Sunday Retreat

Ever found yourself longing to go in retreat? We think you can have a retreat at home and Sundays are the perfect days to do it!

Here are 5 tips to have your own Sunday Retreat!

1. Plan it in advance

It’s so good to have something to look forward to and a retreat should be exactly that. can you arrange to drop children off to a friends or grandparents (even better if it’s an overnight stay?!) If it’s not entirely possible to have the whole day, perhaps you can find a few hours whilst everyone else is out doing something… anything else!

2. Block out the day

Make sure you protect your time and block out the day from visitors, obligations or chores. If necessary, get everything you might be tempted to do, like school uniform washing or weekly shop the day before.

3. Have an idea of what you’re going to do

…but don’t jam pack the time with a crowded itinerary. Have a loose idea, like “read book in bed / go for a walk / swim / pick up that craft you used to like doing.” You could arrange to meet a friend for an uninterrupted coffee and chat. Prepare anything you might need, like a new notebook, favourite foods, bath oils etc.

4. Avoid the temptation to go on your phone

Whilst our phones definitely have their benefits, they can lead us down overwhelming rabbit holes, bombarding us with things we should be doing, news that doesn’t always uplift us and physically, keeps us often hunched over and stagnant. Set yourself the challenge of being screen free for as long as possible and see what impact it has on your head and your breath.

5. Take time at the end to journal

How do you feel? Refreshed? Inspired? Would you like to make it a more regular occurrence? Have you had space to think that has given you fresh ideas? Write it all down so you don’t forget as soon as you go back into the normal day to day routines!

We hope this has given you some food for thought in todays busy world. Do let us know if you try it or if you have other ideas for taking time out to recharge!

A tale of twelve boxes

Whilst we have been dreaming of our original hygge subscription boxes since 2015, our idea was twelve months in the making.

Now, another twelve months on in August 2017 and we’ve completed one full calendar year of sending hygge boxes through the post, spreading (we hope) warmth, inspiration & contentment with every one.

To do that we made some “rules of thumb” as you’ll see below. The price was important. Our boxes couldn’t be expensive. Hygge is not about spending money but being creative, simplified and focussed on what’s really important in life.

We thought we’d spend a few moments reflecting…

September

My goodness weren’t we nervous! Would we strike the right chord? Would we be able to translate how we felt into a box? Would you like the boxes?

A twig weaving craft kit to while away an hour and brown paper packages tied up with string, the box felt rustic and a world away from commercial goods.

The thing that we recall about our first box was just how good it smelt. The scent of rosemary as the box was opened was heavenly (we know this because we had to remove all the batteries from the fairy lights as we didn’t know these were banned in the post!).

And that set our first rule… Everybox must smell beautiful…

Feedback was fantastic; we were told that it felt like a gift from a friend. We were on the right track!

October

Having hit the right note once, could we do it again? The theme was nostalgia. We found lovely rhubarb & vanilla teas which reminded us of old fashioned sweet shops from Hooglyteas and we couldn’t wait to offer them in our boxes. Partner these gorgeous teas with something sweet and satisfying like the Cornish fudge, we knew would hit the spot without feeling guilty…

Watch Amanda unbox hers here….

Rule 2; there should be something to take time out to relax

November

I remember November fondly as one of my favourite boxes. As the world was ramping up for Christmas, this was a chance to just step outside of the madness for a little while. With coasters handmade by Samantha & an autumn / winter especially designed picture, coupled with natural wood pencils, this box was perfect for sitting fireside with hot chocolate & marshmallows.

We also hand print our own gift cards & include one in every box as we believe that the art of letter writing is being overtaken in an electronic world…

Rule 3; every box should have a gift card

December

Now was the time for full Christmas festivities hygge style! With white & red tissue paper, this box smelt divine with orange & clove pomander kits & plenty to spread love & joy throughout the season!

Rule 4; every box should always spread warmth & joy, whatever the month

January

A new year & the theme was new beginnings. A chalk board to leave hyggeligt messages to loved ones or a helpful memo board to make life easier was in each box, as well as handmade soap, teas & low calorie chocolate.

February

… was all about self love 💌 knowing that it was ok to put ourselves first sometimes. We know that for most of our subscribers, their hygge boxes are the discipline that they need to give themselves time out, if only once a month.

A little heart pendant on leather to remind ourselves to do this, a copper frame to hold a picture of our nearest & dearest or even a cutting of a favourite flower or leaf as well as candles for light and glow.

The feedback from our subscribers was telling us that we were getting it right!

Rule 5; each box should be about being hyggeligt on our own as well as with other people & therefore scribed with the recipients name for that personal touch

March

We love hygge with the changing seasons and our thoughts were turning to Spring & this box was a reflection of garden bird decorations, seeds and plant pot for growing beautiful sunflowers 🌻 & chocolate eggs with Easter nearly upon us.

Rule 6; Danes love to bring the outside in. Our boxes mustn’t forget that.

April

We’d been lucky enough to enjoy some fantastic weather and we’d been thinking about playful al fresco dining. We encouraged you all to invite a friend over for a very British tea party, including jam for mini Victoria sponges, English tea & table ware

Rule 7; hygge isn’t just for Danes & it is great when shared

May

We live by the sea and know how it makes us feel; inspired, calm, energised & in awe. We combed the beaches for sea treasures that could be crafted into mobile decorations, as well as candles, tea, vintage inspired gift card and a stick of rock.

June

With festival season in full swing this box was about the spirit of festivity & celebration, making plans & taking time to make and decorate bunting using natural inks. We also included a hurricane lamp to light the way.

July

Our thoughts were turning to that time of year when everyone it seems is travelling to far off lands. But you don’t need to go away for a break. The theme was travel & escape and one of Deborah’s personal favourites, perhaps because the greetings card was designed from her own personal stamp collection.

And in July we met a real life subscriber! We shared breakfast over a Cornish beach view and chatted away like old friends. It was great to get an understanding of what it was like to be on the receiving end of a hygge box.

She said “each box feels very personal. Like it is made especially for me. And I’ve kept one particular candle on my desk that I can just open up and smell from time to time. It’s beautiful.”

Rule 8; we must love every box and want to receive it ourselves

August

Our final box of the year is about relaxing and retreating. Just a sneak peak for now…

It’s been an incredible year. We’ve really challenged what it means to be hygge and conclude that it means something different to everyone. But what can’t be mistaken is what is important and that we all have in common; as human beings, it’s so important to take time out, to recognise the good & to make room in life for contentment, either alone or with others.

Our original hygge subscription boxes, we hope, do just that and if we keep to our own rules, we have many more to come.

If you’ve received one of our boxes, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

And if you’d like to Subscribe here

Autumn: Out with the old

When you think about it, autumn is the absolute beginning of new beginnings. Before Spring can come, Autumn must shed leaves to pave the way for new bud; natures “out with the old, in with the new”.

The “out with the old” is really, really important. If we didn’t get the old, out, we’d be carrying around an awful lot of “stuff.”

At first, the shedding of leaves is beautiful and incites our playful sides to reveal themselves as we kick leaves, play conkers, make & bake hedgerow fruits.

But after Autumn (and the sparkle of Christmas) comes Winter and as most trees are bare and without leaves the world can seem a very stark place indeed.

But really, Autumn & Winter is the place where all the magic happens.

Hygge is about mindfulness

You can’t really have any resolution without a period of shedding old leaves. That in-between phase of old and new is when we wrap up, bed down, bed in. A time when maybe we pull our blankets and those closest to us a little bit closer. A bit like when a lobster sheds its skin, it’s and goes into a protective rock space whilst it toughens itself out. We reflect & calibrate.

Personally, we’ve tried New Years resolutions (abandoned) . We’ve tried a monthly resolution (comes and goes too quickly) so we thought we’d seek out some middle ground and try a seasonal resolution. Here goes…

Reap the benefits of living hygge of last year

If you’re a regular reader of our blogs you’ll recall what an impact living hygge had on our lives almost instantly.

Four weeks of living hygge

So keep doing what we did last year. We’re doing ok!

Appreciate what I have, right here, right now.

Remember the board games around the fire, the stock of marshmallows in the jar (note to self; keep hidden from family or they disappear), the conscious efforts to make plans with family, call Grandmother more often and mindfully withdraw from thinking about work, having a book regularly on the go and saying yes and no to the right people at the right time.

But don’t hibernate too much!

In October 2015, I stumbled across hygge in a colleagues tweet. What I did was took it as carte blanc to plonk fireside as soon as I got home, which was hygge and very lovely but actually, I should have maintained the habit of those regular evening dog walks; confession… I did put on quite a few pounds last winter, thankfully lost with effort in early Spring. Don’t make that mistake again!

Take notice of nature

Now this one should be easy. I’d like to meet anyone that doesn’t notice that the leaves have changed colour, fallen from the trees and are crunching beneath our feet.

But I mean really look… The beaches are our closest wildlife haunts. What happens to rock pools, in the dunes and shore life? The seals that are lolloping in the coves? That will mean getting out and about and not just to the woods further in land that we usually haunt this time of year. We commit to do that.

And that’s it! No more & no less! I’m simply not going to beat myself up. Appreciate what I have, right here, right now, in my home. Hygge is about mindfulness. About looking inside and … feeling.

And how can what we feel ever be wrong?