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I came across several videos listing small objects that bring a lot of comfort and beauty to everyday life. I really liked it because I believe in the concept of Art in everything and the impact art has on us. Here is my little list.
1/ Loose leaf tea
My childhood friend Vân has a tea salon and a Vietnamese organic tea shop in Paris. She sent me a package full of teas along with a small sachet of tea “powder” to wash my face with. When I opened this “powder” sachet, I was shocked: instead of receiving a powder, I got a sachet that looked just like the tea I used to drink. What she considers waste is being sold by other brands to us in supermarkets and even some tea shops as real tea. Whereas her real loose leaf tea has big, genuine dried leaves.
Since then, I’ve learned how to properly prepare tea. It was by reading the book “The Tea Ceremony” by Noriko Morishita that I understood why taking the time to prepare tea matters. The Japanese tea ceremony is a practice that brings more to the one who prepares the tea than to the one who drinks it. Noriko explains that it was once an art practiced by samurai, as a way to find a moment of calm and carefreeness in their lives. Before entering the tea room, the ceiling and the hallway door are deliberately low, preventing them from entering with their swords. This way, they must set aside their worries and weapons before practicing the art of tea. It is an art closely tied to the seasons. The utensils, the tea used, and even the ceremony itself change according to the weather and the season, it is up to the host to decorate the tea room accordingly. The “tea people” must become ONE with Nature and fully live in the present. The author spent 25 years mastering the art of tea!
I’m not well enough equipped to host a samurai-worthy tea ceremony, but I now pay more attention: I have good ustensils (a plastic-free teapot, a 999 silver tea cup, a silver spoon to measure the tea). Properly preparing tea takes me an extra 3 minutes each time, along with careful attention to the water used and its exact temperature, but the more you do it, the more it becomes automatic, and the tea you get at the end has an incomparable taste and aroma.
You can visit my friend’s tea salon to learn how to prepare tea the Vietnamese way. She regularly organises tasting workshops.
2/ A figurine
I have a figurine that I absolutely love. When I was a teenager, I was really into the world of Precious Moments, I used their wallpapers and their Yahoo! Messenger themes. Precious Moments is an American brand famous for its collectible porcelain figurines depicting children with teardrop-shaped eyes, often paired with inspiring or religious messages.
When I went to the United States for the first time, I wanted to treat myself to a Precious Moments figurine. JB and I spent a while tracking one down at a Hallmark store in New York. I find it radiates so much gentleness, and it has a hidden little feature: it’s also a music box.
3/ Storage boxes
I’m not a Marie Kondo fan, but I do agree with her that an efficient storage system is essential. So that when you open a cupboard, items don’t tumble over each other and ideally, everything is grouped and organised by category. To do this, I simply recycle pretty packaging boxes or chocolate boxes.
It was in Brussels that I discovered chocolate boxes shaped like little houses. When I got back home, I immediately searched for empty ones on Vinted to store my sewing and leatherworking tools.
Besides the metal house-shaped boxes, I also love small suitcases and cases. Whether they’re made of cardboard, leather, or fabric : I love them all! I use them to store my cashmere clothes and tools. The great thing is that when you stack them, it doesn’t look disorganised at all; on the contrary, it looks beautiful.
4/ A message ring
I discovered it at Beautiful Accident (I wrote an article about Bruno and Charlotte on my other blog). I didn’t buy this exact ring, but I have other pieces of jewellery from them. I think the concept is brilliant. To me, it’s like a tattoo but more ephemeral. It expresses something, it serves as a conversation starter, but it can also evolve with you. When you grow, a certain phrase may no longer resonate as strongly, and with a tattoo, it’s harder to erase and replace; you hurt yourself to inscribe it and again to remove it. Whereas with a ring, you can ask Bruno to melt it down and create a new one. And if the phrase is too personal, you can ask him to engrave the message on the inside, making it private, only visible to the person wearing it.
5/ Silk loungewear
I couldn’t afford it for years, because being a nomad doesn’t allow for delicate fabrics that need to be pampered and ironed. Now that I’ve settled down again, I can’t get enough of it: silk pyjamas, silk robes, quilted silk robes… It’s the kind of thing you buy and immediately think: why didn’t I get this sooner?
In any case, all home linen and bath linen, when well chosen, in beautiful materials, elevates everyday life tenfold. I strongly recommend transforming your home into a 5-star hotel, as it truly helps you recharge your energy. Add a cashmere throw. We spend a third of our lives sleeping, we might as well do it in absolute comfort.
6/ Paper books
For a long time, I only read ebooks because I could “rough them up”, annotate and highlight them as freely as I wanted. But I gradually came to understand that reading digitally, even on an excellent e-reader like the reMarkable, reduces information retention. Since then, I’ve returned to the habit of reading physical books.
If a book exists in a limited edition with beautiful paper, I’ll try to get my hands on that edition first. Because reading a book for the first time in a beautiful edition feels truly magical.
Contrary to popular belief, beautiful books aren’t that expensive. Classics have been around for over a hundred years and people lose interest in them, so you can find gorgeous leather-bound editions for €10 to €30.
Recent limited editions, which are pricier, resell very well. And if a luxury edition doesn’t exist, most of the time I’ll find the book at my local library, for free. The only downside is not being able to highlight it. What I do instead is note down important ideas on my reMarkable, and quotes get photographed on my phone.
7/ A basket of fresh, seasonal fruit
I love fruit, but I never naturally think to buy or eat it. However, I noticed that whenever I was at a hotel with a fruit basket, I always made the effort to finish it.
So having fresh, seasonal fruit at home at all times has become important to me. For this, I trust my local greengrocer, who prepares a basket for me each week for €15. When you buy seasonal fruit, it costs less and its qi (vital energy) is higher. Eating fruit is an easy way to replenish your energy. I highly recommend it.
8/ Well-fitted clothes
Having your clothes altered is a small gesture that changes everything. When trousers fall just right or a jacket fits perfectly, you instantly feel more at ease. Clothes follow the body better, they move with you instead of getting in the way. Many people see alterations as a luxury, but the prices are actually more affordable than you’d think: between €10 and €15 to take in a waist or redo a hem.
What’s surprising is just how much it boosts your confidence. A well-cut garment is a bit like good posture: no one notices it directly, but everyone senses the difference.
9/ Beautiful skin
Unfortunately, this is something that’s hard to achieve. I know many women who aren’t conventionally beautiful, yet their flawless skin makes them naturally radiant. The face is the first thing we notice, and luminous skin immediately draws the eye.
When you’re not lucky enough to have naturally beautiful skin, it takes a great deal of effort and sometimes a real budget 🙁 The skin is an organ that reflects everything: the slightest imbalance or health issue shows up immediately. Achieving a lovely complexion is a daily commitment: eating well, drinking enough, sleeping early, and if possible, getting regular massages.
But the good news is that perfect skin doesn’t necessarily mean wrinkle-free skin! As my favourite dermatologist, Shereene Idriss, says, what matters most is radiance, not the complete absence of wrinkles. The ideal is therefore a even complexion, with few or no dark spots. Right now, my priority is reducing pigmentation spots. I do BBL laser three times a year in winter, and I apply SPF50 sunscreen every day. To stimulate my skin and prevent wrinkles, I regularly see my kobido massage therapist in Paris. Finally, I’ve completely cut out sugary drinks (especially bubble tea) to ease my liver and reduce inflammation. My skin isn’t quite where I want it yet, but I’m taking care of it.
10/ Creating
Creating – whatever form it takes (painting, writing, knitting, or making things) – is a gentle way to reconnect with yourself. When you make something with your hands, you enter a bubble where time stands still. You stop thinking about your to-do list or the little worries of the day, and you simply let yourself be carried along. This state is often called “flow”. It’s that moment when the mind empties, yet stays focused. You’re no longer trying to do it right; just doing. And that’s where true calm arrives: everything becomes simpler, quieter, clearer.
The easiest creative activity for me to set up (among the 10,000 creative hobbies I have) is calligraphy. I often simply copy out texts I love. Sometimes I’m no longer even paying attention to the words I’m writing, and within minutes, relaxation sets in. This state of flow helps me access something I particularly love: intuition. When the mind goes quiet, the unconscious can finally express itself and send me messages I would never have picked up on otherwise; solutions, explanations, or simply innovative ideas.
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