Go Somewhere Good

Sandisk slotRadio is sponsoring another present for you. This time I put together a travel comfort kit with some of the things I find useful on trips, which is convenient, because I’m typing this on an airplane right now. If these look familiar, it’s because lots of them are up on Mighty Goods, where I keep all my favorite stuff.

If you win, it’s like God telling you to quit your job and wait tables in Europe. Right? Right.

F1 Two-Zip Dopp

This dopp kit is my very favorite travel thing, and it looks like Flight 001 is discontinuing them. Insanity. The bag is attractive but not twee, well-made, waterproof (so exploding hair goo won’t stain your clothes), and hyper functional. The whole top opens up, so you can see everything at a glance rather than digging around in your bag. Plus, I love how the zippers are attached to the handle, so you can close the bag and throw it in your suitcase in one swoop.

Flight 001 this is madness. Bring back the two-zip dopp, I implore you.

Inside the dopp, I packed a set of nap-anywhere products:

1. Earplugs
2. Eye Shade
3. Travel Pillow

It’s the red-eye trifecta. My preferred eye-shade and neck pillow are also both from Flight 001:

F-1 Night Shade

The one I picked is red, to match your dopp kit. Much more comfy than the crappy ones you pick up at the drugstore.

Comfort Tavel Pillow

I used to travel with one of those cushy neck pillows, but it was impossible to stow conveniently, and a pain to wash. That makes for one filthy pillow, and airplane filth is the reason Purell was invented. Unfortunately, Purell just makes your pillow all sticky.

I switched to inflatable pillows, and have found that the only comfy ones are the ones with knit or fleece covers. This one is fleece, which is a bit bulkier, but more cushy — also, easy to wash.

SlotRadio

As you might expect, our sponsor threw in a Slot Radio, which is an MP3 player that comes pre-loaded with music. It’s tiny, and it’s a time-saver if you want some new music for your trip, but don’t feel like staying up until 3 a.m. downloading stuff.

Travel Candle

For the hotel room, I always like to have a travel candle with me. It dispels funk, and calms you down, but also helps you make scent memories, so the smell of that candle will always remind you of your trip. I love when that happens.

I got you a Botanicus candle in Champagne, because it smelled good. I don’t really have a brand preference when in comes to travel candles, but if you do please tell me in comments. I’m into that stuff.

A Dagoba Organic Chocolate Bar, New Moon

I have to travel with snacks or I get hangry when my blood sugar dips. Dagoba makes satisfying, organic chocolate bars. They’re rich enough that you may actually be satisfied with a few squares. Or you can have it for breakfast. I’m not judging.

Pamela Barsky Luggage Tags

These happy luggage tags have saved me from taking the wrong luggage countless times. The best one reads, “This is not your bag.” Though I keep waiting for someone with the exact same luggage to have the exact same tag.

And that’s it! All right travelers, leave a comment telling me where you would go if you could go anywhere at all, and I’ll use the random number thingie to figure out who gets the goods. I’ll announce the winner this Friday. If you win, you have to go teach English in Vietnam. That’s the deal.

Take tap lessons? Check.

My favorite thing about this video is how gobsmacked I look at the end of each section I complete. After the 50-second mark, it’s all celebratory improvisation, so please don’t blame Mr. Kloss for my lack of form.

Ready? Let’s do this thing:

Next time? Sparklers.

Ed note: Intel is making my site more interesting by sponsoring my Mighty Life List over the next few months. Things will be a little hectic over here for a while.

Mighty Life List: Take tap dance lessons.

This is my tap dance teacher, John Kloss. Doesn’t he look hopeful? If you refuse to look hopeful while tap dancing, they pry the taps off your shoes, and point sternly at the studio door. Then they kick you on your way out.

See? Earnest! He’s a professional.

Anyway, Mr. Kloss is the founder of the Bay Area Tap Festival, and he teaches beginner drop-in classes on Wednesday nights at City Dance. I took one — it was the very first time I’d ever put on tap shoes. I quickly realized that I needed an accelerated course, because my plan was to re-launch Mighty Girl with a little tap routine. I had visions of sparklers! And a humorous, sequined tappy outfit!

In retrospect, my vision was overly ambitious (surprise), but Mr. Kloss graciously agreed to meet me on Sunday to teach me a routine. I then spent eleven hours practicing between Sunday and Tuesday. I lost like three pounds, and I’m also so sore I can’t hold the TV remote without whimpering.

Mr. Kloss had a very good sense of humor about my plan, and I did manage to record something on Tuesday. I am not wearing spandex (disappointment!), but I did get all the way through the routine without crying. I’ll post the video tomorrow, so you can enjoy my very stern tap face.

If you need me, I’ll be in an ice bath.

Intel is making my site more interesting by sponsoring my life list over the next few months. So they paid for my tap shoes and studio time. Thanks, Intel!

Redesign Mighty Girl? Check.

So we’re already crossing off my first Mighty Life List item courtesy of Intel*:

Redesign Mighty Girl!

I tried to find a little trumpet sound to link here, but to no avail. So we’ll just have to use our imaginations. Ready? TA-DA-DA-TAAAAAAAAAAA!

Good work everyone.

The new design makes me seem so serene, doesn’t it? Peek behind the curtain and you’ll find me eating potato chips for dinner at 2 a.m., having left the shower without rinsing conditioner out of my hair. This morning, my pillowcase looked like I’d used it to line a platter of fried chicken.

I think the site is channeling some of Helen Jane’s even keel-ed-ness. I knew we’d have to do everything ludicrously fast, so I wanted to work with someone soothing. When I first asked her, she was a little leery.

She thought the process might be unpleasant.

But she does like designing things.

And then she realized what she could charge for a four-week turnaround.

Thanks to Intel, I could actually afford to pay her. She was worth every penny.

Thanks, lady!

Anyway, if you haven’t yet, please poke around and let me know what you think. The categories may seem hinky, because I haven’t had a chance to comb through all ten years of content yet. For now, I’m thinking of the site as a home that gives me room to grow.

As for the other life-list items I’ll be crossing off, you’ll know more in the next few days, but I want to keep some of them a surprise. Also, lots of you have been asking how I chose. The answer is, Intel offered me a timeframe and a budget, and that helped me shape a plan. It’s a mixture of grand things and small, happy things.

I want to do everything, but I also need enough time to savor it. The process has already taught me a lot, but we’ll talk about that later. For now, enjoy the new site while I nap. Thank you for all the incredible comments. You’re all right.

*What’s going on here? Intel is making my site more interesting by sponsoring my life list over the next few months. Next week, I’m going on a Space Shuttle with the Rockettes!

Turns Out My Fairy Godmother Wears a Clean-Suit


Attend San Francisco’s Black and White Ball.

As many of you know, about a year ago I started writing down 100 things I’d like to do before I die — peacefully, in my sleep, of extreme old age. I called it my Mighty Life List, and I wrote it because I wanted to start dreaming bigger.


Taste 1,000 Fruits.

I was embarrassed by the list’s audacity, worried some of you might think I was cheesy, or maybe overreaching if I told you my plans. That’s silly, of course, because I’ve noticed over the years that you guys are nice. You make it lovely to write here every day, and doing that has helped me realize I want to spend more time celebrating, and less time slogging.


Cross the Canadian Border.

I made the list, changed things here and there, gradually started crossing things off, and then my life took a turn for the surreal.


Make 1,000 lovely things.

Intel has decided to sponsor my life list.

I told you your jaw would hit the floor. I’ve known for months, and my brain is still catching up. So! How did this happen? I’ll tell you the full story in a couple of days, but here’s the gyst.

Intel started this Sponsors of Tomorrow campaign, it’s the one you’ve seen on The Tonight Show, and the one with the geek rockstar ads that have been making rounds online. As part of the campaign, they asked me to choose ten things I thought I could accomplish in the next three months, and then told me to go do them — they’d pick up the check.

Cut to me at the Oscar podium dipping Halle Barry and kissing her full on the mouth.

And so, Mighty Girl is about to get more interesting, and slightly more frantic. My designer friend Helen Jane Hearn came out of blog-design retirement to help me with a beloved new look for Mighty Girl, which will launch Wednesday. I will not be sleeping between now and then.

Next week, I leave for Puerto Rico to swim with bioluminescent plankton. In between I’m taking tap lessons with John Kloss, Founder of Stepology and patron saint of patience.

I need a nap, but I couldn’t be happier. I’m the stupid kind of happy, the let-the-toddler-eat-an-entire-bar-of-chocolate kind of happy. And here’s what’s happening in my head:

In my head all of you are with me in some ludicrous warehouse space, screaming, jumping up and down, blowing celebratory horns, and ducking champagne corks. This Very Good Thing that’s happening, it’s happening because of you. So thank you.

Cheers.

Mighty Closet: Margaret Stewart, Outfit No. 5

Le sigh. This is Margaret’s fancy cocktail attire. Observe how she could eat a few platters of hors d’oeuvres and no one would be the wiser? Genius. Dress is Diane Von Furstenberg, bought on super-uper sale at Barney’s. Margaret is the queen of 75 percent off.

Just a little detail on the front of the dress. It’s refreshing to come across clothing that looks as though someone has put work into the construction. Also? The light in Margaret’s hallway is heartbreakingly good. She looks like she could ascend.


Her shoes are by Farylrobin, and she got them on Endless.com, which is Amazon’s version of Zappos. Hose are Spanx from Nordstrom. I rarely think to wear patterned tights, but they add so much interest to the right outfit. Chicka-boom!

This is my favorite photo from the whole batch — doesn’t she look coy and classic in her little veil? She bought it in Montreal, and got me a chic cocktail hat by the same artist for my birthday. People stop me to exclaim over it, leading to many pleasant party conversations with folks who have great taste. You can find your own version at Ophelie Hats.

And that’s all folks! Thanks for sharing your inspiring closet with us, Margaret Stewart. You are legendary.

My teeth? Fair Trade

My body is attacking my teeth.

My teeth were just minding their own business, masticating, ripping open plastic packaging. Then my teeth glanced over at my immune system, and my immune system was all, “What are you staring at?” My teeth were like, “Nothing, man.” And BAM! My life is a Stephen King novella where I angered some mystic and now I’m paying in teeth.

It’s called dental resorption, and it’s pretty awesome, because it could strike me again at any time. The act of flossing has become a scene from some artsy Julianne Moore movie. Teeth are so terrifyingly symbolic.

Anyway, my outlook on this new development is surprisingly sunny, which seems slightly insane until you understand the context. So much good stuff is happening in my life right now that “immune system attacks teeth” is falling into the category of You Can’t Have Everything.

I can’t wait to tell you what’s been going on behind the curtain over here, you won’t be able to scrape your jaw off the floor. BUT! I’m not allowed to yet. Please check back next week. I have news.

Mighty Closet: Margaret Stewart, Outfit No. 4

We photographed a lot of upscale outfits, so Margaret insisted on one “what I’d throw on to meet you for brunch” set. Fair enough.

The jeans are Gap, shirt is Paul and Joe for Target, and the jacket is Proenza Schouler for Target. She got it on super sale for $6.

This, again, is why I take Margaret with me when I go shoe shopping. She purchased these boots at Paolo in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley.

These are actual Girl Scout patches, which Margaret ordered according to her interests — design, nerdery, color, sewing, cooking, and photography. I said:

-“They just let you order them?”
-“YES! I know. I was kind of scandalized. I guess they figured people old enough to have credit cards have no use for Girl Scout patches.”
-“Wrong!”
-“Dead wrong.”

Hello, cutie. Get a load of those eyes. Hat by Boden, which we both agree has grown a little bit ho-hum of late. Reinvigorate, Boden! We want to love you. Help us love you again.

On Monday, we conclude with a peek at one of Margaret’s ludicrously good evening dresses.