hello monday this week’s post is all about INSTAGRAM instagram is always changing it’s algorithm making it super hard sometimes to gain a following that cares and interacts with your content. i’m always reading blog posts about what you should be doing on instagram, but not many have been super informative about what NOT to do. i’m no professional and my following on instagram is still super small, however, i feel like i’ve picked up a few tips and tricks along the way. stop buying your followers/likes/comments SERIOUSLY WHY ARE PEOPLE STILL DOING THIS?! stop. right.now. first of all, you can totally tell when someone bought their followers. if they have 5k followers, but like 100 or less likes on their photo.. something doesn’t add up. when you go into someone’s followers, if they have a lot of followers with zero display photo and their profile has zero photos.. you can assume that those followers were purchased. now, i’m not saying EVERYONE who has high followers and low interaction on their photos does this, however for the most part you can tell who does. so, why is buying your followers bad? well, if you’re looking to collaborate with brands, one of the first things they look at is your engagement. there literally is a ratio they follow regarding your followers vs your likes and comments. they know when someone doesn’t have a true and trusted following and therefore, they may not decide to work with you. and number two, if you’re buying your followers, that means you won’t have a dedicated and true following. i think one of the main reasons i love instagram so much is because of the people you meet and the relationships you can build with brands and normal people like YOU. all in all, i just don’t think buying your followers/likes/comments is a good thing. follow just for follow this might be more of a pet peeve rather than real advice, but STOP. do NOT follow me so that i follow you back so that you can automatically unfollow me the next day. i think that is just so rude and annoying. if you want more followers, ENGAGE with other instagram accounts. i am way more likely to follow someone who comments on my photos and seems genuine than someone who is clearly just following me for 24 hrs so i potentially follow them back…

hello. can you believe black friday is almost here? which means CHRISTMAS is almost here! like, whattttt?! how? who has started their christmas shopping yet? i know i have! in the spirit of christmas and black friday, i thought i would bring to you a unique holiday gift guide. basically, i put together a list of things i would want to be given for christmas, hahah. i hope this gives you some inspiration! let me know what you want for christmas in the comments below. i’m always looking for new ideas for gifts to give to my friends and family. 1. polaroid camera i’ve had my polaroid for about three years now and i’m still obsessed with it. the ONLY downside is that the film can get pricey, but it’s worth it in my opinion. in a crazy digital world, sometimes we forget how nice it is to have a physical copy of photos. i have a collection of over 100 polaroids and i love stringing them up through my apartment. highly recommend to give to someone who loves photography or just loves taking photos in general! i have the fuji film instax mini 8 and am really happy with it! since the camera is a “mini” the polaroids are smaller than you probably remember from the 80’s & 90’s, but it’s great because they fit in your pocket and in your wallet/purse really nicely if you’re using the camera on the go. i also really like how this camera has a few settings you can change depending on the lighting/area you are in. so if it’s super bright or super cloudy, you can adjust accordingly. 2. scratch map for your traveling friend! for your traveler friend, a scratch map would be the perfect gift! i think this is the cutest idea. you start with a map of the world and you scratch off each time you’ve traveled to a place. urban outfitters has this super cute rose gold one! i think having a scratch off map also motivates you to travel more. you get to see how much of the world there really is and i know if i had this, i would probably end up booking my next flight within two seconds of scratching off where i’ve currently been. the map above is from scratchmap.org and i love it! super minimalistic, which is how i like to decorate…