Morocco Series: Peaceful, coastal Essaouira

Chris and I took a much needed, 2 day trip to Essaouira (about 3 hours by bus from Marrakesh. Essaouira offers a little rest from the non-stop pace of the medinas in Fes and Marrakesh. The medina in Essaouira is much smaller, and the beach and dunes offer beautiful views.

The city still looks like a fortress, and you'll see many remnants (such as the forts and cannons), from the days when it was one. "During the 16th century, various powers including Spain, England, the Netherlands and France tried in vain to conquer the locality. Essaouira remained a haven for the export of sugar, molasses and the anchoring of pirates." - via Wikipedia

*please be patient during photo upload - I've specially uploaded higher-res images so you guys get extra detail! :)



Looking into an artist co-op from the street. There are many artisans and a big craft community in Essaouira.


A door to the co-op from the street

A typical residential street





Fish monger's counters in a square of the Medina.


The beach is a very popular place for windsurfers (the water is very rough), also dune buggies and camels. The island you see across the waves used to house a prison, but now it is a protected nesting ground for some type of falcon. (Correct me if I'm wrong about the bird)


Me on Cappuccino and Chris on Chocolat.




You never forget the blue boats in Essaouira's port.







Another view of the marina




I believe these are ruins from a lookout or fort






This cannon said "Barcelona" on it, and I believe a date of "18??" something...




What do you think of Essaouira?


*All photos taken by my boyfriend, Chris

** I am by no means an expert and after 7 days of running around Morocco please feel free to correct me if any information I give in the Morocco Series is incorrect!

Happy Friday Hodge Podge

I'm back on the farm in Maryland and we're expecting 18-24" of snow today and tomorrow! I was super indulgent today after all my traveling and slept till noon. (Naughty, I know) I'm a little late today but I want to send you into the weekend with a little eye candy. If you're due for snow, hunker down with some homemade cookies and cocoa. If you're not due for snow, enjoy you're weekend anyway!

I'm starting to like darker interiors, and I love this darker, coastal style.
via Tom Scheerer


Love this dark and cozy room too! via House to Home

via House to Home

via Tricia Joyce



loft and/or open space decorating is an art in itself
via Magness Design

Beautiful, peaceful bedrooms

I'm heading "home" this afternoon after living out of a suitcase since Dec. 28th. It'll be great to sleep in a bed and not a couch or a cot. I have gotten used to traveling and will miss it a bit, but a little time off the road will hopefully be recuperative and prepare me for my next round of travels! So, I thought some gorgeous bedrooms would be appropriate for today's post!

a.
The natural light in this pastel bedroom is amazing

b.
This bedroom is maybe a little more modern than I like but the clean lines make me feel like I could sleep all day -
images above via BHG

c.
I'm a fan of benches or chest at the end of beds - and isn't the headboard adorable?

d.
I'm really into sophisticated grays lately
images above via LivingEtc.

e.
This is one of my favs - a modern retro bedroom with a twist of femininity and coziness.
via Decor8 on Tumblr

f.
via Elle Decor

g.

h.
I'm a sucker for mix n' match bedding - it's just sometimes a lot easier "seen" than done.

i.
I love this sort of vintage elegant bedroom - it's so indulgent

images above via ? (credits welcomed)

Which bedroom would you pick this weekend if you could stay in any?

Glamorous and chic interiors from Nest design

I actually discovered this firm because I was looking for some web design inspiration for an upcoming project, and ran across their site on a web design gallery. The firm is called Nest, and they're located in Dallas, TX.

I hope you like!



I love this conservatory - the mix of elegance brought in by the chairs and dining sets, with the roughness of the stone pavers and logs is a chic contrast.




Love this chair and the wallpaper!
See more at their beautiful site!

Lighting inspiration and a chandelier I love!

All these beautiful photos are from Zia-Priven, a husband-wife duo who teamed up and got into the lighting biz in 1999. Marcia Zia-Priven, co-owner, introduced herself awhile back, and sadly I'm just now sharing them with you guys. Not only are their lighting solutions timeless, you can tell by the lovely gallery of lighting inspiration that she used to be a set designer. What do you think? You can check out more on the Zia Priven site.

Check out the chic and adorable feather finial on the table lamp above.


This driftwood lamp is my fav. table lamp they sell.




I love these two chandeliers - the glass bulbs are all hand-blown. I could see them hanging over tables in an artist's studio or a wood-trimmed home library.

Bill Blass handbags, Calvin Klein dresses, and GORGEOUS jewelry sale at ideeli

This adia kibur jewelry is gorgeous - and it's about $25 - you can't beat that. See more and the Calvin Klein sale at ideeli. If you're not a member, here's your link to free membership link!


master of simple and chic - Calvin Klein


Love this white Bill Blass- they have this in a lot more colors, too!




Here's the link again