From about 18-24 I was a camper whether it was a weeklong campout in one spot, lake side or a backpacking trip in the New Zealand mountains. My best-friend Emily and I never stayed in hotels; we had all the gear for camping and we took full advantage of this at every turn. I had the mentality of camp or bust which helped me to see a lot of the world for very little and also, I think, relax (nature has a calming effect on me).

When I moved to America in 1999, I was initially in Tennessee then Kentucky. Wanting to move to SEattle so badly and being broke, the only way to drive across country was to do it by staying at campgrounds. No problem, I thought, I’ve camped a lot.

But this trip happened years and years after regular camping. The gear I had was cheaply made and lots of essential components were missing. That meant when camping in Kansas, the winds beat like a heavy drum against the tent all night. I froze in the Colorado mountains and was soaked in the Grand Tetons.

Needless to say, camping wasn’t that much fun.

I essentially gave up on camping over the years – not because I lacked interest but because comfort began to mean more as I got older and having the financial ability to stay at four star hotels made me less inclined to sleep on dirt.

It wasn’t until this summer when a friend suggested we go camping – and he said he’d bring all the gear and food – that I went again. We camped in Big Sur CA with a million dollar view and ate by camp firelight every night. It was a good first trip that reminded me why I loved camping in the first place.

But it also reminded me that camping now requires some basics – and some comfort – that I’m not willing to compromise on. Call it glamping if you will but I need to have camping feel as good as possible from knowing I have the right tools (and always put together in a kit for easy access when I want to go camping) to having the right gear (a great tent, blankets, food prep etc).

There’s several camping trips already planned for this year so in preperation I’d love your help on building my camping gear kit. If you’re a camper, what are your tricks, your essentials, your ‘things that just make it better’?

Basics:

• Tent
• Tent supplies (lights, sacks, cleaning etc).
• Lights (lamps, flashlights)
• Firestarters
• Pots/Pans (what ones do you use, what’s the most essential)
• Making coffee/tea
• Wash bin (for dishes)
• Clean up supplies
• Cooking
• Storage for food
• How do you prep/keep food? What food do you bring?
• Organizing it all (how do you keep it all together so you can just take a box and go camping?)
• Extras that make camping better?

I grew up adoring the month of December and have written here before about the cosy feeling, traditions and quiet moments it brought. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve often struggled with this month and really struggled with what Christmas is (or isn’t).

Perhaps it’s because I’ve been in a new house or new city each year, or maybe it’s because I don’t have family (related or not) near or maybe it’s because of something else I’m not even aware of. Whatever the reason, there’s a lot of moments in December where I’m not sure where I fit in or how to feel about it all.

This year, however, was different. Two major differences was that I began working with Direct Relief, a non-profit that provides urgent and ongoing medical aid both in the US and International. 1,100 clinics receive medical supplies and prescriptions for us (so if a poor or uninsured patient needs a $150 inhaler but can’t pay, they get it free because of Direct Relief). Internationally, we’ve been providing aid in Haiti (and helped rebuild a hospital), the Philippines and we’re doing incredible work in Africa for maternal and child health (like providing Midwife kits so women can have safe births).

The second difference was that because I hadn’t moved in the past year, I was able to connect with people locally more. I found family – family that invited me to spend the holidays, that I had to buy gifts for, that I could laugh and relax with. That I could wake up with and toast to the holiday over mimosas.

Those two things weren’t actually things. They were really what the holiday is about; giving, enjoying, thinking about others, connecting, joy. This is also really what hygge is about. And having (realising) that has been the best gift a girl could ask for – even better than a pony.

I realise and so completely understand if this holiday you find yourself alone, or without family, or in need of something and for that, all I can do is offer this: there will be a time when that will be different. Just keep a little hope, a little faith. For isn’t that also what the holiday is about, too?

I resisted adding social networks to a lot of my sites for a long time for all those reasons. But it wasn’t until this year when I realised that I digest information in different ways that I began to add different networks under the Hygge House name.

For example, I find Twitter great for retweeting what others are saying, for quickly sharing links & info or having direct convos. Facebook is great for sharing all the links & discoveries I make that wouldn’t warrent a whole blog post. And YouTube/Vimeo, well, there’s a lot of beautiful films being made now that I can’t help but favourite and those networks are great for doing just that.

So with that, I have created social accounts for Hygge House. If you have the same sensibilities and likes as I, and you are on these networks, then feel free to connect with me elsewhere and, if you have something to share, please share it with me. After all, it’s called social networking for a reason.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Flickr
• Pinterst
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Vimeo

PS: I’m updating/redesigning this site, so please excuse any issues you find – I’m working on it.

While I definitly love summer (long days, beach time, bbq’s, travel, warm breezes), autumn truly has my heart. Crisp weather, reason to wear boots with tights, hot apple cider, leaves falling, light changing, cosyness, warm meals….

However, living in Southern California, fall doesn’t really exist. The change is subtle; the light is different, there is a slight coolness in the air but you can still wear shorts, leaves go fall but chances are they were already brown, and tights fill shoppe shelves but wearing them makes one overheat.

For me, this proves a challenge – how do I survive my favourite season if it doesn’t really happen? I had this challenge in Texas, in my travels to warm places, and then I thought there might be other’s out there who love fall, who read about it in magazines or on others’ blogs yet don’t get to truly experience it.

So, I wonder, what does fall for the rest of us look like? Here’s a few ideas I’m trying:

1. Seasonal produce. I live in a place with a lot of access to things year round but I’ve bought a couple books on seasonal eating and am going to stick with that. Sorry, strawberries – I’ll see you next year.
2. Light show. I love light. I pay attention to it (if you’ve ever seen Bright Star I think you’d agree that light was the 3rd main character). Seeing the shift in it, shadows, length, the softness, helps remind me that it’s fall.
3. Dress for it. Oranges, browns, greens – seasonal colours. Plus boots! I don’t get to wear my winter coats but the boots are coming out even if I have to balance it with a lighter dress.
4. Trips to where fall is happening; whether its 2 hrs out of town to see an apple festival or a cross-country trip to see the real deal.
5. Smell it. My summer candles which are normally floral change to warmer scents with names like ‘cashmere’ ‘fireside’ and ‘campfire.’
6. Design for it. I change out linens; fall colours come out, warmer textures appear, different duvets and sometimes even curtains.
7. Read. I pick up books that talk about fall, devour home magazines that have it and read bloggers fall trips with envy. This isn’t always a healthy step to take!
8. Bake lots of pumpkin somethings.
9. Garden. I plant seeds, I clean up what’s there and I make sure there’s food/water for the birds.
10. Cosy up. From candles, to warm foods, to reading with a blanket tucked over with a window open – fall=cosy to me.

Coming to America, it was hard at first to adjust to not having a Good Friday and Easter Monday holiday, to not have the big family brunches and gatherings. To just have a huge cultural shift over what I think is a really lovely (and for some, meaningful) holiday.

My mum and I have been staying at my cousins house in the country where the weather has been unbeatable (clear blue skies and 20C/71F). Prep for brunch started days before; cook books were brought out, grocery trips were made, flowers were bought, cooking was done, candles were secured around. I was going to meet a lot of family for the first time and see others again.

The night before I was giddy as a school girl because, well, the last time I had had an easter like this I was a school girl!

But that night I got word that my cat, Grace, had suddenly taken ill. She was rushed to emergency and things didn’t look good: she had a brain tumor. Although physically in good shape she was neurologically gone. I had to think about what to do for her health and possibly death and it was one of the hardest things to do. I was up all night red-eyed, making plans, talking, sometimes just sitting in the darkness.

The next monring I woke up and the house was fluttering in anticipation for guests who would be coming at 11. It’s one of those times where you just have to put on a brave face and meet people where they are, not where you are.

As most Danish gatherings go, ours went on for five hours of eating (round one, round two, round three), dessert, lots of coffee, lots of stories and even some napping in between. There was lots of chat, chat, chat and it was good.

Some of the family is very religious (my cousin taught Bible study for 11 years) and some of the group are not. I am somewhere in-between. So thinking about the meaning of the day historically, and then the meaning of the day as it was happening now (being with family, enjoying the good, simple life), gave me a lot of things to think about. I wondered if I was being selfish for laughing with my family, for not grieving openly, for not telling everyone what was happening. If it was weird that when I looked at the yard, the people, the food, I felt happy for that instead of feeling sad every moment. It was uneasy to feel torn.

As the last of the guests were leaving, I got word that Grace had passed away in her sleep. The news was far from easy to take and had me devastated the rest of the night. The comforts came from earlier in the day and somehow of having her pass on Easter.

It reminded me of how just a week before my mum and I were at our family’s plot at the Selso Church (pictured above). Along side some other family are my mothers parents and we were there to do a little something for her mother who had recently passed away. What struck me was that how in the church yard, which was full of death, there was so much life. From all the birds singing, to the cows grazing on the other side of the wall to the trees just coming back to life from winter. There was this beautiful mixture of life and death. I suppose there always is.

I am often accused of not painting a ‘real’ picture of how things are (IE not sharing the dirt, the hardships, the details) but that’s because I think there are so many hard things to deal with that sometimes the best way to deal with and accept them is to find the good. I’m the sort that whole-heartedly believes that there is good to everything if you look for it (with the full understanding that sometimes this is very, very hard to do not just in the moment, but after a good deal of time has passed).

Easter ended up being that lesson for me; how do you deal with the wonderful right in front when the terrible is also happening? Celebrating and being with family beautiful, wonderful and happy and losing one of my most trusted companions was the most painful events ever.

But then, I think, that’s just a perfect surmise of life; the good with the bad. It happens every day, every moment. The trick perhaps to getting through it all, is to always acknowledge and be present through both so that you eventually get to just remembering all the good.

For that’s really the only way to get from one day to the next, and moment through moment.