This weekend I got to catch up with a few lovely Cornish bloggers at a cocktail event at Dolly’s in Falmouth, and finally meet everybody! I got to meet Alice who blogs at Wooden Window Sills; which was great since I’d recently asked her some interview questions a couple weeks ago, so I could finally put a face to the emails :). Enjoy!
Tell us a bit about yourself?
Hello! Oooh this feels like one of those icebreaker activities you get at the start of a course or something. My usual go to interesting fact about myself is that I was once on antibiotics for 6 months as I was bitten by a tarantula whilst cycling around a tea plantation in India, but I guess that’s probably not what you’re asking for! I’m Alice and I’m an environmental consultant living during the week in the middle of the countryside in Devon and at the weekends by the sea in Plymouth.
I absolutely love cooking (and eating) delicious food, being outdoors, seeing as many friends as I possibly can squeeze in each week, adventuring around the UK (and the rest of the world when I can afford it!) and keep active as much as possible to balance out a job that mostly involves me sitting on my bum all day! I have a great relationship with my family and am hugely sentimental about keeping in touch with friends from all walks of my life, whilst also sharing my time with my lovely boyfriend Adam.
Why did you initially decide to start a blog?
I spent years reading other people’s blogs which combined with my forever love of writing, I thought to myself, why am I not writing one of these?! In my day job, there’s also little scope to be creative so it’s a lovely space to think about the things that I enjoy in life and join in with the fun that everyone else is having online.
What do you blog about and why?
I blog about all the things I love in life, which happens to be a miss-match of food and drink (lots of recipes and reviews!), adventures whilst I’m out and about, books I’m reading, blogs I’m loving and a whole bunch of other lifestyle-type bits like DIYs as we slowly but surely do up our little flat, musings on life, things I’ve seen that I think are worth sharing and generally things going on in my life.
I never really started the blog with a particular genre in mind, so that’s how it has stayed and I like having a mix of different things as it doesn’t restrict me to talk about specifics but instead I can pick and choose the things I’m loving at the time. I also went to university in Cornwall and spend three absolutely glorious years gig rowing my way around the county and they do say Cornwall gets into your blood, so you’ll probably see quite a few posts from there too!
Do you have any advice to anyone that wants to start a blog?
Get involved in the blogging community, and don’t be scared to ask questions! Most bloggers have an email link on their site, and trust me, HTML is bloody difficult! There have been loads of times when I’ve got completely stuck and reached out to the wider blogging world who have then come back with so many helpful hints and tips – one guy even made me a personalized redirection plug-in for free – how nice is that?! Don’t get cross when stuff goes wrong, it’s usually much simpler to fix than you think! Also, don’t underestimate how addictive it can be (your friends, family and other half will just have to get used to having a camera pointing at EVERYTHING).
What are the best aspects of running your own blog? What are the hardest aspects?
I have LOVED meeting so many new like minded bloggers! I’ve now been to a few events and struck up online friendships with some people and it’s great. Everyone is so positive and friendly, it was something I’d always heard about but didn’t quite believe the extent of it until I actually got involved myself. I also really like how many new blogs you discover once you’ve started one yourself – my main issue is having the time to read all of them!
The hardest aspect for me is time. I have a pretty busy life as it is, and blog posts take much longer to write than you’d first imagine. I really like that I’ve got so much more into photography since starting Wooden Window Sills, but by the time you’ve factored in taking photos, editing photos, writing and checking over the post, then putting it all together, even a simple shortie can take hours to produce.
Which social media tools do you use the most?
I’ve always used facebook to keep in touch with friends and family, so my facebook page is great tool for sharing your blog with people you know, however, I haven’t found it as useful for increasing your traffic from strangers yet. Instagram is fab, I probably spend most time scrolling through people’s photos compared to any other social media at the moment, and it’s also really quick to upload things and easy to drive traffic to through hashtags. However links aren’t as easy as they don’t appear as hyperlinks in each post. Twitter is pretty new to me, so I’m still getting to grips with it and can’t say that I use it to its full potential yet.
Where do you see yourself and your blog in five years’ time?
Oooh now there’s a thought! I’d love to think that my blog would have developed into a routine in five years, though I have a feeling the whole internet will have massively changed by then anyway so it’s quite exciting to see where it’s going to go and what directions blogs will take. I think it also depends how my personal life shapes up, and how much time I’ll have to spend writing post content. In five years I’ll be 28, so I’d really like to think that Adam and I will own a lovely house together than we’ve got just how we like it, and are in jobs that continually challenge us whilst also are enjoyable and interesting. I might even go as far as saying potentially marriage might be on the cards by then (but that one’s not really up to me to determine! Ha J ) and I’ll hopefully also own a dog!
Three blogs you love that we should know?
I’ve always loved and admired Cat’s beautiful blog Take Courage, Amanda at Rhyme and Ribbons is fab and recently influenced my blog considerably by hosting The Bake Off Bake Along, and my most recent blog feature has been the lovely Stephie at Tea In Your Twenties.