Famous among dozens
This girl was waiting for lunch at the food carts with me. Doesn’t she look like Katie Holmes? She works at a used and vintage clothing store in Portland, and I love the way she looks so casual but so pulled together. It’s tough to pull that off successfully.
Oh, Portland. You dress so cute.
This post is sponsored by eBay. From the new to the hard to find, when it’s on your mind, it’s on eBay.
Say you want to open a Swiss bank account — number 16 on my Life List. I’ve done some research, and the Swiss government requires you to wear black while carrying at least five passports and a satchel packed with cash.
Right now, I can tell you the license plate numbers of all six cars out front. I know the best place to look for a gun is the cab of the gray truck outside, and at this altitude, I can run flat out for a half mile.
In heels.
1. Kate Spade Plaza Athenee Chandelier Earrings | 2. ZARA Jacquard Peplum Top | 3. Alice + Olivia Black Leggings (via eBay) | 4. Topshop “Skull” Scarf | 5. Mango Suede Stilettos | 6. Loeffler Randall Jacket in Black (via eBay) | 7. Gold Nixon Women’s Watch (via eBay) | 8. Tory Burch Purse (via eBay) | 9. Ray-Ban Original Wayfarers
http://thirdparty.fmpub.net/placement/516440?fleur_de_sel=%5Btimestamp%5D
It’s late, and I think you guys might be drunk. The bars are closed, but the minibar never closes. Bring your friends back to dance on the bed.
XOXO Fest, Hotel Room Dance Party on Spotify
XOXO Fest, Hotel Room Dance Party on Rdio (partial)
Feeling Good, Telephunken
It’s Tricky, Run DMC
Lonely Boy, The Black Keys
Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, Joilet Jake Blues
Evil Boy, Die Antwoord
Never Gonna Get It, En Vogue
Dead Animals, The Young Evils
Carry Out, Timbaland Featuring Justin Timberlake
212, Azealia Banks and Lazy Jay
Blow, Ke$ha
Can’t Say No, Connor Maynard
If I Was Your Girl, Janet Jackson
Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved, James Brown, The Original J.B.s
Check Up On It, Beyonce: Featuring Slim Thug
I’m at XOXO Festival in Portland, hosted by my friend Andy Baio. We will be eating from food trucks, buying handicrafts, and dancing on beds with smart people all weekend long.
What do you play when you’re up for a cheesy after-hours dance party?
More music for the weekend:
Maximum Fun Mix | Breakup: Mix for the Brokenhearted | You Got This
Mighty Summit was last weekend, and with Camp Mighty approaching, I’ve been considering what I want from next year. At both events we do a resource lunch where attendees choose five goals for the coming year, and ask for help with one.
My plan was to revamp my Life List because so much has changed. I found a fresh sheet of paper, got all thinky, and! My new goals were so meaty, you guys. “I have leveled up!” I thought, “My personal growth this past year is astounding!”
But, no. Turns out I always go through a process of setting larger goals and then winnowing down to specifics, it just wasn’t conscious before. In fact, over the years I’ve developed a system that works pretty well for me using three different types of goals:
1. DIRECTIONS
I write all year long — here, in journals, on 750 Words, and I also keep an idea file on my laptop full of information I want to consider when I’m setting course for the year.
As my birthday approaches, I scan all that stuff and look for patterns. This helps me identify umbrella goals. They’re always a slightly different format, and they always seem cheesy when I share them, but the personal stuff always does, right? So here’s last year’s goal list:
Be myself.
• Organized
• Satisfied
• Fun
And this year’s:
Remember who you love and who loves you.
• Celebrate others
• Help others
• Be strong
• Leave space
• Stand up
These goals help me figure out what I want to cross off my Life List in the coming year. Which brings us to the second type of goal.
2. ACTIONS
These are the kinds of goals you’ll see on my Life List — taking tap lessons, tasting 1,000 fruits, rolling a kayak. Once I’ve set my directional goals for the year, I sort through my list for ideas actions that will move me in the right direction.
Under each directional goal, I add a clarifying sentence and then either fill in a few ideas from my Life List, or add tasks to my Life List based on my umbrella goals. I haven’t done this yet this year, so I’ll make up an example:
• Be strong.
Take care of myself so I have energy for everything else.
-Do a Triathlon.
-Practice the Four Agreements.
-Do something fun every day.
Now I know where I want to be, and also the specifics on how I’ll get there.
I plug away at tasks from birthday to birthday, and then start the process again in Fall, carrying over some longer-term items and deciding on fresh lessons with each pass.
In the meantime, I need reminders to lighten up.
3. APPETITES
Come New Year when everyone is in resolution frenzy and seasonal-affective disorder is sapping my will to achieve, I write up a list of fun things I want to keep in mind. Last year’s looked like this:
Resolved, 2012
• Eat more doughnuts.
• Carry less crap.
• Light more candles.
• Read real books.
• Organize the little stuff.
• Listen to more music.
These goals aren’t about effort, they’re just reminders of the things that keep life sweet for me.
So aside from daily to do lists, those are my main goal categories. What about you? How do you organize the things you want to accomplish? Do you make more than one list? Do you just keep things in your head? I’m curious because obviously I’m “meticulous” and the same process won’t produce the best results for everyone. Let me know your thoughts in comments.
OK. We only need 20 more entries in the Tide VIVID White + Bright Rule Breakers of the Week Contest before we can give $500 to Charity Water. Let’s do this.
Joining our ranks is Meg Biram of Mimi+Meg, a new friend who I met in New York at a Sunday Supper. She spent all last weekend at Mighty Summit, and is a very nice person indeed. Or so I thought. It turns out she’s totally ignoring her grandma by offering up more stylish ideas for wearing white after Labor Day. Take that, grandma.
(Meg suggests these Rag + Bone dip-dye jeans. For more, check out her Whites that Work for Fall roundup.)
If you haven’t entered the contest yet, please do. Not only does this give you a very good chance to win a $3,000 shopping spree from Tide, but if we get 100 entries, the Mighty team can donate $500 to Charity Water.
We’re rebels, baby. Rebels with a cause.
If you like this post, you might also like:
Mighty Closet: Impolite White,
Impolite White with A.B. Chao
Mighty Closet: Breaking the Rules with White
Whoa! We’re at 80 entries right now in the Tide VIVID White + Bright Rule Breakers of the Week Contest. Just 20 more we can give Charity Water $500 from the Mighty Coffers. Bwahahaha.
And look! Miss Anna Beth Chao is also on board with the plan to subvert Grandma Law and wear white after Labor Day — particularly whilst cycling through the countryside.
If you have a photo of yourself wearing white, please upload it to the Tide contest page on Facebook. Entering gives you a shot at winning a $3,000 shopping spree. (A ludicrously good shot, actually.)
Clean clothes for you, clean water for kids!
Anna Beth is so excited. Me too, Chao.
Hi. This is me wearing white after Labor Day:
I’m doing this for three reasons. 1. Because I’m a renegade maverick rebel breaking all the rules. 2. Because Tide hopes you will enter their Tide VIVID White + Bright Rule Breakers of the Week Contest for a $3K shopping spree.
AND!
3. Because if at least 100 of you upload a photo of yourselves wearing white? We can donate $500 to Charity Water out of the Mighty coffers. (We’ve been trying to tie our campaigns to good stuff for the world whenever possible. Which is awesome.)
So. Here’s what we know. People need clean water. And! You need clean clothes. So will 100 of you please take a photo of yourself in white and upload it here, so we can kill two birds with one stone? Thanks, you guys.
Meanwhile, being a pasty Irish girl, I had no idea that I do not look like death warmed over when I’m wearing white. Kind of a revelation. Observe:
This entire outfit is second hand. Except for my underwear, because I am a lady.
See how happy I am that everything I’m wearing, including shoes, cost around $50 all told?
The braided belt was from a thrifting trip in Utah after ALT Summit.
These patchwork shoes are the best, acquired at a vintage shop in LA, which always has better shoes than your home city.
This dress is also thrifted. See how happy this makes me? See?
It was like $5 from a vintage-by-the-pound shop on Valencia Street. And it has pockets. Mind blowing.
The cozy, ample scarf is from Zara.
The shoes are Tieks, which are a heavy favorite of mine.
This dress is from Sunhee Moon. I wore it wine tasting, because I like to tempt fate.
The camera bag is Epiphanie, which is made by my friend Maile Wilson. And, fun fact! Maile took most of these photos because she loves me. Right back atcha, sis.
This is me starring in my own ’80s flashback movie.
The vintage men’s tuxedo shirt is from a vintage shop on 16th Street. I love it. Belt is also vintage.
These perfect black shoes are Calvin Klein, acquired at a consignment shop.
The pants are Gap. They are easy to jump in.
Watch your back, little black dress. This thrifted ’80s dress is a new cocktail standard for me.
Of course, I wore it with my stripper shoes to balance out the staidness.
This tassel necklace is from H&M, and it’s rare that you won’t find me twirling it like a lasso. I was being demure for the photo — needlessly, in retrospect.
And that’s it.
Your turn! Please take a photo of yourself or someone you care about wearing white, and upload it to the Tide Facebook page Again, if at least 100 of us upload photos, we can donate $500 to Charity Water. Plus you get a shot at a $3,000 shopping spree. Fingers crossed, team.
This weekend is Mighty Summit, our fourth annual retreat for women in media. The Summit is a miniature version of Camp Mighty, and we do the same things — make Life Lists, commit to a few goals, and talk about how we can help each other cross things off, and drink champagne in the hot tub while reenacting our favorite Drunk History episodes.
Because both events are coming up, I’ve been thinking a lot about lifey stuff. How I want the coming year to feel as much as what I want to cross off my Life List. Reading over your comments on happiness and the kind things people have done for you, I decided to keep better track of what makes me happy and unhappy.
I took the very complex approach of making two lists, a “STOP IT” list and a “DO IT” list. When I feel cruddy, I add whatever got me there to the Stop It List, and when I feel happy, I add to the Do Its. For example:
DO IT!
Cook at home.
Dance.
Read novels in bed.
Write thank you notes.
Have sex!
Take baths instead of showers.
Go Dancing.
Tell the important people how I’m feeling. Using words.
Spend time with people who talk about ideas.
More hammocks.
Have a dance party.
STOP IT!
Don’t buy stuff I don’t truly need.
Don’t wear that unflattering dress anymore.
No reality TV that isn’t about aspiration. Blurgh.
No to people who habitually drain you.
Don’t complain instead of acting.
Refrain from overfilling my schedule.
Don’t assume.
Seriously? Why are you wearing that stupid dress?
See? Helpful.
What about you? If you had a Do and Don’t list, what would be on it?
I was the volunteer coordinator for the Kerry Campaign at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and I also worked as a “visibility whip” on the convention floor, which meant I passed out signs to the crowd. The process was so complex and fascinating, I wrote a piece on how it works. If you’ve been reading for a while you’ve probably seen this before, but if not here you go. An excerpt:
The whips are here to help ensure that there are no “sign clots” or empty rows when a network camera scans our section. The audience needs to have signs at the exact right moment, needs to know when to hold them up, and needs to know when to put them down. As you might imagine, producing and dispersing these signs—and providing instructions to go with them—is no small organizational task. Read more…
If you like this, you might also like:
Four More Years
I love you, America
I found myself low on mixers this week, and I have a kid. You do the math. Necessity is the mother of god this is good.
Gin and Juice (Box)
• Take three mint leaves and roll them around between your fingers until they’re bruised. Throw them in the glass.
• Add a few cubes of ice.
• Shot of Hendrick’s Gin.
• Juice from half a lemon, then rub the lemon around the rim of your glass.
• Top off with a juice box of Honest Kids Berry Berry Good Lemonade (Brand is very important here because you want the low-sugar stuff. I’m not being paid to say this, obviously. But! Any juice box company that wants to start paying me to mix their juice with booze should call me so we can be zillionaires. Tipsy, responsible, adult zillionaires who have obviously employed child care before embarking on this endeavor. High fives.)
The Mighty Summit is this weekend! So here’s to splashing your feet in a hot tub, feeling small under redwood trees, wrapping yourself in a wool blanket, and laughing until you pee a little.
What are you toasting this week?
This is part of my Life List project to taste 100 cocktails. Here are a few more:
The ABC • Sassy Lassi • The Cherry Bing • The Vacation • Shots n ‘Cots • Avocado Bourbon Shake • Cafe Picante
Mighty Girl 