. Minimalist is the name of the game, despite feeling lived in and homey. I was particularly impressed by her organization. I sometimes feel like everyone thinks artists have to be chaotic and wild, but so many are meticulous and organized. It made me feel good about my own rituals and organization. 

We had lunch at the Abiquiu Inn before heading back to Santa Fe. It was a perfect day. 

We spent our last day in Santa Fe eating delicious food at Casa Culinaria and Casa Chimayo and shopping. I bought a vase made by Susie Charlie, a Navajo potter. I eavesdropped on a conversation in a store to get the recommendation for Casa Chimayo (an excellent way to find out where to get good food) and added some pages to my Santa Fe art journal. I embroidered while in town (and on the plane - not recommended). I even figured out what the 2023 stitch journal is going to be while flying to Santa Fe, so I was definitely inspired. I also took some Polaroid minis and am planning on embroidering a few of them for fun. It was a great week and one of the best vacations I've taken in a long time. I'm looking forward to going back to Santa Fe. 

Here's this week's recap and I'll share some pictures of the Polaroids I'm planning to embroider.

October 9: pink stem stitches. My curvy stem stitch continues to get better. 

October 10: I don't recommend stitching on a plane. I think embroidery in a car is the only way I want to embroider on the go.

October 11: Red stem stitches.

October 12: I don't have a lot of blue thread left, so I used what I could for some sky inspired straight stitches.

October 13: Purple back stitch - I waited until I got home for this entry.

October 14: Green chain stitch

October 15: Yellow and orange French knots

Susie Charlie vase

Another piece of pottery I bought. It's raku. 

The Polaroids I'm going to embroider: flowers from the resort, sage from the patio in Abiquiu, and two underexposed photos of the ladder from Abiquiu.

Some Polaroids from Abiquiu

I'm going to work on the embroidered Polaroids this weekend/week, so I hope to have some in progress or completed pieces to share in the next recap. I'm also starting to work on the plans for the 2023 stitch journal, so I may start sharing some of those details too. You'll have to wait and see. 

There's still time to let me know if you want a holiday ornament. Fill out this Google form and I'll send you an ornament in late November. Also because I'm ridiculous, you can now purchase stickers (and pillows and tote bags) featuring Keely. Check out our Redbubble store here. All the proceeds from the sticker sales (or whatever) will be donated to the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria on Keely's birthday in November.