Know anyone with a really good cause? This New Mexico Bed and Breakfast might be the perfect place to host your event.
Special rates for special causes!

Santa Fe Lodging, ready for you!

From time to time we have guests at our New Mexico bed and breakfast ask us whether they should tip our hospitality staff at the end of their stay.  In most areas hospitality wages are such that tips are expected to bring the overall earnings in line. Santa Fe bed and breakfasts tend to pay above the average but gratuities are always welcome.

For me there is a simple answer. Anytime anyone is paid by anyone else to serve you food or make your bed…tip!

You tip at a restaurant right? So don’t forget to thank that early rising B&B host or hostess.

Do you tip the owner of a B&B if they are hosting you personally? Should you tip me if I happen to serve your breakfast?
The theory above says no. You already paid me directly by booking your Santa Fe lodging at the Hacienda so, no.

Housekeeper? You bet! Rule of thumb seems to be $5 per room, per night. We all trust  hospitality staff to come into our private rooms, handle our private belongings, clean up our personal space in a respectful and professional manner. That is a lot of consideration shown to us when we are away from our homes. Show some in return.

Other Staff? If they offered you a particular service that made your visit to Santa Fe better than sure, a tip or a small token is always appreciated. More than you might imagine!

It all comes down to being appreciated. We sure appreciate our guests, nice to know they appreciate us too!

Dancing...

Big News!!  Nancy McGirr is confirmed to attend. Hear her interviewed on 101.1 FM KSFR Radio Café on the morning of Feb 5^th with Mary-Charlotte. This is really exciting! Come, stay overnight  at the Hacienda with her on Feb 5^th and your lodging fee benefits Foto Kids too.

Check out these links - the first is the facebook invitation to the event, second is a short film about the Foto Kids project, the third is the project’s website . Lots more info to come. Call with questions or to book a room for that night.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=232628499105&ref=ts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azpveltkU3U

http://www.fotokids.org

Mark the date in your calendar, INVITE AS MANY FRIENDS AS YOU CAN and come along. The event has no charge and is designed to be low key, family friendly  and informative - no sob stories no sugar coating - the simple and inspiring facts about this incredible work.

photog David Ixbalan

We are all shocked and saddened to see and hear what has happened to Haiti over the last few days. It is so hard to see so much suffering and feel powerless to help in any significant way.

Sometimes we can do something!
The great thing about having this big, beautiful Hacienda is that we can use it for good purpose.

Many of you know that our two youngest, Max and Rosa were born in Guatemala. For years we have donated our wedding ceremony fees to a few charitable causes, very well known to us and very well run.

On Friday, February 5th from 4pm until 9pm we are honored to host and co-sponsor a truly wonderful event to benefit FotoKids. Doubly exciting is that founder and director Nancy McGirr will be staying here with us and will be here to visit and offer a presentation at the event.

Silent Auction     Prints by the students      Video and live Presentation
Food and Music      Lodging discounts            All proceeds donated to FotoKids

You can see a brief video documentary about FotoKids at Out of the Dump. This is really worth watching!

This event is co-sponsored by Walter Burke Catering, Marianna’s Catering, Slurp Soups and many others.

Contact the Hacienda office directly with any questions or to donate!  Hope to see everyone there!

New Mexico Bed and Breakfast Mountain Snow

And after the hike in the snowy hills? How about a cup of history! A mug full of memories? An aromatic and authentic warmer-upper?  You know, something to invoke the ancient spirits?

Mexican Chocolate is no longer reserved for Aztec rulers and rituals but is a delicious treat that wards off the shivers and thaws out your toes. (can you say alliteration? blogging is fun!)

We have a grown-up version of the traditional Mexican beverage that you might want to try at home! Let us know how you like it!

El Tassito del Hacienda

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 lb butter
1 pint chocolate ice cream, softened
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cocoa powder

Melt butter over low heat, add sugars, cocoa and stir until smooth.
Add ice cream.
Mix in slowly. Can be stored in a freezer safe container and frozen for 3 weeks.

To enjoy…add 2-3 tbsp of above to 8 oz very hot water.
Optional, add 1 oz of Rum or rum flavoring.  Enjoy!

Marina

Last month we turned our efforts to:

Recipes for our hens every increasing production (egg nog with a New Mexico Bed and Breakfast twist)

Devising a quickie snow plow for the Bobcat (no luck yet, any ideas?)
fixing that thing in the guestroom that made that sound (you do not need to know)

Thinking up off season marketing ideas and fun promotions

We thought we would do a little contest, see if our guests were thinking of us and what they were thinking. Brian was confident that you all were happy and were thinking good thoughts so…

We sent out an email blast and we offered a free Two Night get away, winner to be drawn on Jan 1, 2010 from those posting a review on TripAdvisor.com and/or BedandBreakfast.com by Dec 31, 2009.

Marina included a few that she was told about but that have not posted yet to TripAdvisor.com (we know they take a long time to process and post those submissions).

Brian and DayZ

We wrote your names on slips of recycled paper, the backs of our Christmas cards.
Adults grabbed mugs of Hot Buttered Rum (thanks Amy and Brandon for the great recipe!) and kids got Cocoa and headed out to the snowy courtyard.

We tossed the names into a slightly sticky Christmas cookie tin, sang a last rousing chorus of “Rudolph” with the kids, reached in and… drum roll please…

We are thrilled to announce that Sarah and Robert L. of Geneva IL are the winners!

To all the rest of you, there is a little something in your account for your next visit to the mountain.

From all of us…Brian, Marina, Jessie, Anna, Max, Anne and of course DayZ,

Happy New Year

A fresh, brisk breeze is blowing. You can smell sage, brittle now and breaking in the wind. A dry rustle of leaves, the summer songbirds no longer twittering in the pinon…
At last, summer is gone. So too, the once green, then gloriously colorful but now just brown and brittle leaves that were hanging from the trees in the Hacienda garden. The wind took them yesterday.

Time for a new point of view. That’s easy from here, the Santa Fe views from here are amazing!
I love my fluffy, fleecy warm pullovers and cozy cuddles with my kids and the gentle bite of the woodsmoke in my nose. The Hacienda’s hot tub is magical on cold nights under the stars.

I really love to offer our guests a warm and welcoming surprise. Whether arriving for a Bed and Breakfast Getaway or coming for a pre-wedding tour of the Hacienda, everyone needs a warm drink to warm the insides, a warm cup to curl your cold fingers around.

Today…not a New Mexico tradition this time but one of my favorites from my childhood.
I am always happy to share our New Mexico Bed and Breakfast recipes.

Warm Cranberry Cider

1 Gallon Cranberry Juice
1/2 gallon Pineapple Juice
1 Quart Water

Mulling Spices:
1 Cinnamon Stick
4 Whole Clove
A little dried Orange Peel

Put the spices into a tea ball or wrap them tightly in cheesecloth. Drop them in and let it all simmer for about an hour.
Serve warm with a simple cookie, nothing to sweet or it will make the cider seem too tart, which it is not!

Mix up a bunch of mulling spice and keep it in an airtight jar. They work well with Burgundy Wine too!

And remember, always add a little water because you will have some evaporation and you do not want this beverage to be to sweet or concentrated.

See you soon…on the mountain!

Our next great in-house event will be November 22 as we host our second Liz Masterson concert! If you have not had the pleasure of seeing  the Songbird of the Sage perform then you should saddle up and ride to the Hacienda. Check out her site and hear what she is up to.

This concert will begin at 4pm, tickets are just $10.00.
BBQ Dinner and Concert combination ticket is just $39.00 per person.

We are happy to be offering a  combination BBQ Dinner/Concert ticket and even a nice discount lodging rate for that weekend so come along and have a great time! Space is limited so RSVP for the concert and then call us to book your dinner and/or lodging reservation and secure your seat at the table wiht Liz!

We love hosting performances and we get some really great entertainers up here. The Hacienda inspires and works its magic on musicians, vocalists, actors, storytellers…

Know anyone that would like to perform at the Hacienda? Have them give us a call at the office. We would be happy to consider all entertaining ideas for these cooler winter months!

Specializing in concerts, educational programs for kids and/or adults, folk festivals, agricultural events and cowboy poetry gatherings, Liz’ is quick wit and spontaneous interaction with the audience makes her a natural Master of Ceremonies.  She has entertained at the prestigious Smithsonian Institution, the Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center and the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada.  She has shared the stage with the greatest western entertainers in the genre, including, Dale Evans, Patsy Montana, Don Edwards and Riders in the Sky, just to mention a few.

As autumn chills the winds we decided to get warm.
Among recent upgrades to our Hacienda is an Outdoor Spa! We figured that since our many Santa Fe Getaway guests (those that live within driving distance but just need to “get away”) are coming to relax and indulge then we should make that our priority one!

Now, imagine visiting a New Mexico bed and breakfast and hiking through the Santa Fe mountains. Darkness falls, all is quiet. You find an inviting spring of hot water on a rocky ledge, set amidst the pinon. You slip into the warmth and gaze up at the stars…

We have located the Spa on the northwest side of the Hacienda. Visitors  experience endless   views with absolute privacy. A native latilla (unstripped pine boughs) fence settles the spa into the landscape. Candles gently illuminate and the rest…

But what if no one knows we are here? How do you find us if you do not know where to look?
We must get the search engines to tell web users that the Hacienda is here, ready…

So we have begun a quiet campaign to encourage all of you bloggers and facebook-ers to add links to our site. This helps the Hacienda become the #1 result when folks are web surfing for Santa Fe lodging, pet friendly hotels in Santa Fe, etc.
Our first participants are thrilled with the bonus gifts we are offering and we are gaining  in the search results each day!
Want to play?  Just Google New Mexico Bed and Breakfast. We use to be on Page 10…not very good. When you find us just click, then send an email or comment here and let us know what our rank was. We will send you a gift!

And yes, we will post some specific results here for those of you who are interested.

Just for fun I am going to post seasonal and traditional New Mexico Christmas and Holiday recipes for a few weeks. A few are Contreras family traditions, some are Hacienda Santa Fe and authentic favorites!

I’ll start with some cookies that we start making now and finish around New Years.
Kids like them and with the Ginger as a “digestive” grown-ups love them with after dinner coffee. They are also great tucked into a bowl of rich vanilla ice cream.

You can easily make the dough ahead, pop in the freezer and then just bake a few as needed! ( I need a couple each day!)
Let us know how they turn out, post some pictures! You can even send us some cookies if you want! We love to bake and we really love to eat!  The notes below from ac are from me, Anne.

SPICED CRACKLE COOKIES
4 dozen cookies   Preparation: 20 minutes   Refrigerate dough: 1 hour   Bake:  350 degrees   12 minutes

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 tbls ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp white pepper
1 tbls crystallized ginger, chopped
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar

In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and molasses on medium speed until blended.  Beat in egg until blended, scraping down side of bowl.
Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon and white pepper into clean bowl.
Add to butter mixture; beat on low speed until blended.  Stir in crystallized ginger.
Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. (do not skip this part! ac)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly coat 2 large baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray OR line with parchment.
Place confectioners’ sugar in small bowl, dusting hands lightly.  Roll pieces of dough into 1-inch balls, using about 2 teaspoons per ball. (a small ice cream scoop works great, worth getting one! ac)
Roll dough in confectioners’ sugar to completely coat.
(can be frozen at this point, air tight to keep fresh. Allow the dough to warm slightly before baking. ac)

Transfer to prepared baking sheets, spacing at least 2 inches apart.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until cookies have expanded and flattened; the tops will be covered with cracks.  Let cookies cool on baking sheets on wire racks for 2 minutes.  Transfer cookies directly to racks; let cool completely.
Baked cookies may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.