I have been so excited about the ‘Cheer Up Tuesdays’ I have lined up over the coming weeks so I was disappointed not to be able to post one last week due to my last minute trip down to Cornwall. This week it’s back with a vengeance however with one of the loveliest bloggers I know – Charlene, of Dainty Dresses. Charlene’s blog was one of the first that I came across when I started blogging, and I was instantly drawn to her gorgeous dreamy photos and neat blog layout. I got to know Charlene a little better when we were both involved in the loblography challenge (we was robbed!) and adore reading her blog, which for me is the perfect mix of fashion, photography, nail art and general loveliness. Talking of nail art, Charlene even (clever little thing that she is) has started her own shop selling hand painted nails, which you can check out here. Anyway, enough of my waffle, onto the cheer up-ness, and over to Charlene…
1. For those readers that don’t already know you, tell us a little bit about yourself…
Hello! I’m Charlene, a twenty-two year old graphic design graduate from a small town just outside Glasgow. I work part-time in a call centre to pay the bills and spend the rest of my time doing things I enjoy such as some freelance graphic design work and painting nails for my nail art shop. My blog, Dainty Dresses, is a mixture of fashion, nail art, with the occasional beauty product review and lots of photos of my day to day life.
2. Tell me five things that make you happy…
+ Receiving things in the post
+ Driving along an empty road with the music turned up, singing my heart out
+ Spending the afternoon painting nails
+ Strawberry milkshakes
+ Snuggling up under a duvet with a hot drink and watching my favourite film/tv show
3. If ever you do feel down, what song or songs do you put on to cheer yourself up?
Anyone who knows me will know I’m a massive fan of The Strokes so any song by them is guaranteed to cheer me up and even have me dancing around like a loon on occasion! The song ‘This Modern Love’ by Bloc Party has a special place in my heart and lots of lovely memories attached to it too, and you honestly cannot beat Florence & the Machine’s version of ‘You’ve Got the Love’. It’s the perfect song to belt out at the top of your lungs to make yourself feel amazing!
4. What’s your happiest memory; a memory you think of that always makes you smile?
This is such a difficult question because I have SO MANY happy memories but the first one to pop into my head was the memory of a glue stick fight I had with my friend Paul in college. I have no idea how it started but I can still picture us chasing each around around an empty classroom, each armed with a Prit Stick, trying to cover the other person in as much glue as possible. Typing it out makes it seem like such a childish thing to do, but it was spontaneous and so much fun. I didn’t enjoy Paul getting glue all over my beloved fringe though haha!
5. Describe your perfect day.
I’d start the morning off with a plate stacked high with pancakes, lots of fresh strawberries and a cup of tea. Naturally my day would be spent with a big group of my closest friends and the sun would be shining, allowing us to laze around on blankets in a big park all day eating BBQ food, listening to music and having a cheeky drink or two. There would be some late afternoon shopping, followed by dinner at my favourite restaurant (Bath St Pony in Glasgow) and a visit to the cinema. It’s the simple things that make me happy!
6. How do you maintain a positive outlook on life?
Over the past year it’s been a real struggle to maintain a positive outlook on my life, mainly due to being unsuccessful in literally hundreds of job applications, but I don’t think I’ve let things get to me too much. I find that finding things you enjoy that will keep you busy works best, such as diving into new hobbies and projects or learning new skills. Whenever something upsets me I allow myself a small amount of time to mope around, sob my heart out and get it out of my system before picking myself up, having a night of pampering and my favourite films and then it’s back to thinking positive thoughts to cancel out the negatives.
