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How to Hygge on a Budget

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Hygge has been big for a couple of years now, and I’ve always been interested in the concept but couldn’t really get into it due to the inherent trendiness of it all. This October, I finally gave in and decided to embrace hygge in my life — winters here are tough, and anything to help me get through the next few months is certainly welcome. And, of course, my obsession with Scandinavia meant that I would inevitably give in at some point.

If you are new to the word, “hygge” is a Danish word and concept that describes a feeling of coziness. It’s that feeling of sitting in front of a fire with a mug of mulled wine while snow falls outside, indulging in a warm and hearty soup during the frigid winter months, or walking amongst the autumn leaves with a chunky knit scarf wrapped around you.

Ever since I decided to go all in on this trend, I’ve been obsessively reading blogs and practicing whatever methods I can find to turn my home into a hygge paradise without going on a spending spree. And, of course, what’s more hygge than writing about hygge in the midst of all that coziness?

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Couples Travel: Tips for Travelling With Your Partner

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My partner and I have lived abroad and travelled through 11 countries together over the last 7 or so years — and it hasn’t always been easy, but it’s always been worth it.

Travelling with your partner is a great way to test and strengthen a relationship. I’m not saying it’s easy to be a happy and loving couple while living “normal” daily lives, but living through tense, stressful, and ever-changing circumstances can put a strain on a relationship that many couples may never face (or at least, not so much at once). This is a good thing — it teaches you to adapt as a couple, be more accepting and tolerant of each other, and to make decisions based on the needs and comfort of another person. Plenty of relationships don’t make it through strenuous backpacking trips, but the ones that do are stronger for it.

All that being said, there are a few things I learned along the way while travelling with my partner and witnessing other couples on their own adventures. Here are some of the more effective ways of making it work.

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A Week in Huaraz, Peru

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Tucked amidst the white-capped peaks of the Cordillera Blanca range, the city of Huaraz, home to 120,000 inhabitants, sits at over 3,000 metres in elevation. This is the perfect home base for a multitude of single-day and multi-day treks in the Peruvian Andes.

I arrived in Huaraz via an overnight 7.5-hour bus ride from Trujillo, serviced by Movil Tours for about $15 USD. Despite the early-morning arrival, I was able to check into my hostel quickly and grab a couple hours of sleep before seeking out a cheap breakfast of my standard bread and fruit (plant-based diets in South America are not always easy).

My itinerary was empty when I first arrived in the city. I knew what kind of adventures were at my disposal, but my prior experiences in Peru had taught me that this was a country that fit my propensity for planning on the fly. I spent my first day wandering the city, checking out the central market, treating myself to a tofu salad at veg-friendly Cafe Andino, and sending postcards back home to Canada. The next day, it was time to start visiting tour operators, scheduling, and getting familiar with the Andean wonderland that surrounds the city of Huaraz.

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My Top 10 Most Memorable Experiences in Ecuador

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When it comes to things to do in Ecuador, the options seem limitless. Though I spent a lot of time researching before my flight arrived in Quito, I found I was constantly pulled in different directions upon discovering new possibilities for adventures while on the ground.

Part of travelling is meeting new people and taking their advice and recommendations. While some of the activities on the following list of my most memorable experiences in Ecuador were planned before I arrived in South America, a few were definitely last-minute decisions that turned out to be some of my favourite adventures. Any of these experiences are worthy of their place on your own Ecuador bucket list. Let’s get on with it (in no particular order).

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5 Important Investments for the Young Minimalist

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The minimalist trend is booming these days — and for good reason. There’s something to be said for prioritizing quality over quantity. However, the sense of competition that comes along with this trend is not so favourable. So, before I move on with this post, let’s forgo the concept of judging anyone who is “not minimalist enough,” or owns “too many things” to be considered a minimalist. It’s all about perspective, and the word can mean different things for different people — it’s the overall mindset that’s important.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the real point of this piece. We’re here to talk about the important purchases we all make in life, minimalist or not.

Taking the time to really think over your purchases and investing in high-quality goods means your possessions will last longer and mean more. This is a lesson I (along with many others) glazed over in my early 20s. This was before travel and living abroad taught me the pains of dragging around a lot of possessions that I didn’t really care about (and were garbage quality to be honest). Many moves over the years, and starting over in terms of countries, cities, and apartments, have taught me what purchases really matter and deserve their portion of your savings.

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Quick Tips To Overcome Laziness And Get Your Day On Track

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We all have those days, the ones where you find yourself lying in bed or on the couch, overcome with guilt over your lack of productivity. It’s a vicious cycle — the guilt leads to a depressive state where you just can’t bring yourself to move or figure out how to turn your day around, then that lack of mobility contributes further to the guilt and depressive thoughts.

The sooner you realize that taking that one step towards progress is enough to get some productive momentum going, the sooner you’ll turn your day around. Here are some ideas to get you to that first step.

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