Introducing Lily Kate from Joli House

I couldn't be more exciting to share today's blog post with you. I wanted to make an interview with Lily Kate France, who runs a beautiful blog Joli House, for so long. She's just such an incredible young lady and I she's been one of the first bloggers that I completely fell in love with. 

Can you tell us a little bit more about yourself and your blog Joli House?

I'm Lily, a 19 year old blogger and lover of fashion, fitness, and physics. Sometimes my blog reflects that, sometimes I like to throw other topics into the mix! Joli House is a travel and lifestyle blog where I like to share beautiful places, items I'm loving, and thoughts on life, all in a very personal way.

What was the reason behind starting your blogging journey?

I drifted into blogging really - Joli House was started by my mum back in 2007 however I took over and switched things up in 2013. So it's an inherited blog, basically! I'd done the odd guest post every now and then and one day decided I wanted to blog properly. To be perfectly honest I don't even remember why, but I'm glad I did!

You traveled on some beautiful places, what is your favorite destination that you ventured to and why?

So far I'd say my joint favourites are Austria and Slovenia - much as I love city breaks, more outdoorsy trips just feel so 'me'. I honestly had the most amazing time in both.

Do you have any crucial travel tips that we should know?

Travel tips... I'm racking my brains here! Write down your flight numbers and times, hotel address and phone number, public transport routes, and EVERYTHING else in a notebook, not on your phone. Technology is so helpful when travelling but in my experience my phone has a habit of failing on me when I need it most and it's unelievably helpful to be able to just point at a written address and ask for help rather than struggling with an unfamiliar language.

I know that you like to travel alone, what would you say to someone who is scared to travel by themselves?

Just think of all the perks of travelling by yourself, there's so much freedom! You can trust yourself more than you think, and never be afraid to ask for help if you're not sure what to do. Most passing strangers will try to help you. When I'm travelling alone I always try to book flights that land during daylight hours, as it's far less stressful (and safer) to navigate yourself around in the middle of the day than in darkness.

You are also a fitness enthusiast, what would you recommend to someone who just started their working out journey?

Try to really make fitness an integral part of your life and a habit that you enjoy, then it's far easier to stick to it. Personally I think a lot of it's in the mindset - if you think of yourself as 'One of those fitness people', it helps you convinve yourself that you CAN do it and keep to a routine.

We’ve seen a lot of your beautiful knitted fashion pieces on your blog, how did you get into knitting?

Knitting is something else I started quite young - 9 years old, if I remember rightly. My mum and nan both knitted and I fancied a go too, so I started out making scarves for my teddies and that kind of thing. Soon enough I wanted to knit items I could actually wear, so my mum taught me the basics and off I went figuring the rest out!

How do you juggle everything, blogging, travelling, working out?

I wish I could say I had a magic formula for fitting everything in but the truth is, I really don't! Early mornings are very important though - I'm up around 6:30am most days and never really lie in. I'm not lazy but I'm the worst procrastinator, which doesn't help! Over the last year I've had to learn when to prioritise certain things as I study full time from home too, so it's important that I dedicate enough time to University work rather than getting carried away with blogging or spending too long in the gym. Having approximately 203 to-do lists on the go and setting myself alarms does help.

What’s your favorite part about running Joli House?

I have a few favourites! Firstly has to be the people I've been lucky enough to meet through blogging - some really have become great friends and I'm so grateful to the bloggy world for introducing us. The opportunities that blogging brings is obviously another favourite; it's so rewarding when hard work pays off and I get to experience some amazing places in collaboration with fantastic brands. Putting yourself out there really is worth it!

What is to come on Joli House in the future? 

Joli House will continue to be predominantly a travel and lifestyle blog, with hopefully more fitness thrown in there too. Some bloggers gradually grow into a niche, however I like the fact that Joli House covers lots of topics and it keeps things more interesting for me. So more of the same, essentially, but hopefully I'll keep improving!

YOU CAN FOLLOW LILY ON: 

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