We first got to know Blake Lively as Serena in the hit series "Gossip Girl" but this girl has grown into quite the woman--now expecting a baby with her husband Ryan Reynolds. There are a dozen reasons Blake is a "woman to watch" and take notes on! Here's why we want to emulate this mama-to-be:
1. She keeps revealing her layers. She has been a proven model, actress and spokeswoman, but Blake shows us another side of her multidimensional self in her latest venture as the founder of an online creative community called Preserve. Serving as an art digital monthly magazine, part e-commerce venture, part video blog, the site will seek out and celebrate people all over America who are making things--food, outfits, pillows, plates, kitchen tables--with their hands. And she is full steam ahead with this vision.
2. She works with the obstacles. If you are under the impression celebrities have it easy when it comes to calling in sick, think again. A Vogue reporter tagged along to interview Blake while she was jet-lagged and suffering from possible food poisoning.
3. She found a new way to do what she loves: Blake's close friend and fellow entrepreneur, Ivanka Trump, says of her buddy's new online creative hub, "Through curation, storytelling, nurturing creativity, she's really sharing another side of herself with a much larger audience. I don't think there's such a disconnect between what she's traditionally done as an actress and this new platform. Her ability to story-tell is something that she's clearly cultivated since childhood" (Vogue).
4. She wears herself well. One of the reasons Blake has become a constant cover girl is due to her flawless fashion queues. Her stylishness is a large part of what made her famous. And get this...it literally is HER style--she doesn't have a stylist!
5. She creates the life she wants. When speaking of the tradition and sense of creation personified in the collections featured on her website, Preserve.us, Blake has said, "People want things with meaning. I know that because I want that. This space doesn't exist, so I'm creating it."
6. She utilizes her free time wisely. Actresses and models have a lot of time in between takes. Blake chose to use her time learning more about the art of homemaking, which better prepared her for her new venture.
7. She will never "retire." Blake has declared she will never just do ONE thing and will always do whatever inspires her, no matter her age.
8. She believes in mentorship. Although she's a roaring success at age 27, Blake knows to keep growing means to keep learning - and you learn from the best. She cites Martha Stewart herself as her homemaking adviser and friend.
9. She knows doing your research pays off. When she found out she nabbed a spot to audition for Ben Affleck's movie "The Town" she traveled to Charlestown on her own dime to get a feel of the city and embody a true Boston accent. Ben Affleck had never heard of Blake prior to the reading and was thoroughly impressed by how she nailed the audition. They even arranged the filming schedule to accommodate her existing schedule.
10. She defines her own kind of party. While it is easy and tempting for a young, attractive A-Lister to hit the Hollywood party scene with a vengeance, Blake actually doesn't drink...and never has.
11. She doesn't sweat her man's past. Her husband, Ryan Reynolds, was quite the ladies man with several Hollywood starlets in the day, which Blake considers a moot point. Instead of letting jealousy taint the stability of her relationship she embodies the attitude of a confident woman: "The fact that he lived so much before we got together, he's the exact realized person that he should be. And so I get to share my life with the person he's become, and we get to grow from there" (Vogue).
12. She defends her fellow woman. What a woman says about another woman tells you a lot about the woman she is. Blake has nothing but positive things to say about the women who share her spotlight: "People like to gossip. They bond over it. They don't bond over complimenting famous people. I'm always the first person to defend Gwyneth Paltrow. Or any woman in a position of power, like Martha Stewart or Oprah, who gets burned. Because they have paved the path for so many other women who are doing something they believe in" (Vogue).
Many of Blake's friends and family have compared her to an "old soul." While she is youthful as ever with a future bright as can be, we have to agree that her wisdom is just as impressive as her charm and talent.