When the Polar Vortex rears it's ugly head in Chicago, only the savvy midwesterner knows how to stay warm.
The Polar Vortex is just beginning to recede back to Canada after an extended stay here in the upper midwest (sorry, I'm a big weather nerd). As many of you reading this know, this week featured temps of -25 degrees and wind chills in excess of -50. Woah.
What do you do when it's this cold outside? It's Called Hygge.
Hygge, pronounced “hue-guh” is a Danish word that means embracing winter and the great things that come with it. You don't run from the cold and snow, you steer into it. For example, my brother-in-law John just moved from Southern California to Minnesota. I'm pretty sure he uttered the word Hygge in every conversation I've had with him since he moved, ha!
So, what do people like John & I do to embrace Hygge?
Have my wardrobe stocked with plenty of comfy wool socks and pajama pants
Enjoy high quality homemade coffee (okay I do that year round, but I especially enjoy it in the winter),
Try to use the fireplace as often as possible
Hot chocolate... with marshmallows
Gear up in parka and snow pants and get outside! Sledding, snowmen, hiking!
And of course, light plenty of candles
I like to have different candle scents in different rooms of the house to accentuate the different areas of the house - this helps a lot with cabin fever.
Rosemary+Mint in bathrooms to make showers even more relaxing
Coffee Shop in the kitchen to augment the coffee aroma that's already there
Rich Mahogany in the living room (or Front Room as we call it in Chicagoland)
Tropical Citrus in the Family Room to give evenings a hint of summer
Eucalyptus Spearmint in the bedroom to relax before bed
What do you do to make it through winter? Be sure to share your ideas in the comments.
- Adam
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