Monday Motivation - Adorable animals make Monday more manageable!

I hate Mondays! Who doesn't!?

There are only three four things that make Monday's a little bit more manageable...

1) Lots and lots of tea
2) Watching or reading something motivational or inspiration to get you all fired up and excited about the week ahead
3) Cute things
4) All of the above!

Normally each Monday I try and post something motivational or inspirational (and I do encourage drinking tea whilst reading my blog post! ) but today I felt more in the mood for super cute animals to start the week....enjoy!

This is Arnie, he is a 8 week old sausage dog and is possibly the cutest dog I have ever seen...!

Teeny tiny Arnie 🐻 Don't let that fool you, at 8 weeks old I'm so cheeky already. #dachshund #puppy #sausage #sausagedogcentral #arnold #minidachshund #doxie #followme #like4like #happiness #australia #dogsofinstagram #cute #picoftheday

A photo posted by Oscar & Arnold - The Sausages. (@oskieandarnie_sausages) on Feb 27, 2016 at 1:43pm PST

Hank the Great Dane was just trying to get comfy....!

A photo posted by ⒽⒶⓃⓀ (@hank_thebluedane) on Mar 25, 2016 at 10:17am PDT

This cat looks like how I feel when I realise it is Monday....

A photo posted by doko/chan (@doko.chan) on Mar 29, 2016 at 10:50am PDT

Raiding the fridge...

A photo posted by Holland Oates (@the_chi_bun) on Mar 29, 2016 at 3:58pm PDT

and last but not least....this little fluff ball...!

A video posted by Beautiful Nature & Animals (@wonderful_earthpix) on Mar 29, 2016 at 2:04pm PDT

Hope you all have a wonderful week and this has made your Monday a little brighter!

Thanks for reading

The Dorothy Days Xx

Monday Motivation - Learning something new....how to draw for people who believe they can't draw!

Hi everyone,

So last week I shared with you all a video from a Tedx talk and today I thought I would share with you all another one. A lot of their videos are quite short and also uplifting so I often watch them in my lunch break or first thing in the morning to get the day going.

This talk by Graham Shaw particularly appealed to me as I am always saying that I would love to be able to draw but I am awful at drawing.

He teaches you how to draw really simple cartoon characters to prove that anyone can draw.

Stickmen and women are about my limit (!) so I was intrigued to try.

Here is my very first drawing.... it is no masterpiece but not tooooo shabby for a first attempt and was a lot of fun giving it a go. When I attempt to draw I end up waving the pen or pencil in front of the page for ages and being indecisive so I quite liked that with this you have to be quite quick and decisive about it and can't think too hard about it. 

If you do watch the video and give it a go I would love to see your drawings, please upload a picture to either Twitter, Instagram or Facebook and tag me in it (@thedorothydays) 

My first attempt of drawing a cartoon character!

 Hope you enjoyed the video as much as I did. Always fun to start the week on a positive and learn something new! Will be back next Monday with some more Monday Motivation. 

The Dorothy Days Xx

Rain Showers, Pretty Flowers

Hello everyone,

Happy April! Today I was featured in this beautiful collection by Jennifer from Happy Scatter called "Rain Showers, Pretty Flowers". I love the collection as blue is my favourite colour and this reminds me of the weather we have been having recently!! The treasury was inspired by clouds, april showers, and the lovely flowers that are appearing everywhere. All items that appear in this collection are available in Etsy shops which are run by Dorset Team members.

My buttercup print was also included in the collection. 

One- The fault in our stars inspired 'Okay?' Necklace LittleInfinityCrafts £6.99	Superwash English Wool Blend - Jumbo Braid: Waves Wildcraft £10.00	Yellow buttercup flowers vintage print - sunshine yellow british floral art print - country style - gifts for her gardening waterlily TheDorothyDays £10.00	Storm ocean sea and gulls original watercolour painting mini art minature SeasideStudiosUK £30.00
Modern Cross Stitch Pattern, downloadable pdf, Hello Sunshine! *kit available! LittleBeachHut £3.00	SKY FALL CROCHET Hat Pattern Slouch hat pattern, Womens hat pattern, Pom pom crochet hat pattern Slouch Beanie crochet pattern Hat pattern KerryJayneDesigns £2.75	Spiral Dance Greetings Card MiaBradburyArt £1.95	Illustrated small ceramic bowl SheenaSpaceyFolkArt £25.00
Girls Crochet Hair Kerchief Blue One Size BezCreations £12.00	Hot Air Balloon Wall Decal, aeroplanes, white clouds and stars. Blue nursery decor. Baby boy stickers. Shower gifts. Toddler bedroom EnchantedInteriorsUK £74.95	Cloud Earrings - Blue Earrings - Weather Earrings - Rain Cloud Earrings - Clay Earrings - Cloud Jewellery - Fluffy Clouds StudioPickles £6.50	Blue-green Dahlia Clock AtticLightHome £19.50
Original Watercolor on Canvas Painting Stormy Skies Mini Painting 4 x 4 inches katebuckleyart $14.50	Felted Pincushion in Polka Dot Demitasse - Upcycled OOAK Gift for Sewer/ Crafter/ Mum - Mini Teacup Pin Cushion doalittledance £15.49	Spring Blossom Earrings with Handmade Lampwork Glass Beads nemeton £12.00	AB Bictone Bead & Silver Tone Chandelier Bridal Earrings. Only 1 pair available. Clip on or pierced. Traditional bridal earrings/jewellery HazelsWeddingShop £5.00

The Dorothy Days X

Monday Motivation - How to be more confident/ step outside your comfort zone

I found this amazing and really inspiring talk by Till H. Groß who seeks to overcome his fears and anxieties and step outside of his comfort zone so he can achieve more and also wants to help others to do so too. 

He challenges himself to step outside of his comfort zone by consciously doing different activities and tasks such as laying on the floor in a public space which make him feel nervous or uncomfortable.  I thought this would be great to share with you all and hopefully you will find it as inspiring and motivating as I did. Even those of us who feel they are pretty confident have things that hold us back. Perhaps not approaching someone at an event that you would love to talk to or not pushing yourself to try something new that you have always wanted to do but never had the confidence to do. 

The idea behind it has roots in exposure therapy. You feel nervous and anxious about doing it but then after a while your anxiety lessens. If you keep repeating this you then end up feeling less anxious and fearful, get better at dealing with that anxiety and push yourself to try new things. 






You can find more on his website here

Hope you all have a wonderful week.

Thanks for reading

The Dorothy Days

Spring Flowers - Vintage Bookplate

Spring Flowers 

Hooray! Spring is here at last. Spring is one of my favourite times of year. After a long winter it is lovely to see all the blossom, daffodils and other spring flowers blooming. The clocks changed recently and it is so lovely to have the lighter evenings. Anyone else really love this time of year?

The print pictured is from my vintage floral collection each is an original book plate taken from a vintage book on European flowers rather than a copy or reproduction. They are perfect for Spring decorating and look lovely displayed like I have in the photo or when framed.

Happy April/ April Fools Day!

Happy April everyone!

I feel like March went by particularly quickly, it was a really busy month with lots on and felt like there wasn't enough hours in the day so looking forward to April and hoping that it will be a busy but also more relaxed month.

1st of April also means that it is April Fools' Day! Anyone doing any pranks today?

April Fools' Day is a long running tradition. The first recorded association between 1st April and pranks/ foolishness was in 1392!

I found this ticket from the Tower of London for washing the lions (!). No event ever took place but it is an early example of an April Fools prank which made me smile so I thought I would share with you all. It dates from 1837!

If you are looking to do your own pranks this April fools day there are some fun ideas over here on this Buzzfeed article 

Have a great month everyone

The Dorothy Days X