I love how friends can introduce you to new and unexpected places.  Traveling to all 50 states is on my bucket list {just hit 27!} so when our friends decided to have their wedding in New Mexico, I was excited to travel to a place that wasn’t immediately on my radar.   Being from the East Coast, I haven’t ventured to the southwestern part of the country.  Wanting to learn a little more, I started googling info on the wedding venue, Los Poblanos.  I found a write up from Vogue {entitled:  Three Days at Los Poblanos, the Dreamy Organic Farm that Might Make You Rethink You’re Life, } which just made the place seem magical! Plus, I learned they produce a line of lavender apothecary products.  Finding Beauty, check!

The ranch is located in village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, which is about a 15 minute ride to downtown ABQ and 25 minutes from the airport.  Stepping onto the property just makes you want to take a deep breath.  Maybe it’s the lavender scenting the air, but you immediately feel relaxed.  The scenery is so simple, quaint and rustic, it immediately tunes out the controlled chaos of your everyday life.

We get our old fashioned key from the front desk and head to our room which is welcoming and charming.  Each room is unique and has oversized chairs outside the door where you can read a book and watch the roadrunners race by.  The bathroom is equipped with their signature lavender products – hand soap, lotions, shampoo, conditioner and even filled sachets in the tissue boxes.

A few friends are lounging by the pool sipping on rose, playing Monopoly Deal and catching up.  A simple lunch of sandwiches is about to be served and we’re starving.  Well, turns out it’s not just any sandwich. It’s chicken confit on homemade sourdough bread. O.M.G. The first bite was heavenly. It’s our first introduction to the Los Poblanos farm-to-fork menu and seriously, everything we ate after was beyond amazing.

That night, the gang headed to downtown ABQ for a rehearsal dinner at Marble Brewery, where they had rented out the rooftop area.  We took a quick tour of the brewing area first where we learned about the history of brewing in Albuquerque, Marble itself, and the giant aquifer that sits under Albuquerque and apparently is a perfect base for brewing.  Marble and ABQ beers in general have won their fair share of brewing awards over the past decade. While I am only an occasional beer drinker, I thoroughly enjoyed the double white and Jeff liked the pilsner.

On the day of the wedding, we didn’t need to be at the ceremony until 4. That morning, we had an amazing breakfast of chiliquilies {local dish of corn tortillas, house made red chile, cheese, potatos, eggs}, farm fresh omelettes with veggies grown on the premises, homemade sausage, fresh squeezed orange juice and outstanding coffee.  Los Poblanos has its own chili sauce, which I tried to bring home but TSA had other plans.

A few of us then took a long walk to the Rio Grande where we ran into the groom sweating out the alcohol from the night before.  We walked, but you can also rent bikes.  When we got back to the ranch, Jeff went to hang out at the pool while I explored the property. There is a little shop, aptly named The Farm Shop, selling all the lavender products they make, small bites {proscusitto, cheese, honey, pistachios}, and souvenirs where I picked up little tractors for the kids.

The wedding was gorgeous with wild flowers and a mariachi band celebrating the bride and groom’s first kiss. We headed over to the cocktail hour {FYI: New Mexico has limited liquor licenses, so hard alcohol is scarce.  Most of the bars only serve beer and wine. The margaritas at the wedding were made with agave wine}.  I had to cut Jeff off from the delicious tamales that were brought out.

At the dinner, most of the guests were seated at a long table {love!} with candles and flowers down the middle, which faces the other pool on the property.  Before heading over to the hacienda for dancing, the sun set on the Sandia mountains in the background and you witnessed how they earned their name which translates to watermelon in Spanish.

The day after the wedding, we rented a car and drove to Santa Fe.  In contrast to the grit of downtown Albuquerque, Santa Fe’s downtown is a pedestrian paradise, loaded with art galleries, restaurants, interesting shops, and scenic parks.  We spent a few hours walking around and did a little shopping, followed by lunch with friends before returning to Los Poblanos.

All in all, the entire trip couldn’t have been more enjoyable.  From the unique beers from Marble Brewery,  to the incredible wedding events that were perfectly choreographed but at the same time not trying too hard, to the amazing food, relaxation and renewal of Los Poblanos, and finally the artsy funk of Santa Fe, New Mexico impressed on many levels.