My Marrakesh

Marrakech and a tale of my curious home: Part 1

I'm a curious girl with a curious home.  My home is like me, and I'm like my home.  Filled with the odd, the unusual, the frankly-a-bit-strange. 

I like things here before me because I believe they have souls. I buy them in souks or in flea markets, in garage sales or bazaars, and even in basements.  (Oh in attics, in trailers, in tents, yes, in tents.) For $1. For $10. For $100. Or for more.

I like things that are handmade because I like the hands that have made them.  In a globe filled with franchises, with Walmarts, with Kmarts, with Big Deals, with Big Gulps.... there's 10,000 of everything.  exactly. the. same.   I think I deserve (and you deserve) better, more unique.

I believe things can be practical.  Or beautiful.  Or both.  In the face of nightly-news-ugly, beauty serves a purpose of the happiness kind.

I keep things forever.  Yes, you heard me, forever.  I reuse everything, everything.  I recycle, I upcycle, I repurpose.  If I don't have what I need, I will make it.  If I can't make it myself, I will ask someone to make it.  If I can't get someone to make it, I will buy it off a shelf. 

Oh enough about that.  Let me get to the point:  it's My Curious Home Week on my blog. 

Welcome, yes, welcome, to my curious world.

A flock of 50 vintage American metal butterflies.  By the backdoor of our pavilion.

 Vintage Yemeni spice boxes, Thai Buddha hand door handle, encased book on Moroccan artist Mahi Bine Bine.

 
African wood sculptures rom Benin and Senegal.  Vintage Moroccan coin headband.

Indian bronze dog sculpture.  Vintage Indian jeweled box.  Cushion made from a fragment of an old Moroccan flatweave  carpet.

Antique sterling silver tea set from Iran, iron monkey from the Ivory Coast.

 
Moroccan and Egyptian perfume bottles on a vintage Moroccan tray in my bedroom.

*****See you back here tomorrow, yes?

Marrakech: and a Moroccan tale of thanks

Dear friends,

We’re harvesting olives at Peacock Pavilions today.  Yes, harvesting. So it seems appropriate that it’s Thanksgiving in the US. 

 

I am not going to lie to you – it’s been a challenging year for us in Marrakech.  The stress on my family has not gone unnoticed.  We’ve worked our way through bounced mortgage checks, prolonged building frustrations, weeks of illness and inexplicably crashing computers. 

 

But it’s also been a year filled with excitement -- I've literally watched our Peacock Pavilions start to look like a place where I might belong.  Like, well, home. 

 

And for that, I am profoundly grateful. 

 

So, today, here’s wishing you the ability to look past all your troubles – big and small – and remember that life is beautiful.  Because we are – yes, you and me – the lucky ones.

 

With love,

Maryam in Marrakech

 

 

Marrakech: and a pretty *ugly* tale

She was a girl who flouted classic beauty. Indeed, she was what the French might call jolie-laide. She had her own style, her own mannerisms, her own odd quirks. While others followed trends, her look was dictated only by her moods -- sometimes subdued, sometimes flamboyant. An average day might require several wardrobe changes.  She managed to stand out and yet blend in wherever she went.  She had an uncanny ability to fit in.

She was, in short, unforgettable.

 
Camelia, the newest resident at Peacock Pavilions. 5 inches long.  We’re all mesmerized….

***

PS Take a peek at my new stock of cozy Moroccan carpets.  The perfect Christmas present to yourself?

Marrakech: and a tasty little tale

My in-laws are visiting from America and so every night we've been having dinner in our pavilion dining room with china, tablecloths and candles.  After dinner, we've been sitting by the fireplace, with a fire roaring, sipping herbal tea poured from silver Moroccan teapots.    It's made week nights feel so special:-)

Here's hoping that your weekend is filled with special meals with special people (and if it's not, there's still time to make it happen!)...

 

 

 My images from Kashmir