Jess Lively

What a week! I can definitely say that things are back in full swing – perhaps a fuller swing than ever. It’s been a challenge to juggle everything. We shot a new lookbook for Jess LC, I trained Stacia (the newest member of Jess LC), Mr. Lively and I sold our couch and ordered a [...]

  Below, Nicole Lombardo shares her insights from starting her successful and socially conscious company, Lusso Bags. Not only does the company design great products, but they also do so with a social enterprise nature: they donate 5% to help women avoid or leave the sex trade. Read on to find out more about Lusso and Nicole’s story [...]

As requested, I have more photos from the trip. To capture a bit of our experience I thought I’d create a photo collage of the things we saw and did on the trip. And of course if anyone is considering a trip to Paris, I hope this also can act as a mini guide of [...]

  Hey guys! It’s Caitlin from Reverie to Reality, and while I normally bring you guys a Design Your Life interview on Wednesdays, we’re changing things up a little this week. A few days ago I was reflecting on the summer with Jess, and how much has happened since June. A few examples? She and [...]

  Tomorrow on Wish I Knew Wednesday I’ll be sharing something I’ve done very recently in my career: how to brand across multiple businesses. This has been an interesting journey for me across Jess LC (my shop), Business with Intention (my business consulting), and Makeunder My Life (my blog, now named JessLively.com). Along the way I’ve learned [...]

  Business in the City (Chicago) is happening tomorrow night! The details about the free business meet-up are here. Same time and place as usual, 6:30-8:00 at Next Door, 659 W. Diversey. Next Door asks that you RSVP on their site if you plan on coming. We will also be meeting up on September 12th [...]

I cannot being to tell you how much joy it has brought me to share our rather unconventional wedding with you. And as many have requested, I have a few more photos to share from the rest of our wedding day. These are purely the pretty shots that help depict how awe inspiring Paris’ Jardin du [...]

This week I’m thankful for… Paris. Though I’ll share regular pictures and a little bit about what we did while we were on our honeymoon next week, these pictures do a great job showing a few of the little moments that are so special to me. One of the most wonderful aspects of this trip [...]

You’re someone special. You know that, right?

Today is the last day of our 15% off shop-wide sale over at Jess LC. Details here.   

When we eloped in Paris, we decided to craft our own wedding ceremony. Mr. Lively is not partial to any religion and though I adore teachings from many religions, I identify as spiritual myself. But let’s be honest, since I was part of the equation I made sure there was a hefty dose of intention [...]

Reaching out to Carly of A Simple Affair for a Design Your Life Interview this week was a no-brainer. Aside from being one of the sweetest people I’ve ever “met”, she’s also so accomplished and inspiring, yet completely relatable at the same time. She recently got back from touring Japan for 3 weeks with Trinity Irish Dance [...]

This sponsor post is Anne The Adventurer who is also doing a Jess LC Silver Lining Tote giveaway today. Hop over to her blog to enter to win! Below, Anne shares why she started her blog, the intention behind it, and her advice for new bloggers.   What drew you to blogging? After I graduated [...]

Tomorrow on Wish I Knew Wednesday I’ll be sharing why I changed the name and url for MakeunderMyLife.com to JessLively.com and gave it a bit of a re-branding at the same time. A few people have asked about how to choose a name for a company and I’ll be covering that in tomorrow’s email as well. [...]

Firstly, thank you all so much for your submissions to Design Your Look 2012. We were beyond impressed with how you each styled your favorite Jess LC items. We are excited to announce Ashley Rae as the winner of Design Your Look 2012. Congratulations, Ashley! We’ll be sending you an email shortly so you can claim your two [...]

  To try to explain this trip will not be easy. It was delightful, relaxing, and will be forever sentimental for Mr. Lively and I. As I get back into the swing of things (due to a delightfully productive period of jet lag), I want to share a few photos from the trip. I’ll go [...]

  Now for the fun part, my outfit! Though our wedding isn’t traditional in many ways, I still wanted a white dress. However, since we are most likely holding the ceremony in a garden or someplace quiet, but public, I didn’t want to attract too much attention with a big gown. Anything that could draw [...]

This post is brought to you by Fashion For Home. Question: Revolutionary prices for beautiful design? Answer: Fashion For Home Let’s face it, beauty and good design are at the top of any interior design enthusiast’s wishlist; no one wants trash cluttering up their hallway or hanging from their light fittings! But given that indulging [...]

When scouting for a DESIGN YOUR LIFE interviewee this week, I turned to my fellow Jess LC intern, Kiley. Kiley is one of those girls who has everything going for her: looks, smarts, talent, drive, and did I mention the girl can dress? You can see for yourself on her style blog, Off Randolph. At [...]

This week while I’m away, Helena (Queen of the Nuts and Bolts and Sweeter CPA) is going to be answering a question that I asked her earlier this summer: What accounting software should I choose? You see, I have used Quickbooks for years and wasn’t sure if it was time for me to change systems or [...]

Now that I’ve shared why we decided to elope, I’ll share what traditions we decided to keep, what we edited, and what we invented. As I’ve mentioned before, our decision to pass on a traditional wedding is saving us a substantial amount of money. Which has allowed us to intentionally splurge in some areas like [...]

Hi all! We were beyond impressed by the submissions for this year’s Design Your Look contest—serious talent. So as we explained last week, the entries are now all on the Design Your Look Contest board on Jess’ Pinterest. The look that gets the most repins by noon on Monday, August 20 will win! Remember, we will be monitoring [...]

When Mr. Lively proposed on May 30th, I was planning on a traditional wedding next fall. The following day his parents came into town and we talked about possible venues and catering for three whole days. But during their last night in town we finally broached the subject of our honeymoon. We decided we wanted to [...]

Yep, you read that right. Mr. Lively and I are on our way to Paris to get married!  I know many have wondered whether Mr. Lively’s name was a pseudonym or his actual last name. It’s his real last name. Which means my name is now going to be Jess. Jess Lively. I like my new name [...]

  As promised, I’ve been diligently tracking my email inbox checks over the past week. The experiment proved my theory correct: when I check email less frequently I get more accomplished, and I stay more on top of my inbox.  To help show my progress, I used TeuxDeux and marked my little inbox checks as I [...]

Since getting engaged I’ve noticed that I’ve been spending even more time with Mr. Lively and less time with my friends. Which is understandable to some degree, but I’m working on improving that balance. Over on The Everygirl I have shared a few ways that I am creating habits to help me keep my friends [...]

Happy Wednesday, guys! Caitlin here, back with yet another Design Your Life interview. Today we’re going to be hearing from one of my newest blog friends, Jen, blogger behind Lemon Drop Love. Jen reached out to me a while back for design help with her living room, and soon after I knew we would be [...]

This week on Wish I Knew Wednesday I’ll be sharing what I just discovered this summer: how to sell on Facebook. After a few months of doing so for Jess LC, I think it’s a great option for established brands and newbie businesses alike. I’ll explain why tomorrow! If you’d like to get the email, simply sign [...]

This post is brought to you by The Maven Circle.   The guilt, fear, “never enough time”, feelings of stuckness, loneliness, stress and overwhelm- we ladies at The Maven Circle know those feelings all too well. They’re the things that hold us back, that keep us in a cycle and getting nowhere closer to the [...]

Hi, everyone! Caitlin and Kiley here, announcing a new Design Your Look contest for Jess LC! You may remember our Design Your Look contest from last year, but this year we’re doing things a little differently. Here’s the plan: We’re inviting all of you to style an outfit incorporating any two Jess LC items that you’d like [...]