Juicing lately 💗

A friend of my bought a juicer last Autumn and since then she has been talking about the joys and benefits of it all the time.

So I decided to join the juicing party and bought one too around Christmas last year. Love it!

I don’t juice every day, but when I do, I juice apples, pears, different kinds of cabbage, spinach, kiwis and carrots.

Dreamy dream cake

Ingredients

The cake

2 dl milk

4 eggs

50 g butter

3 dl Sugar

4 dl wheat flour

3 tbsp baking soda

1 tbsp vanilla sugar

The topping

125 g butter

100 g coconut flour (grated coconut)

2 1/2 dl brown sugar

1/2 dl milk

How to make the dream cake come true:

Whip eggs and sugar together.
Mix flour, vanilla sugar and baking powder and add it to the whipped eggs and sugar blend. Bring milk and butter to a boil, let it cool down and mix it with the rest of the batter. Pour the batter into a greased, floured baking pan (30 x 40 cm ) and bake the cake in the oven on the middle rack at 200 ° C for 20 minutes.

The topping:

Mix the butter, coconut flour, brown sugar and milk in a pan and let the ingredients melt together. Spread it on the baked cake, and bake the cake in the oven at 225 ° C for approximately 5 minutes.

October pictures, a few thoughts about reaching out and my new favourite cafe

The month of October has passed by at a fast pace. Truly, it has had its ups and downs and personally, I am grateful for all the support I get from my close friends and family these days as change comes closer.

October sun 📷 Rikke Hjuler

Those challenging feelings

I have learned that allowing yourself to feel your feelings can be tough, but you realise that it is okay to feel pain and let yourself be upset, angry or any other emotion that may appear certain days. I honestly believe that feeling your emotions is healthy and important - and it most often leads to new possibilities.

Actually, there is a risk that hiding difficult and negative feelings could do you more harm in the long run and prevent you from being able to process the obstacles in your life and make plans to get past them.

When you let your feelings out, and even more when you share them with the people in your life who are there to support you, it makes it easier for you to move on to new opportunities.

Copenhagen colours 📷 Rikke Hjuler

🍂🍁🍂🍂 📷 Rikke Hjuler

The hot chocolate place

By chance I passed by this lovely place in Malmö in the neighbourhood, where my son plays baseball on weekends. They serve the most generous cups of hot chocolate and crunchy croissants. And much more.

Geijersgatan 53 ❤️ 📷 Rikke Hjuler

As corona has put a stop to travelling far away this year, it has opened our eyes to nice places in our nearby surroundings.

Cosy October wishes

Autumn days in Malmö 📷 Y. Hjuler

The high season for cosy moments is here. It’s time to wear your favourite sweater, put the kettle on and make your favourite cup of tea - and when you have some time off enjoy a walk in the park.

When autumn kicks in, I am always a bit sad to let the Summer go. Maybe you recognise the sadness that I feel, when I realise that yet another Spring and Summer have passed away and the darkness starts to surround us?

Letting go of the light and the time spent with the kids in the garden and at the sea and embracing what is to come takes me a few weeks, but then I realise that everything is still fine, it’s just another season serving all the good things that many of us love too.

My wishes for October (and probably November as well):

• Take some days off

• Bake cookies and cinnamon buns once or twice as baking makes me happy

• Tell you more about the essential oils that I have started to sell and share

• Take more pictures

• Read & write

That special calm place

Ribersborg Beach 📷 Rikke Hjuler

Ribersborg Beach & Turning Torso 📷 Rikke Hjuler

Ribersborg Beach 📷 Rikke Hjuler

📷 Younes Hjuler EM

August moments with friends & family

It’s hard to believe that the Summer is already coming to an end. How has your Summer been this year? Have you been able to enjoy life and have a good time?

The Summer is still on 📷 Rikke Hjuler

We love prinsesstårta. Fika at home. 📷 Rikke Hjuler

I have started to meet family and friends after lockdown. Definately not a first mover and it feels so good to finally be able to enjoy social life again.

Really hope that this will last, because none of us wish to go back to the situation earlier this year. So positive vibes and high hopes!

Dinner time with friends earlier this week 📷 Rikke Hjuler

End of August

Late Summer vibes 📷 Rikke Hjuler (c)

Enjoying the last summer days. The weather has been mild and ideal for the daily walks that have been part of the routines for a while now. It isn’t too complicated, find a gap in your schedule, put on your shoes and go.

When I’m at the office I often go for a walk between meetings, when at home I enjoy the green areas or the beach nearby.

Sometimes the kids join me on their bikes or a friend comes along, sometimes I just go on my own to breathe and relax my mind for a while. Or I listen to a podcast or some nice music - it all depends on how I feel.

So if you’re considering to give yourself an instant gift to feel better start walking. It’s easy once the routine settles in and the results from it will show quickly.

Benefits of the daily steps 📷 Rikke Hjuler

Walk, pause and walk some more 📷 Rikke Hjuler

When calm settles in

Summer feeling 📷 Rikke Hjuler

Calm has settled in. No the quiet kind of calmness but the bubbly, happy kind of calmness. Peacefulness at heart. Time to settle, think and laugh. Lugnets tid. Sommarlov med familjen.

This year we really needed it, like so many other families. And now it’s here. And even better than expected. And the intention is to let the feeling continue and flow into the weeks and months following the time off. Through conscious actions and adjustments. Because stress and headless decisions isn’t the way forward for any of us.

Lake life 📷 Rikke Hjuler

More lake life at a different lake 📷 Rikke Hjuler

Friday reflections

Beautiful Summer 📷 Rikke Hjuler

It’s a beautiful and brand new day. These weeks each new day feels like a fresh start, when I wake up in the morning.

This feeling is linked to Spring and Summer, the light outside is back, long days that continue into the night. Endless hope and new energy.

The dark winter nights are forgotten, at least for a while, and new possibilities occur. Happy times and lightness. So much to appreciate and embrace.

The holidays are approaching, no big plans this year, just an aim for time with the kids, time in the garden and at the beach. Essentially time for those who matters most.

I wish you a wonderful weekend.

Those important breaks 📷 Rikke Hjuler

On top of the list in July

Alnarp Castle 📷 Rikke Hjuler

After many months of zig zagging between working from home and the office in Copenhagen, I decided a few months back that it was time to start doing something different to feel better.

So as you may have noticed from my stories, I have teamed up with my friends to reach 10000 steps every day! And most days we succeed.

The thing is, we don’t even live in the same neighbourhood or even in the same cities, but every night we send our updates to each other. How many steps have we reached? How easy - or challenging- was it to get this far? And it’s such a great support and makes me feel connected with people that care after months of solitude and isolation.

I don’t know about you, but this Summer we have decided not to travel far. In a few weeks time, I will spend my annual leave with the kids at home most of the time and for a few days we will probably drive up to the Stockholm area to change the scenery a bit.

Fingers crossed that the sun will shine more than it has done in recent weeks! Happy July everyone!

Lots of green this month 📷 Rikke Hjuler

20 raspberry jam cookies - hallongrottor

Ingredients

• 4. 1/2 dl flour

• 1 dl white sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• teaspoons vanilla sugar

• 200 g butter (room temperature)

• 1 dl raspberry jam

In the making

How to make the cookies:

1. Preheat your oven at 175 degrees

2. Cover a baking tray with baking sheet paper.

3. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.

4. Dice the butter and mix it with the dry ingredients until it becomes a dough.

5. Divide the dough into 20 equal parts and roll them into even balls.

6. Place each ball on the baking tray with a bit of distance between them. You may have to use two baking trays depending on the size of your oven.

7. Make a hole in the middle of each ball and fill each pit with raspberry jam.

8. Bake the cookies in the middle of the oven for about 15-20 minutes.

9. Once baked, allow the cookies to cool down on the plate before serving or storing them

   . Enjoy ❤️

Enjoying life a little bit more- also on a gloomy day

📷 Rikke Hjuler. Rainy days in Copenhagen

I easily get caught up with work and house chores this time of year. But what about the rest? The stress relievers? The favourite activities that make life just a little better? The sparkle that makes you happier and more inspired? Or just relaxed?

📷 Rikke Hjuler. Hot chocolat on a Wednesday morning

stop waiting for the weekend, next year, the right moment…

I know it’s easier said than done. But if you constantly compromise yourself, your own happiness and balance, bitterness and blaming others may start to invade your thoughts and feelings.

Compromising is part of life, and it’s an excellent skill in many situations, but comprising your own well-being too often is not a way forward. It just drains your energy. .

📷 Rikke Hjuler

So if you’re stuck in a rut and don’t know how to move forward, continue reading, because I have a few ideas that could support you on your well-being journey.

I generally believe that you shouldn’t wait for any external change to happen, the best place to start is with yourself.

When I feel that unhappiness and discontent sneak in, I turn to my favourite activities for instant inspiration and hopefully a bit of relief.

Plan it because it rarely happens just like that. Schedule the coffee date with your friend, the time at the library or the walk in the park.

Repeat it If it makes you feel better, then make it a habit. See your friends more often. Read a new book, when you have read the last one. Make sure to go out at least once during the weekend.

Try something new. I didn’t like to exercise at the gym in the past, now it’s one of my favourite activities. My husband and I didn’t plan anything just the two of us for such a long time, mainly because we have had so much to do with the kids. But they’re older now and they don’t mind looking after each other for a few hours, while we are out somewhere.

Holidays, family time and too much food

Happy days with the family 📷 Julie Kristensen

The past week or so has passed by so quickly. Just before the holidays we had two birthdays in the close family, firstly our son’s 16th birthday, then my husband’s birthday the following day.

So a bit busy for us to get everything prepared at the same time as getting things done at work. But we managed and had a great few days.

Favourite Christmas candy 📷 Rikke Hjuler

After the birthdays, guests started to arrive at home. Previously, having people over could stress me out a great deal.

Inviting friends and family home is an excellent way to spend time together, it just requires a bit of planning for things to run smoothly and for you to be at ease too.

3 ideas for you to stress less when you have guests at home:

• Plan ahead

• Manage expectations

• Accept a helping hand

Planning ahead is quite simple. I think through how many meals to prepare while the guests are staying over. Next step is to write a grocery shopping list. Then do the shopping.

Like most people, I like to receive my friends and family in a clean and organised home. Before people arrive we clean and arrange as much as we can. I try to involve the kids all along, make them clean their own space, let them vacuum clean and so forth.

Regrettably, in the past I would run around to fix stuff, while the guests were with us and not stay much with them to engage in longer and deeper conversations. I guess it also had to do with the kids were younger and needed more help

Nowadays I manage to engage more and accept help with dishes or preparing breakfast.

Mormor helping in the kitchen 📷 Rikke Hjuler

At my brother’s home earlier this week.

Today the last guest have left and we have cleaned a bit and exchanged a few gifts at the shopping mall. nice to get the house back in shape for New Years.

Candle holders from our tree 📷 Rikke Hjuler

Goals, dreams & intentions

A warm cup of tea 📷 Yassin Hjuler

These days I share my 2020 aspirations online as you may have noticed by now. Even got some of you to share your hopes, aspirations and goals for the year to come. Love the energy of sharing and got really inspired by all of you.

Saying your intentions out loud is a very powerful thing. All of a sudden you aren’t the only one to know. And you may find out that you’re not the only person with dreams. And even better someone may share the same dreams as you and you could support each other on the path to something new!

📷 Yassin Hjuler

The biggest intention I set for the past year was to start exercising again. And it worked so well during Spring and Summer. The main reason why I made it happen was because I had a training buddy. We both wanted it to work and managed to support each other for many months. Especially on weekend mornings where it was so tempting to sleep a little longer instead of going to the gym.

Winter day at the beach 📷 Rikke Hjuler

Autumn and the first part of the Winter have been challenging for me: a more than busy schedule and health issues. But that makes the working out part even more important, so this is definitely going to be an ongoing priority in the time to come.

if you have a particular intention that you have decided to discover further and you need my support, feel free to contact me. We can schedule time to talk about it online if you’re not in my local area. Otherwise we can set up a one to one session in Copenhagen or Malmö.

The tiny things

Just wanted to share a few things that make my life a little bit better. It’s not rocket science, just those tiny ingredients that add sparkle to an average day.

A walk in the park on a gloomy day 📷 Rikke Hjuler

When you feel tired and blue there is one thing that could make you feel a little bit better. Time outside in the fresh air. By yourself or in company. Both work.

Hot chocolate 📷 Rikke Hjuler

Treat yourself and your friends every now and then. A nice dinner, a smoothie bowl at your favourite place or a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day. Studies even show that it’s good for your mental health to practice self care.

📷 Younes El Mahdaoui

Express yourself and don’t neglect your feelings. Did you know that in some cultures a smile is considered an act of well-doing and charity? At times I find it hard to accept the natural physical changes that happen over time, but why be so hard on yourself? Embracing change helps you grow and offers you new opportunities. You just have to notice it!

Weekdays at home 📷 Rikke Hjuler

Find that activity that makes you feel better and more connected to yourself and the important people that surround you. I was really sick and tired of cooking dinner every night. I realised that one of the causes behind this feeling was that I felt my kids, especially the youngest, where left on their own in front of a screen while I was busy preparing the meal. The change was simple. We now help each other in the kitchen. Cutting cucumbers, baking bread, setting the table.

Observing and appreciating 📷 Rikke Hjuler

The last thing I will mention today that really enhances my, in many ways, simple life is how I try to observe the positive and beautiful details in my surroundings. And honestly some days are really just dull and grey. But. The lights in the streets this time of year. The great salad we had for lunch yesterday. The phone call from my friend that I hadn’t spoken to for months. A warm hug from my hubby. And the list continues.

It doesn’t mean you should ignore the ugliness and the problems that also occur in your life.it’s just about having a balanced approach to the daily life experience that make the whole difference.

December pleasures

The Royal Theatre in Copenhagen 📷 Rikke Hjuler

It’s already the last month of the year. The day’s are really short, it’s dark outside when we leave for school and work and just as dark when we come home.

At Grråbrødretorv in Copenhagen 📷 Rikke Hjuler

Whenever I get a chance, I go outside for a bit of light and fresh air during the day. It’s easier on weekends, but even on weekdays I try to prioritise a short walk in between work and meetings.

If you have been following my stories on instagram you may recall that I put quite a lot of time into planning family dinners this past Autumn.

Next step has been to get the kids more involved in cooking dinners. Especially our youngest as he has been way too much on Play Station, when we come home after a busy day.. It’s so much fun to see him all occupied cutting cucumbers for salads and setting the table instead of spending time in front of the screen.

Since we’ve started preparing dinners together the atmosphere is so much better at home. You guys with kids property know how difficult late afternoons with tired kids as parents can be, right? We prepare dinner much earlier now, before everyone is too tired. I try to plan for easy meals so the kids can participate without too much hassle.

Cooking on a Monday night 📷 Rikke Hjuler

The last weeks have also entailed a fantastic day trip to London with my long time friend Anne. She lived in London for many years before returning to Copenhagen and she knows all the nice places to visit. We started our day in notorious Notting Hill and ended it on Regent Street just in time to see all the beautiful lights.

Huge scone breakfast in Notting Hill 📷 Rikke Hjuler

Happy bunny in Regent Street 📷 Rikke Hjuler

amazing how a day away from all the routines just boosted my energy levels. Will definitely schedule more day trips in 2020.

How to enjoy Autumn - and a little bit about the key to happiness

Tea time

The inevitable shorter days are here. If you live in my corner of the world this means dark mornings when you leave for work and darkness when you get back home in the afternoon.

if you love cosiness this is good news, because the darkness is perfect for candlelight, tea and soft moments on your couch. We practice that a lot these days.

Softies at home

I read somewhere that the source to happiness is letting go of your expectations on how life Is supposed to be and sincerely appreciate what you’ve got instead.

Cultivating gratitude has been a conscious decision for my part and it’s something I have to remind myself about very often, otherwise I tend to go down the grumpy and unhappy road that leads to frustration and complaining about things or relationships that didn’t turn out as I had hoped for.

‘Why is it raining and cold outside?’ Has been turned into ‘Let’s spend time indoors watching an interesting documentary on Netflix together’.

‘She never asks me how I’m doing’ has been turned into’ ‘I’m responsible for my own happiness and I will ask her, how she’s doing today’.

Another way you could practise gratitude is by noting everything - or some of the specific things - you feel grateful about on a daily basis.

Today I feel grateful about……

• the nice breakfast I had this morning

• my family

• the colleagues at work

I have a notebook full of grateful thoughts and sometimes it serves as a reminder to me on a sad and dark day.

if you’re not the notebook kind of person all you would have to do is to think about the grateful stuff when you wake up in the morning, on your way home for work, when you cook or why not before you fall a sleep at night?

Autumn colours in the neighbourhood