About 6 years ago, at this time, Bill and I went to New Mexico and visited the Santa Fe/Albequerque area. The square in Santa Fe was so beautiful. It was all decorated for Christmas. On the roof tops of the hotels, restaurants and shops were several lit up bags called Luminarios. And, hanging from the eaves were strands of red New Mexico Chili Peppers. It was so festive. The weather was so cold that we had to buy ear muffs. And, our noses were frozen. Eventhough it was so cold outside, the inside of the shops and restaurants were so warm and comfortable. Our hotel and the restaurants had adorable little stove like fireplaces. It felt so good to sit next to one and warm up our frozen hands and noses. Another thing that we loved were the warm dishes made with the delicious New Mexico Chili and the Posole. My Aunt Teresa lives in Albequerque and made the most delicious Posole for us. It felt so warm and tasty going down after a cold day of sight seeing. If you have never had Posole, it is a hominy and pork based stew. I found a recipe on the internet and am cooking it right now. I hope it tastes as good as my Aunt's Posole. If so, it will become our New Year's Day Tradition. If you would like to try this recipe, I have it at the bottom of my post.
Here are some of my memories of Santa Fe. Here is me and Bill at the Hilton.
This is the inside of a famous restaurant called Pasquals.
A view looking down on the square
Right along side of the Governors Palace is where the Indians set up their blankets and lay out their beautiful, handcrafted turquoise and silver jewelry. When I was a young girl, I remember my aunt and cousin, Patty coming to visit. Patty was my age and had all kinds of gorgeous jewelry made by the Indians. I couldn't wait to go to Santa Fe someday and buy some for myself. And, finally my dream came true.
This is the Governors Palace.
This is the Church of Loredo.
There is a famous story about the staircase inside of the church. The story goes, that a traveler stopped by this church and built this staircase so that the nuns could climb up to the loft where they would sing. This mysterious traveler, built this staircase with no nails. And, he mysteriously left when he was finished.
Here are some more pictures of around the square. I was taken in by the architecture in New Mexico. I was raised in California and hadn't done much traveling. So seeing this amazing place was just awesome to me.
1/2 onion stuck with 2 cloves
2 cloves garlic, peeled
5 peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seed (ground cumin can be used in a pinch)oregano, pinch
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch/teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
4 cups canned white hominy, drained and rinsed
3 to 5 cups pork broth from cooking pork shoulder
1 cup canned chopped green chilies
Salt to taste
2 whole jalapenos, canned or fresh, chopped (optional)
Preparation
Sear the pork in a bit of hot oil and then add onion, garlic, peppercorns, cumin and oregano. Fill with lightly salted water till meat is barely covered. Bring to a boil (skimming off any foam) and then simmer, covered, for about an hour. Reserve the liquid and cool the meat before cutting into small cubes (may be torn in the style of pulled pork if desired).
While the pork is cooling, saute the chopped onion and garlic till the onion turns clear. Add the rest of the spices, the pork followed by the hominy and finish up with the reserved pork broth. Simmer for an hour or so, and if you can wait, let it sit overnight for the best flavor.
To serve, provide chopped onion, shredded radish, pickled jalapeno pepper slices, shredded cabbage, lime wedges and tortilla chips (fried up fresh from flour burrito shells if possible). Each person mixes in the ingredients as they desire, dressing the soup with lime juice and topping it all off with the crispy tortilla chips. I’m getting hungry thinking about it!
Here are examples of some of the layouts that we have done.
For these cards, I started with Split Coast Stampers Sketch 209. The princess card is made using Creative Basics Boom-Di-Ada. The stamp set is called Happy Endings. I just love it. Glad that I had time to play. But, then it came time for the boy's card and I was out of time!!!
I didn't get a chance to finish this card off the way that I would have liked to. So, I am some what disapointed with the way that it turned out. The paper is Good Times and the stamp set is Cupcake Sprinkles.
Here are some layouts that I did using a January's Page Map Sketch. The paper is from My Minds Eye. The cardstock is from CTMH. I put the little trees on pop dots and added buttons as ornaments to them. 
I am so behind in doing the Bella challenges. Now that the holidays are over I am going to try and get back on track. I made this adorable little Nurse Nellie card for a co-worker who was in a car accident. I am sending it over with a Chicken Divan Casserol, brownies and the movie Juno. I hope it cheers her up. The paper used is from DCWV and the sketch is Bella Sketch #61.
Isn't he just the cutest??? This little cutie is a "Digi Download" from CC Designs. You can order him from All That Scraps. I wasn't sure how these downloads worked, so I just ordered him. I was surprised that once my credit card went through, I had an email with him as an attachment. I opened him up and the computer takes you to the screen where you can print photos. I chose to have the wallet size pictures. I put my cardstock into the printer and I got nine wallet sized cupids. Plus I can print as many as I want. I kind of like this, because for one, you don't have to deal with storing the stamps and two, you have a perfectly stamped image everytime. I used card sketch #209 from Splitcoast Stampers. The paper is something that I bought a year ago. I can't remember who makes it. The little charm is from CTMH.
My dear sister-in-law Vicki, set me the sweetest Elzybells and Sentiments for Christmas. I had some time over the holiday to play with them and here is one of the cards that I made. Thanks "Sissy".
I know it's a little early for Valentine's day...especially when I am stuck in Christmas mode scrapbooking my pictures. LOL. I decided to take a break and do the January Magnolia Sketch Challenge. Here is the sketch.
I have been wanting to use this Tilda since I got her a couple of months ago, but just didn't have the time. When I sat down tonight to make my card, I wasn't sure where I was going to go with it. I got out several pieces of DP and couldn't get any of them to work. Then I decided to just color her the way, that I wanted her to look. Once she was done, the card all came together. I am very happy with the way it turned out. The DP is "DCWV Sweet". The hearts were made using three sizes of Marvy Scalloped Heart punches. The sentiment is CTMH and she is colored with Copic Markers.
I had to scrapbook these pictures of my niece Yvette and her husband Edgar's home on Christmas Eve. Edgar hand sketched and painted all of these lawn art decorations. Every year he creates a new set for whatever kids movie is out. This one is of Madascar. When we were leaving, some people in a car said to us "We love your home." We told them that it was our niece's home and that her husband did all the decorations. Standing on the corner and looking at the house was a man from Dream Works. He said that he had worked on the set for the movie and had heard about this house. So, he came by to see it. He was happy to meet Edgar and plans on sending him something from Dream Works.
A view looking down on the square
There is a famous story about the staircase inside of the church. The story goes, that a traveler stopped by this church and built this staircase so that the nuns could climb up to the loft where they would sing. This mysterious traveler, built this staircase with no nails. And, he mysteriously left when he was finished.
Lexi enjoyed watching the cows. They were right there on the trail. And, all they did was stare at us. I don't know what they would do if we got close.
Along the way, we found a bench. It was a welcome relief from our burning glutes.
Afterwards we went over to the golf course and had a delicious cheeseburger with french fries. On the way home, Lexi fell asleep. Like I said she really needed this hike. She has been cooped up too much lately in the house and she needs to run and get her energy out.
