This may sound like an excuse for not keeping up with my current 31 Days series…

Perhaps, it is an excuse. I’m busy. True. My time management is certainly not the best. Right now, I’m trying to squeeze this post in before running off to play Bunco.

The plan: answer a few blog comments and write this post. What happened so far….I may have wasted too much time reading a little “saga” on a neighborhood site. Couldn’t even tell you why I read it. Dog problems between neighbors and griping about the city, not even in our neighborhood. And I’m a cat person. Go figure.

Back to this post….

I started to write another post after my Happy Homemaker Monday post last night. However, I ended up snuggled under a blanket, finishing a cup of tea, and watching a 9:00 PM television show with my husband. Didn’t want to spend all night on the computer.

Oh yeah, hygge is about being cozy, comfort, and being present. Sometimes the blog posts suffer for that.

(Also, unexpectedly called into work again today! And working a half-day tomorrow. Hoping it will be my catch up afternoon…)

Just a random photo from a warmer fall day…

Mentioned this series to my oldest son. And how I found myself struggling with writer’s block quite a bit on it.

Tried explaining the concept of Hygge to him. Hard to explain something as you’re still grasping to understand it yourself.

“No wonder you’re having a hard time. We’re never home on October weekends.”

It’s true. Sort of. We were home Friday night. And all day today, we lounged about the house.

However, yesterday we drove all the way to the western outskirts of St. Louis for a band competition. And drove back home last night. We got in the door just shy of 2:00 AM.

Forgot my camera, too!

Next weekend, we’ll be on the go as well. Thankfully, closer to home with a football game and a parade.

Not sure if Hygge is possible on a road trip. Maybe?

We did start a belated tradition of eating at Waffle House for lunch every time we went to a competition. Those pecan waffles, oh my.

Can’t get much closer together than all being in one car. (Of course, my oldest son, the band member, rode in the bus with the band.)  And we do all prefer to stay home and hang out together after a very long Saturday.

I’m sitting here tonight wrapped in a blanket scarf as I type this, it’s cold outside (chance of our first freeze tonight!) and I’m ready for bed. Please, forgive the short post.

My idea of Hygge at home doesn’t work well when we have to be on the go every weekend! All good stuff but I’m looking forward to a full Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at home soon.

Another Saturday of scheduled postings. Tomorrow, we’ll be on our way to a band competition across the state and (hopefully) not home until after midnight. We’d only be home early if our band doesn’t make the cut for finals.

I might throw a few magazines in the car for our 3 hour trip.  My photography magazines are great for pretending I understand the articles. I don’t. Mainly, I just look at the photos.

Better Homes and Gardens is fun for pretending I know how to garden. One look at our whole yard tells everyone I just look at the photos in that one as well.

I do love curling up under the blankets with a stack of magazines. Or a good book. And of course, the cat as well. 

My weekend plans do include starting on Survival Of The Fritters by Ginger Bolton. Maybe with an apple fritter in hand!  I haven’t been reading enough. Time to return to it for a bit.

Looking for a Hygge Read? My suggestions include the following:

Non-fiction:

• The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way To Live Well by Meik Wikig
• The Little Book of Lykke: The Danish Search For The World’s Happiest People by Meik Wikig
• The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering The Secrets Of World’s Happiest Country by Helen Russell

Fiction:

• Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson
• Goodbye Cruller World by Ginger Bolton

A few of my fiction, favorite stand-by books:

• A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle
• The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

I could make this post a lot longer. My book lists are purposely short. 6:00 AM comes especially early on a Saturday. So, I’m stopping here and asking what titles would make your cozy book list?

Our heater works. Yes, it’s October and I turned on the heat last night. Another cold, rainy day today put a damper on my errand running plans.

A husband who didn’t go hunting after all (see cold, rainy day above) also put a damper on my stay home and get the house clean for the weekend plans. Truthfully, it doesn’t take much to put a damper on those house cleaning plans. I did pay the bills at least (blah).

We stayed in and watched television pretty much all day. We’re watching Man In The High Castle, season 3.  A great day for it but I must get back to my books soon.

For today’s post, I’m just going to share my secrets for making the best quick hot chocolate. Basically, it’s taking an instant package and stepping it up a notch to make it coffee-house pretty.

The boys and I all had some this afternoon. Who needs dinner?

The Best Quick Hot Chocolate:

It felt super special today because I used the Swiss Miss packets out of these gift containers found on clearance last year: 

I personally prefer Swiss Miss for instant hot cocoa. Think it has a better flavor. No paid/sponsored incentive there, I don’t do those. Just my personal opinion.

To make the hot chocolate special, I first add boiling water (the packages say NOT to do that but I do it anyway…like my chocolate dissolved) to a cup with the dry mix.  Don’t fill the cup up completely with the hot/boiling water.

Save room to add a little almond milk. Or regular milk. Or like I did today, regular chocolate milk! Adds to the richness of it.  Plus it cools down the hot chocolate to a drinkable temperature a bit sooner.

Finishing Touches: 

Adding the finishing touches to the hot chocolate is my favorite part.

For the boys, I added marshmallows (3 large), whipped cream (no Cool Whip here!), and a few miniature chocolate chips.  

For my own, I added the same as above (except I did make mine with regular almond milk as I also had the French Vanilla hot chocolate) as well as a few sprinkles. We’re just going to pretend their pink stars and not pink Easter bunnies.  

And what to do when your son invites friends over after school? Make them hot chocolate, too! Of course.

I’ll save the slow stove top hot chocolate made with actual cocoa (because let’s not argue, we know it’s the best) for a day when the snowflakes fall. Hopefully, a little later in the year than October!

I could tell you a bunch of excuses why I missed posting yesterday.

• I worked all day. 
• My teenager sat doing his homework in the living room and chatting with me after dinner.
• My husband went to bed early (he’s been off hunting, name drawn for a special managed deer hunt). And the computer where I type is in our bedroom. He often tells me I type “too loud” as if that’s a thing. I do like the sound of the keyboard. What would he have done in the days of typewriters?  Probably nothing, blogs weren’t a thing then.
• The next item on the Hygge Manifesto list is equality. Not as fun and easy to write about as candles, coffee, and cookies.

While all of the above did happen yesterday, the real reason I didn’t post is Netflix. It’s not Netflix’s fault, however, I’ve found an old series on there to watch. It appeals to my sense of weird. And it’s at my perfect level of sometimes scary. 

So instead of posting last night, after our dinner of spaghetti with pumpkin sugar cookies for a fun weeknight dessert (and lunchbox treats for the rest of the week), I sat and watched the first two episodes of season 2 of Twin Peaks.

Yes, the show from the 90’s. It’s okay you can laugh. My husband already did. I never watched it back then. Now, I’m really enjoying it. And may have channeled my mother when I heard myself telling my boys:

I love the subtly of this show. It leaves things to your imagination. I don’t need to see so much graphic stuff (it is a murder mystery show) like they show now.  

Oh dear.

Wait, what does any of this have to do with living the Hygge Manifesto?

I spent time at home in the evening, having a nice dinner, hanging out with my family, and getting cozy under a blanket to watch a slightly scary TV show. I think that counts as Hygge, don’t you?