by Emily Mongan
We told you last week about Blake Lively’s new curated lifestyle website, Preserve, which is set to launch any day now. But what’s next for the actress once Preserve launches? Will she return to the screen, or devote her time to her new “celebrity homemaker” status and her hunky husband of two years, Ryan Reynolds? For that we turn to the August issue of Vogue, which Lively graces the cover of in a breezy, American Western-inspired shot.
Since Lively wrapped up Gossip Girl in 2012, she’s only taken on one acting gig – next year’s The Age of Adaline, which she stars in alongside Harrison Ford and Ellen Burstyn as a woman who is incapable of aging after a bizarre accident (the 81-year-old Burstyn plays 26-year-old Lively’s daughter, in a unique twist). Her pet project and main focus for the past two years has undoubtedly been Preserve, which will sell American-made items including food, clothes and home decor handpicked by Lively, with an emphasis on the rustic, homemade and artisanal.
But Lively’s influence won’t just be on the items she chooses to sell on Preserve. The website will also focus on storytelling, with a digital magazine portion that features articles that Lively chooses and edits (including some written by Reynolds, who Lively calls “a beautiful writer”) , and videos that she’ll occasionally appear in. With a job description like that, it’s no wonder she’s chosen to put acting on the back burner!
Lively is the latest in a line of celeb ladies who have proclaimed themselves lifestyle gurus and launched publications of their own, including Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop or Lauren Conrad’s self-titled website. But she’s not looking to get readers of Preserve to aspire to a “perfect life,” as many have criticized Paltrow for doing. As Lively tells Vogue, Preserve will focus on real life, including the learning curves and tragedies that shape it.
“It’s not about me. And it’s not about watching my journey of learning how-to,” Lively said. “It’s about me sharing that with you so we all sort of learn together.”
But in the Vogue article, Lively makes it clear that she’s a supporter of Paltrow, adding that women like Oprah or Martha Stewart are often mocked and criticized for their ventures. Speaking of Stewart, it’s no secret Lively is an admirer – the homemaking maven helped plan Lively and Reynold’s wedding, and has mentored Lively as she prepares for the Preserve launch.
So what’s next on the horizon for our beloved Blake? Currently there are no acting projects slated, but don’t count Lively out of the acting game entirely. Lively tells Vogue that she could never just focus on one thing, meaning that while Preserve may be her main project at the moment, the title of celebrity homemaker may have to share double billing with that of actress. While we await Preserve’s launch, I can’t help but speculate if Lively couldn’t add a third title to her resume before long – mother. In the Vogue article, she gushes about Reynold’s future parenting potential.
“He’s going to be a great father and leader and patriarch—he’s so meant to be all of those things,” Lively said.
Lively and Reynolds are so cute together that adding a baby to the mix and that might just be too much adorable to handle. Imagine all the cute outfits that baby would have! But I’m getting ahead of myself. For now, Lively is focused on Preserve and The Age of Adaline, which will hit cinemas in 2015. After that, I can’t wait to see what new ventures Lively will take on!