Romanticizing Your Life…. well, almost. It’s a Start.

I’m still wading my way through the many and varied posts about romanticizing your life/autumn/kitchen/bathroom that I keep finding and… weirdly…. loving it.

I wrote last week that “Romanticizing life is just the latest label for enjoying a simpler, easier, slightly nostalgic, handmade, handcrafted and curated with love kind of life. It’s the 2025 version of Simple Abundance, of Hygge, of Live the Life You Love, of Domestic Goddess crossed with Traditional Homemaker crossed with Real Life that has been going on since at least the 1950s, and probably before.” I don’t think I’m that far off base.

But I think I get the idea better now. It’s about looking at life with a certain lense in, not so much rose-tinted as soft focus. About having an escape valve permanently open in your brain, not desperate to take you away from life but to let you step aside and look at your life with the eyes of, say, Nancy Meyers, Nora Ephron or L M Montgomery. It’s about casting yourself as the leading lady in your own life and taking a little time to consider the set design. As Arthur Abbott tells Iris in The Holiday, “In the movies, we have leading ladies, and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady. But for some reason, you’re behaving like the best friend.”

Romanticizing life isn’t about escaping reality: it’s about taking time to notice it. To get grounded in reality and appreciate the beauty in everyday moments, objects and experiences. It’s about celebrating the simple, the sensuous and the small pleasures in life. It’s about dialling down the drama and pulling focus onto the things that give you pleasure, make you feel confident, add fun or passion, depth and knowledge, love and happiness to your life. It’s self care done responsibly, mindfulness done in motion, hygge shared with a household, friendship group or study circle.

Does it take money, more stuff, a whole-life change and the need to employ a dozen people to make over, make up or make a mess? No, it does not.

All it requires (like Hygge, mindfulness and the many other equivalent movements/fads/suggestions before) is a little imagination, effort and remembering that you, too, like Iris deserve (sometimes at least) to be the leading lady in your own life.

So, what are you going to do, and how are you going to do it?

This list isn’t inexhaustible, it will change as I think of or find more ideas. It may end up as a seasonal set of lists in the end. For the moment, though, I’ve started with separating it out into different areas of life and home. I’ve included work, as well.

Be the main character in your own living rom-com. Go for it: pull that Nancy Meyer New England jumper on and start living like the star you are.

Just For You…

Slow down whatever you’re doing!
Don’t multi-task
Practice slow breathing often
Ground yourself whenever you stand at the kettle to make a cup of tea/coffee
Stay calm when accidents happen or plans change. It’s inevitable! Adapt your ideas
Lean in to the seasons
Remember words matter, so use them carefully
Altering viewpoint often alters perception
Reframe your challenges. Shift your lens, and the story changes

In The Bedroom….

Sleep with the curtains open some nights and let the morning light wake you up.
Don’t jump out of bed straight away. Pray or meditate for a few minutes first
Have a morning routine on waking up and stick to it
Make your bed everyday and keep it straight.
Wear good quality nightwear and keep it fresh
Drink your morning coffee or tea by the window or on the patio or balcony.
Watch the sun rise or set without filming it.
Sing in the shower
Have a bubble bath with rose petals and prosecco
Have a fluffy and warm robe to slip into after the bath
Wear perfume everyday
Keep your nails short and clean
Use clear or pale nude polish on them and change regularly
Use brilliant red nail polish when you go out for the evening and remove it before it chips
Have a good quality hand cream at the bedside and use it often
Always wear matching underwear and throw it out when it gets tatty
Develop a signature style and don’t be afraid to say yes… or no…. to fashion
Have your clothes organised well
Take good care of them
Keep fluffy socks near to the bed just in case
Stick positive affirmations on your mirror so they’re the first things you see in the morning
Hang fairy lights above your bed
Have comfy but clean clothes that are just for lounging around in
Have a bedtime routine guaranteed to put you to sleep

In The Living Room….

Get yourself fresh flowers
Have plenty of plants
Light candles or put fairy lights on often
Have a leather-bound book as your journal
Light a candle while you journal
Enjoy a rainy day with coffee and a book by the window
Use scented polish in the living room
Create a cosy reading nook with a comfort basket, comfortable chair and good light next to a basket of books
Keep your current hobby close to hand so that you can get on with it
Always have a book on the go, and a TBR list in your planner
Have a list of favourite movies, want to see movies and classical movies to match your mood
Have a list of kickass Leading Lady movies…. The Holiday is excellent for suggestions to start with
Have pillows and throws around ready for when you want/need a nap
Plan for date nights
Keep your room smelling sweet with aromatherapy essential oils or wax melts
Change the scent of the room for each season
Take photographs of the small things in your every day life
Have adaptable lighting: reading lamps, pools of subdued light land candles
Keep fruit in a charming bowl and eat it
Decorate using photos or pictures of those you love and special moments of life

In The Kitchen and Dining Room…

Grow fresh herbs
Compile a romantic playlist of soft jazz and listen to it while you cook
Bake something from scratch every week
Use the best china just for fun
Drink from a crystal glass
Have dinner by candlelight by yourself or with a friend
End your main meal with a square of chocolate or a sliver of cheese
Add lemon or orange slices to plain water
Make coffee with the cafetiere often
Always use a teapot to make tea
Have a list of slow meals to make at the weekend or when you have a free day
Invite your friends over for a meal
Eat slowly
Always put your food on a plate

Homemaking…

Have a cute apron that you use when doing housework
Keep your cleaning products in a basket or fancy tote
Listen to a podcast while folding laundry
Have a Homemaker soundtrack to vacuum to
Organise products etc into good baskets and clean regularly
Keep tea towels, washing cloths etc in a basket near to/under the sink
Use the best tea towels and change them when they’re looking manky

At Work…

Have a favourite mug at work, and use it often
Take five minutes before you start to ground your intentions to work hard
Decorate your desk with photos of your loved ones
Have a candle or scent diffuser on your desk
Light candles while you work
Use a beautiful planner or notebook for everyday lists
Have a Gratitude page in your work planner
Write down one thing you are proud of every day
Have a list of journal prompts near to hand to do when you have a spare five minutes
Have good quality letter paper available and write thank you cards or letters to people
Smile at strangers
Create a vision board to hold your dreams and goals
Turn off the computer and work longhand now and then
Write love letters to all the people you love
Have a regular work routine: motivational Monday for planning, Thankful Thursday for gratitude recording
Play birdsong in the office
Have a good screensaver on your computer and phone
Turn off the office when you go home. You do not owe anyone your time outside of work.

In The Great Outdoors….

Pack a picnic for one and eat it in the park
Journal outside
Walk often
Lie back and watch the clouds
Have a favourite local coffee shop or diner
Pay for someone else’s coffee
Always take the scenic route, if you have time
Lie back and watch the stars
Use the firepit more often
Have fairy lights strung around the yard

Further Afield….

Take a solo trip now and again for a day or a weekend
Have a list of short walks and rotate them according to the season
Find a good bookstore in your town or another one nearby. Visit often.
Have a favourite cafe that isn’t a chain
Have a favourite treat in the cafe
Visit art galleries regularly
Go to see a movie alone or with your loved one
Have a favourite picture in your local gallery
Visit local farmers markets as often as you can
Never travel without a book
Have a charming water bottle to take with you
Add whimsey to travelling with your backpack, sunglasses etc
Keep a set of matching luggage for holidays and trips
Clear out your toiletry bag and make up container after every trip
Have a Bucket List of adventures you want to do, even if they can no longer be done (historical events, or places that have altered over the years, like a 1920s Cairo hotel or Nile cruise, or the Gilded Age in New or Old York)

Smile often, laugh much and love life. You’re not trying to escape life: you’re choosing to show up, participate fully, notice the beauty in everyday life and ground yourself in each moment.

What do you think about romanticizing your life? A new take on an old trend? Or another sales opportunity for the switched on? What steps would you take to recast yourself as the leading lady/gentleman in your own movie? What have I missed off that should be there?

How to Hygge the British Way is my gift to the world. I don’t get paid for writing it, I’m not in it for the kudos, financial rewards, to become an influencer, work with brands or otherwise make any money from the blog. That’s why there are no ads, and any products I mention and recommend have either been gifted to me or bought by me with my everyday wages or donations from supporters. Every book I review has been bought and read by me, unless stated otherwise.

I do get a couple of pennies each time someone buys from the Amazon links on my page, as an Amazon Affiliate, but otherwise if you’d like to support me, I like to give something back in return. That’s why I write books. It always feels good if you get a book back in return for some money. You can find a full list of my books at my Author’s Page on Amazon, but especially recommended for this time of year are:

Cosy Happy Hygge: Setting up a rhythm to life and rituals to enjoy it to make for a more balanced life that handles waves and storms better. The book has small and easy ways to make your life flow with grace and happiness, which lead to more hygge.

Happier: Probably my most personal book, it’s the story of how I used hygge and the little things in life to help boost my happiness. I still go back and reread to remind myself what I need to do to be a happy human. And it’s always the little things.

My Christmas books are always available: Have Yourself a Happy Hygge Christmas is a good place to start, on how to make the season cosier, happier but Enjoying a Self-Care Christmas may be a faster and more seasonally appropriate read.

I’m currently working on two book projects: I have a hankering to rewrite 50 Ways to Hygge the British Way, so it’s not available at the moment, but even dearer to my heart and my next stated aim is to finish and publish my next book, Simple Plus Cosy = Hygge. It will be about homemaking and how the home we create shapes the hygge we have. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of Winter 2026.

If you’d like to support me, but don’t want to buy a book, I have a Paypal.Me account as Hygge Jem. Every little helps, so even a few pence goes towards the books, goods and courses I use and recommend on the site. I’m grateful for every little bit that brings me closer to my dream of full-time writing, and I know I couldn’t still be writing if it weren’t for the support of many readers and friends out there. Thank you all for every little bit of support, emotional, physical and financial, you give me.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, don’t forget to share it or save it so others can enjoy reading, thinking about and living hygge as well.

The photo between post and promotions is by Svitlana on Unsplash. It just screams autumn: the rainy window, the teapot and a chunky mug, the pumpkin decoration and the bowl of autumn’s fruits. The only thing that’s missing is a stove or woodburning fire.