THE HAPPY HOUR – INTERVIEW WITH CASUAL AND UP CLOSE

Hey everyone!

Welcome or welcome back to The Happy Hour. For those of you that are new here, The Happy Hour is a series where I interview content creators, bloggers, Instagrammers and YouTubers (along with many other people!). This will be my sixth interview so far and I’m already super happy with the feedback & lovely comments that I’ve gotten from my readers about how much they’re enjoying this series! In today’s interview, I will be talking to Jules from Casual and Up Close. She is such a huge inspiration to me in the blogosphere and we have also been friends for such a long time now! We collaborated a few months ago when we both discussed our favourite films & TV shows, if you’ve not already read that blog post then you can check it out here (on my blog) or here (on Jules’ blog). Jules is so lovely and I’m obsessed with her photography as well, her Instagram feed is so aesthetic and coordinated. I will link her socials at the end of this blog post so that you can check out more content from her!! I hope you enjoy reading this blog post as much as I enjoyed writing it & putting it together!!

HEY JULES, THANKYOU SO MUCH FOR AGREEING TO TAKE PART IN THIS BLOG POST AND COMING ONTO MY BLOG! I’M SO HAPPY TO BE COLLABING WITH YOU AGAIN – OUR LAST COLLABORATION AT THE BEGINNING OF APRIL SEEMS LIKE A DISTANT MEMORY, DOESN’T IT? TODAY I’M GOING TO CHAT TO YOU ABOUT ALL THINGS RELATED TO BLOGGING, PINTEREST AND GOALS! PLEASE COULD YOU BEGIN BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF TO MY READERS?

I am Jules, the girl behind Casual and Up Close and I’m from London and Corsica (a small magical island in the Mediterranean). On my blog, Instagram and Pinterest I love sharing ideas about self-care and being a boss babe as well as fashion and travel. I have long wondered what my ideal audience is and what my niche is but I’ve decided that blogging and social media is a learning journey, and so even if it takes me 2 years until I figure it out and start making a small income, at least I will have learnt about how to self-host my own blog, use Instagram efficiently and marketing on Pinterest. My goal is to get to know my audience and acquire as much as I can about this industry.

THAT SOUNDS AMAZING, I DEFINITELY THINK THAT’S SOMETHING THAT ALL BLOGGERS STARTING OUT SHOULD REALIZE! THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU SHOULD TAKE FROM THIS JOURNEY IS THE EXPERIENCES & OPPORTUNITIES, RATHER THAN THE INCOME. I THINK BLOGGING TEACHES US SO MANY SKILLS THAT WE CAN USE IN REAL LIFE AS WELL!! FIRST OF ALL, THERE ARE LOTS OF GORGEOUS PHOTOS ON YOUR BLOG! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM AND THEY REALLY ADD TO THE AESTHETIC OF YOUR BLOG. DID YOU TAKE THESE YOURSELF OR ARE THEY PHOTOS YOU’VE FOUND ONLINE?

Well about the photos I would say it is half and half but with every new piece of content I publish on the blog I try to make it more and more uniquely my own, although yes…some pictures are taken online.

AND THAT’S COMPLETELY FINE AS WELL, I’M A HUGE FAN ON PINTEREST SO I LOVE GETTING PHOTOS OR QUOTES OFF THERE NOW AND AGAIN! NOW, IS IT TRUE THAT JULES ISN’T YOUR REAL NAME? HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THAT NAME AND DO YOU EVER THINK YOU’LL EVER REVEAL YOUR REAL NAME TO US?

So, I feel like it is a common conception that bloggers who are more “under cover” don’t use their real name however my name is Julia and my nickname is Jules. I feel like I need to have my real name around for it to feel more authentic, it’s just a step closer to feeling connected with my content and audience. My friends call my Jules, so I though why not make it my “blog name” too.

YES, I AGREE WITH YOU! WHEN PEOPLE KNOW YOUR NAME, IT FEELS MUCH MORE PERSONAL AND HONEST IN MY OPINION – PEOPLE CAN CONNECT AND RELATE TO YOU MORE. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT ON YOUR BLOG SO FAR?

Well…honestly, I am very proud of how much I have learnt this past (nearly) year blogging. But if you want something specific, I was so excited when I got accepted to the ShopStyle affiliate program and when I reached 1 million monthly unique viewers on Pinterest.

WOW, THAT’S INCREDIBLE!! DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVOURITE BLOGGERS?

Yes! I think it is amazing how many positive enthusiastic bloggers are out there! I don’t even know where to start…although I am obsessed with The Style Idealist and Wish Wish Wish. But during this whole journey, I have discovered so many wonderful blogs like yours which I love as well as my friend Kitty Jade Blog.

AWW THAT’S SO TRUE, THE BLOGOSPHERE IS FILLED WITH PASSIONATE, DRIVEN PEOPLE WHO INSPIRE US. I’LL HAVE TO CHECK OUT THE STYLE IDEALIST AND WISH WISH WISH! CATHERINE (THE GIRL BEHIND KITTY JADE BLOG) IS SO LOVELY, SHE’S A DEAR FRIEND OF MINE TOO. SHE’S SO SUPPORTIVE OF EVERYONE AND SO INTELLIGENT & MATURE!! IN THE FUTURE, WHERE DO YOU HOPE YOUR BLOG WILL TAKE YOU? DO YOU THINK YOU’D LIKE TO TAKE IT UP AS A FULL-TIME CAREER?

My biggest dream is to become one of those travel bloggers / influencers… a bit like Lauren Bullen on Instagram who is living my dream life right now. I know that for the moment all I have is small although hopefully in a couple years I really hope it becomes something more.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT BLOGGING/WRITING? WHAT DO YOU FIND THE MOST CHALLENGING?

My favourite thing in blogging has to be writing because that is where I can let all my thoughts roll out and write merely what pleases me on that day. Then another thing I love is designing websites and picking out the right photos, colour palettes…Hahah, and one last thing I love is learning about how to get ranked in google, marketing, SEO and stuff like that! On the other hand, what I find the most challenging is just getting my blog post optimised for google, creating the Pinterest banners and scheduling everything. Takes me literally 2 hours each time and I don’t love it.

AHH THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR HAHA!! IT’S TOTALLY WORTH IT THOUGH, ISN’T IT? A WHILE AGO, WE DID A COLLAB POST AND YOU WROTE ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE TV SHOWS TO BINGE WATCH. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TV SHOW AT THE MOMENT OR WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WATCHING?

I loved that collab we did, and it was great fun working with you. I am not currently binge watching anything however I am very excited to start Outer Banks and Vampire Diaries as soon as the summer holidays begin. My favourite though has not changed at all and will always be Riverdale!

I’VE BEEN MEANING TO START WATCHING OUTER BANKS BECAUSE EVERYONE ALWAYS TALKS ABOUT IT AND I’VE HAD SO MANY PEOPLE RECOMMENDING IT SO YOU’LL HAVE TO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK WHEN YOU START IT!! I’VE NEVER ACTUALLY WATCHED RIVERDALE EITHER BUT I’LL MAKE SURE TO GIVE THAT A WATCH & LET YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK!! ARE THERE ANY THINGS THAT YOU WISH YOU’D KNOWN PRIOR TO STARTING YOUR BLOG? OR ANY ADVICE YOU COULD GIVE TO NEW BLOGGERS? IF NOT, WHERE DID YOU FIND THEM?

There are two things I wish I knew…however these are more on the negative side. The first one is that blogging takes so much more time than I had anticipated and secondly that to grow on social media you really have to be active and share your life…otherwise it is harder for people to connect with you and that is not something I am always ready to commit for.

I COULDN’T AGREE MORE! ESPECIALLY WITH SOCIAL MEDIA – PEOPLE EXPECT YOU TO DOCUMENT YOUR WHOLE LIFE ON THERE BECAUSE THAT WAY THEY CAN FEEL LIKE THEY REALLY & TRULY KNOW YOU. IT CAN BE QUITE DIFFICULT SOMETIMES BECAUSE YOU FEEL OBLIGED TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU’VE NOT BEEN ACTIVE ETC. THERE ARE DEFINITELY BENEFITS OF IT BUT I DEFINITELY THINK THERE IS A HUGE EXPECTATION FOR CONTENT CREATORS TO SHARE THEIR WHOLE LIVES ON THEIR SOCIALS! THERE IS A HUGE DEBATE AT THE MOMENT AS WELL ABOUT WHETHER SOCIAL MEDIA IS GOOD FOR US OR WHETHER IT AFFECTS OUT MENTAL HEALTH. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS AND WHAT DO YOU LIKE/NOT LIKE ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA?

Well, I am on both sides of the debate and I completely understand how it could affect people with a more negative mindset or people going through tough times. I know last year was very difficult for me and social media only made matters worse. This was before I started blogging, so I just deleted Snapchat and Instagram for nearly a year. What I find is wonderful with having a hobby or a job that involves social media is that you are immediately introduced into this community of people with similar intentions as you. I am so grateful for Instagram at the moment because I have been able to connect with people from all over the world that share the same passion as me. Together, we support each other which is something I find truly beautiful. However for bloggers I feel like there I a lot of pressure to be active on Instagram, to be yourself, to spend 3 hours on it to grow a following…that is where it bothers me and I try to put myself as a priority to spending time on my phone.

YES, THAT’S MY FAVOURITE THING ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA! THERE IS A WHOLE COMMUNITY OF LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE YOU ARE ABLE TO CONNECT WITH! I DEFINITELY THINK THE BLOGOSPHERE IS SUCH A SUPPORTIVE, FRIENDLY PLACE & THERE ISN’T MUCH COMPETITION OR ENVY. EVERYONE SUPPORTS EACH OTHER AND ARE PROUD OF ONE ANOTHER’S ACHIEVEMENTS. IF YOU WASN’T BLOGGING, DO YOU THINK YOU’D HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE HOBBY?

Blogging was this dream I had ever since I was around 11 and ever since I knew that the summer of 2019, I would start a blog. Many years past since but I got there finally, and I just went for it. One good thing about this is that I was so eager to do everything properly that I spend a whole year just learning about blogging which is turning out to be very useful as I got to follow my intentions. I have other hobbies that I am going to start this summer however you need to wait a couple weeks until I reveal it on my Instagram and blog!

HOW DO YOU BALANCE SOCIAL LIFE, STUDYING & BLOGGING/CONTENT CREATING?

I am only at the very beginning of my blogging journey so I try not to pressurize myself to create content but rather make it a “fun” experience for me, especially as I know that a time will come where I can do this possibly as a part time job and until then I want to make the most out of my life and have this on the side. One rule for me is that studying is my priority followed by my social life followed by blogging.

YOU WRITE A LOT ABOUT TRAVEL, WHERE IS YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE THAT YOU’VE EVER TRAVELLED?

I love travelling and I am so grateful that I can afford it and go to these stunning places. As I am writing this I am back home in Corsica, which is my paradise and the only place that could never bore me because I love it so much. Just on Monday, I took the plane alone to come here and it really made me realise how much I love travelling. Anyways, answer to your question: South of Corsica.

DO YOU EVER GET STUCK IN A CREATIVE RUT WHERE YOU CAN’T THINK OF MANY CONTENT IDEAS? IF SO, HOW DO YOU RESOLVE THIS?

I have only been blogging for one year, but I have never really felt this creative rut. I am always full of inspiration and I have a list at the back of my planner of lots of post ideas so that I never run out. My advice to anybody who is going through this right now is to check out other people’s blogs and inspire yourself from one of their post, another thing you could do is go in Pinterest or google and just type “[your niche] blog post ideas”, finally you could also do a collab with someone…two is always better than one.

AND THAT’S ALL OF THE QUESTIONS!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING PART IN THIS POST, JULES! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN HEARING YOUR ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS AND SO INTERESTING TO LEARN A BIT MORE ABOUT YOU AS WELL!

Yes, hehe lots of questions but I love this! It would be weird doing a solo interview on my blog Casual and Up Close, so I am so glad I got to share some information on here. I am also so inspired by your content and your Instagram so I am so happy to write on here and answer your question, would do it again whenever you want, thank you so much! You can also find me on Instagram and on my blog, Casual and Up Close.

I definitely agree with Jules in that last question about finding inspiration from other people. When I’m interviewing content creators or bloggers for The Happy Hour, I always feel so inspired and positive afterwards! One of my favourite feelings is when you are just overwhelmed with ideas for the content you can create. I loved chatting to Jules so much and I wish that I was staying in the South of Corsica haha!! Take care everyone and I look forward to sharing the next interview with you all.

Lots of love, Daisy xx