300

         Recently Cute and Mundane reached the 300 follower milestone. Hurrah! I am so very honored. I thought I would take this opportunity to reflect and indulge in a little imagination.

         Indulgences first. When dreaming up this post, I had visions of Gerard Butler and the exotic enemy hordes from the movie 300. I wanted to have an 'intense' photo inspired by the movie, but made of makeup. I came up with the mascara wands above. They were the 'scariest' looking things I found in my stash. I find eyelash curlers to be quite fearsome too.

           Now, reflections. I think I've been around the blog block for longer than I'd care to admit. It's been a roller coaster, but I think I've found a pretty steady and happy place as of late. Here are a few things that I like to keep in mind:

Stay positive - Blogging should make you feel good. It's a hobby (for many of us) after all. If something makes you unhappy, figure out what it is and address it head on. Blog in a way that makes you happy. If you need a break, take a break.

Make a qualitative (not quantitative) blog-improvement goal - I think focusing on qualitative goals is more rewarding and positive in the long run. Setting goals in quantitative terms (followers, comments, page-views) can be immediately satisfying, but can also be disappointing. If you've read the Phantom Tollbooth, I would say it's analagous to eating subtraction stew. Qualitative goals could include trying twitter, making a new blog header, improving your writing/photos, responding to more comments, reaching out to more bloggers, or getting a domain name. When I focus on upgrading qualitative aspects of my blog, the numbers seem to follow.

Be creative - You don't have to purchase all the latest products to have a successful blog. Really. Product review is just one aspect of beauty blogging. Empties, favorites, face of the days, lists, how-tos, and opinion pieces are some, just to name a few. Pick something that speaks to you and really put your spin on it. My favorite blogs aren't the ones that haul and share every single color available. I enjoy personality, ideas, and seeing the real-life choices people make.

Find your style- The best and most enigmatic advice given to bloggers is 'be yourself.' To some this comes naturally. To me, finding myself distilled into blog form was more like Finding Nemo. There was sadness, confusion, swimming with different schools, learning new things, and finally happiness. I think everyone has an inherent, unique, and cool style. It just needs to be actively found and developed. I'd really love to write a 'finding style' thought piece some day. It's a pretty tall order, but perhaps that should be one of my qualitative goals :)

        Thanks so much for reading my 300 post. I truly appreciate everyone who takes the time to stop by, read, leave their thoughts, and/or encouragement. It really brings a lot of light into my days. Please feel free to say hi, I love Gerard Butler, or anything about yourself below. I know I've never met or chatted with many of you, and I would love the chance to say hello and thank you!

Love, Dovey.