{ Hygge }

I recently came across a word that seems to be everywhere, at the moment.

The word is "Hygge"!!!

Do you know what it means?  Well it's a Danish word, usually pronounced as hue-gah. When I first came across it, I wondered what it was and why it seemed to be featured so prominently on Pinterest, in Vlogs, Blogs and just the internet in general. So I did a little digging into what it is, where it came from and what it signifies, and what I came to find out is that it is MY word for this year.

Hygge is a feeling or mood that comes from taking pleasure in making ordinary, every day moments more meaningful, beautiful or special. {Hygge House}

It is the absence of anything annoying, not nice, things that bring us grief or anger, sadness, annoyance or feeling overwhelmed. It is the pure act of being in the moment and enjoying your surroundings.

It was first documented in 18th-century Denmark, and it is now a very important part of Danish life.

Simple elements, small things that make your home look cosy. Lots of candles, and wood and nature themed.

Sitting by the fire enjoying the crackling sounds.....

Fairy lights and a homemade orange slice garland, just hanging there, letting the light through as if rays through a stained glass window.....

Or a simple handmade quilt draped over a chair, just sitting in the corner of the room.....

It's plain dried sticks in a beautiful, delicate vase that seems to be hand knitted.....

Or the tea set that sits on the baker's rack, waiting to be filled with boiling water and scented tea leaves.....

It's the crochet you so enjoy doing, the colors, the textures, the way it brings brightness and joy to a room.....

And often times, it's the cup of tea or coffee you sip in the afternoon when you need a little pick me up......

Or that simple candle you have lit.....

That is Hygge!!!

That is the pure joy of being in the moment and surrounded by simple things.  Letting all cares drift away, and for that single minute you focus on what is in front of your eyes.

I've been feeling this way for a long time, then my husband retired from the Air Force and our lives were turned upside down, nothing made sense, everything was different, and harsh and new, and we struggled to know where we belong.  In a sense, we still do.  In our hearts we will always be a military family, but to the world we are just every day civilians, same as everyone else.  That's not a bad thing, not at all, but when you've devoted your life to a certain way of living, it's very hard to be thrown into the open without knowing where to go from there.

When that happened 3 years ago, I lost my Hygge....I lost that sense of contentment and being in the moment, of seeing only the positive.

I allowed life and it's horrid phases to get to me, to blind me to what I have around me.

When I decided to get back into blogging, about two weeks ago, it was because that feeling had come back.  I felt like my old self again and that right there, that was pure joy.

So Hygge is my word for the year, and for the rest of my life, if I'm to be honest.  See, Hygge is not something you get, or find, it's something you feel.  It is our conscious choice to be in that moment, to stop, to smell the flowers, to let the world go by and to slow down enough to enjoy that

I'm going to take a page from the Danish folks, and really do my best to live up to this.  You'll probably see a lot more on this word and this concept coming up on my blog.

I invite you all to join in, live your life to the fullest, let 2017 be the year where you really enjoy *cozy* and everything it signifies.