The English Maximalista

When the end of another year rolls around, it is a habit for many folks to reflect upon the changes of the past twelve months. This is certainly the case for me as I write these words, on a sunny New Year’s Eve morning.

As is typical for a lot of households, there have been many changes in our lives, while much remains the same. There have been a few big changes in my own life, this year, as well a load of smaller ones which kind of slip through the cracks in the moment, but have a cumulative effect over time.

Aside from a couple of health scares, one of the biggest points in 2025 was that I turned 50 (gulp!) in April…

Then, on top of the requisite midlife crisis, my bloody hair started falling out!! And not simply a few measly strands, dear reader: there were handfuls of it. This was truly humbling for me.

Thank goodness my healthcare provider figured out it was a side-effect of the new medication I had been prescribed. (THAT is a whole ‘nother story…!!) Unfortunately, it was medicine I had to be weened off; the kind of which remained in my body for some time. This meant that even after I ceased the meds, I continued to suffer from hair fall. In all, it lasted for about four horrid months.

Always being proactive, I decided to have my long hair chopped off into a cute little pixie cut. I began playing around with wigs, too, because at the time we didn’t know if my hair was going to continue falling out. (It did not.) We didn’t even know if it would grow back. (It did.)

What seemed like the end of the world to me, mid-2025, became a turning point and a learning curve. In a roundabout way, the stress of 2025 was my incentive to create this lifestyle blog, thanks exclusively to the invaluable support of my amazing husband.

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On the whole, I look back on this year with a feeling of immense gratitude and well-being. Here is a MaximaLISTICLE of my most recent obsessions: 

• Slow Horses 
  • We started watching this Apple TV show, starring Gary Oldman and the redoubtable Kristin Scott Thomas
  • The first series of Slow Horses led us to devouring all of Mick Herron’s Slow Horses books
• Aging, getting older, and my impending midlife crisis
  • My husband got me a Porsche for my 50th birthday. Yes, I am aware that this is a sad little cliche. Nevertheless, this is my cross to bear. Her name is Lady Penelope, and I am low-key obsessed with her
  • I am currently obsessed with anti-aging face oils, as well as retinol creams and collagen serums… anti-aging is, for women, an expensive and slippery slope!
• Reading glasses
  • Not too thrilled about this new development since turning fifty, but have decided to embrace the opportunity to add more fashion accessories to my wardrobe
  • Have also gained a new appreciation for my poor old eyeballs
• Xeriscaping [don’t feel bad if you don’t know what this is — neither did I, until about two years ago! For the uninitiated, xeriscaping simply means landscaping for dry climates.]
  • Mr Maximalista and I live in what is considered to be “the high desert”, which is very different from damp, verdant England or the humid Midwest; we are currently learning what grows best in this climate. And we are getting a crash course in what DIES here, too…
• Southwestern culture
  • Again, this region is extremely different to what we were previously accustomed — we are loving it all, from the Southwestern cuisine to the architecture, but most especially the sunny climate and the mountains!
• Hermès Twilly perfume
  • I have been a loyal wearer of Coco Chanel for thirty years, but knowing of my love for Hermès, Mr M gifted me a bottle of Twilly for Christmas. Don’t worry Maison Chanel: I shan’t be giving up Coco, I have simply added Twilly into the rotation
  • Regarding my obsession with shopping *shameless plug alert!* please check out the new SHOP page on my website
• ARC and New Horizons resale shops
  • I have spent decades shopping at Goodwill and St Vincent de Paul in the Midwest, and have been delighted to discover a whole new range of Southwestern charity shops
• There haven’t really been any massive culinary changes since we moved, except we have noticed that delicacies such as rattlesnake or Rocky Mountain Oysters seem to appear on Colorado menus with more frequency than in Wisconsin
• Considering Wisconsin is renowned for beer, I have to state that Colorado has a lot more Micro Breweries, which strongly appeals to Mr Maximalista’s love of IPAs.

Whilst I was compiling this list of new obsessions, my brain was cluttered with the long-held obsessions, which I had to sift through in order to acknowledge the new. 

Travel. Reading. Writing. Chocolate. Decorating. Design. Velvet. Coco Chanel fragrance. These lifelong obsessions remain strong, and are not going anywhere!

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I hope your 2025 was fruitful, healthful, and filled with new delights — as well as old delights! — such as my year was.

Wishing each and every of you a VERY Happy New Year, from the bottom of my cold, English heart. Cheers!

Lots of love,

M xo