F is for . . .

FRIDAY {of course}

have a good weekend

x

a {slightly} more contemporary approach . . .

What struck me about this Tangier's home of designer Bruno Frisoni, was how it manages to combine a more contemporary feel while still showcasing a lot of the traditional elements of Moroccan design -  its bright colours and airy spaces are like a breath of fresh air as it perches above Tangier looking out across the city .

These words quoted below from the Vogue article in which it originally appeared struck home with me . . .

 "Accustomed to the more picturesque delights of ancient Marrakech and Fez, he was confronted by a sprawling place of “traffic jams and a lot of dust.” But he loved the house of their host, the garrulous decorator Yves Taralon, constructed like the prow of an ocean liner and set in the side of a sloping cliff with plunging views to the Spanish coastline some 20 miles across the water. Frisoni also warmed to the city’s madcap and fun-loving denizens, and the pale ribbon of empty beach stretching to the pretty whitewashed seaside village of Asilah down the coast. “It was not exactly a touristic town,” he remembers—and this, ultimately, was its appeal."

Photography: François Halard

Read the full feature on Vogue.com

images via  http://trendland.com/bruno-frisonis-moroccan-home/ 

dive right in . . .

While friends in the north are battoning down the proverbial hatches,shaking out their scarves as the days grow shorter and colder - I'm down south till the end of the month and it is getting warmer by the day!

While I was cooling off  in a friends pool yesterday, I started dreaming of the perfect pool to place amongst our olive trees . . . although our trees have a way to go before we can have a vista like the one below!

 Maybe we should go for something more decorative, a part of the house rather than the garden?

Or possibly something a little more private and personal to plunge into?

A more natural approach? (I do like this one!)

  or in the style of The Murano in Marrakech - something a little less predictable?

Well, dreaming and planning are part of the journey . . . 

any thoughts on these poolside ponderings?

{all images above with credits can be found HERE}

tea at . . . la tangerina

 Sitting on the roof terrace of La Tangerina, gazing across the straits towards Spain, sipping on hot mint tea or maybe a cold glass of wine, always feels just a little remarkable to me. 

A {literal} stones throw away from the fortified walls that overlook the ocean, La Tangerina is on the main road that goes through the kasbah,

 As you knock on the somewhat daunting front door, you feel a little like something out of a fairy tale as the door swings open and you step out of the road and into the calm and cool of the hotel.

Fresh flowers, filtered light, a canary chirping somewhere up the stairs . . .

Attention to detail is evident everywhere, from the collection of vintage radios, to thoughtfully selected books to page through as you sink into a comfortable chair.

Each room is different and decorated with carfully chosen vintage carpets and locally sourced textiles. A little like going into someones home - just better.

image via Abanja

And if your ensuite feels a little too much like hard work after a busy day in the souks, there is always the hammam, where the days dust can be washed away for you.

Still feel the need to relax even more  - well, you are on holiday aren't you? 

  Head back up to the terrace and recline

 right here with a good book. 

Perfect

That's just a few of the reasons why I love staying at La Tangerina!

if you have the time and the inclination . . .

please pop across to facebook and LIKE us there x

(images from tea-in-tangiers & La Tangerina)

now this is what I call packaging . . .

Morocco, like many countries on this fair continent, has its fair share of excess plastics and packaging, but it also has a wonderful tradition of the homemade and the handmade.

 When I was in Assilah during Ramadan, every evening the streets would come alive with fresh produce and street food vendors as households prepared for the evening meal - and being a sucker for good packaging, I fell in love with these cheeses sold in their individual baskets.

 All the overused and abused labels that we fashionably follow - artisan, organic, handmade etc . . . are right here and in {for me} a far less pretentious form.

or, if wicker isn't your thing, a handwoven perfectly plaited palm frond should do the trick!

via  http://anitasfeast.com/blog/

via   http://milliskitchen.blogspot.com/ 

and not a laughing cow in sight . . .

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a {sweet} moment in time

Cumin is used in almost every Moroccan dish, and is so much an everyday essential, that it is served on the table along with salt and pepper. It is also an essential in our kitchen, along with the occasional slab of chocolate.

So, as I am partial to chocolate, and tend to err on the side of generosity when it comes to a spice like cumin, the marriage of these two elements is, in my mind, close to perfection.

When flicking through the pages of the online publiction Crush!, I stumbled upon this recipe. 

 A recipe that I have filed for future culinary efforts, so one that I thought is worth sharing. 

 cumin and cinnamon spiced dark chocolate truffles

                                                                       

for this recipe click HERE

The perfect indulgence to go along with your tea or coffee.

                                                                                     image via Dar Kawa

and remember . . . 

via french by design blog

follow the link below for more cumin infused recipes
http://view.ceros.com/petal/crush-34/p/1

bathrooms on file . . .

I have a file on my laptop ambitiously titled

 "Maroc : plans and idea",

 and some of these images have slowly found their way onto my pinterest (to which I am just a little addicted) boards as well.

I thought I would share some of the inspirational images I have been saving for my {future} dream bathroom, as that was partly the starting point to this blog - the path I am creating that is going to take us there.

                             

  Nothing quite as ambitious as this however - I veer towards a simpler approach.

 Have a look and see what you think.

                                                                                                

   

Despite the natural tones of all the images above, 

right now I think this one below is my favourite . . .

And then of course there are the details . . .

 how is a girl to bathe without a selection of silver hammam bowels to wash away the soap?

    

 cotton towels to soak up the suds

and subtle lighting to soften the edges.

     

It's the attention to detail that transforms the ordinary into the extra-ordinary.

one day . . .

all images with their credits can be found HERE on my pinterest board