In a beautiful collection of essays, Simple Matters challenges readers to simplify their life by prioritizing emotional and physical health, curating a personal style, and pursuing one's dreams.Jenny Mustard has created a unique lifestyle book that taps into the ever-increasing human longing for less clutter and more meaning, be it at home, at work, or in our relationships. By encouraging readers to make their surroundings a little more lovely, to simplify eating habits and wardrobe, to travel with purpose and ease, and to discover what they truly want to dream about and focus on, Jenny provides the inspiration to curate one's everyday life into something simple, realistic, and utterly enjoyable.Simultaneously inspirational and aspirational, Jenny's content is positive, personal, and inclusive--42 essays cover everything from simple kitchen staples, the art of the travel plan, indulgent eating, addiction, failure as a road to success, the makings of a happy relationship, the red thread, building a career, and the Scandinavian way at home.Jenny Mustard is a minimalist YouTube sensation, fashion blogger, lifestyle influencer, and a vegan food, travel, and design lover. She has worked with prestigious brands and well-known social media personalities, and has been featured in magazines and online articles all over the world. Together with her fiance and business partner David, she also runs the morning show YouTube channel The Mustards, as well as a popular podcast of the same name. She is a Swede living in Berlin, by way of London. You can find her at JennyMustard.com

    Who doesn’t enjoy a good, healthy salad (Jell-O packed with canned fruit, colored marshmallows, and pretzels) or perhaps some cod soaked in drain cleaner as the highlights of Christmas? Only later did it dawn on him that perhaps this was just a little strange, but by then it was far too late: he was hooked and a dyed-in-the-wool Scandinavian himself. But what does it actually mean to grow up Scandinavian-American or to live with these Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, Danes, and Icelanders among us? In Vikings in the Attic, Dregni tracks down and explores the significant—and quite often bizarre—historic sites, tales, and traditions of Scandinavia’s peculiar colony in the Midwest. It’s a legacy of the unique—collecting silver spoons, a suspicion of flashy clothing, shots of turpentine for the common cold, and a deep love of rhubarb pie—but also one of poor immigrants living in sod houses while their children attend college, the birth of the co-op movement, the Farmer–Labor party, and government agents spying on Scandinavian meetings hoping to nab a socialist or antiwar activist. For all the tales his grandparents told him, Dregni quickly discovers there are quite a few they neglected to mention, such as Swedish egg coffee, which includes the eggshell, and Lutheran latte, which is Swedish coffee with ice cream. Vikings in the Attic goes beyond the lefse, lutefisk, and lusekofter (lice jacket) sweaters to reveal the little-known tales that lie beneath the surface of Nordic America. Ultimately, Dregni ends up proving by example why generations of Scandinavian-Americans have come to love and cherish these tales and traditions so dearly. Well, almost all of them.** See lutefisk.

    They even have a word for this kind of coziness that comes with spending quality time in hearth and home when the days are short: "hygge". Trine Hahnemann is the doyenne of Scandinavian cooking, and loves nothing more than spending time in her kitchen cooking up comforting food in good company. This is her collection of recipes that will warm you up and teach you to embrace the art of hygge, no matter where you live.

    Written for Americans, but equally amusing to anyone visiting the shores of the Great Southern Land, this book examines the relationship between Australia and the U.S., including how Australians view their American cousins. The author has plenty of experience of working and dealing with Americans. He is married to an American nurse and has lived his life within the massive cultural influence that America has shared with Australia since the Second World War. The author’s stories are brimming with empathy and jokes for his American audience. The book is written from the opinion of an Aussie Bloke and the easy-to-digest chapters are just long enough to leave the reader smiling and well informed.Topics include Blokes and Sheilas, Bloody Foster’s, Dangerous Creatures, Talking to Dogs, The GAFA, Speaking Strail-yun and Working for the Queen. Confused? You won’t be after reading this book!

    Frank, irreverent, funny--almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia.

    The airlines were international superstars; even among those long-gone carriers, their still-remembered names can conjure deep feelings of nostalgia, romance, and adventure: Braniff, Continental, BOAC, Swissair, TWA, Pan Am.This was the fifties and sixties. The world was on the move, and it was the new jet planes that were getting people there. But competition for the travel dollar was fierce, and Madison Avenue decided the face (and heart) of every airline would be the flight attendant, the stewardess. So it was that the “stew” became synonymous with the airline’s brand. She—and at that time they were exclusively female—was the airline.The stewardess became the fantasy every woman: glamorous professional, high-end server, customer service expert, nurse, therapist, and in no small measure: sex symbol.And to that end, these women were carefully selected for their looks and brains, then rigorously trained for weeks, and finally dressed as high-flying, high-heeled models in uniforms often created by top fashion designers. Heddy Frosell da Ponte was one of those chosen women. She was the ideal candidate to be employed by Pan Am in the 1960s: a pretty female with a terrific figure, under thirty-two years old, unmarried, and a speaker of multiple languages.The Glamour Years of Flying as a Stewardess is Heddy’s fascinating, often times hilarious collection of exploits as she traveled the world as a stewardess during the golden age of international air travel.This remarkable book is also a rare look back at the people, places, cultures, and lifestyles gone forever, but now brought back to vivid life by a stewardess-turned-author who knows how to tell a fast-moving tale. So buckle up; this will be one flight you’ll never forget. About the Author Heddy Frosell da Ponte was a flight attendant for forty five years. Now retired, she lives in Georgia. She is the author of The Glamour Years of Flying as a Stewardess.

    In this book Kay Xander Mellish – an American who has lived in Denmark for more than a decade – offers a fun guide to Danish culture and Danish manners, as well as tips on how to find a job, a date, someone to talk to or something to eat.

    From indulgent cream confections to homely and comforting fruit cakes and traditional breads, sweet buns, and pastries. FIKA is a Swedish word meaning to meet up for a cup of coffee or tea over something delicious. It is also the word for the delicious treats themselves. Swedes traditionally stop twice a day for fika: taking a muchneeded break from the daily grind. People fika with family, colleagues, friends, children, and even go on fika dates. HYGGE (pronounced hue-guh) is a word that originated in Norway but is now mainly used in Denmark. It means "a sublime state of cosiness you feel when you are with loved ones and nothing else matters". Hygge can be enhanced by the addition of a log fire, a good movie, a cup of something warm, and a sweet treat…hence the ideal combination of the two terms. Chapters are divided into Biscuits and Cookies, Tray and No bakes, Everyday Fika, Little Fancy Cakes, Celebration Cakes, and Bread and Batters. This beautifully illustrated, authentic guide is a celebration of Scandinavian baking in all its glory. It is evocative of cosy days shared with friends, slowing down and taking the time to enjoy simple, homemade, wholesome pleasures―encouraging a lifestyle to aspire to. With features on special Scandi winter celebrations, their baking traditions and how to bring fika and hygge into your life.

    If you or someone you know is discontented, distressed, or downright disturbed, maybe the Great White North is right for you, eh. But how much do you really know about Canada? Can you do a job that Canada needs (do you play hockey, drill for oil, or make poutine?)? Can you identify the best Canadian province for your lifestyle (lots of tundra or just some tundra?)? Can you master the proper pronunciation of "sorry"? What strange wizardry is the Canadian government? Is maple syrup acceptable substitution for currency? At long last, How to Move to Canada can help make your vague threat into a cold Canadian reality. This book is also full of activities such as: Color the flag of your new homeland Match the strange Canuck dialect with their local definitions And more! PLEASE NOTE: This is a humor book. It won't really help you emigrate. Rather, it's a subversive mix of real information on the Great White North plus a hilarious look at all the reasons why you won't like it there any better — and why they probably won't have you anyway.

    If you doubt the veracity of this claim you need only consult the Viking Sagas, the greatest of all literary achievements, where this view is expressed countless times during the course of long meandering tales of murder and revenge.'Xenophobe's Motto—Forewarned is forearmed.

    In this timely book, he leaves his adopted home of Denmark and embarks on a journey through all five of the Nordic countries to discover who these curious tribes are, the secrets of their success, and, most intriguing of all, what they think of one another.Why are the Danes so happy despite having the highest taxes? Do the Finns really have the best education system? Are the Icelanders as feral as they sometimes appear? How are the Norwegians spending their fantastic oil wealth? And why do all of them hate the Swedes? In The Almost Nearly Perfect People, Booth explains who the Scandinavians are, how they differ and why, and what their quirks and foibles are, and he explores why these societies have become so successful and models for the world. Along the way, a more nuanced, often darker picture emerges of a region plagued by taboos, characterized by suffocating parochialism, and populated by extremists of various shades.

    After reading this book, you’ll be far better equipped to deal with all that Finland can throw at you, from sauna spankings to drunken Santas. You will understand very Finnish problems like these:> When you have to explain for the 100th time that Moomin isn’t a hippo.> When everybody else’s name is like something from The Lord of the Rings.> When the weather forecast for Midsummer matches that for Christmas.> When there’s over 60 words for “snow”, but not one for “please”.> When alcohol is a universal permission to go totally insane.> When you realize you’re only one country away from North Korea.> When you forget that summer cottage is another word for labour camp.> When you have to share the sauna with a masochist.> When people don’t get your sarcasm."101 Very Finnish Problems is a fantastically funny book. I guarded it with my life – but then I did read it on my smartphone. My 102nd very Finnish problem was that it ended too soon." – André Wickström, comedian

    Yet, surface similarities between the two nations conceal essential differences. Christina Robinowitz and Lisa Werner Carr provide insights and strategies for successful interactions with Swedes, whether business or social. True to its title, Modern-Day Vikings traces some of Sweden's most ingrained cultural traits back to its Viking heritage: self-sufficiency, fairness, egalitarianism and democracy. The authors also examine Sweden's famous "cradle-to-grave" social model and explore the values underlying modern Swedish culture, such as lagom (moderation), the law of Jante (personal modesty), communication styles and business practices.

    They exhibit an extreme passion for freedom of choice—which has turned law circumvention into an art and has made them incapable of comprehending words like “discipline,” “co-ordination,” or “system.” There's no such thing as a meek GreekA Greek cannot talk unless he has his hands free, and a soft-spoken Greek is one who can be heard only as far as across the street. Two Greeks having an amiable conversation sound as if they are ready to murder each other, and a party of exuberant Greeks having a good time could be described as a pack of hounds that has just sighted the fox. Free spiritsMercurial in the extreme, the Greeks' temperament flourishes uninhibited throughout their waking hours. This is probably why the ancient sages saw fit to carve their maxims “Nothing in excess” and “Know thyself” on the portals of the Delphic Oracle, in an attempt to persuade their fellow Greeks to curb their emotions. They were not heeded then any more than they are now. How much does a Greek urn?In general, Greeks believe in free trade, fair dealing, and keeping one's word. They are quick at grasping (and inventing) complicated business and financial arrangements and they are past masters in acting as middlemen—which means that they are paid by both parties while risking nothing themselves.

    Trine Hahnemann serves up a cornucopia of festive recipes for brunches, cocktail and tea parties, lunches, and dinners, all filled with traditional goodies and delicious modern dishes. Enjoy regional specialties such as spiced gløgg wine, Slow-Cooked Goose with Apples and Prunes, Kale Salad with Pomegranate, Caramel Potatoes, Meatballs with Pickled Beets, and Chocolate-Dipped Candied Oranges. Skol!