Welcome.
Outside my window right now are two medieval towers, an ancient chapel, a river that has been flowing through this corner of France since before electricity was invented, and a forest that predates the United States by several centuries.
A few years ago, none of this belonged to our story.
My husband Sean and I left Southern California with our two young children in search of a slower, more intentional life. Somewhere along the way, that dream grew larger than either of us expected.
We bought a centuries-old French château.
Now we’re restoring it while raising our family inside it, learning French, making music, growing gardens, celebrating small victories, and discovering that old houses have an extraordinary way of teaching patience.
This publication is where I tell the parts of that story that don’t fit anywhere else.
The videos capture the biggest moments, and these letters capture everything in between.
If this feels like your kind of world, I’d love to send the next chapter straight to your inbox.
Where should you begin?
If you’re new here, don’t worry about reading everything in order.
Most readers begin in one of three places:
If you love France…
These essays are about what it’s actually like to leave one country and slowly become part of another. They’re funny, occasionally humbling, and full of the little cultural discoveries that make everyday life here so fascinating.
Start with:
If you’re here for the château…
This is the story of restoring a seventeenth-century home - not as television would tell it, but as it actually happens. You’ll find the discoveries behind old walls, the decisions that keep us awake at night, and the moments that remind us why we took on such an improbable project in the first place.
Start with:
If you found us on YouTube…
Welcome!
The videos let you experience the adventure alongside us, while these letters are where I slow everything down, fill in the missing pieces, and tell the stories that never made it onto the screen.
Read about why we started filming, then watch the first two chapters:
Two Ways the Story Unfolds
Most of what I write falls into two ongoing series, and together they tell the whole adventure.
Life in France, Unfiltered
These essays explore what it really feels like to build a life in another country. Some are lighthearted, others more reflective, but all of them are about the strange, beautiful process of slowly becoming at home in a place that once felt completely unfamiliar. You’ll find stories about French culture, family life, language mishaps, food, friendship, and the everyday moments that quietly change us.
Some essays are free. Others are reserved for Supporting Members who want to follow the story more deeply.
Castle Diaries
Castle Diaries follows the restoration of our château as it unfolds, one room, one season, and one unexpected challenge at a time. Rather than documenting every project, I write about the moments that matter: the discoveries, the difficult decisions, the history hidden beneath the plaster, and the lessons we’re learning as caretakers of a place that has already lived many lifetimes before us.
Supporting Members receive every Castle Diaries chapter, along with the stories that naturally grow around them.
Want to Go Deeper?
Supporting Membership is for readers who find themselves lingering a little longer after each post - the ones who always want to know what happened next.
It’s where I share the chapters that need more room: the stories behind the videos, members-only essays, and the quieter moments that often become the most meaningful ones.
Why I Write
I’m not writing this because I have it figured out. I’m writing this because I spectacularly don’t, and it turns out that’s the more useful story anyway.
Our French is improving. The château is revealing itself slowly, like it’s deciding how much to trust us. Our kids are growing up bilingual, acquiring in real time what many adults spend years paying to fumble toward.
Here’s what nobody tells you about making a dream happen: the dreaming is the easy part. It requires nothing but imagination and a certain willingness to ignore practical people at dinner parties. The living of it is something else entirely - messier, funnier, harder, better.
I’m writing it all down. Buckle up.
À bientôt,
Kamille
And the picturesque image! Wow!
What a delight to read!