This is Gretchen, and I’m always thrilled to see her because her brain sponges up such satisfying facts. For example:
Were you aware that some studies have shown that when women are looking to reproduce, they’re attracted to men who smell biologically disparate? However, when they get pregnant, they’re attracted to men who smell like family, ostensibly because family will be more likely to protect the offspring. BUT! The pill mimics pregnancy. Which could mean that some types of pill cause you to fall in love with a man who is biologically similar, reproduce with him, and then find his smell unattractive when you’ve gone off the pill, sometimes leading you to break things off with him. What the what?
Gretchen is good for a few dozen of those life-altering facts over an evening, which is why I always pull her down next to me at dinner.
Gretchen also happens to be the author of the bestselling Happiness Project, and the soon-to-be-released Happier at Home (which will hit shelves September 4 and is now available for pre-order), both of which document Gretchen’s curiosity about ways to improve her life — she also has a site dedicated to the process that has some useful suggestions. The Go Mighty team and the gracious Isabel Kallman hosted a book release party for Happier at Home in New York last week, and some of our favorite women gathered to celebrate happiness.
Laura documented all the details over here. There was champagne, and donuts (Donuts 2012!), and lots of women laughing, which is the best.
There were also gift bags. Want one?
Bliss supplied a generous helping of good-smelling body and bath products, and Anthropologie gave us pretty wall calendars.
We also have five copies of Happier at Home to give away. To enter, just tell us what makes you happy in comments. In fact, will you please tell us three things? I like to read them. Fingers crossed for you.
Top and bottom images by Mighty Girl. Other images by Sheri Silver from www.sherisilver.com.
UPDATE: Comments close Monday, August 13. Until then, keep ’em coming:
Mighty Girl 
This is easy! Napping with my dog, watching Breaking Bad with my husband and going on vacation by myself.
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1. The kittens, asleep, and not trying to murder each other.
2. Putting on fake eyebrows and then pretending I haven’t.
3. Good news on weigh-in day.
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1. Eating breakfast alone in the cool morning before a hot summer’s day.
2. Tying up loose ends.
3. Wearing dresses.
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Three things that make me happy:
1. The way my boyfriend and I can look at each other and know the other is thinking, “ice cream.”
2. The smell of little babies’ heads
3. Waking up in the morning to the perfect bedhead, eliminating the need for the whole wash, dry, & style debacle.
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What makes me happy:
1. Spotting bunnies in my neighborhood. I live in Chicago and love seeing them to remind me nature is indeed all around. I may or may not have named the bunny who frequently appears in my courtyard “Mr. Whiskertails.”
2. A well-made bed. Didn’t Gretchen talk about this in her first book?!
3. Lifting someone up. Whether from complimenting them on their awesomeness or empowering them to try something new…this is why I work in higher education.
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Easy as pie (or chocolate mousse, since that makes me way happier):
1) my daughter’s naptime – oh, the potential!
2) good cappuccino foam and a spoon to eat it with
3) lately, fabric stores and sewing
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drinking a mug of coffee whilst sitting inside watching the rain pour down
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1) An email from the public library, telling me my requested books have arrived and are ready for me to pick up.
2) The post-divorce Sunday morning routine my daughters and I have established. We have become ‘regulars’ at our local bagel shop. Every Sunday, without fail.
3)Knowing that my cat sleeps next to the front door so she will be right there when I come home.
Oh, I am liking this so much, I need to write a much longer list for myself!
Thank you for sharing such wonderful bounty with us.
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1) Hot coffee in the coffee pot when I wake up in the morning
2) Cool, crisp weather
3) Rearranging furniture successfully
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Each month, I make it a point to make a list of things that make me happy. Then I consult it when I’m feeling blue. Among other things on the list for August: fresh-cut zinnias from my garden. That’s happy!
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1. Listening to kids playing in a pool (while I lounge)
2. Perfect iced tea (condensation on tall glass required)
3. Getting even one thing checked off my list per day.
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blood orange-flavored Chobani yogurt with fresh berries on top, finding *just* the right words, road trips
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1. A breakfast burrito from the farmer’s market.
2. Star Trek: The Next Generation
3. Hearing nightly music from the dance studio across the street.
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At this moment?
1. The smell of baking granola.
2. My son teaching my daughter all about baseball on the “field” they’ve constructed in the living room.
3. The freshly painted bathroom just waiting for me to reassemble and prettify.
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1) A really good peach.
2) Fishing (this is new! I just learned to fish!)
3) Making my husband laugh.
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I am happiest when I feel like I’ve accomplished something OR when I have the ability to be leisurely and sit around doing nothing.
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Crossfit classes make me happy. Or…I guess they make me sick to my stomach with nerves before, miserable during, but strong, energized and very happy after!
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1. I am happy when my one and a half year old lays her head on my chest and closes her eyes in total contentment while we swing together.
2. Walking in the woods makes me happy. Always.
3. If I am outside during first light or last light, its a good day.
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1. Driving with the top down on a warm summer afternoon
2. Finding an OBSCENE deal on something I’d never be able to have otherwise
3. Fri. PM watching BAD TV after everyone else has gone to bed
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The three things that make me happiest are:
1) Seeing my kids play together
2) Laughing so hard with my family that I cry
3) Being in Yosemite and seeing the valley from Tunnel View, which reminds me just how small my life is in comparison to the world, and gives me instant perspective
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1. Listening to my sons laugh together makes me happy.
2. Making my husband laugh makes me happy.
3. Seeing my best friend accomplish something she thought she couldn’t makes me happy.
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Watching my wife dance.
The whirring sound of my smarty pants 9 year old son’s brain.
My daughter’s wild imagination.
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Thank you! Love Gretchen! And Mighty Girl (of course).
Three things that make me happy right now:
1) Project Runway (I’m late to the party but oh so happy to have made it)
2) Sweet Tea flavored vodka
3) Watching my girls play together
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Three things that make me happy (and this is very important at this time in my life)
1. Riding my Vespa
2. My dog Hooper
3. My internet family
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1. My daughter’s laughter after one of her dad’s jokes
2. A perfectly ripe avocado
3. A crisp fall day
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– How easy it is to make the toddlers giggle that I nanny.
– Sriracha on McDonalds breakfast burritos make me happy (on the rare occassion that I wake up early enough to get one!)
– a good boat ride on the lake with my family.
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1. reading in my garden
2. with cold wine and olives
3. while the sun is setting
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1. My family
2. Early morning on the beach
3. The music on my little pink iPod
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1. Cookies.
2. My husband.
3. A day when I’ve crossed off most of my to-do’s and I have a sense, more broadly, that I’ve done what I was supposed to do that day – a day I feel like I’ve succeeded more than I’ve failed.
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1. long walks in the arboretum
2. my best friends visiting/being near by
3. sleeping late/laying in bed late with my buddy (ahem, partner? significant other?)
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Three things that make me aware of my happiness:
1. cocktails al fresco with peaceful friends
2. time – moving slowly, savoring moments
3. my cousin Ann
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1. Listening to my little guy sing songs, especially when he makes up lyrics.
2. Swimming laps in a quiet pool.
3. A recipe that comes out perfect.
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1. Impromptu talks with my teenage daughters make me happy. They’re a riot.
2. Petting our critters makes me happy. I think it makes me happy too.
3. Imagining myself as the Zombie Overlord of the Upper Midwest Region (and Canada) makes me happy too. Who wouldn’t want to be that?!
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Oops! I meant petting makes my critters happy too. Or…it makes me doubly happy. Whatever rates me the book (which would make me ecstatic. You want to stay on the Zombie Overlord’s good side, right?
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lazy weekends, a good book and my family make me happy
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1. Singing loud and off key in the car with my pre-teen son.
2. Bubbles
3. Laughing at the dinner table with my family.
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1. My gray bermuda shorts that fit PERFECTLY.
2. Finding the love of my life after going to hell and back.
3. The laughter of women in a group.
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These things gave me a rush of happiness and gratitude this week:
1. Listening to my girls harmonize by the campfire.
2. Seeing my son off to work with Dad at his first ‘real’ job.
3. Sitting with my friend’s husband at the hospice and then getting a text from her that my being there helped her get through the day.
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1) The coffee my husband brings to my bedside every morning.
2) The goofy grins of my children.
3) Naps!
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1) my cats greeting me at the door
2) having my coffee after a long run, before the rest of world has woken up
3) Chipotle burrito bowl + cabernet sauvignon
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1. Going to museums, alone.
2. Being in the woods, with the perfect combination of friends.
3. Planning my move to Portland next year, with my boyfriend.
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1. My boys
2. My husband
3. The view out the windows of our new cottage
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1. My son getting off the plane when he comes home from university. (Also his younger brother’s happy face when he sees his older brother).
2. My dogs being so excited when they see me put on my bikini because that means swimming!
3. Enjoying dinner and wine on our deck on a hot summer’s night.
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1. Smelling my son’s head. He’s four and a half and I still can’t get enough. If they bottled that smell I would buy it in bulk.
2. Sitting around a table with my friends after they’ve happily eaten a meal I cooked.
3. The rush of adrenaline at that moment on a run when a good song comes on my iPod and I kick it into a gear I didn’t think I had in me.
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1. The things toddlers say. Like my daughter saying jumpoline instead of trampoline.
2. Friends who are not only interested in what I’m doing, but who I also find interesting.
3. Farmer’s markets. Because winter in Utah can be hard (no fresh local produce), I have to take advantage of summer’s bounty.
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1. An amazing album.
2. Spending a whole day enjoying brunch, walks, movies, cookies, and snuggles.
3. A good friend.
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1. Watching my kids wrestle before bed. At least right up until the inevitable eye injury.
2. Running with my new friends. They push me in a good way, and I always feel so happy at the end of a run.
3. Finally having a job I love. It’s really the people (isn’t it always really the people).
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a) spooning with my husband after a long, hard day
b) tropical island vacations
c) hunkering down with a good novel
d) sunshine
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1. Baby smiles
2. A full night’s sleep
3. An excellent meal
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Live music makes me happy. Also…checking things off my to do list!
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