It's a bleak Tuesday morning in January, with the sun hidden away behind the clouds, and just over a week after Blue Monday - allegedly the most depressing day of the year.
With the temperature today having reached a high of 5 degrees Celcius and people walking around the city centre wrapped up in layers of scarfs, coats, and hats, it could be easy to see why some think this is the bleakest time of the year.
But if you take a walk around Cardiff, I'm sure you'll find that there's plenty to smile about, from amazing street art and quirky statues to jolly stall holders and new businesses opening up the area.
I took a walk around Cardiff city centre searching for things to smile about - here's what I found.
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Street art
Despite the grey skies overhead, Cardiff city centre is filled with colourful murals, adding some much-needed brightness to this time of year.
The street art across the city catches your eye, making you look up at buildings you might otherwise have ignored. The My Cymru, My Shirt mural on the side of the brightly painted La Pantera on Quay Street is a prime example, greeting you as you make your way into the city centre from Westgate Street.
The mural is of 22-year-old Nicole Ready by artist Rmer One. The My Cymru, My Shirt project, which was commissioned by Adidas to coincide with the Euros, saw Yusuf Ismail and Shawqi Hasson take photos of inspirational people of colour from different communities, all wearing Wales home and away football shirts.
You don't have to go much further to find more beautiful street art. Just around the corner, on the side of Womanby Street's Clwb Ifor Bach, you'll find a 12 metre high and 38 metre wide mural of award-winning musician, Gwenno.
The mural, by local artist and designer Mark James, was unveiled after Gwenno won the Welsh Music Prize for her bilingual album Y Dydd Olaf in 2015.
These are just two of some of the amazing murals you can find around the city, making everyday buildings look a little less ordinary.
The arcades
Lit up with pretty lanterns and filled with independent businesses, a walk around Cardiff's arcades can always put a smile on your face.
Whether it's a potted plant, a second-hand book, a coffee, or a cocktail you're after, you'll be able to find that (and much more) tucked away in one of the city's seven unique arcades.
The beautiful Victorian roof, Edwardian architecture and pretty lanterns makes shopping in the arcades a pleasant experience all year round.
Cardiff has become known as the City of Arcades and, with such an array of independent businesses, it's clear that the shopping experience in the city centre would be very different without them.
The smell of Welsh cakes
While there are a lot of smells competing for your attention throughout the city centre, one of the most pleasant is the smell of Welsh cakes wafting down Castle Street.
Fabulous Welshcakes is conveniently located on Castle Street, just at the end of Castle Arcade, meaning that the smell of the freshly baked Welsh cakes follows you down the street as you walk past.
In my opinion, there's nothing like the smell of Welsh cakes just off the bakestone to make you think of home.
The return of Ovo bikes to the city
After a two-month hiatus, Ovo bikes returned to the city this month - and it's great to see them back. Walking around the city, it was clear to see that they'd been sorely missed and were being well-used, with many of the bike racks around the centre empty, or down to just one bike.
Nextbike took all its bikes off the streets of Cardiff in November after 300 were stolen and 260 were vandalised. It was the first time the company, which has similar schemes across the UK, has had to suspend its operation because of thefts and vandalism.
However, they launched a fleet of 400 bikes at the start of this month, with increased security, staff numbers, and some bike stations around the city.
It was great to see the bikes back on the streets again and in good use.
The Animal Wall
The Animal Wall along Castle Street is one of Cardiff's quirkier historical features, and always makes the walk along the road a little more interesting.
Not only is it interesting to see all the different animals depicted on the wall, from a sea lion to a bear, it's also amazing to see just how much detail has gone into the sculptures - the original animals, for example, have glass eyes that you're able to spot as you walk along, distinguishing them from the later animals.
The wall is an especially unique feature of Cardiff, and gives you something interesting to look at as you make your way into the city centre.
Seeing the new electric buses up and running
Cardiff Bus unveiled its new fleet of 36 zero-emissions buses earlier in January, and you can now spot them all around the city.
The new buses account for 24% of Cardiff Bus's fleet of vehicles in a move towards reducing emissions and air pollution in the city.
Set to save 650,000 tonnes over the lifetime of their operation, it's great to see the buses up and running all across Cardiff and contributing to a hopefully greener future for the city.
New businesses opening
Signs for new businesses set to open this year have popped up all across Cardiff, with some exciting new additions to the city.
A huge sign for the new Ivy Asia restaurant, for instance, has appeared on The Hayes, with the restaurant set to open in spring this year. Just up the road on Church Street, another sign for Rosa's Thai Cafe has appeared on one of the buildings, with workers doing construction work inside.
With a string of other new businesses set to open in the city this year, it's set to be an exciting year for Cardiff.
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