In love with Mediterranean style of living: homes, gardens, food, wine…

Growing up in a country which is almost Mediterranean, (a couple of hours to Turkey and Greece by car) this feel of simplicity and warmth had been installed in me since birth. I’ll always vividly remember the wood-beam ceilings, the verandas, the terracotta roof tiles, the big round ceramic containers, the copper pots and pans. I’ll always long for those inviting, peaceful homes endured time and space, unfazed by history, still standing solid and quaint. No charade, no pretense. Just this Southern European charm and peace. If you’ve experience this overwhelming serenity once, you simply won’t let go. Nature plays a critical part in the Mediterranean style of living: striking gardens, garden paths set with stone, endless sunflower and lavender fields, infinite vineyards, and…the best wine …no kidding. So, no surprise that the Mediterranean homes are profoundly infused with vibrant colors, warm stone, wood, textures and lots of light. It’s all about feeling relaxed. Comfortable. Peaceful. Celebrating life.

Chianti wine region

Breathtaking haciendas

Endless lavender fields...

Magnificent Spain

Sunny Greece

So Old World...

A fun and relaxing Mediterranean living room...pretty neat!

Sizzling Mediterranean kitchen!

Spectacular Mediterranean bathroom/spa

My fav Moroccan dish

Morocco, the culinary star of North Africa, is the doorway between Europe and Africa. Much imperial and trade influence has been filtered through her and blended into her culture. Unlike the herb-based cooking across the sea to the north, Moroccan cooking is characterized by rich spices. Cumin, coriander, saffron, chiles, dried ginger, cinnamon, and paprika are on the cook's shelf, and in her mortar. http://www.cuisinenet.com/glossary/morco.html

So, if you decide to try something exotic and different try the following recipe (it was a big hit at my party!):

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE WITH HONEY AND APRICOTS

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-about 6 lbs of chicken pieces

-2 large yellow onions

-2 sticks of butter

-1/2 tsp turmeric

-1 tsp black pepper

-2 cinnamon sticks

-1 lb dried apricots or prunes (less if you're not too fond of the fruits).

-8 tbsp honey 

-2 tsp ground cinnamon

-1/2 peeled almonds

-1 tbsp sesame seeds

-oil

In a large pot, melt the butter. Fry the chopped onions until soft, and

add the chicken, salt, pepper, turmeric and cinnamon sticks. Add enough

water to cover the chicken, about two cups. Bring to boil, reduce heat,

and simmer until the chicken is done, adding water if necessary. Remove

the chicken pieces.

Add the prunes or apricots and simmer for about fifteen minutes. Add the

ground cinnamon and the honey, stir and cook until the sauce has a

honey-like consistency. Add more honey if necessary.

When the sauce is almost ready, sautee the almonds in oil. Drain most of

the oil from the pan, and toast the sesame seeds.

Return the chicken to the pot and re-heat. Place chicken in a serving

sheet, pour sauce on top of it and top with almonds and sesame seeds.

This dish goes great with couscus.

Serve food on colorful, vibrant dishes, use lots of copper plates, pillows, cushions, place floral bouquets around the room, pour some Moroccan wine, play some exotic music (my suggestion is Buddha-Bar), light a bunch of candles and you are ready to fly on a magic carpet to enchanting Morocco.

My inspiration for the Moroccan Party

I‘ve always wanted to visit Morocco…For some reason, it has always been intriguingly unusual and mysterious. Spices, colors, mosaic, tiles, belly dancing and sexy exotic music…it’s simply magic!
My inspiration for the party was a trip to the annual Flower Show in Phila, PA.

My Moroccan Theme Party

I love theme parties, they are so much fun. I love planning them, buying stuff for them and tying the whole idea together. But the most thrilling part is organizing a theme party on a budget.
I threw my husband a fab Moroccan B-day party a couple of years ago. That was the first theme party I’d ever organized, so I was a little nervous. Besides, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money.
The bash was a big success, the Moroccan food I cooked was delicious (it vanished in a heartbeat), I had such a good time setting up the party, and my final budget (not including food and beverages), was merely $125. Yeah, gimme five. (Having a couple of friends around while making the finishing touches before the guests arrive could be extremely helpful! Thank you Danielka and Emsi, love ya!)
And now, with no further ado: my Moroccan feast…

Transform the look of your home in ways you’ve never imagined!

Tempted by rich, sophisticated color? Considering the dimensional beauty of a specialty finish? Explore the multi-faceted world of color with the Benjamin Moore® Personal Color Viewer. This color visualization program allows you to experiment with color before picking up a paintbrush. Select an exterior home or interior room image from our vast pictorial library and create the look for your home that you love.
http://www.benjaminmoore.com/bmpsweb/portals/bmps.portal?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=portletInstance_2&portletInstance_2_actionOverride=%2Fbm%2Fcms%2FContentRenderer%2FrenderContent&portletInstance_2WT.svl=1&portletInstance_2currentNodeUUID=%2FBEA+Repository%2F5612&portletInstance_2NodeUUID=%2FBEA+Repository%2F30001&_pageLabel=fh_home

If you are enticed by Mary’s color as much as we are or if you simply want a gist of freshness and sparkle in your life, don’t hesitate, get your bum to the nearest paint store and grab some paint. BTW, professional painters highly recommend Benjamin Moore paint. It won't fade quickly, it resists dirt and stains and cleans up well, without having its color or gloss greatly affected, it also won't be affected by frequent contact with water. And you don’t even need a primer with that paint. (In Mary’s case primer was used because of the intensity of the color she chose.) FYI, I always use primer, because it is simply safer. Benjamin Moore paint is a little pricier but it is absolutely worth it!

So, next time when you decide you want some color in your life, don’t think twice, be bold, embrace your inner Leonardo Da Vinci and go for it. At the end, you will be so proud of yourself! I know, I am!

The Results: Before and After

OMG, the color transformation turned out just beautifully! The rich Bordeaux Red color goes perfectly with Mary’s carpet, with the little ornaments on her lovely china set (yes, it is important! :)), and it delightfully compliments her cherry wood dining furniture. I’m totally loving it! Apparently, so is she.

Speaking about color and painting…

…Mary, a cute (tiny little thing:)) co-worker of mine, came to work a week ago a little frazzled. She simply couldn’t decide what color her dining room should be. For the rest of her house Mary and her husband had chosen warm, earthy colors: gold, brown, and Mediterranean orange with reddish undertones. I love this color palette, very balmy and incredibly inviting. Generally speaking, I like earthy colors, but I equally enjoy rich, regal jewel-tone colors, which are very much in right now.
Mary’s dining room, on the other hand, is positioned a little far from the rest of the other rooms, and Mary’s concern was that if she painted her dining room a jewel-tone color, it wouldn’t work with the rest of the rooms. I agree there should be a flow, a repeated theme of colors through out the entire house. Mary was thinking burgundy (burgundy is a nice, rich color) would go well with the grayish carpet she had in her dining room, and it would be a great color overall. I mean, yeah, burgundy is grand, but don’t you think that everybody goes for burgundy in their dining rooms? A little too corny I’d say!
So, I thought a gallant, regal purple with reddish/brownish undertones would be just perfect for her. It would make a statement (that is for sure!), and it is original yet elegant. Also, it would not be far from the burgundy color she had initially chosen. I did a little research, resorting to one of my favorite home design websites, HGTV, and voila, there it was a gorgeous, striking purple/reddish color. (Have I mentioned that I love HGTV!)
I send her the link (http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/rm_walls_other/article/0,1797,HGTV_3805_1394033,00.html), and just minutes later she was looking at different paints trying to match the color I suggested. The next day, Mary showed me all the different matching paint samples she could find. We chose a few, but the most important thing was that Mary already knew what to look for. She decided to go with Benjamin Moore paint, Bordeaux Red (1365), which very much resembled the color we liked.