With Mother’s Day right around the corner, it’s only right that I feature another one of my favorite Caribbean mom bloggers! Adanna of Rattles & Heels makes being a mom of two feel fun and inspiring! Hailing from the beautiful island Grenada, she is raising her two little ones in the big apple while balancing mommy life and blogger make it look easy, she’s totally slaying mom life.
What made you start Rattles & Heels?
I love reading personal blogs and I’ve been reading them before I had children so naturally when I became a mother I started looking for parenting blogs that spoke to me as a millennial mom of color. I couldn’t find any so I decided to start Rattles & Heels in September 2013, 6 weeks after I gave birth to my second child.
Tell me more about your Caribbean background, what are some things from your Caribbean culture that your children enjoy?
I was born and raised on the beautiful island of Grenada. Although, I’ve lived in New York City for my entire adult life, my Caribbean heritage is my default setting. It influences all aspects of my life and of course my parenting. My children love Caribbean food and music. You can catch us in the car singing along to classic calypso and reggae music or eating curry chicken for dinner.
Infusing your children into your blog can be challenging on what you want to share, how do you gauge how much to share on your blog?
Yes, it’s very challenging and something that you have to discuss as a family. My husband and I never really shared much pictures of our children on social media so this was new territory for me. I did it at my own pace, I started with photos of my daughter that didn’t show her face and eventually worked my way up to showing her face. My son was a newborn and we weren’t comfortable sharing photos of him when I started so I debuted him on the blog well after he turned one. I think this is a decision that’s different for each family so do what you’re comfortable with.
What would you say is the most challenging thing about blogging?
The most challenging thing for me is all of the technology. I’ve invested a lot of my time learning to use different software programs and learning how to build simple systems to share my content but I am not a techie person so I sometimes hit blocks.I’m fortunate in that I have friends who can usually solve these problems for me but I really wish I didn’t even have to deal with them.
What do you think is different about blogging from
I think it’s important to have different perspectives to parenting in the blogging world so I am glad to share my views on parenting as a Caribbean mom. I take pieces of my culture that I think are really effective and share. For instance, I shared how I got rid of cradle cap with coconut oil, something that women in my family have done for generations. I am really happy to see that turned out to be one of the most popular posts on my blog so it’s wonderful to share those parts of my culture with women all over the world.
You’ve done a great balance infusing brands with your content, any tips for newbie bloggers?
I think it’s important as a blogger to create a strategy for brand alliances. I align myself with brands and products that I believe in. That’s why I don’t do product reviews, when I write about a product it’s a product that I use and really enjoy. Everyday I pass up on opportunities to partner with companies because it’s brands that I don’t know about or wouldn’t purchase. I wouldn’t ever want my readers to say to me “you mentioned xyz brand on your blog, I bought it and it’s crap”
How do you balance your blog and life outside of blogging?
Well, I don’t always achieve the type of balance I would like to have but I try my best to integrate the two. My kids have gotten really cool opportunities and experiences because of my blog so there is a sense of ownership for them. My daughter who is old enough to understand calls it “our blog” and always share blog post ideas with me.
What is favorite Social Media outlet and why?
My favorite social media outlet is Snapchat! I love to share stories in real time and I enjoy the interaction with my audience. I feel like I have such a great community and I get to get glimpses into my readers lives as well.
What are some of your favorite Caribbean inspired things to do?
I am a big fan of Caribbean art through music and literature. My favorite artists are Beres Hammond, Bob Marley, Sizzla, Gyptian and Grenadian Soca artist Tallpree. I also enjoy Caribbean literature, my favorite writer is Jamaica Kincaid. I was introduced to her back in high school in the Caribbean through her book Annie John and I went on to read most of her books as an adult. She is one of the Caribbean women who I would love to meet in person.
How would you describe your style?
I would describe my style as free, colorful, artsy. I live in skater skirts, maxi skirts and boyfriend jeans. I love converse as much as I love heels and you can find me in both on the same day.
What are you Vibin’ to right now?
The past few weeks, I started to listen to Distant Relatives by Damian Markey and Nas again. It’s one of my favorite albums and I always go back to it. My favorite tracks are “Only the strong will continue” “Tribes at war” and “In his own words.”
Keep up with Adanna on her blog and social channels
Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Facebook | Snapchat
Mikelah
Mikelah is a Caribbean Culture expert, curating the bridge between the Caribbean and its diaspora. A CUNY Baruch College graduate with a BBA in Marketing. With previous experience with Caribbean lifestyle brands such as VP Records, Tempo TV and JAMROCK Magazine. Currently serving as a digital marketing maven by day, while continuing to collaborate with Caribbean brands.
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Great feature! Adanna is one of my favorite people and it’s so awesome to see how she is owning her lane and slaying Mom life 🙂
She definitely is!