HEALTH

Snuggle Up with some Hygge this Season Surround yourself with photos of family & friends

As winter sets in and the days are darker, many people are looking towards a popular Danish concept to sustain them during this cold and dreary time of year. Hygge (pronounced “hooguh”) is a Danish and Norwegian word which

[ by Jane Roser ]

embodies well-being and coziness. A hygge lifestyle takes pleasure in the simple joys of life and embraces each season with contentment, comfort, mindfulness and nostalgia. There’s just something magical about sipping a steaming cup of hot cocoa on the couch, wrapped in an oversized faux fur throw, cuddling my cat while watching Gilmore Girls. It just calms me. Here are a few ways you can bring hygge into your home and life this winter.

Ambience/Hominess Lighting should be warm,

not harsh. Use low wattage bulbs, fairy lights, candles or a crackling fireplace (if you don’t have a fireplace, there are several videos of one on YouTube or Netflix) �� Soften your home with area rugs and stock up on pillows and comfy throws for your sofa. For your bed, I love a plush duvet and crisp cotton sheets sprayed each evening with lavender mist. Mix up textures and opt for calming colors. �� Bring nature inside. Buy lots of your favorite flowers and plants. �� Surround yourself

with photos of family and friends.

Scents Use Essential oils, diffusers and scented candles in your favorite scents.

You can make homemade potpourri by simmering apple cider, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves with slices of lemon and oranges on your stove top. In the winter I love room sprays that smell of evergreen, clove or apple and cinnamon.

Create Togetherness Tradition Host a board game

or movie night with your family. �� Since we can’t travel abroad, once a week,

pick a country and host

a family dinner party. Cook a meal of traditional recipes from that particular part of the world. �� Have a picnic on your living room floor.

Start a virtual book club.

Comfort Food and Drinks Hot cocoa with

marshmallows or a splash of rum (I enjoy mine with a 1/8 cup of rosé wine mixed in) �� Hot tea or coffee poured into your favorite mug �� Mulled cider �� Hot toddy or hot buttered rum �� Cinnamon rolls �� Chocolate chip cookies, hot out of the oven �� Grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup �� Ramen �� Mac & cheese �� Take your time

eating and savor each

bite. I recently invested in a breakfast tray with foldable legs so I could enjoy breakfast in bed every morning while watching The Today Show.

Gratitude and Mindfulness

Start a gratitude journal. List five things every day for which you are grateful. �� Write letters to friends and family (actual letters that you mail). �� Volunteer with a local charity. Find ways to give back to your community. �� Foster a pet. �� Go for a walk and

pay attention to your

surroundings. Embrace the nature all around you. �� Create a vision board for 2021.

Take Care of Yourself

Enjoy a spa day. Draw a bubble bath. Give yourself a facial and pedicure. �� Exercise. �� Take 5-10 minutes each morning to meditate. �� Turn off your phone and take a nap. �� Snuggle up on the sofa in your jammies, cozy socks and a soft, oversized cardigan. Watch a hygge movie (like Love Actually or Sleepless in Seattle) or TV show (I love Home Town, Antiques Roadshow or The Golden Girls)

Be Creative and Have Fun

Roast marshmallows in a fire pit. �� Go sledding, ice skating or make a snow angel. �� Throw on a puffer coat, soft scarf, warm hat and mittens. Go outside and build a snowman or snow fort. �� Put together a jigsaw puzzle or do a crossword puzzle. �� Find a cozy nook and read a book with a cup of hot tea. �� Write a poem. �� Knit, crochet, quilt or paint (I’ve been loving those old school paint by numbers kits lately). �� Listen to a

podcast or music.

�� Color in adult coloring books; start a scrapbook; make homemade gifts. �� Spend the day

baking or cooking.

And lastly, be idle. Enjoy a day off with no plans so you can just be still and quiet. Living a hygge life helps to lower stress, centers you and encourages calmness and gratitude, which in turn, lead to a more joyous, present and appreciative life.

This can be the Year to Change your Life

directionstreatment.com

by Theresa Collins BA CADC Facility Director/Primary Therapist Directions Outpatient Centers

We did it! We survived 2020. Some of us were not so fortunate. Twenty-twenty was filled with loss, isolation, anxiety, anger, division, despair and a slew of other negative feelings. Directions Outpatient Center is going into 2021 with the theme of

HEALTH “bring on the positivity.” Our hope is that our office nestled into South Philadelphia will be the ray of sunshine that illuminates Broad Street. Our city has lost a lot this past year, but we know by putting out positivity and hope, we can be the change everyone needs. We put together a list of tips and mantras from staff members on how to continue to focus on positivity and hope for the upcoming year.

Gratitude. Always remain grateful and find gratitude in everything. Remember, gratitude is an action. Find ways you can show your gratitude for others.

Understanding. Have a conversation with someone different. Find a common ground and look for understanding. A lot of division could be resolved with a little understanding.

Empathy. After finding understanding amongst others, show empathy. Empathy is simply the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Sobriety. You can get clean and sober! This can be the year to change your life. People are here to help. You will do this!

Virtue. Always try to show a high moral standard and code within yourself and it will be contagious toward others.

Kindness. Be friendly, generous and considerate to everyone. Use the turn of the new year to find ways to perform random acts of kindness to others.

Love. Most people are familiar with the Bible verse, “But the greatest of these is love.” (1Corinthians 13:13) Even if you are not familiar with the Bible, you most likely have heard this somewhere. All of these positive words and mantras for the year can be summed up in one simple word - love.

Our hope for you is that you find the very best within yourself to have a very blessed and wonderful New Year. From our family to yours, Happy 2021! PRH

Directions Outpatient Centers is a member of the Philadelphia RowHome Magazine (PRH) Business Network.

Contact: Directions Outpatient Centers 2300 S. Broad Street | 877.228.2073

Robert J. Spennato, DMD

by Maria Merlino photo by Andrew Andreozzi T o say that Robert J. Spennato, DMD, has a positive outlook on life is an understatement. “I’ve listened to motivational and self-improvement tapes since I was 16 years old,” he says. “I’m always trying to put a positive message out there and try to change the way people see the world. We need that. Especially today.” Dr. Spennato spends his days at Williamsburg of “awesome” people (who follow all current Covid-19 guidelines). Spennato’s philosophy is to take care of patients the way he would like to be taken care of, which also means he runs a tight schedule. “I don’t run behind or double book,” he says. “I respect your Dental in Broomall creating smile the last eight years in a row, I’ve been time as much as I respect my time. makeovers for his patients – a named top cosmetic dentist. It’s a real It’s one of the many things that positive experience for everyone honor because I’m voted on by other separates me from other dentists.” involved. “We change people’s lives dentists in my field.” Although Spennato is known for every day and it’s wonderful. I have As a highly respected professional, his smile makeovers and cosmetic a whole book of thank-you letters there are quite a few things that work, his practice treats all ages patients have written to me. If I’m separate Spennato from other and offers all aspects of dentistry not having a great day, I read dentists, including nightly follow-up including Invisalign and I.V. sedation BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT them. It’s very powerful.” It’s been a long and successful journey for someone who has wanted to be a dentist since he was 11 years old. After graduating from Temple’s Kornberg School of Dentistry in 1989, Spennato accepted a oneyear residency at Georgia’s Emory University School of Postgraduate Dentistry. calls to each patient he sees in a day. “I remember a consultant telling me in my second year of practice, ‘Oh, that won’t last. It’s going to get old.’ The day I hang up my drill is the day I’ll stop checking on my patients.” Spennato has been practicing for 31 years and some of Williamsburg Dental staff members have been there longer than that. “It’s a testament to the leadership of the office and to the environment we provide for for patients that are extremely fearful of dental treatment. “We’re a family practice with four dentists,” he says. “We are open long hours and we’re on call 24/7 so there is always someone to take care of you. My youngest patient right now is three and my oldest is 97 – and he has just about all of his teeth!” He stresses that the health of the mouth is tied into the rest of the body. “The plaque in the mouth is Blessed with an artistic eye our employees. I’m very proud of not much different than the plaque and childhood art lessons, his work the dentistry that I provide to my in the heart. There is a direct in dental school always looked patients, for the office that I run and correlation between gum disease impeccable, cosmetically. This for my team and how we treat them. and diabetes and heart disease,” talent inspired Spennato to focus We’re not your typical dental office he explains. “It’s hugely important his practice on aesthetic dentistry. by any stretch of the imagination.” because good health starts with

“In the late ‘90s, I went to the Las The atmosphere in his office a healthy mouth. My hygienists Vegas Institute for Cosmetic Dentistry, feels more like a spa, complete with are excellent educators so when the premiere cosmetic training center,” a warm towel after treatment; a people come in for their six-month he says. “I’ve been fortunate that in welcoming, safe office; and a team checkup or their teeth cleaning, the hygienist will go over day-to-day and long-term regimens the patient needs to follow.”

He says the 25-minute drive on I-95 from South Philadelphia to his Broomall office is worth every minute. And it’s a drive similar to one Spennato took weekly as a kid.

“My dad is from 9th and Wolf. Although I grew up in Delaware County, we spent every Sunday of my childhood at my grandparents’ South Philly home for dinner. We would leave church and go right to my grandparents, where we would spend the day.”

Away from the office, he spends as much time as he can with his own family – his wife and two daughters. They enjoy time at the Jersey Shore where Spennato loves to fish – something he did a lot of as a kid with his great uncle.

Both of Spennato’s parents were educators and he credits them for his teaching mindset. “I have taught cosmetic courses in my office and mentor other dentists,” he says. His oldest daughter recently graduated dental school and Spennato hopes she will join his practice so he can pass along his knowledge and experience.

“The dental profession is often joked about in pop culture,” he says. “It’s one of the things I think of every day and it’s my job to try to change that perception one patient at a time.” PRH