From about 18-24 I was a camper whether it was a weeklong campout in one spot, lake side or a backpacking trip in the New Zealand mountains. My best-friend Emily and I never stayed in hotels; we had all the gear for camping and we took full advantage of this at every turn. I had the mentality of camp or bust which helped me to see a lot of the world for very little and also, I think, relax (nature has a calming effect on me).

When I moved to America in 1999, I was initially in Tennessee then Kentucky. Wanting to move to SEattle so badly and being broke, the only way to drive across country was to do it by staying at campgrounds. No problem, I thought, I’ve camped a lot.

But this trip happened years and years after regular camping. The gear I had was cheaply made and lots of essential components were missing. That meant when camping in Kansas, the winds beat like a heavy drum against the tent all night. I froze in the Colorado mountains and was soaked in the Grand Tetons.

Needless to say, camping wasn’t that much fun.

I essentially gave up on camping over the years – not because I lacked interest but because comfort began to mean more as I got older and having the financial ability to stay at four star hotels made me less inclined to sleep on dirt.

It wasn’t until this summer when a friend suggested we go camping – and he said he’d bring all the gear and food – that I went again. We camped in Big Sur CA with a million dollar view and ate by camp firelight every night. It was a good first trip that reminded me why I loved camping in the first place.

But it also reminded me that camping now requires some basics – and some comfort – that I’m not willing to compromise on. Call it glamping if you will but I need to have camping feel as good as possible from knowing I have the right tools (and always put together in a kit for easy access when I want to go camping) to having the right gear (a great tent, blankets, food prep etc).

There’s several camping trips already planned for this year so in preperation I’d love your help on building my camping gear kit. If you’re a camper, what are your tricks, your essentials, your ‘things that just make it better’?

Basics:

• Tent
• Tent supplies (lights, sacks, cleaning etc).
• Lights (lamps, flashlights)
• Firestarters
• Pots/Pans (what ones do you use, what’s the most essential)
• Making coffee/tea
• Wash bin (for dishes)
• Clean up supplies
• Cooking
• Storage for food
• How do you prep/keep food? What food do you bring?
• Organizing it all (how do you keep it all together so you can just take a box and go camping?)
• Extras that make camping better?

I grew up adoring the month of December and have written here before about the cosy feeling, traditions and quiet moments it brought. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve often struggled with this month and really struggled with what Christmas is (or isn’t).

Perhaps it’s because I’ve been in a new house or new city each year, or maybe it’s because I don’t have family (related or not) near or maybe it’s because of something else I’m not even aware of. Whatever the reason, there’s a lot of moments in December where I’m not sure where I fit in or how to feel about it all.

This year, however, was different. Two major differences was that I began working with Direct Relief, a non-profit that provides urgent and ongoing medical aid both in the US and International. 1,100 clinics receive medical supplies and prescriptions for us (so if a poor or uninsured patient needs a $150 inhaler but can’t pay, they get it free because of Direct Relief). Internationally, we’ve been providing aid in Haiti (and helped rebuild a hospital), the Philippines and we’re doing incredible work in Africa for maternal and child health (like providing Midwife kits so women can have safe births).

The second difference was that because I hadn’t moved in the past year, I was able to connect with people locally more. I found family – family that invited me to spend the holidays, that I had to buy gifts for, that I could laugh and relax with. That I could wake up with and toast to the holiday over mimosas.

Those two things weren’t actually things. They were really what the holiday is about; giving, enjoying, thinking about others, connecting, joy. This is also really what hygge is about. And having (realising) that has been the best gift a girl could ask for – even better than a pony.

I realise and so completely understand if this holiday you find yourself alone, or without family, or in need of something and for that, all I can do is offer this: there will be a time when that will be different. Just keep a little hope, a little faith. For isn’t that also what the holiday is about, too?

I resisted adding social networks to a lot of my sites for a long time for all those reasons. But it wasn’t until this year when I realised that I digest information in different ways that I began to add different networks under the Hygge House name.

For example, I find Twitter great for retweeting what others are saying, for quickly sharing links & info or having direct convos. Facebook is great for sharing all the links & discoveries I make that wouldn’t warrent a whole blog post. And YouTube/Vimeo, well, there’s a lot of beautiful films being made now that I can’t help but favourite and those networks are great for doing just that.

So with that, I have created social accounts for Hygge House. If you have the same sensibilities and likes as I, and you are on these networks, then feel free to connect with me elsewhere and, if you have something to share, please share it with me. After all, it’s called social networking for a reason.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Flickr
• Pinterst
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Vimeo

PS: I’m updating/redesigning this site, so please excuse any issues you find – I’m working on it.

While I definitly love summer (long days, beach time, bbq’s, travel, warm breezes), autumn truly has my heart. Crisp weather, reason to wear boots with tights, hot apple cider, leaves falling, light changing, cosyness, warm meals….

However, living in Southern California, fall doesn’t really exist. The change is subtle; the light is different, there is a slight coolness in the air but you can still wear shorts, leaves go fall but chances are they were already brown, and tights fill shoppe shelves but wearing them makes one overheat.

For me, this proves a challenge – how do I survive my favourite season if it doesn’t really happen? I had this challenge in Texas, in my travels to warm places, and then I thought there might be other’s out there who love fall, who read about it in magazines or on others’ blogs yet don’t get to truly experience it.

So, I wonder, what does fall for the rest of us look like? Here’s a few ideas I’m trying:

1. Seasonal produce. I live in a place with a lot of access to things year round but I’ve bought a couple books on seasonal eating and am going to stick with that. Sorry, strawberries – I’ll see you next year.
2. Light show. I love light. I pay attention to it (if you’ve ever seen Bright Star I think you’d agree that light was the 3rd main character). Seeing the shift in it, shadows, length, the softness, helps remind me that it’s fall.
3. Dress for it. Oranges, browns, greens – seasonal colours. Plus boots! I don’t get to wear my winter coats but the boots are coming out even if I have to balance it with a lighter dress.
4. Trips to where fall is happening; whether its 2 hrs out of town to see an apple festival or a cross-country trip to see the real deal.
5. Smell it. My summer candles which are normally floral change to warmer scents with names like ‘cashmere’ ‘fireside’ and ‘campfire.’
6. Design for it. I change out linens; fall colours come out, warmer textures appear, different duvets and sometimes even curtains.
7. Read. I pick up books that talk about fall, devour home magazines that have it and read bloggers fall trips with envy. This isn’t always a healthy step to take!
8. Bake lots of pumpkin somethings.
9. Garden. I plant seeds, I clean up what’s there and I make sure there’s food/water for the birds.
10. Cosy up. From candles, to warm foods, to reading with a blanket tucked over with a window open – fall=cosy to me.

The saying, “you can’t grasp something new if you’re holding onto something old’ has always carried a great deal of weight with me which is why I don’t like to recap previous years come new ones. I live always looking forward in possibility. And to to this, I constantly look for ways to create it.

My first bucket list, 30 things to do before I turn 30, was created in 2003 as a way to look forward to turning 30. It was the first time I had really listed out things I wanted to do and really took the time to make some happen. I was always a spur-of-the-moment creator. If next month seemed slow, I’d create something to do so I’d have something to look forward to. But to write a list and plan things out? Not my strong suit. This list, however, changed that a little.

I was able to check off quite a few things. But when I turned 30, I realised that not all were done and, in fact, there was a whole lot more I wanted to do. So my new bucket list, 101 things to do before I die (see below), was born in 2008.

The past couple of years have been incredibly busy – lots of move, lots of working, lots of travel and lots of doing. The past year, especially, was a chaotic whirlwhind of life changing events where I felt almost caught up in someone else’s plan. The end of this year gave me time to reflect on that and I realised I needed to take charge and begin to do the things that I needed and so desperately wanted to do. The things on that bucket list.

One of the reasons why progress on my list had slowed was because I didn’t make them a priority. I somehow would always run out of time, or money would be better spent elsewhere, or something else would come up. I realised that dreaming up and writing down the list was only half the equation – planning and executing it was the other critical half. Without the latter, it’d just remain a list of unchecked dreams.

I spent New Years day making plans to do some things on my list. Either calling places for resevations or researching how to do some. I also took steps to make things real (got a sewing machine! Started to read every book I own beginning with Little Big. Read a book about photography and finally learned what an F-Stop is! Made reservations for ziplining!).

It felt really good to take this list seriously because it helped me to really focus on possibilities, on dreams, and on fun in a way that I had neglected for the past several years. I can’t tell you how many I’m going to get done this year or next, but I can tell you, they’re getting done. And that makes for a very happy new year indeed.

My Bucket List
In March 2008 I re-discovered a forgotten list of 30 things I had set out to do in my 30th year. I was happy to discover that I had done most of the things and became ambitious to do the ones that had gone undone.

Thinking more I thought, if I gave myself more time, what would I do? How many things have I always wanted to see, experience, do or feel? And the 101 Things To Do Before I Die list was born that same month. And the theme of sleep and travel seems to be as prevalent now as it was then. Must try to knock those things off first.

Here it is (if it’s struck-through it means I did it!):

1. Go to Mustique Island.
2. Stay at the Four Seasons Bora Bora
3. Go back to Maui
4. Linger
5. Have my work have meaning like it used to (mentoring, building, giving, creating etc.) (done 2011)
6. Produce a film.
7. Donate over a million dollars over my lifetime.
8. Get a pedicure.(done 2011)
9. Own/run a (gluten free) gite in France.
10. Have a maid every two weeks
11. Learn to sleep more than 4 hours a night.
12. Better my penmanship.
13. Fly a plane.
14. Have custom linen curtains
15. Stay at the Ritz Paris
16. Stay at Hotel Particular Paris(done 2009)
17. Own a Fortnum and Mason hamper then have a picnic
18. Take all my best girlfriends on a weekend getaway at once.
19. Own the best claw foot tub
20. Be healthy.
21. Swoon (done 2011)
22. Watch the sun rise over Santa Monica from sea
23. Visit Apifera Farm.
24. Cook/eat at home everyday for at least a week.(done 2010)
25. Create and grow a garden
26. Have a stone home (done 2009)
27. Upgrade my camera (last was 2001 – 6MP Digital Rebel) (done 2011)
28. Try paddleboarding
29. Eat Oysters and drink champagne.(done 2009)
30. Drive a golf cart
31. Horseback ride on a beach
32. Buy and wear a pair of jeans(done 2010)
33. Photograph for Anthropologie(done 2009)
34. Not move for an entire year.
35. Move back to Europe for part of the year.
36. Be met at an airport (done 2011)
37. Stay at The Plaza and read Eloise. (done 2009)
38. Unpack everything. (done 2010)
39. Go on a Ghost Hunt.
40. Buy a pair of Oliver Peoples sunglasses (done 2011)
41. See Victoria Falls and do a safari.
42. Buy a fixer upper house and remodel it.
43. Work with Lonely Planet.
44. Get over my fear of the phone.
45. Own Lightroom (done 2010).
46. Take a photo every day for at least a year
47. Make someone else’s dream come true. (done 2007)
48. Have lots of people to bake for.
49. Have better and prettier shoes. (done 2009)
50. Own a first edition of “Le Petit Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
51. Have a massage every four to six weeks for a year (Done 2001)
52. Visit the Channel Islands (done 2011)
53. Make a tent like the one in the movie, “The Holiday”
54. Make a difference.
55. Condense all my web sites and like at least 1. (done 2010)
56. Speak French without having to hesitate or throw in an English word. (done 2008)
57. Visit Moray Firth Coast
58. Be on ‘Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me‘.
59. Love my home, my city and work – all at the same time.
60. Sail the Queen E2 from NY to Southampton.
61. Buy a Four Seasons mattress (Done 2012).
62. Feel sophisticated.
63. Boogey like it’s 1999.
64. Figure out WordPress. (done 2009)
65. Take a self defense course
66. Have a mentor.
67. Refurbish my farm chairs. (done 2007)
68. Meet more people when I travel.
69. Take an RV Trip
70. Hire a financial planner.
71. Create a non-profit foundation for women (done 2011)
72. Have a trip planned for me. Even just a day.
73. Find a great gluten-free croissant.
74. Drive through the East Coast in Fall. (done 2009)
75. Try the trapeze.
76. Make my home 100% green and sustainable.
77. Visit Pompeii
78. Learn to sew
79. Karaoke
80. Own some jewellery. Like jewellery. Wear the jewellery.
81. Own a pony. Named pepper.
82. Have a gluten-free chef.
83. Own couture.
84. Zipline
85. Ride on the roof of a train in Equador
86. Have Babycakes again (done 2011)
87. Have breakfast in bed and then stay there for the day.
88. Learn how to really use my camera.
89. Volunteer with Jack (my dog).
90. Find a signature parfume. (done 2008)
91. Have a saline pool
92. Read every book I own (I have a habit of buying without reading)
93. Take a trip with my BFF
94. Study & recite more history
95. Have a stocked and large linen closet.
96. Have a dedicated guest room filled with guests.
97. Take Sunday’s off for at least a year
98. Visit Gaspe Bay
99. Cook an omelet that’s edible. (done 2008)
100. Have theme music follow me for a day. Like in a movie.
101. Rest.