A simple word like ‘luxury’ can evoke all sorts of images.

It might be a five-star hotel, sailing around the world on an expensive yacht, or getting a one-hour massage by a dreamy therapist.

Luxury has a strong sense of feeling. Elegance. Grandeur. Indulgence. Pleasure.

And the best part about feeling luxurious is that it doesn’t have to cost a ton of money.

It’s all entirely personal. For example, I felt luxury while eating my breakfast this morning; a poached egg on top of smoked salmon, winter lettuce greens, avocado, and pumpkin seed bread with a couple slices of cantaloupe on the side. The mere act of cutting into a silky poached egg and have the yolk slowly ooze out is heavenly.

While eating it, I thought about being at the market yesterday where I bought most of the ingredients on my breakfast plate. Normally hubby does the market shopping, but since he’s on a golf holiday on a business trip in South Africa, I was on my own. I arrived 45 minutes before closing – and it was evident this makes a difference as there was no more chicken breasts, ground beef, or radishes. Yes, you apparently have to get to the market early to buy radishes!

Market vendors apparently get grumpier, too. Like the sourpuss who I bought the smoked salmon from. It was a typical experience I have when trying to speak German (yes, after all these years – hear me out). Smoked salmon in German is  Räucherlachs which is far from easy to pronounce. Take a listen here.

The minute I open my mouth I can see people in my peripheral vision getting whiplash as they crank their heads to stare at me. After asking sourpuss for Räucherlachs he gives me a blank stare and responds, quite loudly, ‘WASSSSSS??’ (What??).

Here’s the thing. I’m standing in front of the glass covered counter with a very small selection of fish. And while I’m asking for Räucherlachs I point in the direction of it at the same time. So, one would normally be able to figure out what one may be asking for if one could accept a slightly different pronunciation of the word. But this is an example of where Germans need to brush up on their customer service skills.

So I repeated myself. Louder. He finally understood but had to repeat the word Räucherlachs with a ? to emphasize that I clearly said it not to his liking. So I replied in English ‘Yessssssss!!’ while staring back at the people around me who seem entertained by this exchange, until they sheepishly looked the other way.

Back to more positive experiences, like my luxurious breakfast. After finishing my prize-worthy poached egg, I went to slice into my cantaloupe. With sunshine flooding into the room, I closed my eyes and felt like I was dinning on a terrace in a tropical country. But slicing turned into carving, as the cantaloupe was as hard as a pumpkin. Gee, wonder why? Could it be because I bought cantaloupe in North Germany in March? It’s like buying strawberries this time of year that are still white.

Flowers also make me feel luxurious, like this pink Gerbera daisy. I like to buy just a few stems and spread them around the house in tiny vases so I can enjoy them when I work, eat, or enter the house.

Hot bubble baths surrounded by candlelight while listening to spa music. Putting up my feet and gazing out the window.  Playing a round of golf surrounded by nature and solitude. Going for long walks in the forest with my dog (until he spies a bird and nearly pulls my arm out of its socket). Seeing the first blooms of spring flowers. How my body feels after doing yoga. Wearing sweaters again without having to rip them off from a hot flash. Walking into a room and actually remembering why I’m there. These are all acts of luxury for me.

But hey – that dreamy massage therapist sounds nice too.