Exploring | The Rio Grande Gorge

Where We Ate | Vinaigrette

Sometimes the best dates are the ones unplanned.. like lunches at Vinaigrette on a Monday afternoon.

Life has been busier than ever lately. Over the past month, I've taken on the duties of event planner, photographer, videographer, designer, content creator, project manager, and let's not forget student. After two solid weeks of events (we're talking double digits, people) - I finally enjoyed a day off with Trevor. And, together, we enjoyed a late patio lunch.


As you could likely deduce, Vinaigrette is a salad bistro but is unlike most other salad restaurants. Owner Erin Wade grows the bulk of the produce on her 10-acre farm in Nambe. At the Albuquerque location, tomato vines even line the patio.

Inside, the restaurant is adorned with stylized picnic tables, my favorite bathroom signs (no, really), and orange and green accents. Though this was my first time eating at Vinaigrette, it marked my second visit and I was no less obsessed with the decor this time around. Trevor insists that Erin and I could be best friends (um. when I met Erin, she was wearing overalls and designing the patio to her Albuquerque location? my kind of woman.), so it's no wonder I felt like the restaurant's decor had come out of my own design dreams.

For lunch, we had the Salacho and the Tuna Salad Salad with tuna steak, instead. We may have also had a side of diver scallops. (I know, it was only lunch but our East Coast hearts couldn't resist.

It hasn't even been a week since our lunch but I'm already looking for an excuse to go back.
That Apple Cheddar Chop is calling my name.

Where We Ate | Season's Rotisserie & Grill

As self-proclaimed foodies (my other half is a chef, after all), Trevor and I really enjoy trying new restaurants - whether it's chosen from a friend's recommendation, a magazine article, or just on a whim. Now, living in a tourist-driven area, there are more than enough great restaurants to choose from. I know that when we travel, I hunt out reviews of the best restaurants in the area - after all, you only have so many meals to eat in one place. I thought that this new feature "Where We Ate" might help anyone visiting the Albuquerque or Santa Fe areas - besides, it's a good reason to go out more. (Isn't that right, Trevor?)

Lately, I have been spending far too much time in Old Town - more on that later this week -  but I decided to go back once again when Trevor suggested a spontaneous date, on a Wednesday none the less, to Season's Rotisserie & Grill.

Some of the things we loved about Seasons?
The open kitchen.
They take food allergies seriously.
Their seasonal menu - with fresh seafood!
(And that you can add two diver scallops to any meal for $10!)
Their polenta. You have to try it. 
Their use of fresh, local vegetables.
That strawberry vanilla infused mojito.
Those flowers.
They have gluten-free dessert - a chocolate torte with a creme brulee top. So. Good.

And while we choose to eat in the restaurant, I've heard that Season's second-floor outdoor bar is pretty great during the summer - they even have live music.

As hard as this is to believe, I'd give Seasons a 5 out of 5.

While the prices are a little higher than you might like a weeknight dinner, they are comparable to restaurants of the area and the food quality makes it worth it. We had no complaints about our dinner, our drinks, or our dessert - and the atmosphere and service were right there too. We will definitely be back. (And this time, I'm ordering the scallops and polenta)


p.s. Trevor got a smart phone and I'm not sure if it's the best thing or the worst thing ever.

Little Bird, Little Bird

Knocks on our front door are rare and yet, predictable. Predictable in the way that unexpected and unsolicited knocks are. The balance of trying to keep Buddy in the house while somehow controlling his bark. The shuffle of finding shoes, adjusting my hair and preparing an excuse to turn the person at the door away.

But tonight's knock was met on the other side with pajama'd neighbors and distressed faces.

"We didn't know what to do, but we know you work at an animal hospital."

On the driveway next door, a baby bird huddled in under his own feathers, attempting to disappear into the pale concrete. Trevor, not worried about the tiny beak's bite, moved toward him just as he shuffled away. Unable to fly, unsteady with his wings.

The tiny bird hopped left to right, teetering back and forth, across the pavement.

Terrified of the people surrounding him, likely too aware of the calls from the birds above, the tiniest bird froze. Once in the shelter of Trevor's palm, he held on tight, unwilling to fall again. Tiny claws wrapped around not-so-tiny fingers, little feathers shaking in the quickly-cooling breeze, a tiny beak opening and closing without noise.

The situation was quickly assessed - three nests found in just as many minutes. In the first, the lowest, the most accessible, baby birds with beaks peeking above the edge. The next, up the tallest tree possible. The last, even further above the last. From the ground, all that could be seen were less-than-sturdy branches and discarded feathers clinging to brown nests, despite the wind.

An extending ladder from across the street. An old gray t-shirt from Trevor's immense collection. A brave climb to the top of the tree. Held breath while the ladder rocked and the branches creaked, with my love balanced against them, far enough above the ground.

And a baby bird once again safe and sound, perched high above the dangers of our human world.

Snapshots | School Days

Is it terrible that the only posts I manage to bring you these days are ranting and ravings about what I've been up to? With an instagram or two thrown in? At least I managed to combine this week's snapshots into a collage.

These days I'm really lovingthese downward perspective photos. Okay, excuse that poor explanation but really, I like taking a photo like this each day - a little diary of the weather, my outfit, my surroundings. I think it's going to be my new thing because, well, selfies? So not my thing.

Is that okay? Or are you tired of my feet already?

In other news: I finally have emojis and I'm enjoying it. I don't know about you but I can definitely explain myself better with little icons of doughnuts, fist pumps, and cats with financial expressions. Last week, after years of broken screens, non-functioning home buttons and frustration, I finally upgraded to a new iPhone. Maybe it's the improved camera, the new scenery, or even the sunny (104 degree!) weather, but I've been definitely snapping more photos these days.

I guess you could say I've been on a bit of a shopping spree this week, really - I finally purchased new glasses. (I'll share more about my Warby Parker experience, and my indecision, when they arrive!) Throw in some Clearance tees from Target, a sequin bombshell of a dress and some Turkey Hill iced tea and you've got my week.

Don't forget, Google Reader is going away this weekend! As of Monday, Friend Connect will exist no longer. I encourage you to subscribe to Sunlight and Air using your favorite blog reader. You can find me on bloglovin' here.

Lifestyle | Mack & Winston

Friday morning, I had the pleasure of photographing these guys - Mack and Winston. Cute, right? There really isn't much more to say than that. Unless of course, you're in the greater Santa Fe or Albuquerque areas and would like some fun portraits of your pets.  Or your kids, your event, your spouse.  You get the idea.  If that's case, I have a lot more to say. Send me an e-mail and we can chat.

First Days

I spent much of the weekend preparing myself for the first day of school. Typical "OMG. its. the. first. day." behavior for someone as Type A and obsessive as me. You had already realized that was the extent of my personality, right? Type A and obsessive? 

Organizing my backpack, purchasing highlighters, getting a haircut, cleaning the house, and struggling over what to wear (I went with hot pink pants, in case you were wondering).

Then, yesterday, as I sat on the bus, the real, public, Albuquerque bus, I felt almost sad to be beginning my graduate career. Not the least bit sad because I didn't want to return to school - or sad because I was terrified of taking the bus alone - but sad because I thought for a moment that this first day of school would be my last.

But, I realized I still had a doctorate degree to begin.
And with that my first day woes were all but gone.

Then, I was handed a camera and the last of my worries disappeared.

Our Home

Every week, I write a post promising that this little space will be back to normal the next week. Then, the next week comes and I'm overwhelmed with the same monotonous routine that I've been stuck in for much of May. I'm itching for the calendar to turn to June. I'm anxiously awaiting a long birthday weekend for the guy I love and the end to hours of commuting and long days. I'm hoping that June holds more adventures, longer weekends weekends, and more blog posts than May.

This space has been quiet, not because I haven't had things to say, but because I haven't found time to organize my thoughts or to photograph much of anything. This week, I promised myself that a post would be written. Somehow. About something. Ten on Tuesday seemed a great place to start but then Tuesday faded into Wednesday.. Wednesday quickly filled with meetings.. and soon Wednesday was Thursday. Thursday had its own agenda full of doctors appointments and laundry, a house to clean and a closet to organize. And at five o'clock, with a sparkling home and a moment to breath, I remembered what I had forgotten to share with you.

Our new home.

I suppose I hadn't taken the time to share photos because well, we are in an in between stage. Our home is furnished and full, yet we continue to rearrange and reorganize. What I mean to say is that this isn't a finished product (I hope that will have more color) and it is likely that our home won't remain this way for long.. but I decided that it was worth it to capture it now.


Our home is filled with sentimental pieces. Artwork painted by friends and family, furniture from Trevor's grandparents home on Bethany Beach. The things we purchased when decorating our living room include the couch, the rug, and the wooden bookshelves. Everything else in the room has been part of one of our lives for quite some time. Next to our couch sits a stool painted by Trevor's mom when he was a child. Now, it holds drinks and laptops. Our coffee table, a consigned find that Trevor has moved across the country twice.


On bookshelves, movies and mementos are stacked. Photo albums from Paris. Vintage cameras from my parents. Cookbooks from restaurants in Santa Fe, New Zealand. Thrift store coffee table books on topics like Life in America and Death Cab for Cutie. A guide to peakbagging in Montana from sweet friends. The plant my mom had delivered on the day we moved in.


In two short months, many things have happened in our home. We've had our first family visitors, our first friend to sleep on the couch.. the same couch we've moved three times. We became the proud owners of a kitchen table, a real wooden kitchen table. In two months, we've had two different bedrooms and fifteen different ideas for decorating the living rooms only bare wall. We've moved artwork and failed to find curtains. We've made a list of priorities "buy a couch. hang curtains. buy a bird house." only to scribble it out and reorder it.


This little house really does feel like home.

It's official!

I am officially a University of New Mexico Lobo.
I even took the uncomfortable school ID photo to prove it.

Over the past few months, I have mentioned graduate school in this space only a handful of times. I worried that sharing details or dreams to soon could perhaps jinx the application process, the waiting, the assistantship interviews. While I hoped that I wouldn’t be disappointed in my graduate school outcome, I worried even more about disappointing those of you who have kept your fingers crossed for me over the past few months.

Now that I am officially enrolled, registered and simply waiting on assistantship contracts to be drafted, I thought I could share a little more of my excitement with you. After a month of interviews, held breath and wishful thinking, I can say that I am going to be completing my master's degree with full funding. I still can't believe it. 

Though we lived in Montana at the start of my graduate school application process, I chose to apply to schools scattered throughout the country. The hardest part of the process was knowing that I didn't have the resources needed to visit most of the schools on my list.

As the acceptance letters began to arrive, I began to feel worse and worse. Decision making has never been my strong suit and as I tossed over options, I grew frustrated. Next came the assistantships, the stipends, the scholarships - funding for every single school I had applied to except for this very university. Worse yet, I was carefully warned that assistantship funding was most often reserved for those who earned their BBA at UNM, for those who were in the second year of the program. I took a chance. I turned down great offers (like a funded PhD) for intuition.

Despite wanting to move back East to friends and family, despite loving Flagstaff and Northern Arizona's campus, something drew me to New Mexico. I knew that we couldn't stay in Montana and with a month's notice, we moved nearly 1100 miles - from the snowy mountains to the vast desert.

When I received an e-mail asking me to interview for an IT based assistantship, I nearly replied saying that I had already found a full-time job position. After the first interview, and talks of CSS and HTML5, I was terrified. Then, I spent hours preparing a design portfolio and a week worrying that I had blown my chance at funding. But somehow, I was hired as the newest project assistant for the Web Development Team for the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico. (It's a mouthful, isn't it?)

I have so many thoughts to share with you, thoughts on moving, on New Mexico, on trusting your self to make the right decision - too many thoughts for one post. I just couldn't resist sharing my news with you, sharing my excitement for a new opportunity, and my satisfaction for having made the right decision. Over the course of this summer, I hope to share more details on the MBA application process. A timeline to follow, tips for choosing a school. The process was terrifying but already so worth it.

I hope you can understand why it's been a little quiet here. I've been well, distracted. That being said, I have a feeling a lot of things will be changing over the next few weeks.

I hope I can keep up.

Exploring | The Pecos Monument

I swear that we have been doing things other than exploring. Truth be told, life has been busy and full, yet at the same time, quiet. Our days have been filled to the brim with the ordinary. Things like grocery shopping and laundry, house cleaning and car washing. Chicken Cordon Bleu and Netflix. Filled with the things that no one wants to read about. So, for now, exploring will have to do.

That being said, I hope to be back to a regular blogging schedule next week. I've been a bit swamped with graduate assistantship interviews, designing an entire political campaign, and excitedly preparing for Trevor's family to arrive tomorrow. Like I said, life has been busy.

Exploring | The High Road

Our house lies in a desert valley, tucked quietly under the shadow of the Sandia. Our yard, sand. Our neighborhoods lined with cacti and yucca trees. Rio Rancho bustles with busy lives - families weaving between strip malls, fast food restaurants, and the perfectly manicured parks dotted across the subdivision maps.

But north of us lies Santa Fe, and above that, Taos. The High Road weaves a path out of Santa Fe, among the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. On our weekend journey, the road was lined with pilgrims making a hundred mile trek in honor of Easter.

The High Road weaves through desert, forest, and pueblo lands, many areas still dotted with snow. Along its path, galleries, eateries and tiny villages. From Nambe to Chimayo, Cordova to Truches - a collection of adobe houses built quite precariously on a cliff face.

At the road's end, Taos. Settled by Spanish colonists in the early 18th century, Taos now houses to ski life, colorful shops, and many places to find a good cup of coffee. For us, an afternoon of admiring leather moccasins, savoring indian tacos at Michaels kitchen, and an iced chai latte at World Cup Taos.

Further on, the Rio Grande carves its way through the grounds of northern New Mexico. A bridge spans the 1280 feet across the gorge and provides the brave with an opportunity to jut out over a river which could carry one the entire way to the gulf . I gracefully poised myself behind my camera lens and tried to convince myself that it wasn't truly 585 feet to the water below.

As we drove more than one hundred miles home, my eyes fell shut with the heaviness of altitude change. I woke unsure of the trip, not sure if the purple of the mountains or the turquoise of the Rio Grande were just a dream.