Welcome to my Happy Place

Hello and welcome to my happy place. Monica Gisele dot com is a lifestyle blog capturing all my creativity, restoring my soul. Here you’ll find my sources of style inspiration, my entertaining and decorating style, the things and places I covet and my sincere thoughts on life. Essentially the magazine I always wanted to make myself, where the creative in me thrives. 

A little bit about me, I’m a dog lover, occasional runner for fun, cheese/pasta/pink champagne obsessed, millennial. I love to travel, go to dinner, host friends and read. I love listening to podcasts, I have old fashioned magazine subscriptions to Town & Country and Porter. I love the sunset and capturing moments through photography. I’m a modern woman with traditional taste. My aesthetic is classic, my opinions nuanced and I love starting conversations between people who have very different view points.

I created this blog, originally know as Gisele Chic, shortly after moving to Los Angeles in 2011 from my hometown of Chicago as an outlet while attending social work graduate school. My professors always talked about the importance of self-care and so was born this beautiful blog, collecting all my excitement about Los Angeles and other swoon worthy travel destinations, a digital closet for all my style obsessions. It’s the home of all my favorite ways to entertain and decorate spaces. But more and more it’s given me this great opportunity to write about things I am passionate about, whether it’s friendships, how I define feminism, what real self-care is, dealing with the current political climate; the list is ever growing. 

I initially started this special digital place as a vast contradiction to the work I do, but as it grows I’m finding it harder and harder to separate my two selves. Professionally, I am a psychotherapist in private practice at Sunset Therapy and supervise interns at a non-profit. I have a Masters in Social Work and I am licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). My expertise is mostly around relationships and sexual trauma. I love what I do so much and it’s with gratitude that I write this blog, having the privilege to bounce back and forth between two wonderful passions. 

This digital diary continues to serve as my self-care, the place I can retreat to and play. It’s where I find balance between my trauma informed work, a way to fully appreciate and embrace the beautiful things life has to offer. And there are so very many, so don’t get too lost in the beauty of it all. Keep in mind the content here is still curated, an outlet from reality. I’m not out here riding a bike in a skirt and frilly top everyday, but how beautiful is this sun drenched shot? Enjoy it all.