Follow the five steps below to get that cozy, comforting, hygge feeling. Adding hygge to your home and lifestyle is sure to make you enjoy the colder months all the better. Let’s set the tone for a fantastic autumn season! Allons-y!
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First, let’s talk about hygge. Hygge: Pronounced like \HEW-guh\ is a Danish concept of creating an environment of cozy, comforting surroundings for your home and yourself along with ways to enjoy the great outdoors during the fall and winter months. Some experts just focus on the home and some even include hygge all year long. But today’s main ideas are relating to the fall months and including ideas for home and when you step foot outside.
Step 1: Cozy up with a good book.
Paint the picture here with me and imagine curling up with a good book. You’re in your favorite chair and you made time for reading. There are cute slippers on your feet and a cozy blanket on your lap. Isn’t that a picture of contentment? Wether you’re a well versed bookworm or more of an audiobook fan, you can enjoy this simple, treasured activity. Books take us places we can’t always go and they instill in us wisdom and knowledge. And there’s something very autumnal (and hygge) about hunkering down with a good book (or thee “good book”, if you well).
Cozy and hygge book suggestions:
- Clean, cozy mysteries: I love low spice autumn themed mystery books for the season like:
- Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen Mystery series has a ton of seasonal books like the “Pumpkin Chiffon Pie Murder” (Book 27)
- Krista Davis’s Domestic Diva Mystery series has to be one of my all time favorite cozy series! They are simply hilarious. Try the Thanksgiving themed first book of the series “The Diva Runs Out of Thyme”
- Tonya Kappes’s Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery series is what I’m currently enjoying through audiobook. She has several fall themed books including “Gear, Grills & Guns” (Book 13)
- Book of poetry: I really enjoy poetry and treasure this book of poems featured above.
- It’s a book by my grandfather, Dale T. Sheets called “Collected Poems”. While he and I have our different writing styles, I still can find some true gems for my heart in this book. I think that’s very hygge. Returning to a beloved book, again and again.
- The Bible: Granted not all bibles are quite the same in usefulness.
- The one pictured is and (New Living Translation) NLT…
- but I’ve switched to an NLT Study Bible ….
- and have heard more and more people champion the (English Standard Version) ESV
- A Bible Study of sorts: There are so many ways to study the Bible and the principles found in it’s pages. A book that I’ve hung on to for almost five years and that has transformed me (like it’s title suggests) is:
As a side note, I really love those Bluetooth headphones. I use them all around the house. They are perfect to listen to your favorite books while you do chores around the house. I found this pair at the Dollar Tree in the Dollar Plus section. I can not recommend them enough and my family can testify that they are my current obsession.
Step 2: Treat yourself with hygge for your tastebuds.
I have to say, I enjoy hot drinks, caramel and even pumpkin all throughout the year but know that may not be the norm. Even so, I get more excited about these treats come September and the beginning of Autumn. Certain items just taste better with the ambiance of their own season and I’d say that’s a natural component of hygge. Pumpkin Spice Lattes, caramel apples, stroopwafels (like the ones pictured above from Aldi), apple pie and the like, shine in their season. This is mostly due to the fact that apples and pumpkins are harvested in the fall and can be stored throughout the winter with ease. Food picked at it’s harvest time is at it’s peak freshness and most appealing. Or in the case of caramel and other decadent treats there’s a multifaceted thought process for why we crave these items more in the fall and winter months.
Food for thought:
- Hot items provide warmth in cold weather
- Tradition! Mom always makes pecan pie for Thanksgiving, for example
- Eating food at all the season’s get togethers-sharing treats can be better than enjoying them alone
- And simply that “je ne sais quoi” comfort factor
Whatever the reason, add in some treats to help ring in the season. Fredag Slik or Friday sweets, is a Danish tradition of kids enjoying treats only on Fridays after school at home. The grownups can get on this fun train as well. I love the idea of enjoying sweets but in moderation like the Danes.
Step 3. Try a hygge classic.
If you do nothing else but this one step of lighting a candle, then you’re good. Seriously, this is the one thing that I have been doing for years. I adore my candle habit. Admittedly, I have paired this hygge classic with ending my days with one satisfying chore. It goes like something like as follows.
Evening candle routine:
- Light a candle in the kitchen/dining room area.
- Work for a few minutes to tidy up things. Think of it as putting your house to sleep, if you well.
- Enjoy the cleaner space, the beautiful scent wafting through the air and the warm glow as the light outside has dimmed
- Blow out the candle and go to bed with satisfaction
Let your candle lighting be like a timer that pairs with a beautiful routine. It doesn’t have to be like my routine. Maybe you light a candle at dinner time, to do your night time facial pampering, or when you settle down with a good book. I’d love for you to give it a try and I hope it brings some beauty to your life.
A note about the candle in the photo. This beeswax candle was made by my daughter from a kit. There was a group of us who rolled our own taper candles. Let me tell you, it was so fun and super easy! I highly recommend the process and they would make great gifts as well. I got the kit off of Facebook MarketPlace as I really like shopping secondhand but realize that it was quite that find. So, here’s a link to a similar product on Amazon: Beeswax DIY Candle Making Kit incase you’d like to give it a go as well.
Step 4: Enjoy the great outdoors.
Much can be said of making the most of every season by enjoying natures changing beauty. Leaf peeping (yes, that is truly is what it’s now being called) is a fantastic way to create that warm, fuzzy, hygge feeling for the autumnal season. Small but meaning acts like enjoying the leaves changing colors is a great way to carry that feeling into the rest of the day. Daylight begins to shorten and our optimism doesn’t have to shorten with it. The easiest ways are the ones we are most familiar with like the classic fall bucket list items. They are still golden!
Here are some easy ways to enjoy nature this fall:
- Have an autumn picnic
- Go for a walk in the woods
- Apple picking
- Going to the pumpkin patch
- Take a scenic drive
- Go for a hayride
- Sit around the campfire
There’s a famous saying that the Danes love: “Der findes intet der hedder dårligt vejr, kun dårligt påklædning!” (“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing!”). So, snuggle up in your best cool weather gear and make no excuses to get outside and get into nature.
Step 5: Cozy up with cold weather accessories.
I’d say the fall scarf and the fall boot rival each other for top billing in ladies’ hearts. Whatever your favorite fall accessory is, wear it with relish. Add in some cozy sweaters, hats, jackets, mittens and gloves. All the before mentioned provide comfort and fun of the season and those are great ways to add hygge to your fall.
A note about the scarf in the photo. I crocheted this scarf probably 10 years ago. I still really like debuting it every fall. The first time I wore it out to diner at an Irish pub, my cousin’s friend was wearing a very similar one she bought at T.J. Maxx! I, of course, felt very validated in my fashion choices that night. But since that was a decade ago, I have not been able to find a pre-made scarf or the yarn in stores. The exception is I found a link to eBay for the yarn. Check out more color options for “Red Heart Boutique Chic Yarn” here.
Poetry Pairing
I’ll end my post with a poem I found from one of my grandfather’s books called, “Collected Poems” by Dale T. Sheets. To see more poems check out my page “Poetry” by clicking here.
Lastly, if you’ve found this information useful, click on the photo below to pin this post to your Pinterest board so you won’t loose this information and can easily find this post again. Until next time and à bientôt!
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