Thank you for being here and being you.

La Flâneuse celebrates the idea of transformation in our lives, whether large or small. Here, you'll find delight and help to see that wherever you are in life, you can follow your dreams, and it's never too late to start.  

Aren’t we all in some kind of transformation, always? Maybe you’re thinking about—or starting—a new job. Maybe you want to move houses or cities or continents. Maybe you’re on the edge of ending a relationship, or dipping your toes into a new one. Maybe you just want to inspire yourself to do something different, something creative, something that excites and motivates and even scares you.

My story is an example of this.

I’m a designer, an entertaining expert, a serial entrepreneur, a former digital startup founder, and a seven-time author. I’m proud to call myself a self-made woman, and proud of my scrappy years, times when I had to take risks that often (but not always) paid off in the ways I’d hoped. Here I’ll share stories, inspirations, and ideas that will help you enjoy a beautiful moment or take the next steps toward a dream you’ve been holding.

Did you ever do something you feel in your heart is right, but that others might deem crazy? In 2021, in the latter part of the pandemic (when travel was permitted), I left my Brooklyn home, where I’d been holed up largely alone for fourteen months, in pursuit of a (still-masked) getaway to Paris. My goal was to take an advanced French class at the Sorbonne and to work remotely from the Rue de la roquette. During the trip I met a man, and that encounter launched one of the biggest transformations in my life. There were enormous decisions to make, and risks and rewards to consider. 

When we arrive at any kind of crossroads along our journey, there is so much to explore about who we are and who we can be. It’s the exquisite process of unfolding, sometimes struggling, and continually blossoming into our truest selves that we’ll share here.

I named this space La Flâneuse, because a flâneuse (or flâneur for those who identify as masculine) is a person who isn’t afraid to wander and roam with curiosity and enchantment, open to discovering what’s around the next corner. 

Wander—and wonder—with me, and we’ll do beautiful things. 

The La Flâneuse AI Policy

Salut les amis,

Yes, I occasionally use an AI tool "in real life," but never for my Substack. In fact, I once had a convo with Chad GPT (that's what I call it) wherein I told Chad that while I truly appreciated its help with questions like, "In what key does Ornella Vanoni normally sing Estate?" I would never ever let it write a single word for me because my love of writing from my heart (and from my own brain) would be diminished.

And because I value human creativity over just about everything else.

First off, Chad repeatedly lied about Ornella Vanoni's preferred tonality. I know, right! Chad served up the wrong key, and then apologized every time when I called it out. Awkward.

As to my comment about the existential threat to genuine human expression, Chad replied in a very deferential way, agreeing with me that (paraphrasing here) "Oh yes, human creativity really is the shit, nya nya nya." I could almost hear him bowing out of the room backwards.

And that's when I knew definitively--we're all gonna die.

I hope this--and the sincere, silly voice that is at the core of what I share with you here--will be all the reassurance you need to know there is no Flâneuse bot behind the curtain at this time.*

Bisous

Karen

*But if there were one, it would sure as hell know Ornella Vanoni's singing deets.

Disclosure: I used Google to make sure there were two Ls in "Ornella.”