As someone who has visited basically every Colorado ski town imaginable over the years, I have a very been there done that attitude when it comes to ski trips. Having said that, Taos, New Mexico blew my mind. From the quaint art galleries and shops in the downtown, to the amazing restaurants I had the most wonderful Christmas holiday. We stayed at my Uncle Bob’s bed and breakfast the Old Taos Guesthouse, which I highly recommend and not just because he is one of my favorite uncle’s ; )
Christian and I had a pretty long travel day from Miami, stopping first at the DFW airport to meet up with my family then a quick flight to Santa Fe, Nm. Taos is about an hour drive from the airport and we stopped at Dr. Field Goods Kitchen, which had the best breakfast burrito and biscuits and gravy! We lucked out because no sooner than when we parked in the driveway at the inn, did the snow really start coming down. It was so magical seeing the entire property covered in such a beautiful white blanket. After we got settled in we headed to the Guadalajara Grill for a bite to eat and then hit the hay early because everyone else (minus me) was going skiing early in the morning.
I dutifully joined them on the trip up to the mountain, but in a lodge bunny capacity only. While the others were skiing I had the best time exploring all of the shops and restaurants, Taking photos of the chair lifts and mountains. I stopped in at the Pizza Shack, which was super yummy and also had gluten free crust options which was great. I also popped into Tim’s Stray Dog Cantina for a spicy marg and some guac while I edited my photos and read for a while.
That night we went to the The Trading Post where I had one of the best meatballs of my life. I saved part of it to bring home which was very fortuitous after my cousin, Sarah, and I drank our weight in wine on Christmas Eve and I was in desperate need of some hangover food.
The next day while the boys went…I’m actually not sure what they were doing haha, but Mom and I headed to town for some gallery browsing and shopping. We found the most amazing chocolates at Chocolate and Cashemere, seriously they were like little pieces of art themselves. My favorite shop hands down was the Wanderer Boutique. She had such a well-curated mix of organic beauty products, affordable and trendy clothes, and best of all were the candles. OMG, there were Anthropologie-level smells swirling through the store. I ended up buying three candles.
At a more kitschy souvenirs shop, we found probably the ugliest salt and pepper shakers known to man…which my mom happens to collect so obviously I had to buy it for her. She’s not allowed to have them until next Christmas, and I literally can’t wait to give it to her once she’s completely forgotten about it (follow me on snapchat to see it in all its glory). After our little tour of the town, we headed to Bent Street Deli and met up with the boys for lunch. I ordered the Californian and it was super yummy.
Later that night we went to the Taos Pueblo Reservation. The local Native Americans have been on those lands for over a thousand years, which still kind of blows my mind. Every Christmas Eve they have a big bonfire and you can go around to the different houses and buy souvenirs, art, and most importantly fry bread. I’m still not 100 percent clear on what fry bread is, but I know that you put powdered sugar and honey on top…and that’s all I really needed to know.
The bonfire was amazing, and a little scary. To paint the picture for you (because photography is pretty much frowned upon), there were probably 30 different towers of firewood spread out over the grounds built by the locals some about 30 feet high, some shorter. There was a big parade and the towers are ceremonially lit in succession until the whole area is filled with fire and smoke…like a LOT of smoke. If you ever get the chance to go I definitely would recommend getting there early, see the first couple of towers lit and then skedaddling. You’ll beat traffic, inhale way less smoke, and not have any fire fall on you. Which apparently kind of happened not long after we left.
After the bonfire, we headed back to Uncle Bob’s quarters for Christmas Eve dinner. It was so nice to get to spend the holidays with a part of the family that we don’t get to see nearly as often as I would like. I went to bed tipsy, full, and content…then woke up spinning, starving, and dying of thirst. Drinking in high altitudes is not for the faint of heart. Luckily my mom took pity on me and we stayed in bed all day watching Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, while the boys skied. When I remembered that I had saved half of my meatball, it was literally like Christmas morning. See what I did there 🙂
We went back over to Uncle Bob’s for Christmas Dinner, which was yet another amazing meal. Both him and my Aunt Cady are excellent cooks, if you stay at the inn you’ll see what I mean. We called it an early night as we were all leaving in the morning. I definitely want to plan another trip out there soon. Apparently, there is this amazing hot air balloon festival you can see from their property.
A Guide to Taos, NM
WHERE TO STAY
WHERE TO EAT
WHAT TO DO
Shopping Downtown – See Full Directory Here
My favorite stores were Wanderer Boutique & Chocolate and Cashemere
ZARA chunky knit pink sweater (similar) | c/o DAWN LEVY coat | TORY BURCH snowboots (similar) | ASOS pompom beanie | BP aviator sunglasses | c/o BARRINGTON duffle bag | J.CREW regent blazer | BANANA REPUBLIC pom pom sweater | TALBOTS fair isle sweater | MADWELL green bomber jacket | COLUMBIA jackets (Black | Navy | Red | Gray)
I absolutely love Taos, NM no matter what time of year or where I stay. I grew up going there for the summers and have only recently shown my husband the magic of this place. I will be going to Taos this December for my 5 year wedding anniversary and I am beyond excited!
That’s so fun! What a great place to spend your anniversary 🙂