Butt Naked

Mhmm.  Let's talk nudity.

I'm not just talking about getting naked when you're alone about to hop into the shower, or when you're dancing around an empty home in nothing but socks.

Nope. I'm talking about naked saunas {SOW-NA}.

Being raised by a Finnish mama, saunas were a regular part of life.  Myself and each of my sisters had our first saunas just weeks after being born.  From then on, whenever we visited my Finnish grandmother's house, we more than likely ended up in the sauna.

 

The part that seems to make absolutely everbody giggle, squirm or exclaim, is the part where we tell them that we all sauna together, all us womenfolk at least. :)

Yup, ever since we were wee babes, my sisters and I have sat naked in the sauna with my grandmother, mother, aunts, and cousins.  That's a lot of nudity. 

But it's also just the way it has always been.  Part of sauna culture, Finnish culture.

Practical, direct, and shameless.

And ironically enough, despite the intensely reserved and quiet reputation Finns have, saunas have always been and continue to be social spaces.  It is here, where reservations or hestitations are put aside.  The heat is too thick and the steam too encompassing for self-consciousness.

My mama and I stumbled across this documentary, Steam of Life {Miesten Vuoro}, a while ago now.
This masterpiece explains the significance of the sauna far better than I ever could, have a look. :)
 

Would you get naked for a sauna???

I promise, it is bliss.

{Image 1 & 2, image 3, image 4, and 5}

Faroe Islands

 

My dears, I'm dying to explore the Faroe {Føroyar} Islands.  Who's with me??

The Danish translation for the name of these islands, Færøerne, literally translates to Sheep Islands.  So quaint!  

If these images are anything true to life, then a vacation here would be an absolute feast for the senses.  

 If you haven't noticed yet, I'm generally preoccupied {ahem, OBSESSED} with all things Scandinavian, and while I've had the chance to travel within Sweden and Finland, it would be my dream to embark on an ultimate Scandinavian tour.

This place in particular I've been dreaming about for quite some time now.  Colorful houses, riveting coastlines and storybook hillsides dotted with sheep.  Swoon!

 I can only imagine the adventures to be had here. 

Ferrying in from nearby Iceland or Denmark, being immersed in the local Faroese culture, hiking through green pastures and along jaw-dropping crags and cliffs, *picnics everywhere, cozy nights spent tasting Faroese cuisine in cafés and restaurants {wine too please}, maybe even take in a musical festival.  Bliss.  

 

The average temperature, even in summer is 12°C, so warm jackets and maybe a dreamy man who offers you his toasty hands and a comfy embrace are just the thing to take on this vacation.

Wouldn't it be the most romantic honeymoon spot?

Where are you dreaming about going right now, my darlings?

{All images courtesy of Faroe Islands.com}

Sleeping like a Scandinavian babe

 Oh goodness, what a cheeky face.  Such cuteness brightens any dreary, wintry day.

So far, January has been a sick sick sick month for me.

I've caught some wicked viruses the past few weeks, and I've tried anything and everything to heal.  Lots of herbal teas, honey, vitamin C, and the usual over-the-counter cold and flu medicines.

I've also slept with my window WIDE OPEN.   Brrrrr!

Yes, it makes for a very chilly bedroom this time of year.

And of course, it means sleeping with a snug toque, my favorite polar fleece, and the warmest duvet and blankets I can find.  But it feels so good!  There's nothing quite like a constant breeze of the freshest air to whisk away germs, and revitalize the lungs.  I'm basically sleeping like a Scandinavian baby.

Have you heard that before?  It is very common for babies in parts of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark to take their naps, outdoors, cozily tucked into their prams.  Joanna Goddard from Cup of Jo, wrote the most interesting post on parents in Denmark who even leave their babes sleeping in prams outside of cafes, shops and restaurants.  Read it here!

 

When we were just babes, my Finnish-born Mamma regularly left myself and my sisters to nap in our strollers outside on the veranda.  She insists that we got the best, deepest sleep that way.  And when I was a girl, I loved to drag pillows and blankets out to the hammock hanging from trees in our back garden, and fall asleep swaying under a crisp, afternoon sky.

This bed right here looks amazing.  What dreamy sleep.

Will you be sleeping like a Scandinavian babe any time soon?

“Now I see the secret of making the best person: it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.”

Walt Whitman

 

{Image 1, 2 and 3 by Jenny Brandt for Cup of Jo, and image 5}