Famous among dozens
The winner of the first giveaway, Mighty Summit gift bag, is number 1268:
So congratulations to, MARIA KREBS! Who is looking to get some poetry published.
If you’re not Maria Krebs, there’s still time to enter the other giveaways. Fingers crossed for you.
This here is the last Mighty Summit giveaway! Hello, trusty tote.
Large Natural Zip Top Canvas Tote Bag by Lands End
Man, these things are useful, and strong. We use ours to carry our child like an expensive, overbred dog. No, I kid. We use it on our yacht.
Yours will not say “Gifts” on the front, but it will have yellow trim. You could use it to carry around all these books:
You Lost Me There, by Rosecrans Baldwin
Hey, my friend Rosecrans is a novelist! Even better, the book he wrote is very good, and you will like it. It’s about a memory specialist who loses his wife and later finds a set of index cards covered in her writing. He comes to learn that his memories of a perfect partnership aren’t true to his wife’s feelings of isolation and disenchantment with the marriage.
No One Cares What You Had fro Lunch, by Margaret Mason
This is a signed copy of my book, which is not a novel. But! It is very green and full of good ideas for your blog.
Wiley’s Guide to California Wine
In which you will learn that California wine is delicious. Apologies for the spoiler.
This is the book Laura edited full of great writing and photography from women around the Web. Also, it is pretty.
In addition to the tote, Lands’ End also threw in a gift card. You could use yours for this. Or this. Or one of these. Whatever you want, really.
$50 Gift Card from Soma Intimates
And who doesn’t need new skivvies?
To enter, please tell us about one thing that always makes you happy. And remember that we still have a few open giveaways, so put your name in over there too if you haven’t already.
Fine print: Please only leave one comment for each giveaway, because it’s the nice thing to do, and also because multiple entries will be disqualified. I’ll use random.org to select the winner, and I’ll announce who won at the top of this post and in a separate post next Monday.
So, today is our wedding anniversary, Internet.
Bryan and I have been married lo these seven years, which I hear is very good luck. Right? Right! We’ve been together for nine years, which officially makes us saints. (Especially the me part of us. Trust me. I am the Mother Theresa of married chicks, but with shorter skirts and more tequila.)
Every so often, one of you emails asking about what happened at our wedding — what we wore, where it was, what we ate. You think you’re having trouble finding it on the site. Wrong! You’re sure that if you look hard enough, you’ll find my wedding day shoes and a full list of our readings. Not true!
The truth is, we were married about a year before everyone started sharing details of their weddings publicly. At the time, it was considered a little too personal, unless you happened to have eloped. This is because we are very, very old. (WHAM! Orbitz! What are roller blades? ) So I’ve decided that this week is the wedding tell all.
Are you getting married right now, you sweet young thing? Congratulations! Here’s yet another dose of the giant stash of wedding porn that is the Internet.
Happy anniversary, Bryan R. Mason. You continue to be a very nice young man, and I love you.
I’ve always wished I knew more about music, and this is part of my Life List project to listen to 1,000 new songs. Right now I’m up to 570, and on Fridays I share some of my new favorites. If you’d like to share some music with me, please send your picks to maggie at mighty girl dot com, and I will listen to them.
These first two artists and songs are recs from Melanie Levi:
Roll Away Your Stone from Mumford and Sons
Nothing Else Matters covered by Lissie
The Start of Something from Voxtrot
Just Impolite from Plushgun
Via Pop On and On
Like a G6 from Far East Movement
Let’s dance this one out.
Still looking for more music? Here you go: Mixtape 1, Mixtape 2, Mixtape 3, Mixtape 4, Mixtape 5, Mixtape 6, Mixtape 7, Mixtape 8, Mixtape 9, Mixtape 10, Mixtape 11, Mixtape 12, Mixtape 13, Mixtape 14, Mixtape 15 , Mixtape 16 , Mixtape 17 , Mixtape 18, Mixtape 19
Typekit is moving into a new office that’s still under construction. The staff is all over the country, so when everyone flew in for an all-staff meeting, Bryan surprised them with a dinner party in the construction zone. Best view in the city.
Now that so many of us carry digital cameras everywhere, we’re finding new and amusing ways to annoy one another with them. We post awful photos of obviously drunk acquaintances, and push camera phones so close to people’s faces that it impedes their ability to blink. Read more…
I can’t stop thinking about Nina Simone’s list to herself.
Fascinating chart of the Mariana trench, the lowest elevation on earth.
Paper clothes by Bea Sezenfeld.
A video interview with me over at Devries PR.
The flying toddler photo at the top of this post is winning.
Today’s giveaway is a little more symbolic. First up is the Quintet Necklace, by one of my favorite etsy jewelers Lemonade Handmade:
Gold Rings Necklace — the Quintet by Lemonade Handmade
I’ve mentioned this necklace before, we gave one to each of the attendees to symbolize the five Life List goals they hoped to accomplish in the coming year. (Nicole did a lovely write up about it.) I love the necklace for its simplicity, and I like the idea of five golden rings being little commitments to yourself. I’ve been wearing mine every day since the Summit. Lovely.
Every year, we have an artist make limited edition prints to commemorate the weekend. This year Alma and Mike Loveland of Ollibird.com did block prints of the vintage blankets we lug onsite to keep everyone warm.
Alma, whose yellow sweater you may remember from a previous post, did the illustrations.
Mike hand painted the blankets for a little pop of color.
Mike and Alma teach all kinds of art and computer classes and they live in the Salt Lake City area. In fact, they’re hosting an art weekend in Salt Lake at this very moment, so head over if you’re in town.
The finished prints each featured a different color, but yours will be plum.
To enter, please tell us about your proudest accomplishment in comments. And the drawings are still open for our the Mighty Summit Giftbag and the Summit Necklace and Brooch giveaway, so throw your hat in there too.
Fine print: Please only leave one comment for each giveaway, because it’s the nice thing to do, and also because multiple entries will be disqualified. I’ll use random.org to select the winner, and I’ll announce who won at the top of this post and in a separate post next Thursday.
For those of you who requested a how to on the fiesta party hats, here you go:
You’ll need:
Crepe paper flowers (we got ours at Fantastico!)
Wire cutters
A hot glue gun and glue sticks
Lingerie elastic for the headbands
This is how the flowers come, pre-muss.
First, I turned them inside out for maximum fullness. You have to do this gently, stretching each layer as much as possible without tearing it. Then I clipped out the center stamens with a pair of wire cutters and turned the flower right side out again.
Now it’s time to glue one side of the petals down to create a larger flower that looks more like a rose than a trumpet flower.You’re about to glue the first layer of tissue down, but avoid gluing down the raw edge of outermost tissue shown in the photo above. You’ll want to hide that edge, and if you glue it to the stem, it will be visible in the end result. Instead glue at least three fingers width away from that edge.
(Bam! Color change. I am blowing your mind right now with the magic of the Internet.)
Anyway, once you have your spot, put a little hotglue on the stem about two inches away from the base of the flower,
and pat the first layer of tissue into place.
Repeat with the next two or three layers of tissue, gluing each to the “stem” through the layers of tissue that are already tacked down. Your dots of glue will get a little closer to the center with each layer.
Your end result will look like a lopsided flower before you put it on, but this shape follows the curve of the head in an attractive way.
Now for the headband. I just measured by pulling it around my head and making sure there was some tension to the elastic so it would have to stretch a bit for the girls to put their hats on. That worked fine, and the photo above shows you about how long it is.
Once you’ve cut a piece of elastic to size, glue the ends together with a half-inch stripe of hot glue.Now glue the flower base onto the point where the elastic is joined, so you can hide that ridge. Use your wire cutters to snip off the excess wire on the flower stem, and voila!
The hat can be worn four different ways, so it’s perfect for folks who are irritated by party hats or don’t like to muss their hair. My favorite way to wear it is as a headband:
Then you can use it as a proper hat:
Wear it around your neck or wear it as a wrist corsage:
Hooray! You are so extra- fancy right now.
Today’s giveaway features two California jewelry artists.
Textured Drop Necklace By Feisty Elle
Every time I wear this piece by Leslie Yang, I get compliments. I’ve actually had people stop me in the street to ask where I got it. It’s made of bamboo, so it’s surprisingly lightweight. I don’t even notice I have it on, and I love how effortlessly it elevates an outfit.
Can You Hear Me Now Brooch by Mama’s Little Babies
Mama’s Little Baby brooches are so witty. This guy is my favorite, but I also feel affectionate toward the artichoke and Gunther, the World Famous Lion Tamer.
Cute, right? I know!
To enter, please leave a piece of advice for your younger self. And don’t forget to check back this week for more contests.
Fine print: Please only leave one comment, because it’s the nice thing to do, and also because multiple entries will be disqualified. I’ll use random.org to select the winner, and I’ll announce who won at the top of this post and in a separate post next Wednesday.
Mighty Girl 
