If you are a fan of all things cozy and cottagecore, I encourage you to check out the YouTube vlog Indoora World | Cottagecore Series. The creator of this vlog is a gentle soul with an amazing gift for storytelling. Her current series, called "The Dandelion Pact", is set in the recent past and follows the lives of two young women who are brought together and inspired by the writings of their grandmothers who were lifelong friends. Above you can watch the most recent episode of this series, but I think it is best to follow the story from the beginning.
The series follows the current seasons, starting in the summer, continuing into the autumn, and is now set in the winter with spring to follow soon. Each episode is the epitome of slow and peaceful living, with many crafts and recipes shown in the most lovely cottagecore settings. We also get to have snippets of both the grandmothers' diaries and the young ladies' letters to each other read to us in the most gentle and soothing of voices.
I look forward to every new episode just to find out more about the lives of both the young women and their grandmothers, and cannot wait to find out what happens to the younger ones as their friendship progresses. Watch one of these videos and you too may find yourself becoming totally immersed in Indoora World, enchanted by the peaceful loveliness of each episode. Below is the trailer for the very first episode of the series, and don't be surprised if this alone is enough draw you in to Indoora World!
My pandemic-induced obsession with simple lifestyle YouTube vlogs continues, and lately I have been fascinated with those posted by self-sufficient women. My most recent obsession is a vlog called Primitive Survival Life, featuring a young woman from Singapore who demonstrates the traditional survival techniques of her homeland in her quest to live off-grid. Her vlog has only been up for a few months, but already she has built a large outdoor covered porch with an enclosed sleeping area, a bamboo villa, two wells, two water filtration systems, two outdoor kitchens, a small swimming pool plus seating area, an outdoor sleeping pavilion, an underground shower, and an underground toilet! She does all of this on her own with only the simplest of tools and mostly using materials from nature (she even makes her own concrete!). Above is her first video where she builds the outdoor covered porch, complete with a moat filled with wild-caught fish. Below is the video showing how she built one of the water filtration systems, which I find particularly fascinating - the water passes through three different filtration tanks, each with progressively finer filtering material, until the fourth tank finally receives the drinkable water.
I have to confess that I binge-watched all of the vlog posts over a couple of days, and now can't wait to see what she builds next. I don't think I have ever had the strength, stamina, and determination this young lady has, even when I was her age, and I certainly never possessed the amazing skill sets she demonstrates so effortlessly. This woman seems to be working with the support of fellow Singaporeans who share a desire to live in harmony with their natural environment while preserving traditional ways of life (she recommends two other similar vlogs by friends at the bottom of the page here). What I most admire about all of the vlogs I have seen by young people from around the world is that they have no problem blending the demonstration of a simple lifestyle with advanced technology. They know how to balance concern for the planet with their computer and digital skills, and they are showing the the rest of us how it can be done in unique and creative ways. I for one hope that this is the way of the future!
I just discovered another lifestyle vlog on YouTube from Darling Desi that features a cottagecore/hygge theme, and I enjoyed it so much I thought I would share a couple of the videos here. I normally prefer silent vlogs, but this vlogger has so many great ideas that I don't mind listening to what she has to say. The video above is a perfect example, with so many tips for adding cozy touches to your home in the winter. Books are a big focus in most of the vlogs, as this young woman loves to read, and she has many suggestions for seasonal reading, some of which are new to me - I am already putting together a list of some of her recommended books that I need to find and read! Her most recent video (below) features recipes inspired by scenes in three of her favorite books. All three recipes look so delicious, and the tablescape she puts together to present the finished dishes is just lovely. I am now working my way backwards through all of her videos, and looking forward to all future installments!
My version of a cozy, cottagecore-inspired Thanksgiving table.
I thought I was done with cottagecore and was ready to move on to hygge lifestyle vlogs, but I did find two more vlogs that have a cottagecore vibe and I thought I would share them in this short Thanksgiving Day post. One is from China and the other is from South Korea, so let's start with the on from China first:
Lizhangliu: Like the other Chinese vlogs I have described, this one features a young woman who lives in a rural area, this time in the Sichuan Province. She too lives a simple and hard-working traditional rural lifestyle, growing, harvesting, and preparing the food she eats, often accompanied by one or more of her three cute cats (a mother and two half-grown kittens):
Next up is the vlog from South Korea:
Nayongsoop: This young woman lives in a small house in a rural forested area. She and her parents built the house themselves, and are still in the process of fixing it up. The vlog features many of the simple home improvements made as well as a number of recipes made with local produce. I am including two of the videos, the first one her most recent and the second which answers many viewer questions about various aspects of her life and vlog:
As promised weeks ago, it is time to leave China and take a look at YouTube vlogs with a cottagecore vibe from other nations. These six vlogs will take us rather quickly across the globe on the way back to the United States, where we will spend most of our time in this post. Let's start by staying in Asia just a bit longer.
Nayong's Life: In South Korea, a city girl moves to the country, adopts a cat, and lives a quiet, simple, and more traditional Korean rural lifestyle (usually updated about once a week):
Fairyland Cottage: From South Korea we jump to Ireland, where another young woman moves to the Irish countryside with her husband for a simpler life and greater connection to nature. This vlog is updated every Sunday, and to me really exemplifies what those seeking a cottagecore lifestyle are striving to achieve:
We can now finally make our way back home to the United States, where I have found four favorite vlogs that share a cottagecore vibe!
The Cottage Fairy: First up is a young woman who moved to a tiny cottage in a very rural area of Washington state (along with her black lab and cute bunny!) to spend more time on her artwork when not at her day job as a teacher. Once again a deeper connection to nature as well as simplifying her life were major goals. This vlog is usually updated every Thursday:
Daughter of Old: The young woman in this vlog has spent her entire life in her rural Virginia hometown living a simple life as a freelance artist and aspiring herbalist. However, she recently decided to seek out a new place to live and moved across the country to a family cottage on an island off the coast of Washington. She will be exploring other areas in the future until she finds the place that feels right for putting down new roots, a place where she can once again connect with nature and live a quiet rural life. Her vlogs have not been as frequent as usual due to the move and the recent adoption of an adorable puppy, but she has just started vlogging again and hopes to get back to updating more often:
Girl in Calico: A young woman dedicated to slow and traditional living through the seasons practices this lifestyle on a cozy Midwestern homestead. These vlogs are not updated as frequently as most, usually about once a month, but each new installment packs so much information and visual delight into a short video that they are worth waiting for:
Letters from Avalin Cottage: This vlog is very different from the others, but it is one of my favorites! A Southern single mom with two older children and a number of cats and dogs falls in love with an Alabama fairytale cottage that has seen better days, buys it, and is now working on transforming it into the cottagecore home of her dreams. This sweet, sassy, and funny Southern lady is a joy to watch! She does not shy away from describing the ups and downs of her life, warts and all, but does it in the most hilarious way. This vlog is fairly new and there are a few problems with the sound volume sometimes, but I look forward to every one of her videos. Updates are fairly frequent, usually at least once a week:
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This post wraps up my tour of cottagecore lifestyle vlogs that I follow on YouTube (also see Part 1 and Part 2 if you are interested and missed them). I find cottagecore fascinating and would not mind incorporating some of the ideas into my own life. The idea of a simple, nature-centered, cozy rural lifestyle is appealing, but the vintage, old-fashioned, romantic aspects of cottagecore do not fit with my aesthetic. Since I am also drawn to the more minimalist Scandinavian hygge lifestyle, my next post, when I get the chance to work on it, will describe the vlogs I have found which revolve around this concept. Since next Thursday is Thanksgiving, I know it will be at least two weeks before I can get this done, so until then stay safe, stay healthy, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
It's time for Part 2 of my exploration into the Cottagecore aesthetic (see Part 1 here). As I mentioned in the first post, I find the YouTube cooking vlogs of a number of rural Chinese women to be good representations of the type of lifestyle embraced by Cottagecore - a simple country life which includes growing or foraging for food and cooking meals with these fresh ingredients, usually over a wood-fired stove. Projects which involve gathering raw materials for projects such as building furniture, making pottery, creating artwork, or weaving cloth are also occasionally featured. Below are a few more of these YouTube vloggers that I have discovered, in addition to the three that I mentioned in my first post. Since today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is very popular in China, I tried to include vlogs showing preparations for this year's festival if they were available.
Rural Lianjie (frequent vlog updates; she has three adorable yellow lab-type dogs):
Drunkard Lee (frequent vlog updates; she has two young daughters and a baby boy on the way):
Hunan Girls (vlog updates about once a week; she lives in a stone cottage in the mountains with spectacular views):
Longmeimei (vlog updates about once a week; she has a cute young daughter and a yellow lab-type dog):
Yangdawan (fairly new to me, vlog updates about once a week):
ErmiChuiyan (fairly new to me, vlog updates about once a week):
Next time we will leave China to check out vlogs from other nations that I feel also capture the essence of the Cottagecore aesthetic. After that, I think I will explore vlogs of another aesthetic that has been popular for a while called "hygge", which is particularly appropriate for the cooler months of the year. I find these sorts of vlogs to be quite soothing during these pandemic times, and my hope is that you will too!
Not being on social media at all except for this blog, I am probably one of the last to become aware of the popularity of an image aesthetic called Cottagecore. Minus any political connotations this trend has developed, Cottagecore is basically "...an aesthetic inspired by a romanticised interpretation of western agricultural life". The anxiety over the COVID-19 pandemic has many people wishing for a simpler, more stress-free life, and viewing Cottagecore images is one way to satisfy this yearning. It is especially popular on photo-sharing platforms such as Tumblr, where fans search out and post images like the one above that exemplify the Cottagecore ideal. Here are more examples:
Interestingly, since the pandemic started I have been following a number of vlogs on YouTube that document a similar lifestyle, only in China! My favorites document the daily life of rural Chinese women who live in rather remote areas. All of these vlogs focus on cooking, but for these women cooking starts with raising almost all of their food themselves, or foraging for ingredients in the surrounding countryside.
Some of the videos are truly breathtaking, showing the beauty of their localities as well as some aspects of everyday life not necessarily focused on food. Almost all of these women have pet dogs, all very different from each other but all equally adorable, ranging from a huge Malamute to a small yellow mixed breed with a big personality. Some of them have other animals as well, both pets and livestock (and no, dogs are not livestock for these families in case you were wondering).
I think what I like best about these videos is that there is very little dialog (which is a good thing because I do not speak Chinese) - instead, lovely music plays softly in the background. Some but not all of the videos have English subtitles describing the ingredients and cooking methods. Most of these descriptions are not really detailed enough to allow duplication of the recipes, but for me that is not the point - I just enjoy watching the simple routines of daily life for these women. Below are examples of a few of the vlogs I follow, starting with that of Li Ziqi, who lives in China's Sichuan province and who I have described in a previous post:
The Wild Girl vlog features a young woman from Guizhou province who has her own brand new little house in the country. Her home is lovely, spare and neat and full of light. She also has the cute little yellow dog that I just adore - he reminds me of my dog Madison. This woman does a lot of foraging in the wild for her ingredients, as seen in the video below where she gathers the most amazing-looking mushrooms I have ever seen:
Another popular Chinese rural lifestyle vlog is that of Dianxi Xiaoge, who lives in the Yunnan province of China and features many local recipes and customs in her videos. She owns the large and amusing Malamute named Dawang, who is as big as a pony but still thinks of himself as a puppy. This young woman also spends a lot of time foraging in the wild for recipe ingredients, as seen in one of her most recent videos below:
My post is getting way too long, so I will continue with the rest of my favorite YouTube vlogs next week. I also intend to explore this Cottagecore notion a bit more, as I find it intriguing but possibly open to a more expansive as well as more realistic interpretation. I do think that we could all do with a little more simplicity and comfort in our lives right now, though, wherever we can find it!
