Jaunts & Junkets: Sin City


You guys, I am beat!!! I've been on the go for the past 3 effing weeks!  I'm honestly a bit delusional typing this, you know, from lack of sleep, but it is well worth it!

las-vegas


So where did I go?  For my 25th birthday I was able to go to none other than LAS VEGAS! Vegas is what everyone hypes it up to be x 10.  The lights, no one sleeping, casinos, shows, I just loved everything about it.  Probably the best part of my vacation was my room at The Cosmopolitan.  It was the best room I've ever had in the history of me traveling.  The Terrace Studio, equipped with two queen beds, two interactive flat screens, a living area, kitchenette/mini bar, desk, terrace, and a spacious bathroom with the biggest shower I've seen and a relaxing Jacuzzi tub.
las-vegas

las-vegas

And let's not to mention the GORGEOUS, BREATH TAKING view of the entire strip


From winning $70 and losing it again, to getting drunk with my birthday buddy, to the delicious eats, and let's not forget the prostitutes on literally every effing corner, Vegas was truly a blast.

las-vegas

las-vegas

las-vegas


las-vegas

las-vegas

Make sure to check out the recap video below and don't forget to subscribe to our blog and the channel for more!


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Rants & Raves: It's My Birthday!!! 25 Things to Do Before My 26th Birthday!

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It's my birthday!!! I finally turned the big 25 which means a lot, including trying to figure out what I want to do, achieve, and accomplish before I turn 26, so here are 25 things I want to do before I turn 26, enjoy!


Blog Talk: What's Your Blog Resolutions for 2017?


Bloggers...guess what!  It's almost 2017!!!  As the new year is approaching, there are things we hope to achieve for our blogs, I mean come on, these are our babies!

Last year we made the post Goals for 2016 and I'm happy to say that we've achieved a good portion of that list which included launching our new brand and expanding our writing, so for 2017 we want to accomplish even more!  Some of the resolutions on our list are:

host more events, both in person and virtually
increase blog traffic by 45%
recruit 1 intern
recruit at least 3 contributors
have a steady schedule for our podcast
have a steady schedule for videos
make a conscious effort to engage with more bloggers' content
travel to more blogging events
make at least $300 a month in blog income
start our online good shop
grow our virtual good shop by 75%
speak at one event
expand on Nicheless is the New Niche

We've learned that setting obtainable goals helps form the vision of your blog and your brand and ultimately helps it grow and be successful.

What resolutions do you guys have for your blogs?  Drop them below and let us know!

Parenting: Discover Sealife at Legoland!

legoland
This post is sponsored by Legoland Kansas City and all of the opinions are solely of Just Bloggers: No Explanation

As Aubrey's birthday is approaching (Jesus Christ she's turning 5 guys!) I wanted to do something fun and out of the box.  Last year we did a Frozen themed birthday party and we had a blast, but Aubrey has been begging to go out of town for the longest, so I figured, why not have a roadtrip!

Our destination?  Kansas City, the home of Legoland Discovery Center and more importantly Sealife, their one of a kind aquarium experience!

As a child I can remember going to the zoo and seeing all of the colorful fish, learning their origins, and discovery what underwater life was all about.  So just imagine how excited I am for Aubrey to go!

What's in store when you go to Sealife?  Well be prepared to see turtles, seahorses, octopuses, jelly fishes, and even sharks! Some of the exhibits include the underwater exhibit, the harbor exhibit, the interactive rockpool exhibit, the doodle reef exhibit and more!

So if you're ready for some sealife fun like we are, we have a treat for you!  Use promo code 1410 to redeem online 1 Kids Go Free Ticket per 1 paid adult ticket to Sea Life Kansas City Aquarium!

We'll be snapping up our adventure down to the discovery center in our new series "The Adventures of AK & Aubrey" so be sure to stay tune and see all of the fun!

This promotional offer is valid until January 31st, 2017. This code must be redeemed by this date, however the visit can be scheduled for a later date after January 31st. This offer cannot be applied to LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Kansas City.

Blog Talk: Your Guide to Hosting a Flatlay Workshop + Printable!

flat-lay-images

Another event down for Black Bloggers United Saint Louis!  This past October we decided to put our learning caps on and get down into how to create flat lay images.  Flat lay images are not only the newest trend when it comes to photography, especially for bloggers and creatives, but it's a great way to implement custom photos into your brand.

Hosting your own flat lay workshop is actually pretty easy.  Do you and a few of your blogging buddies want to learn how to do flat lay images?  Maybe you feel you're an expert and want to show other creatives so they can thrive in it.  Well, here's our how to on hosting your own workshop!:

PLACE
When finding a place to host your flat lay workshop you want to have room as you'll be taking pictures on flat surfaces such as boards, tables, or even the floor.  If you have a big enough house or apartment and don't expect to host too many bloggers & creatives I say go for it!  For my flatlay workshop I hosted it at TechArtista in the CWE here in Saint Louis.  This is a creative workspace which I thought was perfect for what we were doing.  At a very low cost we had our own room where I was able to talk, instruct, and them implement!

STRUCTURE
For our workshop I broke it down into two parts.  The first part of the workshop was all about learning.  This included going over what a flatlay image was, different types of flatlay images, where to get your inspiration from, etc.  This gave our group the opportunity to discuss.  Even though some bloggers were there because they already knew about flatlay images and just needed the space to make them, others didn't know anything about them and I personally wanted to make sure that we were all on the same page.

EQUIPMENT
When hosting a flatlay workshop you definitely want to encourage your bloggers to bring any and everything they want to include in the pictures they're hoping to take, but as the host you should consider providing:

a spare point and shoot camera for people to share who don't have cameras
lights

props

backdrops (a lot of the backdrops I provided were either fabrics that I got from the store, or boards that I made from cheap adhesive)
flat-lay-images

PEOPLE
And of course, what's a workshop without the energetic bloggers?  Get your blogging tribe together and work with each other.  Maybe one person can arrange the props, one person can take the pictures, and one person can edit.  As long as you have an energetic group, learning how to do flat lay images will be a breeze!

Check out our flat lay workshop to help you get some ideas!:
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flat-lay-images

And to help you in creating your workshop, we have a new printable for you!  Our Flatlays for Days E-Guide on how to take flat lay images, just click below to purchase!


Fashion & Style: Saint Louis Fashion Week Presents Calares!

saint louis fashion week

Last week, we took to the streets and hit up the Caleres Competition for Saint Louis Fashion Week.  Last year was great, being compared to New York Fashion week, and with Jill Ferns and Iris Apfel even graced our presence wth their appearance.  This year however, Saint Louis Fashion Week decided to take a different approach to the designer competition.

5 designers showcased what they did as if this was a "shark tank" episode.  In front of a panel of judges and the audience, explained their brand, and their business aspirations in hopes of winning $10,000.

saint louis fashion week

saint louis fashion week

saint louis fashion week

saint louis fashion week

saint louis fashion week

saint louis fashion week

saint louis fashion week

saint louis fashion week

saint louis fashion week

saint louis fashion week

saint louis fashion week

saint louis fashion week
And in the end, Fauxgerty won!

Great show, great collections, and I'm excited to see how Fauxgerty and the other designers grow from this competition!

Blog Talk: 5 Blog Mistakes I Won't Do AGAIN! (and You Shouldn't Either!)

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As our 4th year blogiversary is approaching, I took a look back at some of the old posts we've done.  I honestly cringed, why?  Because knowing what I know now I want to tell my former self "no don't do that".  But hey, new blogger will make new mistakes.  I know now however, not to make them again!  Here are 5 mistakes I won't do again!:

USING GOOGLE IMAGES
When I first started blogging, and you can go back in the archives and see, I was infamous for using Google images, just like any other new blogger because I didn't know much about stock photography and didn't have any money to purchase a quality camera.  People may think using Google images isn't a bad thing, especially if you cite your source, but I've read over the years too many cases where bloggers are sued by photographers over the use of photos on their blog that they did not have permission to use.  There are too many stock photo websites such as Createherstock, 50 Shades of Black Stock, Haute Chocolate, Death to Stock Photos, plus hundreds more to be stealing off of Google. ALL of the images used on this blog now are either stock photography or original images that we take.  I personally do not have time nor the money to be paying court fees and what not, child please!

NOT TAKING THE TIME OUT TO LEARN SEO
Again, I'll chunk this up to newbie fuck ups, but learning SEO is something every blogger should do, whether new or seasoned.  For the first year I never took  the time out to save photos correctly, add in keywords, add a SEO booster in the code of my blog, use a description that would be searchable on each search engine, none of that!  While I am still no master when it comes to SEO, there are things I know I need to do before I hit that publish button, and it shows in my numbers!

NOT BEING PROUD OF MY BLOG
I say this not because I never was proud of my blog, but I never promoted myself or my brand as much as I should of, I still struggle with this.  For example, every time I made a new post on the blog in the beginning I would make a status on Facebook and ask people to check it out before I made a business profile.  I don't know who the fuck I ticked off or if I just have haters, but Facebook wouldn't let me post my url anymore because someone had reported it as spam.  That fucked up my courage to be proud of something that I had created from the ground up and it took me a while to start sharing my blog on my personal accounts again, more so asking for support.  I've learned now that I can't help who wants to hate, that's not my problem.  If I want to see the brand grow in the way I know it can I have to keep it visible and in the minds of the people around me.

BEING TOO SCARED TO DIVERSIFY
This...is why I never really succeeded in being a sales associate.  For one I've always had the mindset of not being pushy and getting people to buy anything.  When it came to the blog I never thought that people would be interested in a product or service that I would provide enough to buy.  What I've learned from that is no idea is a bad idea, and you never know what is going to happen until you try.  I rather create products and services and see that it has failed instead of not even trying.  So...stay tuned for our new store launching in January!

NOT BEING OPEN FOR CRITIQUE
As being a natural born leader, I never took criticism well because I always wanted to be in the right, and always wanted to be in charge.  But as a blogger, you're operating a business, and in order for that business to grow, you have to be open to feedback and critique.  Whether that's getting ideas on how to improve your blog template, new content ideas, or how to expand, asking for feedback every once in a while is something every blogger should do, better yet this is a MUST!

What mistakes have you made as a blogger you laugh or cringe about now? Drop a comment below and let us know!

Beauty: Anatomicals-Products Without the BS

anatomicals

Shopping...as usual, and I'm browsing the skin products in ULTA.  I'm literally getting ready to leave and I come across these colorful tubes and bottles.  I automatically grab, head to the checkout, pay, and go about my day.

Ok, if you haven't realized I buy a lot of shit, half of the time not really knowing what the hell I'm buying.  But this time...I am so glad about what I bought.

Anatomicals, probably the coolest skincare and beauty line on the planet.  Paraben free, full of the most awesomely awesome smells ever, and never tested on animals, and with clever plays on famous songs and catchy phrases, this is one skinline you need to check out, even their website is funny af:

anatomicals

From face care, to hair care, to even lip balms, Anatomicals seems to have it all together.  Here is what I seemed to manage to get (these were literally the last of what ULTA had)

anatomicals
Originally $7.99, purchased for $5.99

anatomicals
Originally $7.99, purchased for $5.99

anatomicals
Originally $7.99, purchased for $5.99

anatomicals
Originally $7.99, purchased for $5.99

anatomicals
Originally $7.99, purchased for $5.99

I've already used the lemongrass and grapefruit body cleanser and the cherry body lotion.  The smells are very much authentic, in a good way.  They smell fantastic and it isn't overpowering.  Both the body lotion and the cleaner and so moisturizing, and I don't know what secret ingredient these products have, but I fell right to sleep after using!  My body was calm, relaxed, and wasn't as achy (was recently in an accident).

This is a company I definitely will be buying from in the future, and don't worry we'll be sure to include them on our ultimate gift guide list dropping this Thursday, so you'll be seeing more of them from us!