As I woke up in the morning, on this crisp fall Monday, I decided to curl myself up in my warm duvet for just a little while longer, gathering the courage to enter the chill air outside my bedsheets. Fortunately, we have several good reasons, and one in particular, to get out of our beds: coffee. After some time, I throw my duvet off of me, sit on the side of my bed and reach for the warm, cozy socks that are waiting for me just beside my bed. I get up, throw on a cozy sweater and make my way into the kitchen where I get to make my beloved cup of coffee. The kitchen window is open, letting the cold breeze from the outside world enter the apartment. Once my coffee is ready, we, together, walk back to my room. I turn on the string lights around my desk, light a few candles, open my laptop and turn on my current favorite Spotify playlist. I sit down with my cup of coffee in my hand, feeling the warmth of the cup spread from my hands to the rest of my body. I smile while sipping from my coffee and looking through Pinterest for inspiration as I'm getting ready to write this blog post, filled with good energy. 

To me, even such little things are hygge. The noun hygge has been becoming more and more known over the years and is especially easy to come across when searching for dreamy inspiration on websites such as Pinterest, WeHeartIt, and Tumblr. However, the meaning of the word might still be a bit of a blur to some of you. Let's just start with the official meaning that has been given to it. Hygge is "a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture)". Or, in a more simplistic way, and as I personally like to see it: a way of enjoying the little things in life through coziness. Creating this way of living might come naturally to some people, but can be quite a challenge to others. I think I am personally lucky to be among the people who have a natural feeling for hygge. Unknowingly it has always been a part of who I am, but I never realized the greatness of it until a couple of years ago. In order for you to get a better idea of the hygge concept, I would love to share my thoughts, feelings, and tips on hygge in this post (and many to come in the future!). 

It can be quite challenging to find ways to implement hygge in your daily life. Believe me, we've all been there. I personally use hygge most when I'm at home and especially during the winter months. However, hygge is not bound to a place or time. Hygge is always possible. There are plenty of ways to implement it outside of your home, too, for example, being with people you love, going for nature walks, and just living in the now (read more here!). 
Anyway, we will first focus on how to implement hygge at home, and in my next posts, I will elaborate on different sides of hygge. I already gave away a few tips in my intro, where I described the start of my morning. In order to fully experience and enjoy hygge, you first have to find out what you love, what makes you feel relaxed and what feels cozy to you. Everybody has different ways of experiencing coziness, so make sure to use the things that make you feel most comfortable. So, let's make a little list of quite basic things that can contribute to hygge in our everyday lives!

Room Decor
- Candles, candles, candles, candles. Lots of candles. 
- Lights! String lights, light boxes, Christmas lights, you name it!
- Plants! It does not only make your room look a hundred times nicer, but it also changes the energy in your room due to their ability to attract positive energy. However, if you're not the greatest at taking care of real plants, fake ones will do, too. 
- Overall room decor. Create a specific vibe or style in your room that makes you feel cozy. 

Food & Beverages
- Hot drinks like tea, coffee or hot chocolate.
- Fun mugs! Sipping your hot beverage from a fun mug makes you enjoy it so much more.
- What is a hot beverage without a little snack? Grab a chocolate bar, a cookie or a cinnamon roll. Treat yourself! Talking about treating yourself... Baking is an important part of hygge, too. During this time of the year, just go and bake some pumpkin spice cupcakes, cinnamon buns, make a pie, etc. Enjoy the spices that match with the time of the year!

Cozy Materials
- Choose cozy bedsheets that match with the rest of your room.
- Chunky blankets that you can cuddle with on your couch or in your bed.
- Lots of cozy pillows! Make sure to keep the color tones calm, so you will not overdo it. 
- Wear cozy socks, chunky sweaters or, basically, just your most comfortable clothes!

Activities
- Books. Need I say more?
- Board games. Cozy up together with someone and enjoy each other's company by playing a nice board game (my absolute favorite: Rummikub!).
- Music. Listen to your favorite Spotify playlist. Music can completely change the atmosphere, which means that you are in total control of the vibe in your room. 
- Me-time. Take a nice, long shower or bath, paint your nails, use a hair mask... Make sure to take care of your body and you will feel so much cozier already. 
- Watch a movie or your favorite series on Netflix.
- Tarot cards. This might not be for everyone, but I personally feel very cozy when I'm using tarot cards. I always make sure to light lots of candles, play nice music and have a cup of tea beside me, so it really feels like hygge!

Last But Not Least
- Good company. Hygge is something you can enjoy alone, but it is even better to enjoy it together with the people that you love. 

These might seem like a lot, but be aware that they are all just options to create hygge! You can choose yourself which things you want to implement in your everyday life :) I hope you've enjoyed this little Motivation Monday post and I hope you somehow got inspired to use one or more of these hygge tricks during this new week!♥

LOVE, Michelle