I hope you had a wonderful holiday season surrounded by your loved ones. For my first blog post of the year, I’d like to start by wishing you an incredible 2025! May it be filled with health (take care of yourselves), love, meaningful friendships, joy, beauty, and everything you dream of. Bonne année 2025!
One of you sent me a lovely and poetic message that I couldn’t resist sharing:
“Allow me to wish you 365 days of health, without which everything becomes difficult; 12 months of small joys, as the grander ones don’t always arrive on schedule; and a year filled with love, friendship, and professional prosperity.”
I also want to express my heartfelt thanks for the incredible messages I received following the publication of Lettre des Alpes (and which I’m still replying to). Un grand merci ❤️
As we step into 2025, I feel ready to turn the page on 2024. It was a year brimming with challenges, trials, and unexpected turns. Yet, it also brought transformative experiences that helped me finally discover who I am and where I want to go—both figuratively and literally. This new year feels like a time for action, a chance to build, realize, and strengthen everything I uncovered and achieved in 2024. I hope 2024 was a meaningful year for you as well, or, at the very least, that it remained bearable despite life’s inevitable hurdles.
Every year, around this time, I take advantage of the calm to reflect inwardly, a kind of personal catharsis. It’s an opportunity to think about what I want for the coming year: what I’d like to let go of, what I can change, and what I can improve. The idea isn’t necessarily to make rigid resolutions (“bonnes résolutions”) or set lofty goals that often prove unsustainable. Instead, it’s about truly listening to yourself, analyzing the year gone by, shedding unnecessary burdens, and moving forward with a lighter spirit.
I encourage you to do the same as this new year begins. I hope today’s post inspires you and offers ideas for a fresh and meaningful start :).
This post is not sponsored, and all opinions are my own. I only feature products I truly love and personally select. If you purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Merci!
1. Rediscovering the Joy of Reading
If there’s one thing I absolutely loved this year and plan to carry into 2025, it’s rediscovering my love for books and the joy of reading. I’m a reader—just like many of you, I imagine, especially if you’re accustomed to visiting this blog. In 2024, I started regularly buying books again, diving into topics that fascinate me, such as art, philosophy, esotericism, history, sociology, and even marketing. Here’s a small selection of books I adored this year:
- The Book of Flowers by Pierre-Joseph Redouté
- Brand Elevation: Lessons in Ueber-Branding by Wolfgang Schaefer and JP Kuehlwein
- The Luxury Strategy by Jean-Noël Kapferer and Vincent Bastien
- The Book of Palms by Martius
- Cabinet of Curiosities by Massimo Listri
- Witchcraft: The Library of Esoterica
- Du côté de chez Swann by Marcel Proust (still reading)
- La Parisienne by Emmanuelle Retaillaud (still reading)
As you might have noticed from this list, I have a knack for starting new books before finishing the ones I’m already reading. This year, I’d like to give reading a bigger role in my life. In particular, I want to tackle Proust’s monumental À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time), published between 1913 and 1927 in seven volumes spanning approximately 3,200 pages. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of doing but never quite dared to start—whether due to a lack of time or the necessary motivation.
Through reading, I’ve realized that books are an endless source of knowledge. They offer a richness of information and delve into complex concepts that can’t be found elsewhere. Unlike podcasts or 15-minute videos, which often oversimplify or omit important details, books allow you to explore topics in depth. If there’s a particular subject you’re passionate about, you’ll almost certainly find a book (or two!) that ignites your curiosity.
Yes, picking up a book and immersing yourself in its world takes more effort than opening an app on your phone to consume content curated by an algorithm based on your viewing history. But the reward of reading is absolutely worth the effort. Books nourish the mind in a way few other mediums can—and for once, this is a type of indulgence you can enjoy without moderation ;).
2. Nurturing My Passion
Every day, for a brief moment, I feel an intense joy in realizing how incredibly fortunate I am to have turned my passion into my profession—or perhaps my profession into a passion :). I am endlessly grateful for your loyalty and readership over the years. Some of you have been subscribed to my newsletter since 2020, while others have followed me since my very first steps in 2018. I can never say it enough: thank you!
From the bottom of my heart, I hope to bring you as many moments of joy, wonder, and beauty as you bring me through your comments, emails, and everything this creative and editorial journey continues to offer me. So, if I were to make one wish for you in 2025, it would be that you find something that truly lights you up, that makes your heart sing, and that you love with all your soul (if you haven’t already). Whatever it may be, discover and nurture your secret garden. And above all, never stop searching.
3. Exploring Closer to Home and Beyond
If there’s one thing I’d love to do more of this year, it’s travel—to explore and better appreciate the world around us. I’m not necessarily talking about far-flung adventures across the globe (though I’d love that too, but for now, my finances and schedule say otherwise). Instead, I’m thinking of trips closer to home, primarily within Europe, to cities rich in historical and cultural heritage. Gothic or medieval destinations like Vienna, Stockholm, Venice, Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Brussels, as well as London and Prague, are at the top of my list. Having lived in London and Prague for a few years, I’d especially love the chance to revisit them.
I also dream of spending several weeks in New York, soaking up the city’s one-of-a-kind energy. The mystical allure of Scotland’s northern landscapes fascinates me just as much, as does Transylvania in Romania, with its famous gothic castles—especially Bran Castle, tied to the legend of Dracula. An explorer at heart, I’d be thrilled to document these travels, discoveries, and unique experiences here on the blog.
4. Rekindling My Love for Museums
If there’s one thing I absolutely love doing on weekends or when visiting a new city, it’s going to museums! To me, a museum is like a grand cabinet of curiosities—a treasure trove of rare objects, masterful paintings, and relics from bygone eras that can’t be found anywhere else. A museum visit is always an opportunity to step out of the house and escape the sometimes dull, monotonous routine of daily life. It’s a chance to immerse yourself in something extraordinary and inspiring. I think this renewed passion for museums aligns perfectly with my desire to explore the world—even if it’s just nearby. Museums are like time-travel adventures for weekend wanderers, offering a window into other worlds without having to go far :).
5. A New Language on the Horizon
I have a little idea brewing about the new language I’d like to learn—one that might come in handy in the not-so-distant future. However, I don’t want share the details just yet :). I already speak English and, of course, French, my native language. I also have some knowledge of Spanish, though it’s faded a bit over the years. I’d love to add a fourth string to my bow with this new language, and I hope to share more with you very soon!
6. A Place to Call Home
After living in several major cities and capitals across France and Europe over the past decade, I’ve recently felt an overwhelming and irresistible desire to find—or perhaps rediscover—a place that truly reflects who I am. A city where every street, every café, and every corner makes me feel like I belong. There’s something magical about finding that perfect place, one that aligns so effortlessly with your rhythm and spirit, where you can imagine building your future.
But for now, I’ll keep the details to myself ;). I’m thrilled about what lies ahead in 2025, and I’m savoring the excitement and anticipation of what’s to come. Stay tuned for the next chapter ;)…
