I’m Lucie Fink, and this week is 5 Days of Hygge.
Hey guys!
It’s me.
Welcome back to another
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Let’s get into it.
I’m not sure if I’m pronouncing it 100% correctly.
This little book is going to be my guide this week.
Amd the book tells that me it’s pronounced “Hoo Ga,”
so—
we’ll go with that.
It’s a word that the Danes in Denmark use
to describe a feeling.
Some call it being consciously cozy,
or cocoa by candlelight.
The term originates from the Norwegian word
for well-being and my major takeaway after
reading this entire book from cover to cover is that
you cannot really describe hygge.
The book did breakdown some of the major hygge
pillars for me.
So you’ll definitely want to watch until
the end of this video if you want to get the
clearest and fullest possible picture of
what hygge means.
So sit back, relax, grab a hot cocoa, and get comfy.
I started out today by making the atmosphere
of my apartment more hygge-like.
Candles are arguably the most important piece
of the hygge puzzle.
When asked how many candles you’re supposed
to light at once, most Danes will tell you
that it’s more than five.
So I got myself 20 candles, all unscented.
And I turned my apartment into what most Americans
would call a fire hazard.
In Denmark though, candles are burned at home,
in offices, even at school.
I opened up my windows to make sure there
was proper ventilation and I was being very cautious.
Most Danes will tell you that an open fireplace
makes a room more hygge-like.
Living in a New York City apartment,
that wasn’t really an option for me.
But I did take my big TV and I turned on YouTube
and put on the yule log video that lasts 11 hours.
And I had a crackling open fireplace in here.
I decorated my living space with excess fluffy
blankets and pillows.
I strung up some lights around my lamp.
And I also went around replacing all of my
LED light bulbs with lower temperature bulbs.
As I learned in the book, the lower the light temperature,
the more hygge it is.
Hygge can happen all year-round.
Yes, even in the summer months.
But in Denmark, December is arguably the biggest
month for it which is why I chose this time of year.
Also most of the clothing associated with
hygge is clothing that you would most likely
associate with a warm winter’s night spent
locked inside by the fireplace.
What better way to show you guys
my hygge wardrobe than to do a
The book told me about a word hyggebukser.
I’m not sure if I’m saying it correctly
but it basically refers to a pair of pants
that you would never be caught dead wearing in public.
Maybe I should get a pair of hyggebukser.
We’re here.
This blue chunky sweater is from my friend
over at Hania by Anya Cole.
And you’ll see a few other pieces in here from them.
They actually let me borrow a few of their
items for this week of hygge.
First item is this sweater that I wore yesterday.
This is a chunky, oversized but sort of cropped,
long-sleeve turtleneck.
I got it from Tobi.
And it’s really really freaking soft.
Beautiful.
Here are another of those Hania by Anya Cole sweaters.
How soft is that, right?
So nice.
You can’t have hygge without scarves as
I learned from The Little Book of Hygge.
This one I just don’t remember, oh—
I blew out the candle with the scarf.
Don’t remember.
I’m making a mess.
Please hold.
Food plays a major role in hygge.
Especially, sweet, delicious, and really indulgent food.
And certain foods are very hygge-like while
others are just not.
For instance, cookies are.
Mmhmm.
Celery sticks are not.
Ew.
Score!
So today now that I had my hygge environment
in the living room glowing and I had my comfy
hygge clothing on, I spent today indulging.
I started with a mug of rich, dark hot chocolate.
Piled to the brim with mini marshmallows.
Sugar and sweets are part of a balanced, hygge-like
lifestyle so I of course was munching on gummy
bears all afternoon.
But something that I read in the book is that
the longer it takes to make something,
the more hygge-like it is.
It’s all about preparing food and our relationship
with food and the joy that comes from eating
something that we worked hard to make.
Cinnamon buns.
I’ll put the link to this recipe in the
description box below.
I started by making the dough from scratch
with yeast.
I mixed in the salt, eggs, and flour which, let me tell you, was a real workout on forearms.
And then I let it rise.
I cleaned off my countertop before pouring
some oil on to it.
And then I spread out the dough into
a rectangular shape.
I poured melted butter on it.
And then I spread my cinnamon sugar mixture on top.
Next I rolled it up into a log shape and then
I cut out slices.
While they were in the oven baking, I whipped
up some homemade cream cheese icing.
And I’ve got to be honest with you as always,
they looked really great but they were not great.
But if I took anything away from the food
section of the hygge book, it’s that the
food you’re cooking doesn’t have to come out perfectly.
So even if my cinnamon buns didn’t come
out that well, the entire experience of making
them could not have been more hygge.
Time for another hygge definition.
Hyggekrog.
A comfy or cozy corner, or a snug place.
Apparently most Danes have a hyggekrog in
their home where they like to snuggle up with
a warm blanket, a cup of tea, and a good book.
My windowsills aren’t exactly wide enough
to sit on so I decided to make that little
corner of the couch my hyggekrog for the day.
I spread out my fluffiest blankets.
Brought along a few good books and a journal.
Popped on my fuzzy socks.
And relaxed.
Today was all about having a hygge filled
day using some of the hygge tips that I’ve
learned in the book so far.
In my journal I wrote down a few of the happiest
hygge-like moments that I’ve had in the past.
And then I created a hygge bucket list of
hygge moments that I want to have in the future
with the people I love.
Things like a board game night with my siblings,
renting a cabin with my family, and getting
snowed in with Michael.
This is a good time for me to mention that
even though I’m hygge-ing at home this week,
Hygge does not need to take place in the home.
Actually some of the best hygge can take place
outdoors in nature or in coffee shops.
This is also a good time for me to mention
that I’ve been by hygge-ing by myself this
week because it’s the middle of the work
week and all the people I know and love are
either at school or at work.
But most Danes will tell you hygge is the
best when it’s experienced with others.
So once Michael gets home from work tonight,
we’re going to snuggle up in our little hyggekrog.
And he recently just went through and printed
all of our photos from when we first started
dating in high school
So we’re going to look through our new photo album.
I got Michael.
And we’re in our little hyggekrog.
We’ve got some candlelight on.
Dark outside.
This one is our first photo that we ever took together.
We're so young!
Oh yeah that was my college graduation.
That’s when we went to Newport.
Happy Friday!
Or as they say in the book, Happy Fredashygge.
Which is hygge on Fridays.
So last night Michael and I hygged together
on the couch, but any Dane will tell you that
the sweet spot for hygge is with three to four people.
So tonight we invited my sister Ally over,
because the three of us, Me, Michael, and
my sister, have always called ourselves
The Three Musketeers.
We’re best friends and we love spending time together.
Sine hygge is all about being present we turned
our cell phones off, and then we worked together
to cook a delicious dinner.
And then we spent the rest of the night laughing
together, playing board games on the couch,
and just enjoying being with one another.
Doing the hoedown.
Yes!
Writing a book?
Hah!
Yes!
I think looking like an idiot.
Skiing.
Three Musketeers!
I don’t think I’ve enjoyed another five
day challenge quite as much as this one.
And this little book here could not have been
more helpful at allowing me to integrate this
amazing Danish feeling in to my everyday life
here in New York.
Comment below letting us know how you hygge
and if you’ve never heard the term before,
I highly recommend you get this book and give it a try.
And as always, let me know what you want to
see me try next time for five days.
Bye!
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