Marrakech: and a tale of Christmas and shiny friends

 Oh it's been up and down.  

There have been disappointments and pleasures.  There have been departures and arrivals.  There has been last minute shopping and last minute plans.  

But in the end, it was Christmas.  And while there were a few treasured gifts (more on those later), mostly there was beautiful food and drinks, and beautiful friends and family.  And that was the best part.  

{I designed the necklace around my friend, Delphine's neck - made from a vintage Jewish star and antique Ethiopian components.}

The dinner table centerpiece was from our very own garden.  Flowering rosemary and bitter orange branches (with the oranges still on them).

Gold flatware and a black hand dyed Mauritanian tablecloth (these tablecloths soon in my shop) provided tribal glamour.

The lovely food was courtesy of Peacock Pavilions' guest Canadian Chef, Ben.  Foie gras with pear puree, homemade duck ravioli and spinach and goat cheese ravioli, beef filet & bearnaise sauce.

You can tell that Ben loves food. And we love his cooking. 

There was no Santa this year. And my children seemed suddenly so very grown up. 

My daughter, Skylar, on the left.

And my son, Tristan.

As for you, I hope that your Christmas was filled with love.  And cake of course.  {Our 6 layer cake was made by beloved Bob.}

Happy, Happy Holidays.  Enjoy every last bit.

PS See our 20 foot tall Christmas tree here.

PPS So fun to be a featured global gypsy here.

Marrakech: and a tale of the things you don't know and I can't explain

Dear friends,

There is so much I want to tell you but I'm not sure how to explain it.  So I'll just give you my list.

• I have tried and failed at something I wanted.  I am now trying again.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.
• I am continuing something that I started last Spring but have not yet talked about here. It's something I'm proud of.
• Someone I love is no longer the same.  I wonder if he is changed forever.
• I have just started something new.  It's very small and very big at the same time.    
• A {maybe} exciting opportunity has just come my way.  I said yes.
• People I was depending on canceled.  Suddenly.  
• Other people I was depending on came through.  With their hearts and their hands in a way I won't soon forget.
• I am worried about someone important leaving.  I am already in mourning.
• I am getting fat.  I am losing my hair {really}. 

Also

• I am learning.  A lot.
• I am taking risks.  Many.
• I am trying to breathe.  Deeply.  

I am asleep somehow.  But I am also more awake than ever.

Yes, it all feels new somehow.  It all feels new.

                Your friend in an olive grove in Marrakech,

                Maryam

PS This image by the talented Domnique Fierro.  If you're in the Washington DC area, this is the photographer to hire.  

Marrakech: and a tale of a Moroccan ethnic chic Thanksgiving, African-style

So it was Thanksgiving and we were in Morocco, of course.  And rather than let the holiday slip away, leaving us with yet a more tenuous thread to the country from which we came............. we chose to celebrate with 20 friends and family.   

Our Thanksgiving theme was the Wilds of Africa.  {Because Morocco is in Africa, despite popularly confused opinion.}

This is a tale of how it went........  

We got to decorating the Arabian tent at Peacock Pavilions.  We gathered some of our crazy African loot.  

African stools and old beads

Animal skulls and bones.....

 A batik length of cloth from Mali, antlers, strands of African pods. 

African antiquities, namecards with African porcupine quills.

Objects dressed up to look their African best........

A herd of antelopes and old bauxite beads.

Bunches or yellow roses in vintage Ethiopian tole containers.  Gazelle horns.

 Antique Tuareg nomadic bags and olive branches hung in the air. 

Shiny Amy-- helping out at Peacock Pavilions for two months--took to the African madness with gusto.  

 And it all ended up looking like this....

We put out the horn and abalone serving utensils. 

 And the glimmery dishes.......

The menu was masterminded by Peacock Pavilions very own Michelle, with a 30 pound turkey sourced by the Four Seasons Marrakech and cooked by our friend, Kimo. 

 We filled our plates.

And we dug in.

 Most importantly, we went around the table, and each of us gave thanks, large and small........

We ate and ate and gave more and more thanks......until some literally passed out......

Happy Thanksgiving.  Today and every day. 

Cairo: and a tale of lives in the Khan el Khalili

It's always the same. I'm in the Khan el Khalili in Cairo.  I pass the jewelry stores with their strands of shiny new gold. 

 I then walk by the vendors of belly dancer costumes. 

 And say no thank you to the men selling the copper pots.

 And smile at the vendors of spices and dried hibiscus flowers and tell them I'll be back another day.

Because the only stores I go into are those filled with old junk.

Or perhaps it's treasure.  Yes, treasure.

I'm looking for the images of those who lived long before.  Some known. Others nameless.  

I'll buy that one, I say.  And that one and that one.   I'll buy their memories in the Khan el Khalili.

Never forgotten.  No, no, never forgotten.