Hygge

  Hygge. Everyone seems to be blogging and posting on Pinterest about it lately. I love the concept: coziness, the focus on family and friends and togetherness, building relationships and enjoying a slower pace of life appreciating the small things. Of course, because it originated with Danish people, it’s pretty heavy on the wool socks, hot drinks, and cuddling under blankets. I live in the desert, where we are more about iced everything, tank tops, and air conditioning. So I search Pinterest a lot for things like “how to hygge in the summer” and variations of the same, finding really cute pictures of outdoor picnics clearly taken elsewhere because here, no one goes outside during the summer months unless they are walking between their car and a building with the aforementioned air conditioning.
  But the more I read about it, the more I’ve come to realize that we really do practice a lot of the concepts in our home. We play games as a family, and my husband has a few work friends over pretty regularly for a game night. Our daughter still doesn’t really get screen time, but she loves to read and be read to. We snuggle a LOT. It’s the best. And I’ve been making an effort to actually light the pretty candles we have, to wear something cozy and comfy when I spend time at home with my daughter, to savor the ritual lately of boiling the water for my tea rather than just use the keurig, making a whole pot to pour over ice and enjoy throughout the afternoon. (I can not overemphasize how HOT it is here right now).
  And having the mindset has really helped: being focused on the moment and enjoying the simple things had lead to enjoying them more, and a sense of joy and how blessed I truly am. I feel closer to my family. I feel more settled and grateful for what my life is right now. I’m in a better state than I was even just a week ago; we’ve been dealing with some loss and grief lately and this focus and the results have been very therapeutic. Am I still sad? Of course. And I’ll keep being sad for a long time. But does it help to deliberately choose to do and eat and spend time with activities and people that I enjoy and derive a deep joy from? Yeah, I have found that duh, it really helps. So I’m going to keep on practicing this hygge thing.

Little Red and her Big Bad Best Friend

  I have always loved big fluffy doggos, especially doggos that look like wolves - probably at least in part because of my family’s first dog, who actually was part wolf but was a complete snuggly sweetheart. So when my husband stopped to look at some German Shepherd puppies on the side of the road a few years ago, it was over before I knew it had started. I’ve always loved how our dog grew up to look scary but is just a great lovable goofball (although the lovable part is up for debate according to some of my family members). Mostly I love how patient and gentle my dog is with my little one, and how having a dog has helped teach my little one to be patient and gentle with others. They are so precious together!
  And of course, I love fairy tales. So I read them to my toddler. We were reading the story of the three little pigs a few days ago and when my daughter saw the illustration of the Big Bad Wolf she got excited, pointed, and shrieked our dog’s name.
  I was laughing, and also realized that despite having these gorgeous photos waiting for months I hadn’t yet posted them - for shame! Plus it’s stupid hot here in the summer and I like remembering when we could stand to be outside, wearing a cloak no less.
  Months ago my sister assisted her photographer friend with a workshop on how to take better pictures of your kids, and felt inspired, and offered to take pictures of my kid for free since she doesn’t yet have any of her own. Who would turn down free photos of their toddler? Not me! And she knows how much I LOVE the tale of Red Riding Hood, and suggested that for the theme.
  These amazing, gorgeous pictures are the result. I could get used to having such as talented sister! (Honestly I’ve had her whole life to get used to it and yet I’m still surprised by how good she is at all things artistic. You’d think I’d learn...)

  Details: the hood is crocheted from red heart acrylic yarn that I actually made for myself several years ago, the dress is hand sewed from linen fabric (the same I used for my Cinderella short gown), and the boots are from amazon. One of the baskets I got on Etsy and the other is from...hobby lobby? I think? It’s been awhile!

  Also pictured: our beautiful fierce dog, who thankfully loves this child with a long-suffering love. What did we ever do to deserve dogs, really?