Paris HQ Is Officially Open and Summer HQ Starts Now in San Francisco.

Hello Summer!

Me doing my favorite Paris activity- spending time in a green chair!

Well, it's time to do that switcheroo again. After several wonderful months in Paris, I've just arrived back in San Francisco for the summer.

If you've spent time in France, you may know that the French have names for the people who take their summer vacations in July and August. The July vacationers are called "juillettistes." The August vacationers are "aoûtiens." As for me? I'm neither yet I suppose if I were to give myself a label, I'd call myself a "Summer-ian."

No, it's not because I'm taking the season off from Paris... it's because I absolutely love summer and all the possibilities it brings. Long days. Time outdoors. Wandering walks. Travel. Seeing friends and family. Discovering new places. Summer has always been my favorite season, and while I've learned to appreciate the beauty of every season much more over the years (hello winter in Paris!), summer still holds a special place in my heart.

So here I am, back in San Francisco for the next few months. But before I fully settle into summer mode, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on this past winter and spring in Paris.

To be honest, these last several months felt like the beginning of an entirely new chapter. Not only for my husband and me as we continue building our life in France, but also for me professionally.

Starting and growing a business in another country is both exciting and humbling. There is always more I hope to accomplish, but when I look back, I realize how much progress has actually been made. This spring I officially established many of the foundations for my French business, from opening the necessary accounts and setting up the administrative pieces of my visa and business structure to creating plans for how I want Wanderlust Designer to grow in France.

Perhaps even more meaningful than the paperwork, though, were the people. I've met so many wonderful people over the last several months. Through networking events, creative gatherings, and everyday life, Paris is beginning to feel less like a place I visit and more like a place where I live! In fact, when it came time to leave for California, I found myself feeling something new.

For the first time, I wasn't simply leaving Paris. I was leaving friends. I was leaving people I genuinely care about and was excited to see again. And as I boarded the plane, I found myself thinking, "Wait... I'm not quite ready to leave."

Of course, I was equally excited to come home to San Francisco, to see family and friends, and to enjoy everything I love about California. It turns out loving two places deeply can be both wonderful and a little complicated.

A few highlights from our Creative Renaissance Tour in the Loire Valley this May

One of the highlights of the season was leading my Loire Valley Creative Retreat. What a memorable week. The Loire gave us beautiful gardens, fascinating history, wonderful conversations, creative discoveries, and just to keep things interesting - an unprecedented heat wave (yes, 5 solid days of 95f/35c!) Thankfully, our small group allowed us to stay flexible and adapt as we went. I came away with so many lessons, so many ideas, and so much gratitude for the participants who joined me. I'll be sharing more stories and photos from the retreat in the coming months.

For now, though, I'm simply grateful. Grateful for a season of growth. Grateful for new friendships. Grateful for the opportunity to continue building a life and business that bridges two places I love.

And now... hello, summer.

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As I settle back into California life, here are a few things I'm working on. First, more Postcards from a Creative Life will ramp back up for the summer season. There's been a bit of a delay at the proverbial post office while I was preparing for and leading the Loire retreat, but summer feels like the perfect time for postcards. Expect more stories, creative prompts, sketches, and snapshots from both sides of the Atlantic in the weeks ahead.

Come Join Our Free Daily Wanderlust Color Hunt in the Wanderlust Explorer Lounge

Second, I'm continuing to build my free creative community (Wanderlust Explorer Lounge) that's quietly growing. For the last several months, a small group of us has been participating in a daily Wanderlust Color Hunt—simply noticing colors in our everyday surroundings and sharing what we find. It's amazing how something so simple can change the way you see the world. I'd love for you to join us. Summer is such a wonderful season for exploring, traveling, wandering, and paying attention to the little details around us and I'd love to see a little corner from your world.

And finally, I'll be spending much of this summer preparing for everything that's ahead. That includes new workshops, online classes, creative gatherings, and the early planning for my 2027 France retreats.

Just a few examples of the Printable Journals that will be added to my online boutique soon.

One of the things I'm most excited about is continuing to develop the creative products I've been building behind the scenes and put them in my online boutique/shop. Printable travel journals. Collage kits. Creative prompts. Downloadable classes and creative tools designed to help you bring more curiosity, creativity, and adventure into your everyday life—whether you're traveling across the world or simply exploring your own neighborhood.

My goal has always been to share the France that I know and love through creativity, culture, and artistic exploration.

Living between Paris and California gives me the opportunity to experience both places as a local and a traveler, and I look forward to sharing those discoveries with you along the way. Thank you for following along on this adventure!

A festive glimpse from our creative wine tasting in the Loire Valley this May.