Ten Years of Everyday Parisian
Ten years ago, I pressed publish on a blog about Paris with no idea where it would lead. The idea came to me in the middle of the night, and I immediately ran to GoDaddy to purchase everydayparisian.com. The idea was to bring a little bit of Paris into everyday life.
I didn’t have a business plan. I wasn’t trying to build a brand. The goal was simply to create a place to share my love of Paris and connect with fellow Francophiles around the world.
I never expected it to grow the way it did.
The first version of Everyday Parisian lived on a very old white MacBook. I was living off my Etsy income from my photography store, and without knowing what would happen with this idea, I was trying to invest as little as possible to see if there was a spark. Instead of WordPress, I landed on Squarespace because I could build a beautiful site at a reasonable price and it was much easier to use. I was intimidated by the back end of WordPress, even though I had already dabbled in blogging in Paris. Why invest in expensive equipment when I didn’t know if anyone would ever read what I wrote? I wasn’t thinking about affiliate marketing, newsletters, SEO, or photography as a career. I just wanted a place to tell stories about Paris.
If you had told me then that I’d still be writing this in 2026, I never would have believed you or how far this blog has taken me in the past ten years. It is beyond my wildest dreams in the best way.
What I’d Do Differently
I would do it all again in a heartbeat without knowing the outcome. There are a few things I would do differently.
I would build the blog on WordPress from day one. Spend the time to learn SEO years earlier. Originally, I outsourced an SEO team and kept them on for way too long. Eventually, I taught myself SEO and continue to learn every day how to make things better with the every changing rhythm of Google. My newsletter is my most important asset, way more than my Instagram. Showing up in your inbox each week is always my top priority. For years, I was chasing Instagram followers. I regret it. It doesn’t make sense to build a business on quicksand. Especially when it can all disappear in an instant.
A blog is a lot like a garden.
As I was reflecting on the last ten years, I found myself explaining this to my husband, and it just fit.
Every summer, we have a small garden at home. I’m usually the one watering while Henri follows me around the yard. My husband prunes, cleans, and keeps everything looking its best.
Every season asks something different of us. We swap out flowers in the spring and summer, plant bulbs in the fall, and then wait patiently through winter to see what blooms.
Building Everyday Parisian has felt much the same.
The blog constantly needs tending. The homepage needs refreshing. Old posts are updated. Broken links are pulled like weeds. New ideas are planted, then given the time they need to grow. Every season brings new stories, travels, photographs, ideas, and projects, planted with the hope that the work I’m doing today will bloom later.
There is always one corner that needs a little more attention than it did the season before.
Listening to My Readers
If I’ve learned anything over the last ten years, it’s how important it is to listen. When the blog first started, it was all about finding the French lifestyle wherever you lived. I had plans to highlight different bakeries and shops in cities around the world. Once, I took a trip to Paris in October, the shift happened quickly; everyone kept asking where I stayed in Paris, recommendations on where to eat, explore, and shop.
For years, I published posts on Paris, all my tips to help you have a memorable and special trip.
Then the world shut down, I had to pivot again, and we all stayed home and Frenchified our lives. From the kitchen to the garden and everything in between. We did it together, and I hear from so many of you about how I helped you get through the pandemic.
When the world opened up again, everyone kept telling me I had to be ready. So much of Paris changed in that time period. I still can’t keep up with the city’s openings and energy. The Olympics helped put Paris back on the map, and tourism is booming at a record pace.
Friends encouraged me to create The Paris Guide, and with Alyssa’s help, that first edition came to life. Every year since, I’ve updated it with new hotels, restaurants, neighborhoods, and discoveries from my latest trips.
I had hoped to have this year’s edition ready in time for the blog’s tenth anniversary. I’m still polishing it after June’s bonus trip, adding new bakeries and spots I love and making it even better than last year’s version.
I promise it will be worth the wait.
Building a Business
One of the questions I was asked most in the early days was, “How does a blog make money?”
The truth is, I had no idea.
For the first few years, Everyday Parisian didn’t make any money at all. The Print Shop paid the bills. I wrote because I loved it, not because I had figured out the business behind it.
Eventually, I discovered affiliate marketing. I was even denied by LTK the first time I applied, which makes me laugh now. At the time, though, it was discouraging. Looking back, I’m grateful I didn’t let one “no” convince me to stop. Sometimes the path looks different from what you imagined, and sometimes you simply have to keep going.
Along the way, there were a handful of paid partnerships, and at one point, I experimented with display ads on the blog. They lasted about as long as it took me to realize they weren’t right. I couldn’t wait to take them down, and I know many of you felt the same way.
Then came ShopMy.
More than anything, ShopMy gave me the freedom to build a business without changing my voice. It allowed me to recommend products I genuinely loved, work directly with brands I’d admired for years, and keep storytelling at the center of everything I create.
The greatest gift this community has given me has been your trust.
Over time, that trust opened doors I never imagined. It made it possible to build a sustainable business doing work I genuinely love while staying true to the reason I started Everyday Parisian in the first place.
Through ShopMy, I began working directly with brands that had been part of my own life long before they became partners. Collaborating with J.Crew, Margaux, Cuyana, and Frame, just to name a few, still feels surreal to me.
None of those opportunities happened overnight. They grew from ten years of showing up, sharing honestly, and earning your trust one post at a time.
I’ll never take that for granted.
None of this happened because I had the perfect plan. It happened because I kept showing up.
What’s Next
People often ask me what’s next.
The truth is, I don’t know exactly what the next chapter looks like, and ten years ago, I didn’t know what this one would become either.
As long as Paris continues to inspire me, I’ll keep writing. I hope to explore more beyond the city itself, taking you on day trips, discovering new regions of France, and sharing the places that make me fall in love with the country all over again.
I know there are at least two more books in me.
I’d also love to create something tangible with a brand I admire. A pair of shoes with Margaux. A timeless bag with Cuyana. Maybe even matching pajamas. Something thoughtfully designed that feels very Everyday Parisian and challenges me creatively in a new way.
More than anything, I hope to keep growing the way I always have: slowly, thoughtfully, and with curiosity leading the way. As long as I’m learning, creating, and finding new stories to tell, I know I’ll keep coming back here.
Growing Together
Over the last ten years, Everyday Parisian grew from a blog into a business. But somewhere along the way, something else happened.
A reader, Karen, said something to me in Sausalito that I haven’t stopped thinking about.
“We’ve watched you grow up over the last ten years.”
She was right.
You met me when I was single, living in Chicago, writing about Paris from my apartment and MacBook. Since then,I got engaged, brought Henri home, got married, built a business, published a book, and created a lifestyle I genuinely love.
I don’t know that I had ever looked at it that way before. For so many of you, you’ve simply been reading a blog. For me, you’ve quietly been walking alongside an entire decade of my life. That realization makes me emotional in a way I wasn’t expecting.
Grateful
I am so grateful for the Everyday Parisian community. Thank you for reading, for trusting my recommendations. Supporting The Print Shop online or in person at Wells Street. For buying and reading The Paris Guide and Paris Every Day. Showing up on Sunday mornings virtually with a coffee and croissant to read Links I Love. For sharing this journey with me. I never expected it to grow the way it did.
Looking back now, I realize I wasn’t just building a blog. I was building a lifestyle I truly love. Thank you for growing alongside me over the last ten years. Here’s to the next chapter. I still have no idea where it will lead. Then again… I didn’t know where the first one would lead either. Maybe that’s the point. I can’t wait to see what the next chapter brings.
Thank you to Katie Donnelly Photography and Yulia Sribna for the photographs over the years.
Bonjour, I’m Rebecca!
I’m a photographer, blogger, croissant-lover, and world traveler. I hope that Everyday Parisian inspires you by bringing a bit of France into your daily life and helps you plan the best trip to Paris with personalized recommendations for places to stay, explore, and eat.
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What an absolute honor it’s been to see you create and grow EDP over the last decade. From telling me about your idea at the Hibou to now, I can’t imagine if you HADNT done it. The idea was made for you and you for it. I’ve loved watching you grow and tend your garden. It’s a stunning metaphor by the way. I love that outlook. It’s been a pleasure and an honor to become friends and support each other for the last decade. You are one of the smartest and most hard working and consistant women and business owners I know. Keep going, I can’t wait to see what the next 10 years has in store for you.
Love from Paris,
Katie