Hygge, Gezellig & ‘Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin’

I.AM.Sooooo behind the eight-ball on this one! Have you heard of the word “HYGGE” (pronounced Hoo-gah)? It was THE word of 2016…and I’m just getting around to it now..ugh! Similar to the post I did on coincidences the word “hygge” has entered my life frequently and randomly for the past seven months.

It all started last July when I did a non-simultaneous home exchange with a lovely family from Copenhagen. When I returned home my guests had left a lovely note and a candlestick, telling me that my home was so hygge. I looked up the word and found out that it means “cozy, contentment and well-being” and was so flattered that my home conveyed this feeling to their family. Of course when I went to Copenhagen for the World Rowing Masters Regatta in September the word hygge kept popping up here and there, but I wasn’t paying much attention….much to my dismay now.

It is not only a Danish word, but it’s practically a national ethos that the Danish have embedded in their culture.  Think fireplaces, big woolly sweaters, blankets, candles and an overall feeling of a big hug. Knowing my guests felt that warmth just by inhabiting my home for a week got me verklempt! It’s totally how I feel about my home…as I assume you do yours…but to have someone else tell me that just warmed my heart.

I need to back track now. I have a thing for phrases and have had many Wall-Words up in my home over the years…you know those little phrases that you order online, they come in a roll and you just stick them to the wall. Well the previous ones I’d had in my home had all been painted over with my detour move to the beach. Now that I was back home, I was itching to put up some wall words…so, after my exchange and trip to Copenhagen, “hygge” seemed perfect. I didn’t want to put up just one word randomly, when I had an epiphany! In thinking back I realized that my friend & neighbor, Bernie, had come into my house years ago and said, ” your home is so gezellig!” (pronounced heh-SELL-ick) …..and my friend, Gina, from Ireland with whom I did my first home exchange, said to me “You need to put up ‘Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin'” (I’m not going to even mess with that pronunciaton…click here)  Gezellig is Dutch (Bernie is from Amsterdam) and loosely translated as “cozy” or “heartwarming.” ‘Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin’ is Irish and translates to “there’s no hearth like your own hearth” or “there’s no place like home.”

wall words in my kitchen

So, those were my words. I ordered them, put them up on my wall leading to the kitchen right before Thanksgiving and that was that….FABULOUS!

….and then I read an article in the NY Times this past Sunday and thought, “Wow, I am so on trend!” and asked Taylor and Kate if they had heard of this word. Not only had they heard it, they both knew all about it, Kate sent me another earlier article in the NY Times …and my ensuing research showed that, yes, I was on trend, but way behind in the trending!

the Paris bistro corner of my kitchen

Here’s what I found out….

a cozy little NYC corner of my bedroom

So why not take a lesson from the Danish and add a little hygge to your life this weekend. Throw a log on the fire, light some candles, invite some friends over (or not) and enjoy the beauty and warmth that emanates from your home and life!

You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!

The Central Coast of California…MORE to do!

great garden store in Los Olivos on the way back home to Orange County

I did a home exchange on the recent long President’s weekend and it was awesome! It was another trip to the central coast of California with our home base in Los Osos…while a great family stayed in my home and visited Disneyland.

We’ve had a lot of rain here in California and the difference it has made to the hillsides, creeks and lakes as you drive up Highway 1/101 is amazing. In the past few years it’s been pretty brown and dismal, but now, I’m not kidding, it looks like Ireland…it’s SO green! We couldn’t get over it! That, coupled with the ocean on our left made for a beautiful drive.

There were six of us and we had a blast. We arrived late on Thursday evening, so we just brought in Chinese food. Friday was a rainy day, with high winds…we even lost power a couple of times…so we decided to just hunker down, read and relax, while we watched the weather change through the floor to ceiling window overlooking Morro Bay. I have to say it’s definitely the best view I’ve had doing a home exchange and the house was great, with every amenity you could want.

The next two days included trips to Harmony (“population: 18″…woohoo..it used to be “population: 2” when I first started visiting over 20 years ago), Cambria, the Seal Rookery near San Simeon, The Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Pismo and a jaunt through San Luis Obispo. As I have said here before…always more fun to tell the story in pictures…..here you go….

There’s a couple of great places to go in Harmony…a glass blowing store, a cool pottery store and now they even have a winery! They also have a chapel..so you could get married there!

The amazing Salmon Bisque at Robin’s Restaurant in Cambria…I highly recommend this restaurant!
Fun to see Suzanne, a friend from high school that lives up in Cambria now
Fun home & garden store…. and then go to the back courtyard and there are a bunch of little eclectic shops

 

 

Robin’s Restaurant

the Piedras Blancas seal rookery….the beach will be covered with seals when I go up in April
we played a lot of mah jongg over the weekend

…..END OF DAY TWO….

day three started off with at the Old West Cinnamon Roll in Pismo
The Monarch Butterfly Grove was beautiful and the temperature was perfect to see lots of Monarchs. It has to be above 58 degrees for them to fly around and it was 61 when we were there…YAY!
last stop before heading home was a little shopping jaunt and lunch in San Luis Obispo…but these girls were so hungry that we tucked into bubble gum alley…EEEWWWW!
we dined alfresco creekside at Novo’s restaurant and really enjoyed these Novo lettuce wraps…yummy!
you have to stop for a quick bathroom break at the Madonna Inn…ornate is an understatement…crazy decor!

A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL…..

You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!

Motivational Monday….what’s your mission?

(I felt like it was a two-fer kind of Monday!)

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style….Maya Angelou

….and from Hunter Thompson…Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting “Holy shit…what a ride!” (I may have already posted this earlier…but I love it!)

You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!

Foodie Friday…Fabulously Easy Chicken Pot Pie

This fabulous recipe comes to you from my sister, Mariellen. She’s a great cook and said that everyone loves this recipe. It’s a deconstructed chicken pot pie..so much easier than making a crust. I gave it a try and it was DELISH!! Super simple and quick!

10 oz. bag frozen vegetables (no need to thaw them)
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped onion (chopped frozen works great)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
14 oz. can chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
3 cups cooked chicken cubed…about 5 boneless skinless breasts depending on size (I sear roasted mine, but you could just pick up ready-made roasted at TJ’s)
1/4 cup finely grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (I used parmesan because that’s what I had)
1 1/2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
1 roll Pillsbury old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits

(this first part is pretty much like a basic Bechamel sauce with onions added…a good base for so many recipes)
Melt butter in a pan and add chopped onion. Mix in flour, salt & pepper a little bit at a time until well combined. Slowly add chicken broth, stirring ’til well combined, then add milk. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens – don’t worry, it doesn’t get really thick, it just thickens a bit.

Add veggies, chicken, parmigiano (add more to taste) and chicken bouillon granules. Keep warm on low heat (thin with more broth if necessary) while you cook the biscuits.

Bake biscuits according to directions on the package. When done, slice them in half horizontally (you’ll have two round biscuits) and place in a bowl. Spoon chicken/veggie mixture over the warm biscuits and serve immediately. Top with more Parmigiano if desired.

(note…you can also use a cookie cutter and make a little decorative top out of one of the biscuits or some puffed pastry…as I did in the top pic)

If you want to get creative at your Oscar party this weekend, do as my other sister, JoAnn, is doing and make La La Lasagna and Manchester by the Ceasar salad. Let’s carry her theme even further…”Moonlight” Margarita, Calamari (Arrival), Jalebi (Lion), Galaxy Ice Cream (Hidden Figures)?? Have fun with it…and…as Mariellen always says when we’re ready to eat her delicious meals…

Bon Appetit!

You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!

Meaningful Monday…Friends…Roots

If you can find friends that are the root at the bottom of your tree…you are blessed…they’re not going anywhere

You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!

Fun Friday…see a movie this weekend!

It’s raining cats and dogs in California, which is the best excuse to take shelter in a movie theater and catch up on those Oscar nominees before the big night, February 26th! I’ve seen quite a few in the past month or so and here are my critiques.

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LaLaLand…It’s a fun movie and I loved it more the second time around. It’s basically a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie combined with a bit of Casablanca. Lovely and just a nice way to spend a couple of hours. I’d highly recommend!

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Arrival…I really liked it, but I know some who didn’t like it at all. I’m not a huge fan of sci-fi, but this movie is more about communication and relationships. It is one of those movies that should definitely be seen on the big screen, so don’t wait for the dvd on this one.

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Fences…It’s intense!…and it’s a play made into a movie, which is hard to ignore. Lots of dialogue, not much set change…again, like a play. The acting is incredible to be sure, but again, it’s intense and not uplifting.

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Manchester by the Sea…nice scenery, good acting, but I hated the end and it’s a bit depressing….but definitely worth seeing.

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Hidden Figures...In my opinion, the best movie of the year! Uplifting, great acting, & true story. How is it that we haven’t heard about these women before??

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Lion…another big favorite of mine. Compelling, true story… really well done, great acting and thought provoking.

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Moonlight….this is the one I’ll be seeing this weekend during the rainstorm! Stay tuned

Hell or High Water and Hacksaw Ridge….no intention of seeing these, so you’re on your own!

…and lastly, it’s not up for any awards this year (I don’t think it was out in time), but I really liked A United Kingdom too…another true story!

You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!

Motivational Monday…Carpe Diem

Life is short.
Forgive quickly.
Laugh uncontrollably.
Love truly.
Regret nothing.
Dream big.
Dance.
Sing.
….oh, and eat french fries & chocolate!

Carpe Diem…Seize the day!

You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!

In Situ

In Situ“in it’s original place”….. and such a brilliant idea for a restaurant within a museum. After being alerted by Taylor, I saw this story on the CBS Sunday morning show and knew I had to visit for myself. So, when I had an impromptu trip to SF a few weekends ago, the first thing I did was make reservations.

Okay, similar to Amass, which I visited in Copenhagen, it is pretentious food….but pretentious food is just fun sometimes and a dining experience. Chef Corey Lee thought ‘you’re going to a museum to see works of art from around the world, why not the best food in the world to go with it?’ So, the premise is that he recreates single dishes from some of the best restaurants (many are Michelin starred) in the world…a dish from The French Laundry in Napa alongside a dish from Amass in Copenhagen or Au pied de Cochon in Montreal. Brilliant!! Even the utensils are zoomy and cool!

 So, without further adieu, I give you some of the dishes from In Situ….

My niece, Clare, her friend, Ali and I laughed when we saw “lettuce sandwich” on the menu, so we had to get it. It was silly, but tasted good! ….from Relae in Copenhagen.

…from top left…basic rice; Creole Shrimp & Grits from Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland, CA; The Forest (yes there’s parsley “moss”) from Mirazur in Menton, France; and Kalbi Jjim (braised short ribs) from L.A. Son (a book by Roy Choi), Los Angeles, CA. The braised short ribs were soooo rich and the combination of flavors in the other two dishes were yummy.

I was most excited about this dish, Plogue a Champlain with Foie Gras, from Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal, Canada. I love foie gras, but the sauces didn’t seem to match up with the dish and I was a little disappointed. It was good, but the ribs were our favorite!

Ali, left…me…and Clare

You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!

London..one last time…Shoreditch and Brick Lane

I decided to stick close to my apt for my final day in London and explore the Shoreditch area….but I had a quick stop to make. I had stumbled upon Cicchetti in Covent Garden and enjoyed pizza Monday in London, but it got me thinking. Is there a Raab, Egan, Brennan or Collery establishment in London that I could go to? I just assumed there’d be one of the latter three, being so close to Ireland and all…but, alas, the only one I found was Raab’s the Bakers. It was only a mile from my apartment, so I walked over there for a breakfast pastry before continuing my exploration of the Shoreditch area.
Apparently back in the day, as I’ve been told by many who lived here, Shoreditch used to be the sketchy part of London and not someplace you’d want to visit. Now, as in so many places in LA, SF & NY, it has been gentrified and the groovy, hippest place to visit. There are vintage shops, edgy places to catch a bite to eat and, one of the biggest draws (no pun intended) to the area, the street art.
I saw no less than three walking groups with a guide looking at the street art, a la Banksy. So, what makes it street art as opposed to graffiti, you ask? I happened to watch a show on it while I was relaxing one morning in the apartment. Graffiti is mostly associated with deviant behavior, marking your territory and graffiti artists have no interest in whether the public likes it or not. Street art, on the other hand, is specifically done as an expression of something to share with others. Street art has also become more main stream and, especially in Shoreditch, has been encouraged (sometimes even commissioned/paid) with some areas cordoned off for artists to create on the side of buildings. In short, graffiti can sometimes be a bit offensive & the person doing it does not have “art” on their mind, whereas street art is done by an “artist” to convey a feeling or story to be shared with passers-by.
gas station/car garage converted to an open air food market
I got this chicken with fried onions and spicy mayo on a bed of lettuce served in a cone (very low cal!)…delish
Didn’t have time to stroll around here, but it’s a whole market area made up of shipping crates…brilliant!
finished my walk with a stop in here to read and have a latte

It was another long, wander-ous, day of walking and exploring, but by 5:30 I was back at my apartment, packing and getting ready for the plane flight home tomorrow. Another great country, another great adventure…

 Of all the books in the world, the best
stories are found between the pages of a passport

You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!

Motivational Monday…Kindness

Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you…Princess Diana

You may not know, but Random Acts of Kindness Week is February 12-18th! So, you have a week to organize yourself. Start today by checking out this website and by printing out kindness cards on Parade’s website….then hand them out to a colleague, a friend, your barista or just a stranger. You’ll be glad you did!

…and if you really want some inspiration buy the book The Kindness Boomerang by Orly Wahba….and continue after the week is up. You have nothing to lose! Here’s the hashtag for the movement #RAKWeek2017

You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!