As someone who has lived in rentals or government-provided housing for the past 16 years, I know there’s only so much one can do about drab or ugly kitchen tile. And if you’re like me, a person who is in the kitchen a lot and also very into interior design, then bad tile really bums […]
When we moved into our Algiers home, I did what we always do and set to rid the place of the clunky and fancy government-provided furniture. I did, however, decide to keep a wood desk that was in the house. It wasn’t bad, especially after I switched out its shiny chrome knobs for matte black […]
You might be aware of my ongoing love affair with Paris. From the first time I stared down the endlessly beautiful streets in 2015 to my right-in-this-moment Paris visit (my ninth trip here), she just never disappoints. I’m currently in Gray Paree where, for the second time in 30 days, I’m enrolled at a language […]
Hello readers! August was a slow blogging month but a fairly busy IRL month. I went home to the States for a nine-day visit with the family in Michigan, and then to Washington DC for a few days for good friend’s wedding. Adam stayed in Algiers for most of that, although he did fly to […]
The home decor shopping in Morocco is ridiculously good and best of all are the rugs. I left our 10-month tour in Rabat with about 10 rugs, which is not too shabby, but not as many as I would have liked. Adam didn’t share my love of rug shopping and there were times I had […]
Sadly, our time in relaxing and pretty Rabat is winding down. We depart in early July for our next post, Algiers. We were only in our spacious, suburban apartment for less than 10 months, but that short amount of time didn’t stop me from enjoying the heck out of setting up a space that feels […]
When I first moved to Rabat, I heard whisperings that there was a “pottery village” across the river in Salé and I was intrigued. When I finally checked out Oulja Pottery Village, or as I call it Oulja Artisan Village (because it’s more than pottery), I was gobsmacked. There exists a peaceful complex filled with […]
We’re just over three weeks in to our Gap Year in Rabat, and already I’m thinking in percentages. As in that’s 10% of our 10-month tour already gone! First impressions: Rabat seems chill and very livable although probably not the exotic color and spice explosion I’d imagined Morocco to be. It’s modern, clean, and seems […]
Welcome to the first blog post on The Next Dinner Party. You’re at the same old blog, more or less, on which I have been posting since 2012. Back then I called my blog Yemen Em. Then it was The Dame in Spain. Most recently it was Em in Jerusalem. If I were to continue […]
The saying goes that Jerusalem is about 40 miles and 200 years away from Tel Aviv. So its always a welcome reprieve to drive less than one hour from the monochrome ancient city of Jerusalem and to arrive in colorful and modern Tel Aviv, with its beachy vibes, exposed butt cheeks (it’s the year of […]
