The vagabond Cardinale
Welcome to the Chaos (Pull Up a Chair)
I didn’t plan to start a blog — but then again, I didn’t plan to get diagnosed with a chronic illness, lose my job, or spend an entire afternoon crying into a burrata salad. And yet, here we are.
This blog is my way of making sense of the beautiful mess I now call my life. It’s where I overthink in public, romanticize late-night breakdowns, and try to laugh at the moments that would otherwise send me spiraling into the group chat.
I write about the in-between. That blurry, confusing space where you’re technically an adult, but also Googling “is crying in the shower self-care?” at 2 a.m. I don’t have it figured out — but I do have Wi-Fi, good friends, and just enough self-awareness to turn my personal chaos into something vaguely poetic.
If you’re here, maybe you’re also floating somewhere between “finding yourself” and “losing your mind.” Good. You’re exactly where you need to be.
So stick around. Things get weird, occasionally profound, and always involve wine or at least a well-timed espresso.
This is me — unfiltered, unemployed, and unusually obsessed with turning breakdowns into blog posts.
Let’s begin.
Lost the plot, kept the pen.
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Lost the plot, kept the pen. *
About me
I’m Vanessa, an Italian woman living in Zürich, where the trams are on time, the streets are quiet, and I’m... definitely the loudest thing in any given room.
Born with opinions, espresso in my veins, and a dramatic flair that could turn a supermarket trip into a short film, I’ve somehow landed in the land of neutrality, quiet cafés, and rules about recycling. And yet, it works. Sort of.
I write to make sense of the mess — weekly identity crises, aggressively ignored to-do lists, and those weirdly magical moments that sneak up on you between breakdowns. Writing is my therapy (cheaper, slightly louder), and this blog is where I turn breakdowns into punchlines and life detours into semi-poetic storytelling.
Professionally? I’ve dipped my heels into a few job fields and love creating things that feel human. Personally? I thrive on long dinners, deep talks, spontaneous dance floors, and guessing strangers’ life stories in bars.
This isn’t a space for answers — it’s a space for honesty, humor, and holding it together just well enough to hit “publish.”
So welcome. You bring the wine. I’ll bring the feelings.
Let’s keep in touch
Let’s stay connected
Slide into my inbox like it’s a DMs-at-midnight kind of thing. Tell me your life story, or just your favorite disaster. I’m listening.
@thevagabondcardinale