Kitty Deschanel

Update: We've earned our Southwest Companion Pass! For years, I've hoped to earn enough Southwest miles to receive the glittering holy grail of travel rewards, a Southwest Companion Pass. This nifty little card entitles you to a Buy 1, Get 1 Free discount on every Southwest flight you take, even ones booked with points. Half price weekend getaway to Las Vegas? Yes, please! Actually, scratch that. Half price trip to sunny Hawaii! Southwest expects to be flying there soon. My husband travels exclusively with Southwest for work and he is always away on a business trip , so you'd think if anyone was going to earn a Companion Pass, it would be him. He has received A-List Preferred status with Southwest, which doubles his points, Platinum Premier Elite status with their partner, Marriott, and whatever the top rewards tier is with Southwest's rental car partner, National. Still, no Companion Pass. To earn one, you've always had to fly 100 flights with Southwest pe

As part of my New Year's resolutions for 2019 (yes, I still do those, old soul that I am), I've been treadmilling daily and trying to make healthier food choices. The treadmill part is easy, as long as I don't overdo it and kill my feet again , because I can use my laptop the entire time - online shopping and fitness combined! The food part is more of a challenge. I looove sugar. Oh, and salt. Now I want to whip up a chocolate cake and binge on pickles while it bakes. So not the point of this blog post! Another resolution is that I'm going to invest more time into this site. Stay tuned for big improvements! You know how all (successful) bloggers swear by the rule of having a clear topic for their site? Yeah...I have not even come close to doing that. This blog is just like my mind - all over the place. Kitty Deschanel, 2019 = more beauty, more sleep, and less nonsense. Recipes? Get the heck out of here, recipes. In the meantime, here is a post from 5 years ago

SN and I have lived in New Mexico many years, but had never visited (or wanted to visit) the River of Lights event that is held during the holidays every year at the botanical garden. At $12 per person, the tickets seemed too expensive, especially as I'd seen the remnants of the exhibits during the day while there during the spring.  Yes, I thought the dozen or so scraps that were scattered around represented the entire thing. But guess what? The River of Lights at the ABQ BioPark is HUGE. We spent more than an hour there last night and could probably have stayed even longer. We're old though (and pitifully out of shape for our 30s) and our legs were tired from walking so much. I forgot how enormous the Albuquerque botanical gardens is. A quick story before I get to the photos - we nearly missed the Albuquerque River of Lights last night. The weather was perfect, around 40 degrees with no wind or rain, and I was certain the crowd would increase by Thursday night, when Win

The Taos Summer Wine Festival is our favorite event in the world, hands down. I don't care if you live in another country - this is worth traveling for! The New Mexico mountains are calling your name. Here's a taste of some of the fun you missed at the 2018 Grand Tasting event: Just follow this van for a good time. The live entertainment was so enthusiastic and had everyone dancing. I can't help wondering if the secret to their success lies with all those cans of Santa Fe Brewing beer!  Here's a funny story for you. SN and my dad were having a great time at the Taos Summer Wine Festival, but they lamented that the samples of beer were too small. I left the table and returned with two entire cans of beer for them, much to their astonishment.  "Oh, I just flirted with the vendor a little bit," I told them (COMPLETELY JOKING). The next time my dad went for samples, I told him to be sure to flirt. He pointed out

Recently, my family and I were fortunate to attend the second annual Taos Wine Festival, which is held each summer in the Taos Ski Valley. I didn't know if this year would be able to top, or at least match, the near-perfect inaugural event. As one of my favorite memories of last year, I sure hoped it would. Somehow, this time was even better. With endless tastes of wine and gourmet food from top chefs, plus all-inclusive activities in the breathtaking New Mexico mountains, you can't go wrong. It's no exaggeration to say the Taos Summer Wine Festival is one of the best foodie experiences in the United States.  While other wine events offer a hodgepodge of tastings and loosely related prix fixe meals, Cecilia Cuff and her fellow festival organizers have proven that what really makes a weekend flawless are the special details. At the Taos Summer Wine Festival, no small touch has been overlooked. Tips are included. Bubbly is plentiful and encouraged. There was even free ch