OOTD - The Little Black Summer Dress

Weather is all over the place - if you follow me on social media you know that it's SNOWED last week while we were in Calgary! I am ready to start transitioning to cute summer attire but it seems like I am going to have to stick to some of my warmer wear staples for a little longer. Speaking of staples, the little black dress is sometime we all should and is necessary in every woman’s closet. This is my summer version of the little black dress. I love the lace details and that I'll be able to wear it with denim jacket and sneaker or add a pair of sandals for summer.

dress: Nordstrom
shoes: DSW
jacket: Bano eeMee
purse: Kate Sade

Spring Home Must Have Items + #giveaway

Spring is almost here, and who among us doesn’t start planning outfits, cleaning and reorganizing as soon as the days start getting a bit longer? This year its has been more than just new clothes, but I have been on a mission to finish my house and make sure everything has a spot and a purpose in my new condo. In order to help you put together your best spring home forward, we’ve come up with a list of top spring trends for your home—let me know what you think.

1.MORA Conversation Set 

I m very much excited for summer and plan to spend a lot of time on my balcony. I was looking for something comfortable that won’t break the bank. ($1000+ for patio furniture… um, yea, no). Steel frame with weather resistant Polyrattan. Tufted back cushions and matching seat cushions. Set includes a table with a glass top, loveseat and two matching club-style armchairs.

2.KORHANI Outdoor Rug 6x8ft (Inesa) 

My balcony is a good size, but the grey (durable and economical) vinyl deck isn’t cute, so I wanted top add some personality to my patio. Highly durable for high-traffic areas, this floor covering is stain resistant and UV treated.

3. TANGO Clothes Hanger Trolley 

Even though I have two closets, I need a clothing rack for when I plan outfits and for all the things I have to hang to dry. This classic steel framed clothes hanger is a perfect complement to any walk-in closet or storage room. Featuring wheels for easy movement, the TANGO Clothes Hanger Trolley is a great option for staying organized.

4. BIANCA Cosmetics Organizer 

My bathroom is a mess- I have too much make up in random boxes, and make up bags. This makeup tray consisting of multiple compartments to store and organize makeup and accessories.

5. MOAR Corner Shelf

I have so many books and things I have collected on my travels so I was looking for a nice shelf to display some it. Modern designed white corner shelf with multiple levels which works well and doesn’t take ton of space.

6. FYN 3 Door Shoe Cabinet

I need a walk-in closet, just for my shoos but reality of apartment living (at my budget) is not an option; so, I needed some thing that was nice and would match my house but could keep my shoes organized. This White and Natural shoe cabinet is made from sturdy MDF and bamboo. The simplicity of this 3-door unit can fit perfectly into any décor and since its narrow does not take much space.

Even better new is the fact we are giving away $200 gift card yo JYSK to help you kick off this season, in style.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

OOTD - The Perfect Denim Dress

We are officially halfway through the week and I have to say this week has been ALL over the place. Half of me want to stay in bed and read and the other part of me knows that my never ending to do list is getting longer as time passes on. Lately I have found myself choosing comfort over anything else.  When you have 17 tasks to complete and they all involve lots of walking you pick cute but comfortable options. Even though I love denim and jeans I have very few (maybe like one other denim dress) in my closet because I get real picky because not all of them are comfortable.  I bought this dress at Old Navy, for less than $20 (yes, recently!). It the perfect length and goes with basically anything, whether you decide to pair it up like this or with a heel and a leather jacket.

dress: Old Navy

shoes: Adidas

purse: Chanel

Top 5 Natural Products I'm Loving

Recently, I have been obsessed with trying to find natural products or DIYs using natural products. One reason is Earth Day and wanting to do my part to cut down on my waste. I'm not perfect by any means and this is my first crack at this so there will be plastic containers and things but I figure baby steps are better than no steps at all. Below are the products and DIYs I found that I am loving.

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Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay Deep Pore Cleansing- I have seen this product used by a bunch of beauty vloggers, so I decided to try it out. I used it last night and mixed it with apple cider vinegar. It was amazing your face pulsates and when it dries you can't move it but afterwards my face felt so clean and my pores looked so much smaller. I highly recommend this and you can get it on Amazon for $12.

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Cold Pressed Castor Oil- I read that this can help grow your brows and lashes. I have long lashes but I always lacked volume so I have been using cold pressed castor oil and it is a game changer! I love it my lashes are thicker and the space in my eyebrows is almost gone. you can buy this in the organic aisle at the grocery store or online at  Amazon for $19 the one pictured above is great because it comes with everything you need.



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 Thayer's Witch Hazel toner- I have seen this on Pinterest so many times I decided to finally try it out and I love it! It feels great on my skin and doesn't dry it out like I thought it would. It also has great reviews on Amazon you can get a bottle for roughly $20.


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Rose Water- Rose water can be used as toner as well, or as a part of a DIY I found this one from one of my favourite beauty vloggers Farah Dhukai, you can check out this video on YouTube or check out her Instagram @farahdhukai for great DIYs. She also has a video using the Aztec healing clay above and Castor oil on lashes. I told you she was my fav! I usually buy this in the international aisle at the grocery store but you can also find it online.

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 Apple Cider Vinegar - This product is great when combined with others to make a face or hair mask. I mentioned it above as I used it with the clay to make a mask but you can use it with other products for other DIYs to tackle other issues. Check out @madinashrienzada on Instagram for DIYs using Apple Cider Vinegar or @farahdhukai. I use Bragg's specifically because I read it's better to use unpasteurized and with mother apple cider vinegar. You can find this one at the grocery store or online. Once I started looking for it I saw it everywhere if you are in Canada Superstore carries it in the organic aisle.

What natural products do you love? Who should we follow on Instagram for more DIYs?

#OOTD - The New Neutrals, Stripes

April in Canada is that awkward month- some days its super nice out, others you need a coat to stay warm. I read somewhere that stripes are basic neutral, but because I'm on the bigger size it's hard to find a good stripe patter than doesn’t make me look bigger than I actually am. This dress is perfect. The simple pattern and color choice give the illusion I taller and slimmer than I am. I love the cap sleeve and the tie front with the cutout. This dress is going to be perfect for summer. What do you guys think about stripes as new naturals?

dress: Marshalls 

jacket: Bano eeMe

purse:Rebeca Minkoff 

shoes: Valentino

Strategies That Helped Me Grow My Blog Presence

Nearly 7 years ago I wrote my first blog post - I had no idea or direction, wrote when I felt like it, wrote about what I liked - so my second post was 3 month, and another one 3 months after that. It wasn't till summer of 2017 that I kind of got it together and decided to see if I can do this.  

I often get asked if you could start a blog now and still be successful. I 100% think, yes! The internet is a huge place and while there is not a “how to start a blog in 10 minutes”  and do well solution,  I am convinced starting a successful blog takes time, a lot of thinking and planning, and a lot of work before the launch and possibly even  more work after.  

If you are doing research the advice you get from most bloggers kind of sounds all similar – they aren’t wrong.  I think you need 4 things in order to be successful:  

Choosing your blog niche

Staring a blog is a good idea, but what are you going to blog about? What are you good at? What are you passionate about? Finding that niche early on is what makes all the difference. I didn’t have that direction  looking back now I would have spent more time to doing this, because  your niche core of your blog so you want to make sure that you’re thinking it through.

Build a strategy

This might be one of the most important things - how often are you going to post? When you are going to post? How will you engage? Where are you promoting your posts? Are there affiliates you need to include? How will you drive people to your content? - While there is 100 different questions you might not be able to answer, it all comes down to consistency and a great plan. I highly recommend having a game plan based on research before you even go as far as creating a blog.   

I have come to the conclusion that posting every single day will not make you more money blogging or necessarily mean you will be successful. I wasted a lot of my time thinking that I needed to publish a post every day and was posting random thing just to fill my que – while I post 4-5 times a week now there is rhyme and reason of why it's done that.

Choosing your (blog) brand

This is who you want to be – it is much more than just a cool logos, color scheme  or a well-placed social media content – its building who you want to represent yourself as, and aligning it with your niche.  When you start blogging, you become your blog, so I would spend some time deciding what your brand will be.

Choose your blog name and create a website

There are many places you can start a blog on - some free, some that you have to pay for. I started out on blogger, they have been good to me and the set up was super easy. Having a self-hosted blog, means you own your content unlike on some free sites - so in the near future I will be transitioning over to a self-hosted website. While you are setting you website, I recommend getting a domain name off the start, linking all your social

media, hover over Pinterest buttons, and e-mail address that is yourname@blogname.com or contact@blog.com. I personally think it looks more professional if you can be contacted and its all neatly laid out and matches your blog.

and than you start.
When I started blogging I promised myself that if I ever came to the point that I have figured out how to do this thing I would share it with you guys. Focus of most content here on letterstolalaland.com is to hopefully help and make a litter difference. So today I wanted to share two things that have made a world of difference for me in the last year:

Pinterest.There is at least 6 social media platforms that you can use to make sure your blog is a successful, its hard to choose. I personally made a huge mistake and dedicated most of my time and energy into Instagram, where now looking back if I would have chosen. Don't get mw wrong, Instagram has been beneficial to me growing my impact and engagement but it does not drive people to my content as  much as it should have. 
You want to make sure to set up your Pinterest account the right way (meaning you have a business account, with a verified website, a profile with good keywords, and well worded boards)  which will help you an start driving traffic and sales within a few weeks.

Easiest way to grow your Pinterest account is with Tailwind; you can check my post on how I went from 617 views to 55K+ in less than 30 days. Tailwind is a scheduling tool that is approved by Pinterest and Instagram. My favorite part is that it provides analytics and smart scheduling insight.  Not sure if you want to spend money on it, sign up for it! Start the FREE trial to check it out first. If you use this link you get to try it out for free for a month. I think urging it for a month gives you a good insight if it will work for you. It is $9/month after that per account.

People Map.I stumbled upon peoplemap.com after I was trying to find a better way to track an Instagram campaign I was runnin. Peoplemap.com is just that; the most affordable, comprehensive tool for authentic growth, campaign tracking, case studies and Instagram stats. There is power in knowledge – people map gave me just that. You are able to look at engagement rates of anyone with a public Instagram account which helped a lot as giving me a benchmark of what you should be striving for; most importantly I was able to track exact impact a campaign on Instagram has had. I include this information in my media kit and its made a world of difference in response rates when I do pitches. 

If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small compensation.  I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. Thank you for all your support.

Best Gifts for Moms on Mothers Day

My mom is one of my favourite people in the entire world. Even tho we don’t always see eye to eye – her old school ways and my I like to do things not so traditionally – I would like to say thank you for always having my back mom. To all the moms out there who have given us the world. This Mother's Day, maybe give her a great and unique gift she'll be happy to receive and proud to show off. 

A little gift for everyone - from stylish moms, to fit moms and ones that are hard to buy for.

Shows You Need To Check Out

I have been watching an embarrassing amount of TV lately, I just haven't been motivated to do anything. But to your benefit, I have rounded up my favourite shows i've been watching in the last little while.

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The Order- I love fantasy shows, and this has everything I love magic and werewolves. If you love those things too check this show out on Netflix.

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Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj- This show is amazing he does a weekly deep dive into a topic that is trending, I love this it's both informative and funny. 

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The Last O.G.- I watched part of the first episode and I think I can get into it, I'm going to have to watch a couple more episodes. I am excited because I do love Tiffany Haddish so I have to give her projects some love. 

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Killing Eve- After a series of events, the lives of a security operative and an assassin become inextricably linked. that's what IMDB says but anything with Sandra Oh in it is going to be good. Watch this show you won't regret it.

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The Fix- This show is great comedians fixing the worlds problems with humour but also some really great ideas. You have to watch this and you will either love or absolutely hate Jimmy Carr's laugh, let me know your thoughts I find it both funny and annoying. 

What are you watching? What should I watch next?

Four Beauty Instagram Accounts I Admire

I absolutely love make up and beauty - am I good at doing my make up? Absolutely not. While there is hundreds of huge make up beauty gurus, who are kicking butt and taking names in the beauty influence game, I m always more amazed and impressed by up and coming beauty experts. Here is five kick ass boss babes who's looks I admire - check them out - and if you think they are awesome, follow them!

Symphony Monelle Beauty @symphonicchaos

Makeup by rocky @muarocky 

Sam's Makeup World @samm_ll

True Beauty Makeup Artistry @truebeautymakeupartistry

What do you guys think? Who inspires you?