The Boucherouite

the slightly more bohemian cousin of the Beni Ourain . . .?

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I was going through some photographs yesterday - the ones still sitting on my camera  . . .      

    (yes, organising images is yet another thing to add to an ever-growing 'to do' list)

 when I saw these pictures I took last year of some Boucherouite rugs on the medina wall of Assilah.

 The wall is an extension of my friend Omar's carpet shop, 

 a place where I have spent many an hour wading through his seemingly endless collection of carpets!

A far cry from the trendsetting heavyweight of Moroccan rugs, the Beni Ourain,

 but a bit more fun possibly?Now  I must confess to initially having been a little unsure of the often crazy designs, the wildly tangential colours, not to mention the whole rag thing . . . 

 But I am now a convert, and in no small measure I would suspect this is as a result of seeing them transformed when taken out of the medina and placed in less cluttered and more contemporary environments.

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I think they are perfect for childrens rooms  - the bright patterns, the rags, can all take a bit of wear and tear and even the odd spatter of fingerpaint without a family crisis ensuing . . .

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if you want one for your own home
 have a look  and shop here

If you want to know a little more about the history and production of these particular rugs,

 have a look here 

This website www.berber-arts.com 

is a great reference site for these and other Moroccan carpets

for links and credits, as well as more images

 have a look at our Pinterest board Moroccan Style and Design

or pop across to SF Girl by Bay 

and read her post : You Say Rug, I Say Boucherouite

The Food of Morocco

A cook book by  Paula Wolfert,
although so much more than a cookbook,

 and one of my favourites.

This is a cookbook that has not been relegated to the shelf in the kitchen along with our other dog eared, coffee stained {but much loved} cookery tomes - no, it has pride of place on our coffee table in the lounge!

 1: because it is beautiful to look at, and

 2: for ease of access, because we both like to page through it on occasion just to look at the pictures!

 This book is a journey through Morocco, 

 explaining the regions, their geography and their cuisine 

from the rif mountains to the seaside villages.
It is full of inspiring photography, interesting quotes,
and of course a plethora of recipes.

Beautiful images followed by regional recipes,
 with a few well known local haunts mentioned along the way.

Fried Sardines, Tangier - Style

The art of picking Saffron

a few store cupboard essentials like Preserved Lemons

(which reminds me, we are running low!)

&

Harissa Paste

and of course concluding with clear instructions on how to make a good tea 

 whether in Tangier or anywhere else you might find yourself

so sit back and enjoy the read

 the cooking can come later

because - like Claudia Roden says on the cover . . . 

The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert

Photographs by Quentin Bacon

Published by Bloomsbury

2014 . . . and time for those resolutions

My 2014 new years resolutions may appear a little frivolous on the surface,

 but I am working on the premise that world peace,

 health and happiness for my children and family are a given, 

and that this little wish list below is something I can work on to add that little bit extra,

 that bit of fairy dust,

 to this new year of ours.

#1: to re-discover my inner domestic goddess and take the time and make the effort to create a truly beautiful cake (or 2)

#2 : to take control of all of my 'bright ideas' and make them happen instead of just talking about them.

#3 : in the 'about me' page on this blog I talk about shifting the balance, about where we want to spend more time, and about making a home - the reason behind the blog really - a big one but going to try really hard on this resolution!

#4: on a slightly more light hearted note  . . .  to make sure I occasionally create the necessity to wear {faux} fur and consider unnecessary details like frozen cranberries in a flute of champagne

#5 : to try and work towards some memorable gatherings with both family and friends

#6 : and no more excuses . . . definitely the year to work on my french!

and so to you all

bonne année 

xx

a few of my favourite {moroccan} things . . .

a few ideas to put a taste of morocco under your tree, because 'tis the season after all!

a bit last minute I know, but then that is always how I seem to manage this festive season

  so here are a few things on my wishlist

 that I have discovered on my journey as tea-in-tangiers, along with links and facebook pages

this Tarbouche Lamp is high up on my wish-list - from 33 Rue Majorelle

https://www.facebook.com/33RueMajorelle

http://33ruemajorelle.com

perfectly put - sweatshirt from Fashion Bakchic

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fashion-Bakchic

www.bakchic.com

a christmas essential - scented soaps from nyusha

https://www.facebook.com/pages/LArt-du-bain-Savonnerie-Artisanale-de-Marrakech

http://www.nyushashop.com/

making food a little more interesting - some graphic ceramics from 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dar-Amina

http://dar-amina.blogspot.com/

no celebration is complete without a candle or two (or three)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/ULILI

http://www.ulili.ma

and finally - if you really want to push the proverbial boat out, how about a little luxury underfoot 

nothing epitomises moroccan design more than a classic vintage beni ourain carpet

so send me a little message and I'll see what I can do for you!

happy wrapping

x

happy holidays

I'm languishing in the tropics this festive season

so will be taking a little break from the blog

happy holidays to you all!

x

please keep in touch via

FACEBOOK

&

TWITTER

churros, chocolate . . .

and continuing with the Christmas train of thought.

Yes, I know, churros are not traditionally a Christmas thing, but for me and my family they are most definitely a holiday thing - whenever my children are visiting their grandmother in Spain, one of the things on our to-do list, is a visit to the Churros Lady's caravan at the Saturday market (strangely several other items on that list involve food as well!)

I have, once, a long time ago, attempted to make a batch of churros myself - but they where pretty much inedible and any nigella-aspirations I had, crumbled (along with my churros) to the ground!

 So when I stumbled across this recipe and images from the pages of Sugar Thumb,

 making  it all look enticingly do-able,

 I decided that this Christmas holiday I will become
the . . .  Queen of Churros!

I will be laying down my pen,

switching off my laptop,

 and wishing you the gift of time this festive season,

 time to make churros - or whatever else takes your fancy!

click HERE to go to the recipe on the Sugar Thumb blog

ps: please let me know if you do try this recipe - along with the end results!

{despite saying that I will be switching off my laptop, 

you will no doubt still find me plonking about on facebook from time to time}

a little love this festive season

Well, December is officially and unavoidably upon us 

and it is time to start getting into the spirit of things I think.

With this in mind I remembered  having seen on the blog  Why Morocco about the Love cards that Yves St Laurent created every year - sending out handmade wishes to friends and colleagues. The original poster forms of these cards are exhibited in the gallery of the Majorelle Gardens in Marrakech

Such a lovely idea

& what a good wish to usher in the new year , 

simply wishing your friends love!

images via Why Morocco

I'm afraid i am usually guilty of rather hurried emails as the year draws to an end, 

or at best dashing into the nearest stationary shop and buying a pack of cards off the shelf ( in my defence I do try and buy a card that donates a little to a good cause )

but - in case the cards go missing in the post this year . . .

here is wishing you love

You might be running out of time to lovingly hand craft your own cards this season, but you certainly still {just} have time to to hand write your wishes this year. 

So I did a little window shopping on Etsy for you and found these cards by artist Zana Lokmer, available via her shop on ETSY  - I love how the bright colours of her paintings translate into a christmas card just waiting for you to dash down your message and pop it into the post!

x

 cards by  Zana Lokmer, 

available via her shop on ETSY