I have been waiting to write about the cozy trend from across the pond, hygge. A Danish word that is related to our English word “hug”, hygge is often translated as warm and cozy and is the spirit of the candlelit interior on a cold winter night.
Some things that I find Hygge
- Dorothy Sayers novels. Yes, I know a dead body isn’t a nice touch for a warm, candlelit evening with friends, but Lord Peter Whimsy is the definition of cozy.
- Midsomer Murders. After a day in a decidedly non-hygge world, retreating to our West Elm sofa to enjoy a sure to please show means Detective Barnaby and Sergeant Jones, Scott or Troy. Each episode features some cozy village event, a fete, garden show, May Day, Bell ringing or Choir contest.
- Great British Baking Show! Season 2 and 3 now streaming on Netflix. Pies, cakes, biscuits and tea bread. Modest British bakers. Nuf said.
- LED Edison bulbs in the chandelier.
- My dog, a German Shorthaired Pointer. Cozy warm hugs are her specialty, that and lying on my feet.
- Toast. With Butter. My grandmother made bread each week during my entire childhood and if I timed it right, which somehow I always did, I could have a slice fresh from the oven spread with margarine. No bread is the same as her dense, bland whitest if white bread but a slice of English toasting bread from HEB toasted in a skillet with butter comes close.
- Hot cocoa with chamomile. Put two heaping teaspoons of cocoa powder over a generous dollup of honey in the bottom of your mug. Stir in a bit of boiling water to make a smooth syrup and add cold milk and a chamomile tea bag. Pop in the microwave for two minutes or so, enough to heat the milk worth forming a film. Use the spoon to stir the tea bag along the bottom to dredge up any settled cocoa syrup and enjoy. Best right before bed.
- Sheepskin: slippers, chair covers, neck wraps, faux or real. Wool gets the job done.
- Tea scented handcrafted, candles or bubble bath.
This is a page from a turn of the century book I found in the rubbish. I like the border pattern and the whole picture feels very Hygge.
