Vacation...in El Paso?

You better believe it! I had a really great weekend with really wonderful friends. I was taken to amazing places & saw more than I imagined in 2.5 days. What was intended as a visit to a close friend & his family, became a small adventure of greatness & joy. It was definitely a treasured weekend. When I left, I felt more at peace & more relaxed than I have in a long time. I was so thankful for the warm reception, the many hugs & kisses & the endless laughter with people I love.

I was introduced to Jaxson's for salad & plenty of weekend planning. I loved the atmosphere!

Then it was onto the cinema to see "Sunshine Cleaning," which I really liked!

We walked out the door & hit EStarbucks ("eh-starbucks") for a sit outside in the sunshine. I had a view of the mountains & began gluing items into the travel journal. The camera was out in very little time & my eyes began to slowly open to the possibilites El Paso has to offer.

After an ounce or two of sun-soakin', cafe-n-conversation, I was taken to a Familyland of gourmet food, outstanding dessert, a few beers & beautiful, joyful people & lots of stories --complete with singing to the moon... I loved that.

Saturday, I awoke to the smell of coffee & the warmth of sunlight streaming through the windows. After a quick shower I was introduced to The Bagel Shop! My tastebuds were pretty excited by the warm, fresh bluberry bagel smeared with vanilla creme cheese. WOO HOO! The restaurant was decorated with none other than black & white photos of customers enjoying their time on cranberry colored walls.

From there was an alum-tour & stop at the UTEP Fine Arts Center. We were intro'd to the

2009 UTEP Student Exhibition!

Come take a walk with me to see a few of the wonders that delighted our senses...

The tour de El Paso continued into downtown & ran next to the Mexican border,

where I got to see "the fence..."

followed by a visit to the famous Rosa's Cantina for a cerveza & the early stages of the NFL draft.

check out the song that made this little place famous!

Later, a quick road trip to Las Cruces, NM landed us in Old Mesilla Park (photo by RC).

We walked down a short street to the historic Fountain Theater where we saw an independent French film called "The Class." What an awesome treat! The people were so nice & had fresh baked cakes, plenty of popcorn & drinks at their old-time concession/cafe.

After the movie we headed across the street to the Vintage Wines shop & cafe.

There we sipped a little of a really rich red & an outstanding reisling. Truth be told, I had my heart on finding a bottle from my favorite vineyard. As we looked through hand-painted wine bottles (by a NMSU student named Rebecca), I casually asked if they carried Wines of the San Juan. The owner exclaimed, "Yes! And we're almost out!" I was given a really cool gift to remember the occassion--a bottle of "Girls are Meaner" by San Juan Winery & a hand-painted bottle for my new apartment.

If you look closely in the reflection of the bottle, you'll see Miss Kate telling one of her famous stories. (photo by RC)

A similar bottle to the one now residing at Kate's

Joy of joys Sunday! After much searching I was taken to a World Market & found the baskets for my new office! I was holding out for the perfect items & found exactly what I'd been hoping for. What a gift & blessing to be able to unpack even more AND organize my art supplies.

Fabulous moment #300 for the weekend: awesome homemade Mexican breakfast followed by my official introduction to Mexican fútbol! That was totally entertaining!! Ricardo & his hilarious father yelled, exclaiming "AIE," more than once. The highlight of this moment was when I heard the ONE word I waited to hear from a real Mexican futbol game...."GOL!!!!" There was much celebrating, high-fives & I do believe an Indios de Juárez cap was thrown down as Armando began dancing a little. *LOL*

I visited a bit, gave a couple of hair tips, talked decorating & attempted to make "Gap Baby" beautiful nieces laugh. I had a really wonderful, memorable time. I will absolutely be visiting more & am very happy to say my former perceptions of this city were altered drastically. To my surprise, I really love it! It just might make the "Could Live There" list that seems to be growing by the year.

I am thankful for such a wonderful weekend & look forward to many more like it!

Keep checking back! My birthday gift is going to get major use & you will be seein' the results...

Have an outstanding week & God bless you all, as I have been blessed.