6 Reasons Why Blake Lively Is Our Creativity Spirit Animal

1. She Is a Maker-Turned-Motorcycle Fixer: Having a newborn can be a little stressful, especially when you’re running a company. She told the publication the best outlet for relieving stress is by making something. “I’ll knit or cook — or work on a motorcycle, a skill my husband is teaching me. One of my latest projects was painting nature-inspired throw pillows.” Hey budding Blakes, look over here! We’ve got a knitting e-class + some Anthro-inspired throws for ya to make ;)

2. Her Favorite Dessert Hack Is Probably Yours Too: When Blake isn’t busy eating her veggies, she’s indulging in the sweeter things in life by baking or getting down with a classic hot fudge sundae. She shared her go-to sweet recipe hack with the magazine. “Forget the fake syrupy stuff; melt down a bar of chocolate, mix it into some warmed up whipping cream, and put it on top of ice cream. Add some sprinkles, and you’ve got a delicious treat.” We’re taking this advice and whipping one an HFS immediately.

3. She Has Food Wanderlust: While Preserve + her new girl keep her plenty busy, she does still like to explore the city she fell in love with when she was filming Gossip Girl. She told the monthly mag she “loves walking through New York City. It’s constantly changing. I’ll go back to an area I visited four years ago, and it’s completely different.” Her real reason for loving it is way better than you can imagine: “But that’s a good thing because it means there will always be new neighborhoods to eat my way through.” We’re with you there, girl — see our roundups of America’s top food trucks or how about our favorite coffee shops coast-to-coast?

4. She Has a Soft Spot forHandwritten Notes: Although we’re all about digitizing everything from news to recipes, we’re down with the idea of keeping the art of pen and paper alive. Blake keeps a box of handwritten recipes passed down from all of the women in her family from her great-grandmother to her aunt and mother. “We all like to cook by instinct and intuition,” she tells the mag. “So I’m glad they wrote things down every once in a while.” Why not keep the legacy alive for James and learn some calligraphy techniques, Blake + friends? Unless you’re already a pro, of course ;)

5. Creativity Is in Her Blood: So many of us can turn to moms, dads, and other family members to trace our creative roots back. Blake spilled the beans on her mother and how she used to “infuse my life with a lot of magic. When she read my fortune cookies, the predictions were full of princesses and castles and jewels and pirates. When I got old enough to read them, I was shocked to find out how boring they really were.”

Bonus: She Loves Disney like We Do: Living down the street from Disneyland had its perks as Blake grew up with regular trips to the Mouse House. Though it was fun to wander the park that Walt built, she found other reasons to love the place. “Most people think of [Disneyland] as an amusement park, but we went so often that it was my education on everything from innovation to architecture from around the world.” Hashtag deep thoughts by Blake.

Pick up a copy of the April issue of O Magazine on newsstands now.

What was the most interesting discovery about Blake from her O spotlight that she indulges in hot fudge sundaes or that she fixes up motorcycles? Let us know in the comments.

(Photos via Guy Aroch/O, The Oprah Magazine, @preserve_us, @blakelively, @preserve_us, @blakelively + @preserve_us)