A Full Year in Reflection: Design, Chaos, and Intention

If I had to sum up 2025 honestly, it wasn’t neat or quiet —it was full-on. A year of deeply satisfying REBEL&CHIC work with amazing clients, paired with exhaustion and enough external chaos on a number of fronts, including home that kept the day-to-day anything but predictable.

This past year at REBEL&CHIC was filled with incredible clients who trusted us to help shape beautiful, thoughtful, and sustainable spaces in their homes. Projects flowed one into the next, creativity stayed high, and the work felt meaningful—exactly the kind of year I’m endlessly grateful for. It also meant that, like many entrepreneurs in the thick of doing the work, we were a little… MIA on social channels. (It happens. Lol.)

When you’re busy building, creating, and showing up as fully as you can for your clients, sometimes the posting takes a back seat. And honestly? I’m okay with that.

As we step into a new year, I’m feeling genuinely excited—not in a “new year, new me” way, but in a grounded, intentional way. I’ve always been someone who resists the pressure of New Year’s resolutions. They tend to feel rigid and short-lived. Instead, I treat the beginning of each year as an opportunity to pause, reflect, and realign.

I take time to revisit the year that just passed. What went well? What didn’t? Where did my energy actually go—and more importantly, did it go where I wanted it to?

As a busy person - parent, partner, friend, daughter, and business owner -  these questions matter. Did I eat as well as I intended to? Did I make space for personal time, or was I constantly squeezing myself in last? (or maybe not at all…) Did I move my body in ways that felt good? Exercise goals? Let’s just say… still a work in progress. And hobbies—what are those again?

This reflection isn’t about guilt or perfection. It’s about awareness. It’s about understanding what supported me and what quietly drained me, so I can make more conscious choices going forward.

From those reflections, I begin the practice of setting intentions for the year ahead. Not lofty declarations, but thoughtful shifts. What do I need more of to feel fulfilled? What makes my soul feel lighter, calmer, more inspired? What deserves less of my time?

Once those intentions are clear, I turn to something that has become a meaningful ritual for me: creating a vision board.

I’m an intensely visual person—which honestly explains a lot about REBEL&CHIC. When I create a vision board, it’s not about trends or aesthetics for aesthetics’ sake. It’s about gathering visuals that represent what I want to bring into reality: how I want to feel, how I want to live, how I want to grow. It’s part dreaming, part clarity, part creative therapy.

When it’s finished, I don’t tuck it away in a drawer. I turn it into a framed piece of art that sits in my office, where I can see it during my workday. I also make it my phone screensaver—because if I’m going to be scrolling anyway, I might as well be reminded of my intentions.

Over the years, I’ve discovered that having my vision board visible in my most-used spaces keeps me grounded and focused on realizing goals and dreams, even when life gets loud, busy or simply chaotic like this past year.

Chandra's 2026 Vision Board

That sense of intentionality is something I’m excited to bring more fully into REBEL&CHIC over this next year.

We’re stepping into a new season with a renewed focus on building community, sharing lifestyle content, and offering thoughtful, seasonal inspiration for both DIY'ers and those looking to shop new—always with sustainability in mind. It’s about helping you make choices that feel good, look beautiful, and align with the way you want to live.

This year isn’t about doing more for the sake of it. It’s about doing things with purpose. Creating spaces—and lives—that feel considered, personal, and sustainable in ways that actually matter.

Here’s to a new year of intention, creativity, and becoming a little more of who we want to be—one thoughtful choice at a time.