My slow-living morning routine: simple acts for a more “zen” morning.

Feb 11, 2019 | 8 comments


I’ve always made my me-time in the morning a top priority. I actually remember that during my time on boarding school as a teen, I was the first person in the entire house to get out of bed in the morning. Back then it was more an act of insecurity; god forbid if anyone were to see me without makeup. But still, I remember the whole thing as being quite nice and mindful in a way, sitting there on the floor of the room I shared with 3 other girls in complete silence before the others would get up. It was sort of the only time during the day I felt like I had the room to myself, even just for a little while. Today this act of getting up so early has more something to do with inner peace. Well that, and being a morning person of course. If you’re not much of a morning person (or you’ve got kids waking up before you do) then I’m sure you could do the following routine at night instead, just as a nice way to wrap up the day.

Sometimes when I share these (to me) rather simple acts of kindness towards myself with others, I often get the reaction “wow, you clearly don’t have kids”. To me it’s a question of priority. I’ve always prioritised the small, cozy things even during weekdays – going to the beach on a summer night to have an ice cream with my husband and our dog, a spontaneous trip to Ikea solely to eat dinner, making waffles on a Wednesday night because it’s raining, or (as this post is all about) getting up early, so that I can start the day slow rather than hectic. There are many things you can fill your life with and many choices you can make; again it’s all about priorities and asking yourself what kind of life you want to live. And my quiet mornings are something that makes me happy all the way to the core. I know these priorities are gonna get challenged when I do get kids myself, so please don’t take this the wrong way if you’ve got kids already. I hope you understand what I mean 🙂 Maybe these routines and priorities will look completely different for me too, when I’ve got kids in a few years time. 

Jeg har altid prioriteret min mig-tid om morgenen. Faktisk kan jeg huske, at jeg var den allerførste der stod op i hele huset helt tilbage på efterskolen; dengang bundede det nok mest i usikkerhed og jeg følte et stort behov for, at stå op og dulle mig op hver eneste dag. Gud forbyde det, hvis nogen skulle se mig uden makeup. Alligevel husker jeg det faktisk som ganske hyggeligt, at sidde på gulvet i stilhed på værelset inden de andre stod op. Det var ligesom det eneste tidspunkt i løbet af dagen, hvor man kunne have værelset lidt for sig selv. I dag har det her med at stå tidligt op i langt højere grad noget med indre ro at gøre. Jeg er morgenmenneske med stort M, men selv hvis man ikke er (eller har små børn der står op før én selv), så er jeg ret sikker på denne rutine ville kunne udføres om aftenen inden sengetid i stedet. Som en dejlig måde at afslutte dagen på og falde til ro inden sengetid.

Somme tider når jeg deler disse (for mig) ret simple gerninger af selvpleje, så støder jeg på bemærkninger som “hold da op, man kan godt høre du ikke har nogen små børn”. For mig handler det om prioritering. Jeg vil altid prioritere de små, hyggelige ting i hverdagen – som en tur til havnen en sommeraften med manden og hunden for at få en is, en spontan tur i Ikea bare for at spise aftensmad, at lave vafler på en onsdag bare fordi de regner, eller (som dette indlæg handler om) stå lidt tidligere op, så jeg kan bruge lidt ekstra tid på at starte dagen rart fremfor hektisk. Der er mange ting man kan fylde sit liv med og der er mange valg man kan tage; igen handler det om hvad man prioriterer og hvilket liv man gerne vil leve. Og min rolige start på dagen gør mig glad helt ned i maven. Jeg ved godt disse prioriteter vil blive udfordret når først man får børn, så jeg håber ikke der sidder nogen med små børn derude som føler sig lidt trådt på. Jeg håber I fanger min pointe 🙂 Det kan være alt dette ser anderledes ud når jeg selv har unger om nogle år.

My day starts with…

My day starts with fresh air as the very first thing. Our little four-legged family member needs a quick walk to do his thing after the night, so that’s what we start the day with. We pretty much always do this together, my husband and I. It’s a nice way to start the day, and that also means that we have a little more time together before parting for work. During the weekends we sometimes still get up early, walk the dog and then crawl back under the covers again. Our dog is a huge fan of early mornings (like his mom, ha!). We never really go to sleep again, but we just hang out for another hour or so maybe even with a cup of coffee before actually getting up.

Min dag starter først og fremmest med frisk luft. Vi har nemlig et dejlig firbenet medlem af familien, der skal luftes som noget af det første når vi står op. Vi går faktisk stort set altid tur med hunden sammen om morgenen, min mand og jeg. Det er en rar måde at komme ud af fjerene på, og så har vi lidt mere tid sammen inden vi skal på arbejde. I weekenderne går vi somme tider i seng igen bagefter, for vores hund er (ligesom jeg) ret stor fan af at stå tidligt op, haha! Vi falder som regel aldrig i søvn igen, men kravler bare ind under dynen igen en times tid med en kop kaffe og måske lidt morgenmad inden vi står rigtigt op.

A healthy start

Breakfast is the single most important meal for me – I suffer from migraine and one of my triggers can be if I skip breakfast or if I simply wait too long to eat after getting up in the morning. We eat oat porridge every morning. It’s healthy, cheap, easy to make and it keeps me full all the way until noon (if we’re in the mood and have the energy we might sometimes make these instead). At the moment I like eating my porridge with a bit of honey, chopped almonds, banana and maybe even some blueberries. For a little more of a parteeey I like adding a little scoop of peanut butter as well… besides my porridge I drink a cup of coffee with steamed oat milk. In general I try to avoid milk whenever I can, and my favourite alternative to it is definitely oat milk. It’s a little more creamy and sweet (too sweet for some – my husband doesn’t like it), but I love it! Usually I only have that one cup of coffee during the day, sometimes I might have another cup in the afternoon if I’m in the mood for extra hygge, but I’d like to switch one of these cups to matcha latte. I’ve never tasted it before, but it’s supposed to be really healthy. At the moment we’re also taking vegan supplements with our breakfast. I know it’s somewhat of a controversial matter, but we do it anyway just to make sure we get all the vitamins we supposed to (especially since we don’t eat a lot of meat).

Morgenmad er for mig ét af de vigtigste måltider – jeg lider nemlig af migræne, og én af mine triggere er hvis jeg springer morgenmaden over, eller skubber den til for langt op af formiddagen. Vi spiser havregrød hver morgen. Det er sundt, billigt, nemt at lave og så holder det mig mæt helt indtil frokost (hvis vi virkelig har overskud så laver vi dog nogle gange disse). Lige nu spiser jeg grøden med lidt honning, hakkede nødder som mandler eller hasselnødder, banan og måske nogle blåbær eller hvad vi ellers kan finde på. Hvis der skal være parteeey så kan det være jeg lige smider en skefuld peanutbutter på også… Udover grøden så drikker jeg en kop kaffe med havremælk. Jeg drikker generelt ikke mælk mere hvis jeg kan undgå det, og mit favorit alternativ til mælken i kaffen er helt klart havremælk. Den er cremet og lidt sød (også for sød for nogle – min mand fx), men jeg elsker det! Jeg drikker som regel kun den ene kop kaffe om dagen, indimellem én mere over frokost hvis jeg er i humør til lidt ekstra hygge, men jeg kunne faktisk godt tænke mig at prøve, at skifte over til matcha latte i stedet. Bare om morgenen. Har aldrig smagt det, men det skulle jo være vildt sundt. Lige nu spiser vi også vegansk kosttilskud, hvilket jeg ved er et kontroversielt emne for nogle. Vi gør det fordi vi gerne vil være sikre på vi får de vitaminer og mineraler vi skal (især efter vi primært lever vegetarisk). Lige nu køber vi DISSE på apoteket.

The beauty rituals

I usually drink my coffee rather slowly in the morning, and when I’m done with my breakfast I like to take the rest of the coffee with me to the bathroom to get myself ready. My beauty routine is rather simple. The only thing I do in the morning is slather some cold water in my face to wake up (I shower at night so I skip that step in the morning) and after that I dap on a bit of perfume-free moisturiser for sensitive skin. At the moment I’m actually just using my husband’s which is this random allergy-friendly one from a Danish drugstore, because it’s a little heavier than what I usually use and my dry winterskin really needs that at the moment. I’ve wasted so much time, money and energy trying out different creams, lotions, serums and soaps without any luck, especially during my period with cystic acne from I was 21 and a couple years forth from that. It luckily got better after seeing a doctor and getting on Accutane for a couple months. A drug that has a scary rep but definitely helped a lot. After that I’ve cut down on my intake of meat an dairy and I try to stick to simple, clean and allergy-friendly beauty products. There are many theories out there regarding acne and sensitive skin (which is in reality more my problem), and I just know what works for me today. I even tried oils for my face too, but it made my skin break out so bad so I quickly stopped doing that too. So: cold water and a simple, gentle moisturiser is all I need, along with a healthy diet too of course. After applying the moisturiser I love using my gua sha stone. It’s a similar tool to a jade-roller, which I’m sure many of you have heard about. It only has to take 5 minutes to do this facial massage, and it feels SO good afterwards. You can really feel how it gets your blood flowing and helps to get rid of all the puffiness that’s been building up during the night. I don’t know if it’s just me but I really feel like my skin looks more plump and even when I remember to use this tool. It’s also really nice to use it just before going to bed by the way. If you make sure to take a few deep breaths too while doing it, I swear it’s almost like meditation. Again, just 5 minutes. It doesn’t have to take all morning. After that I’m ready to apply a bit of makeup – get a closer look on that routine right HERE.

Jeg drikker som regel min kaffe lidt langsomt til morgenmaden, og så jeg tager gerne resten med mig ud på badeværelset når jeg skal gøre mig klar. Her er min skønhedsrutine ret simpel. Det eneste jeg gør er nemlig, at skylle mit ansigt med koldt vand (jeg tager iøvrigt for det meste bad om aftenen, så det step springer jeg over om morgenen), og derefter påfører jeg en fugtighedscreme til sensitiv hud. Lige nu bruger jeg bare min mands uden parfume fra Matas, for den er lidt mere fed end den jeg normalt bruger, hvilket min tørre vinterhud har rigtig godt af. Jeg har i tidens løb spildt så meget tid, penge og energi på magiske cremer, sæber og serummer uden held især i forbindelse med, at have lidt af cystisk acne fra jeg var omkring 21 og nogle år frem . Det gik over efter en tur til hudlæge og en omgang på A-vitamin kur, og efterfølgende har det hjulpet rigtig meget at jeg fx har skåret drastisk ned på mælkeprodukter og generelt udelukkende bruger allergi-mærkede og parfumefri hudpleje- og makeup produkter. Der findes mange teorier om både akne og sensitiv hud (som jeg i virkeligheden har), men jeg ved bare hvad der virker for mig i dag. Jeg prøvede også olie en kort overgang, men det kunne min hud SLET ikke have med at gøre, den slog helt vildt ud af det. Så: koldt vand og en allergi-venlig fugtighedscreme, det virker for mig – og sund kost det meste af tiden naturligvis. Efterfølgende kan jeg godt lide at bruge min gua sha sten, til at massere huden i ansigtet med. Den er lidt i familie med jade-rolleren, som nogle af jer måske kender. Det behøver kun at tage 5 minutter, og det føles SÅ rart bagefter. Huden sitrer helt, og man kan med det samme mærke at der kommer mere gang i blodomløbet, hvilket er rigtig rart når man har træt og hævet hud om morgnen. Det kan godt være det er ren indbildning, men faktisk synes jeg også min hud ser mere ensartet og mindre rød ud, når jeg husker at bruge den i en længere periode. Den er iøvrigt også skøn at bruge inden sengetid. Hvis man så lige tager et par dybe vejrtrækninger imens, så føles det totalt som meditation. Igen, bare 5 minutter. Det behøver ikke tage hele morgenen. Efter det så tager jeg makeup på – du kan se nærmere på min makeuprutine lige HER.

AD: buy my sustainable jewelry designs HERE

Similar Gua Sha stones: international shipping HERE (adlink) – DK HERE

Stay hydrated

After the whole shabang I like to finish up with drinking lots of water. I usually drink half a liter already before noon. It feels pretty natural to me remembering to drink lots of water, because another migraine trigger for me is when I’m not fully hydrated. So I always have a drinking bottle with me when I’m on the run. That way I can both keep track of how much water I drink during the day, but it’s obviously also better for the environment to go for reusable bottles rather than the disposable plastic ones. 

This year I’ve also decided to get back on track with some of my other hobbies – those that doesn’t require looking at a screen. I’ve decided to get back on piano lessons when we move too (I’ve played since I was 11) and I’m also gonna remind myself to start meditating on a more regular basis again. Maybe even start attending some yoga classes or start some of my morning doing yoga. Just to give my brain some of these small breaks every day, which I’ve really been neglecting this past year.

Do you have any similar routines or promises you’ve made with yourself this year?

Jeg slutter hele festen af med, at drikke masser af frisk vand. Faktisk drikker jeg gerne en halv liter allerede i løbet af formiddagen. Jeg er ret god til at huske at drikke vand i løbet af dagen, helst omkring de anbefalede 2 liter. En anden trigger for min migræne kan nemlig lige præcis være, hvis jeg glemmer at drikke noget i løbet af dagen, så for mig er det blevet en essentiel ting det dér med, altid at have en drikkedunk med mig når jeg er på farten. Så kan jeg også holde øje med hvor meget vand jeg får drukket i løbet af dagen, udover det selvfølgelig også er bedre for miljøet at droppe engangsflaskerne.

Jeg har også lovet mig selv, at jeg i år vil blive bedre til generelt, at samle op på de hobbyer jeg har, som ikke involverer en skærm. Fx har jeg besluttet mig for, at starte til klaverundervisning igen når vi flytter (har spillet siden jeg var 11) og også minde mig selv om at meditere mere jævnligt igen. Måske starte til yoga eller starte nogle af mine morgener med netop yoga. Bare for at give min hjerne nogle af de små pauser i hverdagen, som jeg har været rigtig slem til at droppe det sidste års tid.

Har I selv lignende rutiner eller aftaler med jer selv?


 

8 Comments

  1. Karen

    It seems great!
    My commute is very long, I live in a big city and I’m not a morning person. But I force a little bit myself to wake up 1 hour before leave my house to have a decent breakfast (oat with fruts and honey) and a local type of bread called tapioca made of cassava flour that doesn’t have any nutrients but makes you feel satisfied. I also drink a cup of Chamomile or mint tea.
    To wrap of the day I walk with my dogs, take my me time to take care of my night skin care routine and read a page of my book (nowadays Hygge, from Wiking). ? Love, Karen

    Reply
  2. Emma

    It’s lovely and simple, thanks for sharing. Don’t get me wrong-I’m all about priorities. But with very young kids, especially several (one is probably fine) it can be extremely hard to do this stuff! Three kids need you at 5.30am. And have woken you up in the night. You feel like you can’t move. LOL.
    Only alternative is to do it in the evening. When you’re absolutely shattered. Just sayin’. I know you didn’t mean to but it felt a little judgemental to say it was all about priorities.
    That said, I do love your style and jewellery collection. Keep up the good work. Don’t take my comment the wrong way please…

    Reply
    • signeh24

      None taken! :-* I completely understand. I might feel different in a couple years when I’ve got kids myself, haha!

      Reply
  3. Lisa

    Lovely post! Thank you for sharing. ?

    Reply
  4. Kamille

    Love this post, I will definitely try to incorporate some of your “steps” into my morning routine! I already drink a lot of water – actually it was a tip I got on instagram where she recommended having a water bottle next to your bed, so it is the first thing you see in the morning and that way you don’t forget to drink the water. I bought a stainless steel water bottle from http://www.pureosophy.com which keeps the water cold for 24 hours so it is cold and fresh even after a whole night! That has helped me a lot!
    Have a great Tuesday.

    Reply
  5. Leila

    Hello Signe!
    Lovely post! I watched your video about beauty routine and I was really curious where I can get the stone, so thank you for sharing!!
    I remember you also use coffee grains to clean your face, but since I don’t drink coffee I found an alternative in Lush store♡I love the aroma of coffee but I don’t feel good when drink it, (guess my body cannot take something that there is in the coffee…)so the face pack called “cup o’coffee” is doing an amazing job on my skin!! I never thought that coffee could be good for the skin!!

    Also I would like to share with you that, due to my work I had the opportunity to stay two days in Copenhagen last week, and it was really amazing! I know you have your own jewelry collection now, but I got a chance to get to “Glitter” and also got a bag from “o my bag” shipped to the hotel where I was! It was amazing to feel the vibe and experience a bit of “Hygge”…I had lunch at the food market trying the open sandwich, it was delicious!! All the food there tasted so fresh!! I really enjoyed every moment visiting your country! Even the cold weather(^^)!
    I love your style and I’m really thankful for got to know about sustainable fashion through you! With all your tips my thinking towards fashion and lifestyle changed a lot for the better!!
    I might have a chance to visit Copenhagen again, so if you have some places that you recommend I’ll really appreciate!
    Lots of love♡
    Leila.

    Reply
    • signeh24

      Dear Leila! I am so SO pleased to hear you enjoyed Denmark! Copenhagen is a wonderful city, I love going there from time to time too, both to visit family but also just because <3 It makes me really happy to hear you enjoyed your stay! And thanks for all your lovely words about my content, it means the world to me. Have a lovely weekend! Lots of love, Signe x

      Reply
  6. Julia

    “Wow, you clearly don’t have kids” – I can so relate to that! No, I don’t have kids, but maybe a have a husband with severe depression or a mother, who is mentally and psysically ill, how about that? Not having kids does not mean that all your days are sunny and that you have all the time for yourself, sometimes it is very far from it… And even if you do have sunny days and zero problems – good for you, there’s no reason to apologize for that! But it’s all about making priority, I personally know a mother of four (all still small), who get’s up at 5 so that she could go for a run before everyone is up and her “me time” is over. Great post, Signe!

    Reply

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