Travel Review: A Katie & Jane Adventure to the South of France!

We've just been on a whirlwind trip to the South of France, spending 3 nights and 4 days in Cannes & Aix-en-Provence, so it’s only right we write a little travel review for anyone tempted by the beautiful South of France…

We flew into Nice with Monarch Airlines, made our way to the car rental part of the airport, and before we knew it we were driving on our way to Cannes in the new automatic Renault Clio enjoying some Va Va Voom – well when in France!

We wanted to visit an island while in France so we researched beforehand and booked into lunch at La Tonnelle; the only restaurant positioned on the small island of Saint Honorat off the coast of Cannes. We parked the Clio, hopped onto a boat and enjoyed a breezy, sunny 30 minute boat ride across the sea to the island, taking in the amazing yachts and helicopters as we went.

Lunch at La Tonnelle was perfect, we sat at a table overlooking the rustic rocks and calm sea and, as we wondered about a life lived on little (or large!) yachts that surrounded this picturesque island, we enjoyed delicious seafood and soy baked tuna, before stretching our legs as we walked the whole way around the interesting island which is inhabited only by Monks.

After a short boat trip back, while I had a power nap – we then began our drive to Aix-en-Provence which we imagined would be beautiful and breath-taking with the wind in our hair... but there was a huge storm, which meant for an hour of our journey we joined the French in driving very slow with our hazards on because of very poor visibility! It did make us feel better about not going for the soft-top car though!

The rain did not dampen our spirits as we arrived at our perfectly French hotel Le Mas d’Entremont. We were greeted by such friendly and helpful staff and shown to our garden room at the back of the hotel which despite the huge array of very tall trees, looked out onto Aix-en-Provence.

We didn’t arrive until about 9pm so we decided to eat & drink at the hotel restaurant, and the food was amazing! This was the first time we could practice our French too, and we joined others in the restaurant by having a long, drawn out meal with delicious fish, cheese, wine and lots of laughs!

We decided to get up early on Saturday so as not to miss the early markets in Aix. Jane has been going to Aix-en-Provence since she was a little girl and it was so great to be shown around by someone who has so many wonderful memories there.

Everywhere we go in the world we like to pick up a 'Katie & Jane keepsake', and we found a lovely little independent home-made jewellery stall where both our eyes went to a simple necklace with just a solid cloud in the centre – something about the ‘the sky’s the limit’ sprung to mind!

We then made our way through the cobbled streets looking at all the amazing shops – even a shop dedicated to just jam looked so inviting we couldn’t help ourselves but peer in for inspiration! The outstanding things about Aix are the smells, either from the amazing chic French women, to the freshly baked bread, every corner you turn powered up the senses!

We sat in one of Jane’s favourite spots; Les Deux Garcons for a refreshing drink and a bit of people watching while we listened to a Jazz trio outside, they even played a song I used to do a tap dance to when I was little, so we decided we had to buy the CD to remind us of the moment at home. We picked up a freshly baked baguette and some brie for lunch and made our way back to enjoy an afternoon soaking up the sun by the pool.

Saturday night is party night in Aix and we kicked it off with a light bite to eat at the fashionable Restaurant La Rotonde, before being welcomed by locals into Le Champ’s bar and partying with them in Le Mistral till the early hours! We also bumped into the owner too and asked very nicely if he could swap the regular deep house tracks for some Beyonce tunes for just 15 minutes…and he did, if you don’t ask you don’t get!

Sunday was another party night to celebrate Jane's Auntie Lynda's 60th so the day was spent enjoying a lovely breakfast at the hotel with Jane's newly arrived parents – the highlight here are definitely the homemade yogurts and fig bread, before another relax by the pool. The night was spent at Lynda’s surprise party in pretty Puyricard, just a 10 minute car journey from Aix. We spoke to lots of lovely people, practicing our French and learning that to describe a really decent, great person, you call them a ‘pêche’ – Peach!

Despite being tired (in a great way!) we made ourselves get up early on Monday for a game of tennis in the hotel's very picturesque court before packing and saying goodbye to Aix before embarking on our last French road-trip to Marseilles airport to fly home. Although it was a short stay, it felt like we'd been there a while and saw lots of the area, of course, we're planning our next trip with the aim to learn French very soon!

Highlights...

• The beautiful smells of Aix, whether chic French perfume or freshly baked bread
• The fish soup at Le Mas d’Entremont

Must Dos...

• A boat trip to the gorgeous ‘secret island’ of Saint Honorat
• Wondering around the morning markets in Aix

Katie x

A lot of Summer Love for Lovebox 2014!

We’ve just about recovered from what was an amazing weekend in London for Lovebox 2014! The sweltering heat, the gorgeous back drop of Victoria park and our lovely new customers made for a fast, foodie and fun-filled festival.

Our first customer was legendary London event planner Sara Blonstein who opted for the Kickin’ Katie Nacho Dog and got us off to a great start on Friday! We were also visited by Elle Magazine, Stylist magazine and we had a lovely chat with Women’s Health who were on the lookout for festival food with a healthier spin.

The line-up was incredible, and we loved hearing from Katy B, Chase & Status, ASAP Rocky, Breach and enjoyed an escape from our lovely veggie van to have a final dance to M.I.A which brought Lovebox 2014 to a close – we can’t wait to see you next year already!

As usual we loved taking #sausageselfies of our customers – we can’t wait to share them with you all on social media in the next few weeks.

Our favourite moment this week has to be some of our favourite customers from Wakestock having a go at recreating The Original Frank in the sunshine – well done guys!

Thank you to everyone who tried a Not Dog last weekend, the feedback has been so exciting! Next stop for Not Dogs? Boardmasters 2014 – sun, sea, surf and veggie hot dogs :)

Katie x

Not Dogs Summer Tour: Wakestock

Us and our Not Dogs food truck have just got back from another festival; the festival of the sea, Wakestock, mixing the best in music and wakeboarding from around the world in the beautiful setting of Abersoch, North Wales. The festival was an amazing experience and we had so much fun meeting lots of interesting characters and we were happy when we converted a few to our meat-free hot dogs!

Although we couldn't leave our bright purple trailer much we enjoyed listening to music from Tom O'Dell, Chloe Howl, Razorlight, Ella Eyre and John Newman as we were perfectly positioned next to the Main Stage.

One of our favourite stages was the Huw Puw Stage which saw local acts perform and it was beautiful to listen to them all in the sunshine. We were even lucky enough to serve Alys Williams and Ellie Makes Music a not dog - both such lovely people!

Wakestock we had a ball... now it's all go for Lovebox in London!

Goodbye Godiva 2014 from Not Dogs!

What a weekend Godiva 2014 was, one of the best free festivals in the country and it definitely lived up to expectations for us and our brand new vegetarian food truck Not Dogs!

Not even the rain on Friday could dampen spirits as we set up and prepared to start topping our meaty and mighty hot dogs without the meat, and our very first customer? Only Anthony Harty from the legendary two-tone band The Selecter! Following an interview with BBC Coventry & Warwickshire all about the Not Dogs journey so far, we had lots of customers trying their very first Not Dog, with Kickin’ Katie Nacho Dog prevailing as the most popular on day one.

Day two saw the sun shine once again, and nothing could have prepared us for the onslaught of amazing customers we had throughout the day! Feedback was amazing with some visitors munching a Not Dog for breakfast, lunch and dinner! We barely looked up from our little trailer kitchen all day we were so busy, but by the end of the night we were visited by the New York-based indie rock band We Are Scientists who joined all our other customers in taking a #SausageSelfie. The Original Frank topped the most wanted list and the best feedback of the day… “Please can you start selling these online?!”

Day Three began with sunshine and a repeat customer in Anthony Harty who wanted to try the Top O’ The Mornin’ Dog for breakfast, followed by lots of families and little ones sharing not dogs – they are quite filling! Our stickers went down a treat, and we had lots of meat-eaters and veggies enjoying our Hello Houmous special too!

Day three ended with Katie falling over in a lot of ‘questionable mud’ while pushing our little trailer back into it's temporary home for the summer…

The real purpose for this post is to say a huge thank you to all our family, friends and kind strangers who have helped us get this far, and given us a such a boost for the remaining festivals, Not Dogs: The Summer Tour continues….

Join us on Twitter @notdogsUK & Instagram where you can see all our festival fun & #sausageselfies!

Katie x

The Best Things in Life in July

We've been inspired by Red Magazine's Contributors column for twelve months now and looking back to this time last year Katie's best things in life were spinning, trying new food and A Beautiful Mess app and her holiday essentials; Red magazine (of course!), Women's Health and Zest. I shared my love for Jimmy's Iced Coffee, Happier app, Color Run training and P20 sun protector!

Here's to another happy year...

Katie

The best things in life...

Seeing Countdown Keeper users post their happy events on social media, it’s the best! We have just passed the 20,000 download mark and we’re currently working on a new update which will be available soon too. You can view it in the App Store 

I spent most of the last 3 months rehearsing for Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer at Highbury Theatre in Sutton Coldfield, it was the first time I had set eyes on this beautiful and historical theatre, and I can’t wait to be back to see the new season of performances! 

Since I was 18 I’ve been going to summer festivals with friends every year, but in all that time I never thought I’d be taking a vegetarian food truck on tour by 2014! I’m excited to be going back to Lovebox this year, and looking forward to all the fun at Boardmasters, Wakestock and Festival No 6 for the very first time!

The song that reminds me of summer is... 

Lucky Man by The Verve -  it reminds me of winding down at Glastonbury as the sun set on a beautiful Sunday evening in 2008, and now I end every run with that song as my cool down, it instantly makes me feel happy, grateful and at peace

From July 2013: The social media question I get asked the most is... 

Do we need a specialist to run our Facebook advertising? This usually happens when companies have been approached, and they don’t quite understand what they are being offered. We have seen Facebook advertising run seamlessly in-house, with a small budget and the use of the simple insights that Facebook provide as to what is working and what might need a tweak. The ads should run alongside and compliment content that’s already going out to the audience every day.  We’ve put together some top tips to help over on our blog

Jane

The best things in life...

Floor picnics! I'm slightly addicted to floor picnics at the moment! They have to be on the floor indoors due to the lovely, wet British weather but I still enjoy them all the same. A blanket filled with crisps and dips, Quorn sausage rolls and scotch eggs is my idea of food heaven!

Red Magazine - I've been a Red reader for years now and despite it being initially published for the older lady even in my late teens I loved it. Red has meaningful articles alongside beautiful imagery; I feel I learn so much every time I read an issue. It doesn't contain news stories on Z-list celebrities but features inspirational women on every cover. I make it a rule not to read the issue until the first of the month so this month I cannot wait to read all about Liv Tyler and her boho life, sunshine living and Red's top 10 beach reads!

Not Dogs - Slightly biased here but I'm already having so much fun sharing our new business Not Dogs with the world! We've already done one mini event and got such great feedback that I cannot wait to be on the road for the summer spreading the veggie sausage love! 

The song that reminds me of summer is...

Friendly Fires - Jump in the Pool - some may say obvious but I don't care! It's an uplifting, catchy song that certainly makes me feel like a refreshing jump in turquoise waters! Love it!

From July 2013: The social media question I get asked the most is...

What's the next big platform? I think many brands are noticing that users are getting tired of Facebook and in a way Twitter and understand that they should be looking to the future platforms to include in their strategy. I completely agree on the Facebook front but we also advise clients to think about where their customers are... Instagram is growing and growing but it's younger people who are the most active, if your customers don't fit Instagram's current demographic there's no need to panic about being an early-adopter as a brand quite yet.

Introducing a new Katie & Jane creation; the vegetarian food truck… Not Dogs!

We’re very excited to tell you that, for the past six months, we have been working quietly in the background on a very exciting new project, backed & supported by the vegetarian food brand Quorn.

Not Dogs was created by us; one meat-eater and one vegetarian, both with a love of quick, scrumptious & simple food. While at festivals, gigs and outdoor events we struggled to find mouth-watering veggie food and trustworthy meaty meals that satisfied that 'fast food' need after a long day so we decided to create our own festival food truck Not Dogs!

Our hot dogs pack a mighty punch exclusively made with the UK’s first meat free Bratwurst crammed with tasty, fresh and original toppings. We like to call them meaty dogs without the meat!

The aim of Not Dogs is to provide food lovers, both carnivores and veggies, with a delicious, fun and quality menu to excite and amaze the taste buds. Choose from Plain Jane, Kickin' Katie Nacho Dog (see what we did there!), The Original Frank, Hello Houmous and newcomer Top o' the Mornin' Dog.

We’ll be kicking off  with a mini-launch this weekend, at Middleton Food & Craft Market, before we embark on a summer tour of (hopefully sunny!) UK festivals including Godiva Festival in Coventry, Lovebox in London, Wakestock in Wales, Boardmasters in Newquay and Festival No 6 in the beautiful setting of Portmeirion in Wales.

To find out more about Not Dogs head to www.notdogs.co.uk and join us for festival fun over on Twitter and Instagram.

We hope to see you in a sunny or muddy field soon!

Katie x

Carrie Green: Founder of the Female Entrepreneur Association talks to us about empowering women, building an online business & a few of her favourite things...

We first came across the Female Entrepreneur Association back in 2012 when we launched Katie & Jane. Since then, its founder Carrie Green has inspired us daily with her online support hub set up for female entrepreneurs all over the world. Here Carrie talks to us about her inspiration, goals, motivation and of course a few of her favourite things...

#1 What was the a-ha moment that inspired you to create your own business?

My first ever a-ha moment was back when I was 19… I’d run out of money while studying at university and found an opportunity to start my own online business and very quickly realised how unbelievably powerful the internet is. That was the moment that I knew I never wanted a job, because I could achieve so much success for myself online.

A few years later I did have another a-ha moment – that building a business really isn’t all about the money. You have to have a lot of passion and love for what you do, otherwise it becomes incredibly difficult. I fell out of love with my first business and went soul searching and realised that I wanted to build a business that really meant something to me and made a difference, which is when I came up with the idea for the Female Entrepreneur Association.

#2 Why did you choose the name ‘Female Entrepreneur Association’?

Because it sounded official and because it had my primary keywords in ‘female’ ‘entrepreneur’, so I knew it would rank well on Google.

#3 What was the ethos behind the Female Entrepreneur Association?

My vision was to create an onlinehub to inspire and empower women from around the world to turn their ideas into a reality and build successful businesses.

So many people are too afraid to follow their heart and their dreams, because they think they’re not good enough, or because they think they’ll fail, or because someone told them they couldn’t do it. But we only have one life in which to achieve all the things we want to achieve, so I want to help as many people as possible to make it happen. I want to inspire and empower people to believe in themselves and be amazing.

#4 What has been your biggest challenge to date? And how did you overcome it? 
Raising awareness of FEA. I started off with a network of zero, I was publishing stories and no one was reading them – it was frustrating and disheartening, but I just kept going. I set myself some goals – one of them was that I wanted to get 25,000 fans on Facebook. I had no idea how I was going to do it, but I took a screenshot of my fan page and I changed the number of fans I had, using Photoshop, to 25,000 so I could see what my page would look like when I’d reached my goal. I printed it out and put it in my goal box and then kept working hard on making it happen. When it happened it was an amazing moment.

The biggest lessons I learned about raising awareness, building your audience and getting traffic are:

• You have to go above and beyond to create amazing content – it’s all about adding value, what compelling reasons are you giving to people to make them want to engage with your business over and over again.
• You have to get really clear on who your target audience are and make sure that everything you do resonates and connects with them – the language you use, the images you use, the products and services you create. 
• You have to know exactly what you’re trying to achieve – when you don’t know, the messages you send out are blurry and confusing for people. You’ll waste time and you won’t make the progress you want to make. At the beginning of each month, week and day it’s important to get clear on what your intentions are and focus on reaching them.
• You have to take the time to learn as much as you can and then keep trying and trying. I’ve managed to build FEA into a network of over 140,000 women because I’ve been consistent, even when nothing seemed to be working, even when I’d had enough, I kept going, because I trusted that somehow I’d make it happen.

#5 What’s the business skill you’ve had to work hardest on improving since becoming an entrepreneur?

Technology. All of my businesses have been online and so the skill I’ve had to work hardest on is how to leverage the internet. The online world provides so many opportunities for people – you can be a one-man-band and build a successful, global business fast, if you know how to leverage technology correctly.

#6 Have there been any moments when you just wanted to pack it all in?

All the time. Building a business is hard. You’re constantly trying to push yourself to do things that you don’t know how to do, so you’re always coming up against challenges and setbacks – it can be incredibly tough. But I’ve come to the realisation that it’s all part of the journey. 

Being an entrepreneur is a way of life – it’s like being on a rollercoaster ride in the dark – there are ups and downs, it’s exciting, but can also be scary as hell and most of the time we have no idea how things are going to work out. There is a lot of uncertainty to deal with, because we can’t see into the future and know for sure that our ideas and decisions are good ones.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve daydreamed about getting a job, so someone else could tell me what to do, when to do it and what time I needed to arrive at work and leave work at. But I just love the freedom and thrill of being an entrepreneur too much to quit.

#7 If you weren't supporting female entrepreneurs every day with the FEA, what would you be doing?

Probably something with animals or children. I like helping and taking care of things, it definitely makes me feel fulfilled.

#8 What keeps you striving forward in business?

The thought that I only have one life and I want to make it as amazing as I possibly can. I want to push myself to grow as much as possible, I want to learn as much as I can, I want to make a difference, I want to get to the end of my life and know that I did the best I could to follow my dreams and live the life I wanted.

#9 Name one future goal of the Female Entrepreneur Association

To open up the website and enable people to contribute to it. We’ve had a few contributors in the past, but it’s not been part of our strategy. But we’ve now set a goal to start sharing more knowledge, expertise and help by bringing on wonderful people who have something great to share.

#10 What is your favourite quote?

Ooo, I don’t know how I can possibly choose! There are a few…

“Everything in life can be taken away from you, except for your freedom to choose how you respond to the situation” Viktor Frankl – this one helps me whenever something bad has happened. It reminds me that I get to choose how it makes me feel and how I respond.

“Successful people hang on when everyone else has let go” I’m not sure who said that, but I love it! Whenever I’m having a tough time I remind myself to be the person who is willing to hang on.

“Your destiny is determined by the choices you make. Choose now, choose well” Anthony Robbins – this quote practically changed my life. It made me realise that I had to start making consistently good decisions, if I wanted to live an amazing life and achieve great things.

#11 A few of your favourites…

Way to relax? Walking my two black labs

Aid to well-being? Meditations & guided visualisations

Fitness activity? Body pump

Wine? Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc

Food? I’ve spent 10 minutes trying to narrow down my choices and I’m failing miserably! I love it all!

Song? At the moment it’s Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker (my boyfriend has got me into country music!)

App? YouTube

Social media platform? Facebook, because it has so many amazing tools for being able to share content and engage with people.

Your hero? My parents – they’re amazing.

And finally...

#12 what piece of advice would you give to entrepreneurs to inspire them to give their dreams a go?

Something that really pushed me to start FEA was a chapter I read in The E-myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber (a must read book!). He said something like…

Imagine walking into a room and sat on the chairs are your family and friends. As you begin to walk down the centre of the room you see a box and as you get to the front of the room you realise that you’re in the box, and it’s your funeral.

What kind of things would you want people to be saying about the kind of person you were, the kind of life that you lived and the kind of things you achieved?

Don’t wait until the end to realise who you want to be and what you want to achieve – start now. Life is precious and it’s up to you to make the very best of it. I think that when you look at life like that, nothing is too scary to go after.  So just go for it, be the amazing person that you’re meant to be and enjoy the journey.

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To find out more about Carrie and the Female Entrepreneur Association head to www.femaleentrepreneurassociation.com and connect to the network on Facebook, Pinterest & Twitter.

To read the full set of entrepreneur interviews on our blog click here.

Katie x