Taos Trip 2012

The term “babymoon” has only recently been added to my vocabulary—and I have to admit that I think it’s a swell idea!  It’s essentially like taking a honeymoon, only it’s usually shorter and means that soon your weekend trips will dwindle as a baby enters the scene.  Or at least that’s what everyone tells us, so I’m starting to believe it. 

Matt sweetly put this weekend getaway on the calendar for my birthday back in December, and I’ve been looking forward to it ever since.  So here are a few highlights from our delightful weekend trip to Taos, New Mexico. 

First, my boyfriend booked us Puerta Rosa (The Rose Room) at this adorable B&B, The Adobe & Pines Inn, on the south end of Taos.

The grounds are made up of quaint adobe buildings, which are basically private suites. 

My favorite part of our room was definitely the spa bathroom, which was practically the size of our bedroom and included a sauna (which I sadly could not use).  Adjacent to the huge tub was a fireplace—the stuff of dreams, I tell you.  And yes, I made sure to enjoy the tub with a crackling fire every night.  With bubbles—lots and lots of bubbles. 

Although southwest décor isn’t my personal cup o’ tea, I can certainly appreciate it, especially in a local setting.  I snapped a few photos of my favorite features…

I almost walked off with this massive dough bowl—almost. 

And don’t you love the herringbone wood pattern of the built-in closet doors? 

Of course, every room in the B&B had a unique ceiling of patterned wood, plus lots of colorful doors—eye candy galore! 

Breakfast was also a fun affair, as the owner of the B&B is a gourmet chef—originally from the Bronx—and he served up the most stunning concoctions, like cheese blintzes with kiwi chocolate sauce.  Yum!  

And it didn’t hurt that there was a constant supply of oatmeal raisin cookies and hot chocolate just waiting for us every time we left our room…

Taos is an artsy town, and we enjoyed perusing the tiny shops—although I definitely liked the stores that were less artsy and more crafty/décor based.  Matt humored me and even got excited over a few of the shops himself.  Our favorite was Seconds, which is a store that takes used materials and repurposes them into something fresh and new.  We actually made a purchase there, which we’ll be sure to share in another post.

Ultimately, though, our favorite thing to do when exploring a new town is to “discover” good restaurants.  You could say that we sort of ate our way through Taos, which is also what we did on our first anniversary to Ridgeway, Colorado—a teensy hole in the wall town, consisting of about two streets.  You wouldn’t believe the amazing food we found there!  Anyway, Taos did not disappoint either, and we were super happy about it.  One of our favorite places was Antonio’s, which served up Mexican cuisine that reminded us of Salsa Brava, which is one of our absolute favorite places to eat in Colorado Springs—although it’s a bit pricier, so it’s considered a special treat.  Antonio’s tableside guacamole and king crab enchiladas were insanely good—and Matt tried mole for the first time, which he liked (I was not a fan, as it tasted like anise). 

The Bent Street Café had adorable patio seating, where we soaked in some rays while listening to oldies music and munching on Mediterranean style food.  It was a great spot for people watching, too.

But our absolute favorite-takes the cake-must visit if you ever go to Taos—the Taos Cow (it’s a little off the beaten path, but totally worth the trek). 

I mean, how can you go wrong with a name like that?  It’s like the cat’s pajamas, the bees knees…the Taos Cow.  And it lived up to its name.  We dug into sandwiches (Matt went with a Portobello veggie sandwich, while I stuck with a grilled turkey club—and for the record, I am not a mushroom fan, but Matt’s choice was suuuuperb—eeks, can’t believe I admitted that on the web)

and then true homemade ice cream (Matt went with chocolate almond and I gravitated toward the blueberry).

To top it off, they sell my favorite tea, Mighty Leaf, which I can never seem to find. 

Oh, and they were featured in Bon Appetit magazine as one of the top ten ice cream parlors in the States.  No, we weren’t paid to dish about the Taos Cow, but consider us hooked.

That same afternoon, while Matt was off taking pictures of the landscape

I snuck into a consignment shop and fell in love with this bamboo serving tray.

It was huge, sturdy, $22, and BAMBOO!  Sadly, we thought the bottom might be too rough on our ottoman, and even though I probably could have rigged it to work somehow, we left it for someone else to discover and instead I consoled myself with a few snapshots (I think the owner of the store was secretly very proud that I was taking pictures of his second-hand bamboo tray). 

Of course, we also hit up the great outdoors, although I’m not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, so we stuck with hiking a flat trail that meandered along the Rio Grande Gorge. 

Those were a few of the trip highlights, in addition to stopping by the home of some good friends and grabbing burgers at Big K in Buena Vista on our way back to the Springs.  It’s always good to get away and be refreshed, and I’m certainly savoring these final memories of being just a couple.