a surprise gift of visual excitement
I received the most thoughtful gift yesterday. Out of the blue, my friend Melissa, from college, calls me and tells me she has a present for me. I was surprised, as it was not my birthday, nor am I a Mom, yet, to receive a Mother’s day gift, so I was delightfully intrigued and set up a time to meet for coffee and a chat. THIS is what I got:
Well, from the moment I saw the cover I was immediately taken a-back. I was filled with such joy, like a little girl getting the doll she’d always seen in the store front. If you’ve read any of my posts, or at least seen any of my work on this site, you know that I am absolutely in LOVE with anything having to do with patterns and textures, so to receive this book so unexpectedly was truly a delight.
Now, the story does not stop here. As Melissa was excitedly explaining to me how she came upon the book (which I’ll tell you in a bit) and who the author was (an American living in Marrakesh with her Architect husband) I was instantly transported to a blog post I had read on Prêt à Voyager a couple years back. Yes, I said TWO years back. For some reason, the story she was telling me resounded in my mind and I was filled with a sense of familiarity, as if I had heard of this person before. I mentioned this to her and said I’d look it up, but I wasn’t expecting to find that the person she was telling me about and the one I read about years before were one in the same.
You have to understand that it has been two years since I learned of Maryam Montague, her MyMarrakesh.com, and Peacock Pavilions through Anne’s blog. I saved the link to the hotel in hopes I’d visit one day, but I’ll be honest in saying that I recently deleted it while cleaning my bookmarks knowing I wasn’t going to visit anytime soon. I actually took Morocco and a future trip out of my mind, so, to unexpectedly have this book land in my hands is completely a full-circle-moment, especially given the circumstances as to how Melissa came in contact with it.
It turns out that she works with a close friend of Maryam, with the company that actually painted/stenciled some of the designs in their Peacock Pavilions home. During a special book signing event at Melissa’s workplace here in San Diego, she spoke to Maryam about me and the work that I do and decided to have the book autographed especially for me. Now, you tell me if that is not the most thoughtful friend, and the most thoughtful gift…and, indeed, a full-circle moment!
Without knowing of the existence of this book, it will come to be one of the most precious additions to my design library. Surely, I will keep Marrakesh forever in my mind from now on, yearning to visit soon and basque in the sun through the olive groves of Peacock Pavilions.
{ Images Via :: Lizzy B Loves of Marrakesh By Design by Maryam Montague }
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Oh my goodness, I LOVE this story! Yay! I so hope you enjoy the book!
Oh yes, Maryam!! I just received it last night and have only had a chance to browse through the images, but I am anxious to read it all through and learn of all the details.
I’m so disappointed that I wasn’t able to attend the book signing event at Royal Design Studio, as my friend just told me about it last night when she gave me the book; I know I would have had a fabulous time. I hear your presentation was truly inspiring!! But thank you for the nice sentiment and autograph in the book. =)