🤍 RETREATS Dezember 4, 2025 3 Mins Read

En Brillance: THE ROOTING RETREAT 2025/2026

Winter has a way of asking us to slow down. Not with force, but with a gentle invitation: to soften, to breathe, to listen. In a world that constantly asks us to move faster, the weeks around the year’s end offer a rare, unstructured space — a threshold between what has been and what is beginning to take shape.

For the past years, I have turned these twelve quiet nights into a personal ritual. Modern life rarely allows us true stillness, so I carve it out intentionally: late in the evening, after dinner, hidden in a small corner with a warm blanket and the softest light. I call it “returning to myself.” And it always brings me back — to clarity, to gentleness, to a sense of rootedness that feels like home.

This year, I wanted to share this experience in a way that feels accessible, calm, and quietly transformative. The result is ….

❁DESTINATIONS November 4, 2025 1 Min Read

PORQUEROLLES

I had long wanted to visit the Fondation Carmignac on the island of Porquerolles – the largest of the Îles d’Hyères near Toulon. It’s said to be one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean.

We were lucky: a mild autumn day, a pleasant number of visitors, and our dogs in top form. A day of hiking, a boat ride, fresh sea air, culture, and breathtaking scenery. Yes, life is beautiful. It takes about 45 minutes to walk to the famous Notre-Dame Beach – that postcard-perfect view is world-renowned. I believe even Monet once painted this very scene.

At the Fondation Carmignac, we were captivated by the kaleidoscope installation overlooking the garden, and by Feelings by Jean-Baptiste Bernadet – Vertigo. (Just like the U2 song of the same name – such a cool theme, full of motion and emotion.)

Enjoy this souvenir of sunshine, movement, art, and nature.

❁DESTINATIONS Oktober 27, 2025 3 Mins Read

TOTAL CHANGE OF SCENERY

A total change of scenery — switching hemispheres, yet still on the same earth. This time: Australia. 🌏

I’ve travelled a lot, but somehow never made it here when I was younger. Back then, hotels weren’t quite ready to tackle the visa maze, and so the dream stayed tucked away — somewhere between curiosity and possibility. Years later, with age, a little patience, and family ties (my step-daughter lived there), I finally went. What followed was a journey of beauty, questions, and humility — a reminder of how vast and fragile our planet truly is.

Please swipe slowly — it’s worth it.

🗝️ Nature Distilled Arboreum Oktober 5, 2025 3 Mins Read

AUTUMN EQUINOX

#6/8. For me, this sixth ritual — out of eight nature rituals — is about pausing, looking back at the past months, and finding balance and harmony for the time ahead. 🐾

The little reading dog in the picture stands as a symbol of thankfulness — a gentle reminder that everything still growing in the forest and meadows now belongs to nature and the animals as they prepare for winter. 🌿 It’s the moment when the gardener, the wanderer, the observer steps back, allowing the cycle of life to continue on its own.

❁ GARDENS Oktober 3, 2025 2 Mins Read

Hever Garden: A Lesson in Stillness

The art of gardening is not only about craft and hard work. After all — what good is the most beautiful garden if the gardener never sits down to enjoy it? Amid all the pruning, planting, and perfecting, we often forget that the truest reward lies not in the labor, but in the quiet moment that follows.

🗝️ Just like that Suite September 25, 2025 2 Mins Read

I LOVE CREATIVE PEOPLE

People who do, who jump in, who carry that spark of energy to make things happen. In my hotel world, that spirit is essential – it always takes a big heart and just the right dose of creative improvisation.

Just look at Dee’s cover photo with the print sheets of her new book – how brilliant to turn those giant paper sheets into a dress! Last Saturday, I had the joy of meeting this incredible woman, who, as she says, “shows her underwear every day.” On top of that, I was honored to meet wonderful women – so many topics surfaced in such a short time, and our views were so beautifully likeminded.

Even with the rain (surely bringing extra luck to the new book!) there was endless laughter and storytelling. I couldn’t resist capturing a few snapshots and snippets of conversation. Because yes – our days are always full, but nothing replaces REAL human connection in REAL life – or even better: women’s time.

Merci, Daniella @inbarandco, for the little Swarovski stone that already gave me this „special kind of assistance“ today. And thank you, Dayenne @dayennebeccker, for your incredible smile and all the “fuel” you carry within to recharge others. I hope we’ll all stay “in contact” in one way or another.

À bientôt,

🗝️ Nature Distilled Arboreum Juni 21, 2025 1 Min Read

MIDSUMMER VIBES

This Saturday marked another sacred point in our seasonal circle —
Midsummer/JOHANNI/SOMMER SONNENEWENDE.

This season calls for patience (which doesn’t come easily to me),
for drawing from nature’s abundance — noticing it, honouring it.
And for reflecting on relationships —
I’ve just had to say a quiet, heartfelt goodbye.

If you want to bring this powerful time into your life —
this joy, this physical ripeness, this peak-of-summer heat —
surround yourself with the colours of the season:
blue, lavender, raspberry red.

🗝️ Nature Distilled Arboreum Mai 18, 2025 2 Mins Read

WALPURGIS: PURE POWER

Out of the ordinary. Into the full life: THE STORY of being HAPPY & COLORFUL 🙂

The nights around May 1st are Walpurgis nights – a time when many villages celebrate life.
Originally, because this is when the first fruits ripen and nature shows its fullness. Many people love this special time to honor life, get together, put up the may tree and celebrate hope and new beginnings together. In France, people symbolically give each other a lily of the valley.

✨ The 3 colors of this time of year, when spring turns into summer, are

Strawberry red – for joie de vivre, liveliness and the pulsating heart of summer.
➔ Artistic inspiration: Henri Matisse, whose reds stand for pure energy and joy.

Rosé – reminds us of tenderness, self-love and gentle strength.
➔ Artistic inspiration: Georgia O’Keeffe, whose rosé tones open flowers like souls.

Green – symbolizes growth, healing and the power of new beginnings.
➔ Artistic inspiration: Claude Monet, with his infinite, breathing gardens.

Let these colors consciously enter your life, e.g. in the decoration of our home or workplace, in our clothes or even deeper: in our thoughts and in our soul. Because in nature, May is also an invitation to the animal and plant world:

Time for new beginnings.

Time for joie de vivre.

Time to take courage for your own strength.

Have a wonderful and colorful may time 🙂

PS: You want to burn incense yourself – please be very careful – it is not completely safe – feel free to ask me which herbs to use at this time of the year. If you write MAY in the caption, I will send you 3 fantastic questions that you can ask yourself now in May to reflect.

🗝️ Nature Distilled Arboreum Mai 13, 2025 1 Min Read

LET NATURE LEAD

There are moments when time seems to pause – the Wisteria you see here was probably planted at least 70 years ago and is perfect for today’s „glass of nature“:
the scent of wisteria is sweet and strong,
Bees dancing in slow motion,
A sky so clear, it hums peace.

Wisteria (Glycinie) – not just a flower,
But a memory keeper, a silent storyteller,
Whispering of ancient English gardens,
Of patience, resilience, and elegance in bloom.

This is what happens when you let nature lead.

🌸 Take the moment. Smell the bloom with me. Let your soul catch up and just enjoy.

🗝️ Nature Distilled Arboreum April 14, 2025 2 Mins Read

THE SCENT OF A TRUE LADY

The ancient perfume roses of Grasse are more than just an adornment for the perfume industry – they are a symbol of femininity in its purest form. Their delicate blossoms and beguiling fragrance remind us of the strength and gentle power of women. Like the roses in Grasse, which continue to sprout new flowers over time, women are also allowed to unfold, grow and shine in their unique beauty.

We have the incredible good fortune to see beautiful, ancient rose bushes grow anew every year on our property. Regardless of whether there is a lot of sun or little rain – they reliably show themselves in all their splendor and fragrance every year.

A fragrance that beguiles the senses has a certain magic. Just like the scent of perfume roses, which surrounds us with a touch of elegance and mystery, we women can radiate in the same way. We can discover our inner beauty and reveal our authentic strength more and more every day. The scent of a rose is subtle and strong at the same time, it casts a spell over us without imposing itself – just like a woman who rests in her strength but can still enchant the world around her – if she wants to. For me, these strong flowers are a sign of presence, determination and the ability to enrich the world around us. Let’s spread the joy of life soulsisters and radiate our energy. La vie est belle.

PS: Yes, the weather wasn’t great that shooting day – but I also think that’s important – the sun only shines on social media 365 days a year. And even the cloudy days have their unique beauty and power.