Up All Night to Get Hygge

Grand Marais, MN Hygge Festival

-Andrea

There's nothing that'll warm you faster than
a praying mantis breathing fire!

It all started with my husband and I looking for staycation ideas. Our normal plan in the winter is to head out to Las Vegas because January is our anniversary and we tied the knot on Fremont Street. We did that for our anniversary last year and it felt amazing to escape the cold!

This year, we thought we'd look at things we could drive to-- something that would explore our heritage or give us a new experience. So we started searching for festivals and events around Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. 

We ended up choosing something that was the antithesis of a warm getaway: a trip to the frozen north of our home state. Campfires, snowshoes, fondue, and knitting... lots of knitting.

We decided to get Danish...

We decided to...

Enter the Hygge!

When I think of hygge, I think of chic blog posts and Pinterest articles about how we need to relax more and live a healthier, more comfortable, stress-free life. In fact, hygge was the Oxford Dictionary's shortlist of "word of the year" for 2016 according to a New Yorker article. So what is hygge?

The festival page describes it as, "the ritual of embracing life’s simple pleasures. Feeling relaxed, cozy and surrounded by the warmth of family, friends, community and fire all encompass the idea of hygge."

I'm not entirely sure this looks comfortable, but it sure looks cozy! (These are
my real relatives by the way.)

I imagine my Danish ancestors would appreciate the modern adoption of hygge and I'll be doing my best to honor them in February when I cozy up to a fire with a book and warm mug of cocoa.

We'll be staying at a boutique hotel, The Mayhew Inn. If it's good, you'll definitely be able to Travel by Proxy with me by following my Instagram.

In terms of the actual festival, though, we're going to keep it completely stress-free and attend the things we want, so keep an eye here for updates and posts after we get back. I'm definitely looking forward to sharing my experience with y'all.