Jess Lively

Letting Go A couple of weeks ago I decided to close my Etsy shop. A few of my facebook followers asked if everything was ok, and actually, I’m better than ever! First, a little history… I started the shop back in April of 2010 on kind of a whim. I’d been finding vintage items in [...]

Once I created my vision for my wardrobe and exfoliated the items that did not match the vision, it was time to get to the fun part…. … Figuring out what items I wanted to purchase that completed my wardrobe goals. Since I took such a methodical approach to creating my vision, it made this [...]

Yesterday I shared the first step of making under my wardrobe, Create a Vision. After I decided what style I liked, learned how to create more pulled together looks, and figured out which fall trends I wanted to try, it was time to move on to my closet. To get started on my closet, I [...]

For the past month I’ve been making under my wardrobe. And since it’s been a while since I’ve tackled the basics of making under “stuff” here on MML, I think it would be a great refresher course on the four makeunder steps. Making under is about designing an intention for our home, getting rid of [...]

My friend Kate sent me this image she found on Super Great and I think it perfectly encapsulates what I’ve been working through since revisiting The Pursuit of Perfect. In the book the author, Tal, explains the difference between a Perfectionist and an Optimalist. A Perfectionist will decide what a perfect course of action would [...]

Though I don’t normally do posts on the weekend, I couldn’t help but share the gratitude I feel for these two recent features. Yesterday Oh Joy shared coin purses on her amazing blog. I’ve been a huge fan of her for years and to see her get excited about our coin purses is truly amazing. [...]

Establishing a Routine (following up!) Last week I reported on my struggles with establishing a routine – thank you all so much for your thoughtful comments! I’m glad to hear that I’m not alone. It seems to be a common problem, but not one that can’t be overcome. Sadly (yet, somehow, realistically) I can’t report [...]

Everyone gives a lot of lip service to the idea that a loving relationship should be filled with learning and growing together. It’s easy to find Etsy prints, books, and postcards with sayings related to this idea, yet I never seemed to really get the message. You see, when Mr. Lively and I started our [...]

Thanks to the many responses to the q&a business chat idea, we are moving ahead! I have reserved a spot at Next Door, an awesome new spot in Lincoln Park, for Tuesday, October 4th. Since the space can only be reserved until 7pm, I’ve gone ahead and booked us for 6:00-7:00. Hopefully that will be [...]

Danielle over at Breakfast at Toast (and photographer for our launch) has combined a fantastic group of bloggers to share their top picks for fall. I’m honored to say that she also asked me to participate (my picks are above). To find out where my favorite items are from and the other amazing choices that [...]

Yesterday Mr. Lively had his first annual review at his current job. And I also had a review of sorts, with the launch of Quincy and Belmont. As we talked about the very positive outcomes from both reviews, we were slightly amazed. Given how challenging our jobs have been in the past year, it is [...]

Thank you so much for the amazing feedback from the initial launch of Quincy and Belmont! I am thrilled to hear how many of you love the styles and colors we designed. And from the initial sales, it’s clear that gold and fuchsia is a big winner (not that we are surprised). It’s also funny [...]

    After a summer of product development, I’m proud to share two new Jess LC collections, Quincy and Belmont. Of course, you can straight to the lookbooks to see the entire launch. But for those who are more patient, I’ll fill you in a bit about the collections (details on the lookbook shoot with [...]

Establishing a routine One of the things I looked forward to the most about leaving my 8-5 job was having the freedom to do whatever I wanted during the day. Due to a very limited public transit schedule, I was on a very punctual (and not at all convenient) time table, lacking free time to [...]

Fall Skincare 101 Fall is such time of transition—and I love it. Leaves are turning, closets are turning over, and our skin is, well, about to turn as dry as those leaves crunching underfoot. Now is the time to switch up your skincare regimen, because it will be much more challenging to soothe redness, flaking, [...]

One of the most transformational quotes from The Seven Habits for me is this: The imagination can be used to achieve the fleeting success that comes when a person is focused on material gain or on “what’s in it for me.” But I believe the higher use of imagination is in harmony with the use [...]

As I mentioned yesterday, we are launching the new collections for Jess LC next week. But the truth is, I really wanted to launch today. In fact, I really wanted to launch the first week of September. But it didn’t happen. And for a while that bothered me quite a bit. I’ve been working on [...]

  … next Monday. But for now I couldn’t help but share a little something from my Saturday with Danielle, Alaina, and Liz. With Danielle shooting, Alaina styling, and Liz and Alaina modeling, the shoot was pretty incredible. And since there are two collections launching, I figured I better give you a peek at the [...]

Take a break. I’m up to my ears this week finishing up client work and breathing some life into some projects that I started and then neglected, but I still jumped at the chance to get away for the day on Monday when Ryan had the day off. We headed up to Whidbey Island, about [...]

The Art of the One-Dish Meal I think there are a few things about cooking that intimidate people, but I’d guess one of the main things is the idea of putting together a meal. I get why it’s intimidating: you have to figure out what goes with what, find recipes for each dish, and then [...]

Over the past week, I feel like I’m regaining myself. After a whirlwind year of change, anxiety, growth, and worry, I feel like I’m coming back to my roots. And it’s not just my metaphorical roots, literally even my hair, which has been progressively highlighted over the year, has returned to it’s normal chestnut color. [...]

I hope you had a great Labor Day weekend! I got back yesterday from my cousin’s beautiful wedding in Philadelphia. It was a great time and Mr. Lively got to meet the family. (Which is a pretty big deal, folks, a pretty big deal.) Now, it’s time to get back into the swing of things [...]

Today I’d like to share an excerpt from an MML reader email I received a while back. Raj, who also shared a DIY DYL, had this to share: … Last week my husband and I got some horrible news. He was laid off from work last September and was expecting to receive benefits until this [...]

[Full-size desktop wallpaper (small font)][Full-size desktop wallpaper (large font)] Last week Arianna Belle of Organized Interiors commented on my Living Life with Open Hands post with the quote above by Alexandra Stoddard that she had turned into a beautiful image. I loved the quote so much that I asked her if I could make it [...]

  So How’s Business? If you ever meet me in person and happen to ask “So how’s business?” please forgive me if I’m extremely awkward. As I’ve become more and more confident introducing myself as a small business owner and decorator, more and more casual acquaintances tend to ask me how the business is going. [...]

Hi, everyone! It’s Cathy from Fiscally Chic with another post about “finance with intention.” I’ve decided to alternate between personal finance and business finance, with this month covering business finance. At the request of AcanthusNichole, I’m going to touch on a touchy subject, budgeting. Great question, Nichole! Since I don’t know your business particulars, I’m going [...]