The Cheerful Times Joined Bloglovin’!

Happy birthday, The Cheerful Times!

The Cheerful Times' 2nd anniversary WordPress notification

On Friday, October 17th, WordPress notified me that it was the second anniversary of registering my blog. My first thought was “Yikes… I’m averaging about one post every two months.” 

Not the most attentive of me.

However, my second thought was that all things considered, I’m actually doing pretty well! I have a pretty decent amount of subscribers, a steady flow of traffic, and people who tell me they look forward to seeing my next post in their newsfeeds. What more could a casual blogger who just desired a writing outlet to spread joy and craftiness to the world want? Not much, that’s what. I’m very happy thanks to you!

I thought my two-year anniversary was an appropriate time to announce that I’m bringing The Cheerful Times to even more people: I joined Bloglovin’! Check out The Cheerful Times on Bloglovin’ here. You may have seen the Bloglovin’ button I made for my blog, starring a sleepy Abby, in my sidebar.

Follow The Cheerful Times on Bloglovin'

Essentially, Bloglovin’ is a website that allows you to put all your favorite blogs and their updates in one feed, regardless of the blog platform or whether or not you have a WordPress account. So now WordPress users aren’t the only ones who can easily subscribe and view my content — anyone with a Bloglovin’ account can!

Another update: starting on Monday I’m going to attempt to take part in Blogging 201: Branding and Growth, a course through WordPress’ Blogging University program! It will be fun to see what impact it has, and if I can keep up with the daily tasks 😉

Thank you to all who have visited and enjoyed my content, you made these two years very cheerful indeed. Here’s to many more!

🙂 Kelsey

Have you used Bloglovin’ before, for your blog or for a reader? Share your experiences!

Meet Abby: Celebrating Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month

I have exciting news to announce! October is Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month and Malcolm and I did just that — adopt a shelter dog!

Meet the one and only Abby, the newest contributor to The Cheerful Times.

Abby the black puggle
ABBY!

Abby is a five-year-old chubby wubby Puggle (that’s a beagle and a pug mix), and is the absolute best, cutest little princess.

Wubby wubby
Little wubby! This photo is from one of the shelter’s photo shoots.

Abby likes:

  • Snuggling humans
  • Snuggling cats
  • Burping
  • Showing her pudgy belly for scratchies
  • Making cute faces
  • Her two stuffed toys/dolls
  • Sleeping on items that are neither of her two beds
  • Forcibly suggesting you pet her
  • Soaring through the air onto the couch
  • Snoozing on the couch
  • 4:30 a.m. sneezing fits
  • Falling asleep as you scratch the top of her head, behind her ears, on her chest, tummy, neck…
  • Licking the foundation off my nose to reveal its true Rudolph-like complexion
  • Frolicking up every driveway and walkway we come across in the neighborhood
  • Meeting new people
  • Helping put on her martingale for walkies

Abby dislikes:

  • Closet doors — those sneaky things look just like a front door, so she waits next to them when she has to go potty
  • Berkley, the hound dog at her shelter who ate her favorite toy 

Continue reading “Meet Abby: Celebrating Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month”

A Very Cheerful Stitch Fix Review

stitch-fix-box-review-blog

I recently signed up for Stitch Fix, one of those popular monthly box services, and decided that I would join the reviewing fun. So, welcome to The Cheerful Times’ Stitch Fix review!

What is Stitch Fix? For those of you who haven’t heard of it, Stitch Fix is a subscription service that delivers stylist-selected clothes to your doorstep. Continue reading “A Very Cheerful Stitch Fix Review”

How To Be Happy: Forge a Feel-Good Playlist

No one can deny the powerful influence music has on the way you feel. One moment you can be on top of the world, and then Evanescence’s My Immortal comes on and you can forget about ever feeling happy again.

To avoid having such emotions sprung on you without warning, crafting playlists for specific moods and situations can be a very handy tool. Whether you’re trying to keep a feeling going strong or influence yourself into a productive mood change, creating collections of songs that embody your desired results can be the quickest and easiest way to success.

My sister rockin' out to being an only child 24ish years ago
My sister rockin’ out to being an only child 24ish years ago.

Since this is the How to Be Happy series, obviously it’s time to discuss making your very own happy playlist! My personal happy playlist makes me feel like I just received the greatest news over and over again, every time I listen to it. Each song is so catchy, so dance-y, and so filled with feel-good energy that I can’t help but boogie my way to cheerfulness.

So, how should you go about starting your own happy playlist?  Continue reading “How To Be Happy: Forge a Feel-Good Playlist”

Life, Lessons, & Being All Adult-y

Hello, everyone! I am back and better than ever (and apologetic for my absence, as usual).

Life has been pretty hectic over here in Kelsey Land! So many big things have happened since my last post in January, otherwise known as over half a year ago. Before I post regularly again (as if I ever posted regularly), I thought a little update about my crazy whereabouts would be beneficial.

1.   I am officially a college graduate! On May 22, 2014, I graduated Towson University with a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication, concentrations in public relations and advertising, and a minor in Family Science. I’m proud to say I graduated with Honors in the top 10% of my class, with a 3.9 GPA!

Cheese!
Cheese!
The whole family came to celebrate the momentous occasion with me (as well as the now non-long distance boyfriend, with whom I have recently celebrated a fourth anniversary)
The whole family came to celebrate this momentous occasion with me (as well as the now non-long distance boyfriend, with whom I have recently celebrated a fourth anniversary)

I also won an award for “Mass Communication’s Most Promising Student,” which I was beyond honored to accept during an end-of-year banquet.

Thank you!!!

2.   I got a big girl job! After I graduated, Continue reading “Life, Lessons, & Being All Adult-y”