I'll take my patterns with my patterns, please.
I love color, but {dare I say it?}, I love patterns even more. They feel like a secret code, like a hidden language, like a mystery waiting to reveal themselves. And that is especially true about Moroccan, Berber and Islamic patterns. Why? Because they are not just beautiful, they have a purpose and meaning.
I didn't mean to fall in love. No, I didn't mean to fall in love. You see, prior to Morocco, there was Namibia. A place where the sun was so strong that I had to squint to see the stretches of desert, colorless and stark. The cities and towns were quiet and organized, neat and tidy. Everything seemed to have its place. Even the sand dunes were perfectly arranged.
And then..... then came Morocco. And with it, all of its gorgeous madness. All of its colors, all of its patterns, all of its textures. Its souks bursting to overflowing. Its houses opening to secret gardens and fountain filled courtyards. Arches and tiles cascaded as far as the eye could see. Rooms were decorated with a kind of seductive loveliness that was as tantalizing to me as the endless cups of Moroccan mint tea
And I wanted to share some of that with you, you see. I wanted to give you some Marrakesh. So you could put it in your pocket. So you could take it home with you. So you could add a little Marrakesh to your own living room or bedroom or kitchen. If I couldn't lure you to Morocco then I wanted to lure Morocco to you.
So here it is. Yes, here it is. My book. Marrakesh by Design, to be published by Artisan Books.
Available now for pre-order. At IndieBound. Amazon. At Barnes & Noble. Please, oh please like it. {I think you will. I wrote it -- and photographed it -- with you in mind:-)}
Ah Thanksgiving. Perhaps the very best of the American holidays. No television pitches, no Hallmark greeting cards, no gifts. Just family, friends, and good food. And being thankful of course (Why can't we do this more often?)
We always celebrate Thanksgiving, even though we live in Morocco. This year, we had a group of 20 friends, guests, and friends of friends together in the Peacock Pavilions dining tent.
When we sat down at the table we all said in turn what we were thankful for. Thanks ranged widely -- from being alive, to our parents, to friends who felt like family, to blessings for the countries where we were born, to living in a place of peace, to our very first full year open at Peacock Pavilions (ahem yes, that last one was mine). There were a few tears of the good variety.
As befitting such a nice occasion to be thankful, I tried to make it all look a little special.
There was simple food. And somehow it was beautiful all on its own.
And I brought out all my pottery platters from Tamgroute Morocco. Such a lovely green.
There were olive branches on the table and porcelain pods that Caroline Douglas made for Peacock Pavilions.
We stenciled placemats on kraft paper, using stencils from Royal Design Studio. This is a trick we learned from former lovely intern Sarah Winward. I had our dinner napkins at Peacock Pavilions embroidered with peacock feathers.
The children's table had unbreakable copper goblets that I bought in India and glimmery chargers that I commissioned for Peacock Pavilions. Salt and peper was loaded up in porcelain leaves that Caroline Douglas made for me.
Our olive trees were heavy with olives which made me think that even the pilgrims would have been pleased. I hung them from our raffia lanterns so it would feel like we were dining under an olive canopy.
And it all looked something like this.
Happy Thanksgiving whether you are in America or anywhere else. In a world filled with uncertainty, we -- you and me -- are the lucky ones.
