Marrakesh: and a tale of me and Tory Burch

She's unflappable.  She's calm, cool, and collected.  She's gracious.   

She's Tory Burch.

Her clothes are lovely, and so is she.  And she's the perfect model for them -- so tiny, so delicate, so fine featured.  

She's also a most generous friend.  In fact, she invited several of her closest companions to accompany her recently to Marrakesh.  And that's where I came in.  Lucky me -- I got to shop, dine, and hang out with Tory and her posse of lovelies for two days straight.  We even had afternoon canapes and did a wee photo shoot at Peacock Pavilions!

And Tory's buying my book, Marrakesh by Design, as a gift for all her friends who came to Marrakesh with her :-)

I'm wearing Tory's beautiful Robin tunic,  and she is wearing her darling Daniela dress.

PS Tory bought so many gorgeous things in Marrakesh: lots of vintage Berber baskets, stunning Tuareg reed & leather carpets, sublime hand embroidered clothing, turn of the century Moroccan pottery, antique inlaid furniture, amazing bone tables, huge light fixtures, and so much more!  And (fingers crossed) I'm going to be working with her on a special project.  Stay tuned!

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Marrakesh: and a tale of me and Martha Stewart

I'll tell you my "Good thing".  It's that I got to spend the day lunching and shopping with Martha Stewart (and Kevin Sharkey - adorable!) in Marrakesh.

Martha told me about the 700 stores she's opening in the US (holy moly!).  And her commitment to providing people with really good quality at an affordable price.  And we chatted about gardens, about food, about her granddaughter -- ie all the loves of her life. 

Martha Stewart is a woman with a full -- very full -- life.  Isn't that what we all want?  No matter how we define it?

And did I mention that Martha really likes my book, Marrakesh by Design?  (Yippee!)

Lucky me!  Thank you universe:-)

Marrakesh: a mother's tale of Stephanie

It all started out with the missing. The missing of a mother of one girl in particular, named Stephanie.  

All the mother's three children were grown now, you see.  They had gone away to college -- some starting, some finishing, some finished. And even though the mother sent care packages, and made phone calls, and went for visits, the house was no longer the same.  The times when her family was all together seemed fewer and fewer now.

Stephanie was the oldest of the mother's three children and she had gone away the farthest.  She had left for Africa, for Morocco, for Peacock Pavilions.   

The mother got to thinking, got to talking, got to planning with her good natured golf-playing husband.  Suddenly,  tickets were purchased, cars were rented, and reservations were made.

Suddenly, they were coming -- all of them -- to Peacock Pavilions.  

It was a sunny day in Marrakesh when they arrived.

We made Peacock Petals cocktails.

and Moroccan briouwates.

We sat on the terrace and sipped and toasted.  And then it was time to go to the Peacock Pavilions dining tent for dinner.  So down the path we went.

(One couldn't help but notice that even though they had been married for years, the mother and father still walked hand in hand and were always kind to each other.)  

In the tent, there was candle light and bottles of wine.

and there was more food, of course.  

There was eggplant zeluk bruschetta.

There was couscous with lamb.

There was chocolate fondant with spiced strawberry butter.

and there was tea.

But really, none of that was very important.  What was important were the funny stories.

And the laughter.

And the pleasure

of the family, of all the children, together again.

I love a happy ending.

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PS If you like this blog, pls consider liking it on Facebook.  I have a brand new page for My Marrakesh. That would be so nice!: http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Marrakesh/387670284601812 

Oualidia Morocco: and a tale of 50 and 50 more

It all started in a garden that had never seen a landscaper but had the wild and uncalculated beauty of a person who simply loved flowers.

Friends from Marrakesh and Rabat had gathered among the blooms for the occasion with their dogs.

Some used for purposes of transportation.

But the best news of all was that this garden was by the sea.

Smaller members of the group grabbed surf boards and were gone.

Oh!

Later, we feasted on the water's gifts.

But it was the evening that counted the most.

There were hugs.

And many bottles of champagne.

Then it was time.  

With friends, I watched him...

as he blew out the candles.

There should have been 50 flickering lights

            but there were only 5.

I thought about the 50 years that had passed -- many of them with me.  And I wondered if they had been happy, happy enough.  I hoped the next 50 years would be yet happier.  But it wouldn't happen all by itself.  

There are many flowers for picking

                                                in gardens by the sea and everywhere.

Happy Birthday, big fella.