The greatest travel experiences unfold when you’re simultaneously facing your inner journeys. When you’re so emotionally empty, that every experience is an explosion of life for starved senses. Cultures pour wisdom into the goblet of your mind, even if you’re parched of understanding. Every simple moment of happiness reminds you every deep wound can heal. It’s in these cinematic bursts of drama-laced adventure that you learn about yourself, your strength and the reality every modern jetsetter must know: only you have power on your direction.

There is no better place to relearn the art of reinvention than France.

At the start of this trip, a big part of my life had unraveled. By the end of it…well, here I am – writing this from The Ritz in Paris mentally sourcing the fabric of my future, stitching the grand details and selecting the vibrant colors I want to unconditionally weave throughout every moment of my life.

Here is the sentence they forget to include in books: When life falls apart, the woman does not. She reinvents herself to become stronger and rewrites her narrative to be fiercer. There is no storm more powerful than a woman who carries the knowledge that walking through her worst is the surest way to reach the summit of her best.

As I sit here at the Hemingway Bar (it’s named after Ernest Hemingway, who once bought champagne for the whole room when the Nazis lost World War II), I’m humbled by simply being in Paris. This city was my first pit-stop on my grand Europe adventure in college – I spent the days innocently eating crepes, wandering the Louvre and simply igniting what would be a lifelong affair with Europe. When I first launched my business, I took a few quick trips to Paris to clear my mind and soak in inspiration for this brand – which of course, has evolved in more ways than I imagined from sidewalk café filled afternoons in Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Paris again proved she is the opening sentence to my greatest chapters.

Though I’m no longer that girl wandering the streets and my business has had multiple “revolutions” to become what it is today, I could not be more proud of the woman who sits here now and how she transformed chaos into power. Paris this time reminded me of the direction meant for all along, and she put even higher heels on my feet to make sure I walk through it with unapologetic grace, fire and intention.

Hence, a celebratory drink (and Crème Brule) at The Ritz.

This past week in France has re-rooted deeper standards for myself, my life and my business, and I’m honored to share the lessons that brought me to this moment. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s big piece: 21 Lessons on the Art of French Living