There is a moment when life asks you to stop running… and begin returning.

My story: The Journey Back to My Truest Self

For a long time, I lived in the spaces between who I was and who the world expected me to be. I tried to be agreeable. I tried to be perfect. I tried to fit into versions of myself that looked “right” on paper, but felt so wrong in my soul. Eventually, my life grew louder than my coping could keep up with. The quiet ache became impossible to ignore. And somewhere between the striving and the breaking, I heard a whisper:

What if you stopped becoming… and simply allowed yourself to be?

That question changed everything.

I began peeling back the layers, the feeling of unworthiness, the pressure of pleasing, the constant performing, the striving to be “perfect” in order to be seen and loved. It became overwhelming to just exist, and that’s when I chose to pause.

I returned to stillness. To breath. To truth-telling softness. I traded perfection for presence, urgency for intention, and “someday” for the sacredness of right now.

I didn’t find myself, I met myself again. Not the version shaped by expectation, but the one who had been here all along, the quiet, wise, and deeply enough one.

Now, everything I create — every journal, every piece of art, every business offering, every word I write — is born from that remembering.

Not to promise you a perfect life, but to remind you of your profound ability to live a true one. One rooted in self-acceptance, emotional clarity, inner safety, and soul-led ease. This is not a brand.
It’s a devotion to remembering.
To living awake. To choosing yourself — gently, bravely, again and again.

walk with me ⟶

words to live by

“When you come home to yourself, life finally exhales, and so do you.”

A woman with long black hair and light makeup smiling outdoors, holding her hair back with both hands, against a background of green trees and a clear blue sky.

Meet Giana Marchese

Writer, Artist & Guide for Intentional Living

I’m here because I believe life was never meant to be lived in fear, striving, or self-doubt. We weren’t born to chase our worth. We were born already whole, already enough, already carrying everything we need within us.

Somewhere along the way, the world teaches us to forget. To measure ourselves instead of feel ourselves. To push instead of soften. To perform instead of simply be.

My work is a quiet rebellion against that forgetting.

I create as a love letter to the human spirit — to the part of you that knows you are worthy, that longs to feel safe inside your own skin, that remembers life is meant to be lived with ease, curiosity, and joy.
Not effortless, but meaningful. Not without challenge, but without abandoning yourself through the storm.

Everything I share is rooted in a simple truth:
We are here to learn, to love, to grow, and to enjoy this life with open hands and an open heart.

To live with intention, not urgency. With integrity, not comparison. With softness that does not weaken us, but frees us.

I don’t promise transformation, that’s on you, but I do offer companionship as you remember what’s already real inside you.

A gentler way. A truer way.
A WaY that feels like breathing again.

connect with giana ⟶
A group of people, including adults and children, walking hand in hand across a grassy field with trees and mountains in the background.

core values

The heart of my work

truth

I believe life opens when we stop performing and start telling the truth — first to ourselves, quietly and gently.

Truth isn't sharp here. It’s soft, it’s tender, it’s honest enough to heal. It is remembering who you are beneath expectation,
beneath fear, beneath every story that ever asked you to shrink. When we tell the truth inside our own hearts, the rest of life begins to make sense.

presence

We were never meant to live rushed, braced, or half-here.

I choose slowness, not as escape, but as a doorway back to feeling, to clarity, to aliveness.

When we stop running from ourselves, life becomes something we get to experience,
not just survive.

In presence, the world softens. And so do we.

connection

We are here to love and be loved — to see and to be seen.

I believe in community rooted in tenderness, in lifting one another instead of competing, in remembering we are not separate, we are mirrors and companions.

When we choose love as a way of moving,
we create a world where everyone can breathe.

grace

We are all learning.
We walk, we stumble, and we rise.

Grace is not weakness.

It is the quiet strength of choosing compassion instead of punishment, beginning again instead of abandoning yourself.

To live with grace is to live awake, and to love unconditionally without armor.

“This is the way I choose to live, and the way I hope the world remembers it can too.” - Giana

you’re awakening

this space is for you

If you're here, something in you is ready. Ready to soften, to see yourself clearly, to live more gently and more true.

You don’t need fixing. You don’t need to become someone else. You’re simply remembering who you've always been beneath the noise.

Here, you are met with presence, honesty, and compassion — a quiet place to reconnect with yourself, at your own pace.

Come as you are.
Breathe. Begin again.
And allow yourself to live with ease.

begin here ⟶
A framed picture of a seascape at sunset hangs on a wall, with sunlight casting shadows of a plant's leaves on the wall next to a window.

A Home That Holds You

This space is for YOUR WALLS

Your surroundings aren’t just walls and objects, they are mirrors. They reflect how you feel, how you breathe, and how you move through your life. Beauty isn’t vanity here. It’s nourishment. A quiet reminder that you are worthy of peace, of wholeness, of spaces that truly support you.

My digital fine art pieces were born from the same intention as every word I write — to help you feel safe in yourself, to soften the inner noise, and to create a home where your nervous system can exhale.

When your space honors who you are, you rise differently. You soften into truth. Let your home become a gentle reflection of the life you're choosing now, one rooted in meaning, presence, and tenderness.

“When your space supports your soul, everything shifts, your energy brightens, your confidence leans into certainty, and life opens. I create to remind you that beauty can be a doorway into inner peace.”

With love, Giana

the collections ⟶

built in love

THIS SPACE IS FOR YOUR home

James’s work carries the same intention as mine, to create spaces that feel like you. His hands build what the heart longs for: spaces that hold peace, belonging, and meaning.

Each home he renovates isn’t just improved, it’s restored to harmony. A balance of beauty and purpose, of structure and soul. His craftsmanship reminds me daily that love is not just felt, it’s built — through patience, precision, and devotion to what lasts.

Our work may look different, but it’s born from the same place: the desire to make people feel at home in their space, and in themselves.

If you’ve been longing to create a home that truly reflects who you are, the kind you can breathe deeply in, Glen Karen was built for that.

home renovations ⟶

A few things that shape me

  • A man and woman sitting in a car, taking a selfie together. The woman has dark hair, light makeup, and is wearing a red top and a heart-shaped necklace. The man has short, dark hair, glasses, and a beard, wearing a dark shirt with a logo that says 'Scotch & Sootch'.

    Love Is My Anchor

    Love is the foundation of my life. My relationship is one of my greatest gifts. It’s a place of laughter, depth, tenderness, and truth. It’s the everyday moments, shared mornings, thoughtful conversations, car rides, quiet comfort, that remind me what really matters. Being loved and loving deeply keeps me rooted in my purpose.

  • A bright ocean scene with sunlight reflecting on turquoise water, a seabird flying in the sky, and scattered clouds above the horizon.

    Inspired by the Sea

    The ocean is where I remember my truest self.
    Salt air, gentle waves, and endless horizons remind me how to breathe again, how to release, and return to what matters. The sea has always been a reminder that renewal is natural, rest is necessary, and there’s always beauty waiting when you slow down enough to feel it.

  • A large family standing outdoors in front of an old red barn, with green trees and grass around them, on a cloudy day.

    Rooted in Family

    My family is my greatest blessing and my truest motivation. Being a mother fills my days with purpose, gratitude, and an unexplainable depth of love. All I want to do is to build a life my children feel safe in, proud of, and inspired by. Family is everything.

  • Green palm leaf on white background

    Nature Grounds Me

    Nature brings me home to my body, my breath, my presence. Greenery and open air soften my nervous system and remind me how simple peace can be. I’ve always felt safest in stillness, in soft wind, in sunlight filtering through leaves. It’s where I remember that wholeness isn’t something we earn, it’s something we return to.

  • A sandy beach with a handdrawn heart in the sand.

    A Devoted heart

    Life becomes different when you choose to live with devotion to your peace, your growth, your truth, your relationships, and your soul. Devotion, for me, isn’t discipline, it’s love in motion. It’s the quiet promise to show up to life awake, grateful, and true.