My Marrakesh

Morocco: Paradise found?

Dateline Marrakesh.  One more ride. One more piece of land to be seen. As we drive up, I turn to Chris and say, look at those trees. No one is there, so we find a break in the cactus that serves as a natural barrier around the land and we climb through. Olive trees 15 to 20 feet high. Olives so abundant that the branches are heavy with the weight of them. There are 6 acres of mature olive trees and 2.5 acres of open land with beautiful views of the Atlas mountains. We walk quietly through the tall grass, commenting on a palm tree here, a mulberry tree there. The land is set back from the Moroccan village nearby so it is private. A large house is in construction on the property next door and down the road Italians have built a lovely place called Africa House.

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Driving through the village back to the main road, people are milling about in their jellabas (the long hooded cloaks worn by Moroccan men and women). Children are playing in the street. People all wave as we pass by.

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The land is 15 minutes outside of Marrakesh and only five minutes away from the American School of Marrakesh. The main street leading back to the city is home to the Royal Golf Club and the Amelkis Golf Club, both beautiful courses where Chris hits the greens with his friends. Also on the same street leading into the city is the Amenjena hotel. Morocco’s most expensive hotel, where rooms start at $850/night and range well into the thousands. Property on the outskirts of Marrakesh is highly sought after – particularly nice for residents and visitors who prize open air living and privacy, and yet crave easy access to the city’s sights and vibrant nightlife.

Can it be?  Is our search over?  I think I might just be in love.

The Moroccan Garden

Morocco is all about outdoor living.  The weather is beautiful year round, and Moroccans know to make the most of it.  Traditional Moroccan homes in the city, called riads, open inwards and have courtyards at their heart. There you will find intricate tile work, fountains, and even trees. 

For those houses that are lucky enough to have larger gardens, planning is required.  Luxurious plantings are selected with care, and gardens are often decorated with all the attention given to a living room or bedroom.  Beds in the garden are not uncommon and can be found in the swankier generation of new guest houses. 

I have always wanted to have a beautiful garden.  While garden dreaming one day on the web, I stumbled upon British garden designer, Charolotte Rowe.  Charlotte was invited to design a feature garden at the Daily Telegraph House and Garden Fair.  She entitled it Morocco Garden.  Her work is stunning.  Take a look here.  How is that for inspiration?  For those in London, you can contact Charlotte Rowe Garden Design here. 

How about you, what garden dreams do you have?

Relentless positivism in Marrakesh

Sometimes in order to make progress and move ahead, you have to stand up and do the wrong thing.
~Gary Ackerman

Okay, we decided to try a new attitude on for size – called relentless positivism. (Doesn’t that have a great ring to it? It’s enough to make me look into motivational speaking.) We were chalking this previous Marrakesh land deal up to experience and getting on with it. We never thought it was going to be easy (then again, we never thought it was going to be this hard, either – but ‘shuddup about it already, Lenny.’).

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We’re back on track. We know that this piece of land in Marrakesh – the one that has our name written all over it – is out there somewhere.

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While the search continued, I flew back to the US for a quick business trip. When in DC, I was feted for my birthday by a group of 20 friends. I swear, I have the greatest friends in the world (Shoukran George, Ewen and Maryam for organizing. LOVED it).

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On my way back to Marrakesh , I took a break at Maria Noma Bliss’s studio (See here. ) and house on the Hudson river in New York. Maria lives with her genius artist husband, Jim, in an amazing, huge space. We all spent a few days painting in different corners of the studio. Maria taught me so much. I did two paintings to commemorate my children at the ages of 3 (Skylar) and 5 (Tristan). They grow so fast…..isn’t there anything that can be done to slow things down? Please email me if you have found a solution;-)

Marrakesh: Inspiration for design

Marrakesh evokes a certain kind of mystery, and I think that is why so many designers are inspired by it.  The city is just packed with artists, filmmakers, designers.  It's such a pleasure to live here. 

Here is another little light fixture, Marrakech lights, from Lighting For The Home.  The designer took a little something from Marrakesh and is now giving it back to you.  $89.99.  All you need to add is some moody music, a little hummus, and a glass or two of good red wine.

Morocco and the pervasive nature of doubt

Do you ever feel like you’re spinning your wheels?  That you’re going nowhere fast?  That no matter what you do, and how hard you try, you always just wind up at square one? 

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Do you ever feel so angry that you really think you would like to just hit something?  That the deep breathing techniques learned in yoga class don’t seem to be working?  That you can’t stop recording imaginary dialogues in your head in which you get your revenge on someone who has wronged you? 

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Do you ever feel like perhaps something or someone is trying to tell you something?  That you should see the signs because they are right in front of you?  That maybe things happen for a reason and that something was just not meant to be? 

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Do you ever feel so sad, that despite your best efforts, you can’t manage to quite hide it from your children?  That you cry but it doesn’t make you feel better?  That you wake up in the morning and for a split second you feel happy, but then you remember?

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Have you ever wanted one thing – just one thing– so much and felt so frustrated because it seemed like you were never going to get it?

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Have you ever been on an emotional rollercoaster? Have you ever wanted a home – your own home (is that too much to ask?) and despite all attempts, it seemed like you were not going to be allowed to have that.  Hmmmm…..I wonder.

Morocco: thin-thin

Okay, I really mean fat-fat, but thin-thin sounds so much nicer;-)  Actually, fat-fat is just fine when it's these adorable tables by B&B Italia.  These are said to be inspired by Moroccan ottomans.  And I believe it.  In addition to being just-right tables, they do double duty as storage -- you can hide all sorts of things inside once you lift the metal tray.  Isn't that handy?  They are so minimalist and clean.  They would look fantastic in a nightclub or....in your living room.....!

You can buy them at Europebynet here.   $958.

Sweet dreams of Marrakesh...

The morning of the day that our land was to be signed, sealed and delivered, the phone rang.   It was our realtor. The conversation went like this:

Realtor:  I just had a call from the land owner.

Us:  Great! 

Realtor:  Well, there’s a small problem.

Us:  What?

Realtor:  The land owner says that he wants $80,000 more for the land than what you agreed to.

Us:  What?

Realtor: He says either you agree to this new price or he won’t bother to show up to sign the papers today.

Us:  What?

Realtor:  I’m really sorry.  This happens sometimes. The land owner won’t budge – I have already tried.  Maybe he has another buyer.  But in any event, we can start to look for some other pieces of land. 

Us:  What?

Realtor:  Listen, I’ll call you later this week, and we can set up a time. I’ll get cracking looking for other land for you.  But you’re going to have to be patient.  You’ve already seen most of what’s out there.

Us: What?

Realtor:  (Click.)

Us:  What?

Bliss on line....

Isn’t the internet amazing? Don’t just answer, yeah, yeah, like that. I am mean really – REALLY – think about it; hasn’t it changed your life? I think of my life as pre- and post-internet. I’m serious.

Shopping for an imaginary house and a hoped-for guest house is very time consuming, as you can imagine (decorating all those imaginary rooms can be just exhausting …). One night I was surfing the web looking at art, and I came across an award winning artist named Maria Noma Bliss.  I found her work to be haunting and meaningful, and there was one painting, in particular, that I was drawn to – an abstract portrait of a woman entitled Me. I didn’t think I could afford the painting (although, in retrospect, the price was quite reasonable) but I was so taken with it that I emailed Maria to tell her how lovely I thought it was.  And just like that, a friendship was struck up. Online.

Around the time I first contacted Maria, I was doing some volunteer work for Operation Smile in Morocco. Maria, without ever having met me in person and knowing very little about the organization, offered to do 100 small watercolor portraits and to sell them on Ebay to benefit Operation Smile. She then traveled to Morocco for an Operation Smile mission where she did art therapy with children before they went in for their surgeries to correct their cleft lips.  Lucky for me, Maria also spent several days with us after we had moved into our new house in Marrakesh. The portrait of my family on the sidebar of this blog was her gift to us.

In addition to the Me painting, we now own four of Maria’s other paintings. I adore each and every one.

This blog entry is dedicated to my friend, Maria. A woman as equally endowed with talent as she is with generosity of the heart.

You can see Maria’s art here.  She takes commissions and will work with you to create something you will love.  Contact her at noma@nomaartist.com if you are interested in something.  You can also visit Maria and Jim's ebay store for less expensive offerings.    (Jim's stuff is amazing, too.  Yeesh, so much talent in one family....)

Morocco: Hoping for Barakah

We love it, we love it not.  We love it, we love it not.  But no matter - ever since we had seen that last piece of land in Marrakesh, we hadn’t stopped whipping out the calculator and punching in the numbers.  If we pinched, and scraped, and saved, was there any chance?  We talked to the owner – he was prepared to come down on the price.  But we still couldn’t afford it. 

Then, my very generous parents jumped in – they were ready to help us.  It seemed (could it be?) that we could afford it. 

Should we, should we not?  Should we?  We decided we should.  We cut a deal that wouldn’t permit the owner to sell to anyone else, and we agreed on a price. It was all notarized with much shaking of hands.  But we would need to wait six weeks to seal the deal.  Something about a signature needed on a dotted line somewhere.  Nothing important – just pro-forma. The search was over but we would need to sit it out. On the sidelines. 

Waiting, anticipating…. And hoping for barakah.

Morocco: Calling all gourmet lovers

Yes, yes, I KNOW that this is a house/decorating blog but aren't houses just something you have in order to create that restaurant atmosphere at home?  (Can you guess what the most important room is in my house?) So with that in mind, I offer you a Moroccan recipe.  I warn you however, that you might need a bit longer for meal prep since this dish requires that you paint your dining room walls a deep rich red to create the necessary Moroccan ambiance...(You say that you think that is a bit of an extreme measure, just in order to enjoy one meal?  I would like to remind you that if you prepare your dish in adequate quantities,there will be leftovers in which to partake the following day.  And so you need not roll up your sleeves until the third day to paint your way back to your dining room's original tasteful eggshell color.) 

You might not know that Moroccan cuisine is legendary in the region where I live, and some think that it is rated among the best in the world.  Aromatic and rich in spices, dishes often include cumin, coriander, saffron, chili, ginger, cinnamon, and paprika.  Also harissa is a staple in the kitchen - harissa is a paste made of of garlic, chili, olive oil, and salt, and makes for fiery dishes that stand out among the milder recipes that are more the norm in the Mediterranean. 

In any event, Moroccan cuisine is nothing short of delicious -- my waistline is proof;-)

This Moroccan Braised Chicken recipe from Williams Sonoma is as good as what you what you might eat in my home in Marrakesh.  And perhaps you might even serve it on this lovely, glimmering Marrakech dinnerware from Crate&Barrel. 

So what are you waiting for?

Image from Williams Sonoma, image from Crate&Barrel