Why Live the Fancy Life?

Why I do what I do

Jessica Flannigan | Live the Fancy Life from Joe Pollock Films.

I’ve been meaning to share some of the history of this little blog along with what it’s all about for some time now. And since my friend Joe over at Joe Pollock Films put together this little clip about me and my work, I thought what better time than now? Why Live the Fancy Life? Read on. 

A little history

Live the fancy life was started in 2009, less than one month after our wedding. I had been on a creative mission for a year while I planned our wedding and then it stopped abruptly. While I was SO happy to be married to the man of my dreams, I was sad about the end of wedding planning. I missed working with creative people and thinking of fun ways to do things. I started Live the Fancy Life with a post and a poll on October 25, 2009, just 22 days after our wedding and nine days after we returned from our honeymoon, not knowing at all where it might go…

This little blog is now a creative outlet for me, but beyond that, it is a source of income for my family. I plan to share a bit more about that in a post coming soon, but in short, thank you for reading! I pretend that Live the fancy life is like a teeny tiny do-it-yourself magazine with no budget, no professional photographer, one writer, no editorial team and I get to be the editor-in-chief every day. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Why fancy?

Live the fancy life is not literal. I actually don’t really like “fancy” things. I DIY most things. I buy the majority of our furniture from Ikea. We drink out of inexpensive wine glasses, not crystal. We don’t own China. My handbags are few and far between, but the ones I do own are hand-me-downs from friends or are from Target. I’m cheap.

I can enjoy a bottle of $4.99 sparkling wine as much as a bottle of Dom!

Seriously! But you know what? That glass of Trader Joe’s prosecco in a champagne flute from Ikea makes me feel fancy. Every time!

I believe that all of us live the fancy life every day and if you don’t feel that way, there are ways to add a little fancy to our every day lives. I want to inspire everyone to make life what you want life to be! It can be as simple as lighting a lovely candle in the evening or as extravagant as saving every penny so you can take the trip you’ve always imagined. Make everyday life fancy, people! p.s. I’m working on a new series (101 ways to be fancy) with simple ways to add fancy to your everyday lives soon.

I want to be a writer when I grow up

I cannot remember a day in my life when I didn’t want to be a writer “when I grow up.” Seriously. I’ve always wanted to write. I was a journalism minor in college, I wrote for the college newspaper, the community newspaper and later, for magazines in Minnesota on the side of my corporate PR job. I used to want to write books and have started many novels and a memoir, but none of them made it past the first few chapters.

While I believe there will be a book in my future, I’ve learned that my true love is writing from the heart and writing casually. Grammar schmammar, in my opinion! Ok, that’s not completely true… I do respect grammar and certainly try to do a decent job with it. But when I read blogs and I feel like I could have a conversation with the person behind the blog, I am a happy reader. And I’m a happy writer when I can simply be myself. This blog combined with writing for magazines and other blogs, is my dream come true.

Who I am

For those of you who are new here, I’m a mama and wife living in one fabulous suburb outside of Minneapolis with my husband and toddler son Bodhi. You don’t believe a suburb can be fabulous? I didn’t either, but I do now. Let me know when you’re in town and I’ll plan a neighborhood event at our house. ;) Our ‘hood rocks! I was VERY skeptical about this move, but no longer. We are happy beyond words in our new home in our new neighborhood in our new suburb. And my city friends who doubted this move actually drive over for dinner parties and play dates. So there!

I’m also a freelance writer, blogger, photographer and event planner. I recently left my day job to live out my love for creativity, details and writing. I dabble in party planning, event styling, DIY everything, interior design, photography, baking creatively, creating cocktail recipes using inexpensive sparkling wine and anything parenting related.

I’m currently obsessed with making our new suburban house a home filled with color, creativity, warmth, love, laughs and lots and lots of memories. I truly believe that it is possible to live a fancy life every day. It’s all in life’s little details.

Because of some hard work, a few difficult decisions and the right choices, I can clearly say that I am a writer!

Things are not perfect. I miss working with people every day. I spend hours and hours alone in my office. Thank goodness for our sweet cats.

But, this is definitely the career I’ve always wanted and it fits our lifestyle well. I am so grateful.

Let’s all make things happen!

Video credit

The video above was created by my wonderful friend Joe with Joe Pollock Films. He is an amazing videographer in the Twin Cities specializing in nonprofit and wedding videos. He has also done some beautiful work with creative individuals pursuing their passions. That’s where we got together on this little video. It’s SO scary to share this video with you. I was in the middle of setting up for an event with little makeup and hadn’t done my hair, but guess what? This is the message I want to share. This is what it’s all about for me, so I’m sharing with you, my amazing readers! Thank you for your support.

Cheers!

Wedding photo—Photogen Inc.
Family photo—Melissa Oholendt Photography 

Question for you

What makes you feel fancy every day? I really want to know. What are life’s simple luxuries that make you feel like a million bucks?