Today I want to mix things up a bit with a few things you might not know about me! I’m not sure how many of you have been reading Design Darling since the early days, but I do occasionally get nostalgic for the blogging community back in 2009/2010. Instagram and Pinterest hadn’t taken off yet and even Twitter hadn’t hit its heyday. Bloggers would often give each other “awards,” fill out questionnaires, and leave long and thoughtful comments on each other’s posts… In many ways, blogging has changed for the better (don’t get me wrong — I don’t know what I’d do without Instagram or Pinterest!) but I thought I’d bring back one of the more casual, personal posts I might have written six or seven years ago (crazy to think it’ll be eight years in November!). Without further ado, ten random facts about me:
- Alphabetical order makes me happy. Even when I add hashtags after I post on Instagram, I try to list them in alphabetical order.
- If you’ve read my about page, you know that I hope to set foot on all seven continents in my lifetime. Travel is the best education.
- I have a sister, Reilly, and two brothers, Grayson and Camden. (I’m the oldest.) We are all so different but wonderfully close.
- I majored in French language and literature and spent six months living with a host family in Tours the spring of my junior year (right after I started my blog!). I’m constantly embarrassing family and friends by trying to speak to cab drivers and waiters in French, but I’m so scared I’ll lose it if I don’t practice every chance I get!
- I toured fifty-one college campuses (and yes, I know how ridiculous this sounds… I think my 17-year-old self just wanted an excuse to travel ), applied to nine schools, and wound up at Bucknell. I probably know enough about the college application process to counsel high school seniors (which I could totally see myself doing someday!) but I know I got it right in the end. I couldn’t imagine having a happier, more fulfilling college experience!
6. I’ve been a vegetarian for nearly ten years. It started as a personal challenge after my first year of college and I just decided to keep going. That said, I’m about the worst vegetarian on the planet and need to work on getting more protein!
7. I’ve seen every episode of The Office at least twice.
8. I would have ten puppies if they could all fit in our house. I grew up with cockapoos (one of whom, Coach, will turn 14 in October!) so getting Rory before I moved to New York was a no-brainer. He is truly the light of my life and forever keeping me on my toes!
9. My dad converted all four children to Red Sox fans even though my mom likes the Yankees. We even named our second dog Fenway! Baseball is really the only sport I follow.
10. My grandmother is one of the coolest people I know. She splits her time between Nantucket and Naples, Florida, and just finished needlepointing a collar and leash for Rory to wear to our wedding. She reads Design Darling every day, is always impeccably dressed, and quite possibly has a more active social life than I do! She will be 90 in July and went dogsledding and white water rafting with our family when she was 78… #goals.
Endless Rose tiered top (size up) // J.Crew lookout high-rise crop jean in white (non-cropped version here)
Ray-Ban clubmasters // J.Crew beaded ball earrings // Sophie Hulme box bag (also love this) // Loeffler Randall scalloped wedges
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I’ve been following you on Instagram and just recently started looking at your blog (I really love your outfits !). It’s really funny how small the world is, because.. I am actually from Tours ! I know many people come here to learn French at the Institut de Touraine, but what are the chances that you would be one of them ?!
I hope you enjoyed your stay in Tours 🙂
What a small world… my grandma lived in Lewisburg her entire life, and when I would visit over the summer, would study at the Bucknell library for my online courses. She was the sample lady at Weiss Market on the weekend.
I work in Orlando, Florida, at a high school, where I am the College and Career specialist. I helped our almost 700 seniors visit, apply, and figure out which college they wanted to attend. It has been a dream job, and it’s out there if it is something you are interested in!
Love your blog…and had to finally comment as I’ve been reading for years. One of the things that I love about you is our shared Bucknell connection…I just went to my 20th reunion a few weeks ago. Truly the best college experience I could have ever imagined. So fun to read musings from a fellow Bison!
A Fellow Bucknellian! Loved the post
‘Ray Bucknell! 🙂
I so enjoyed reading this post! To me, you are one of the most wholesome, well-rounded and genuine bloggers I have EVER read and I have been following you for at least 6 years now. Keep it up! 🙂
Alana, this totally made my day! Thank you so much for the kind words and vote of confidence. 🙂
I went to visit 31 schools, the last of which was University of Rochester- and I knew that it was the perfect fit the moment I stepped on campus! Glad to know I wasn’t the only one who visited that many schools. I have to agree that traveling the country to visit each school was an adventure and the best way to get to know a school is definitely to visit!
Another amazing school! 🙂 I was OBSESSED haha. Glad both of our choices worked out for the best!
Great facts! Your grandma sounds amazing and I want to be her when I grow up.
About #6- I’ve been an on/off vegetarian for a while now too. I realized a while back that I don’t really like meat (I still eat fish/seafood, and my love of cheese means I could never be vegan, ha). After several bouts of anemia, I had to start adding in a tiny bit of meat once in a while, but like you I’ve been trying to be better about finding more veg protein sources and iron sources. If you’re not averse to eggs, I would definitely check out Pinterest for recipe ideas; if not, my go-tos are peanut butter, hummus, and bean salads.
The biggest irony: I’m engaged to a Southerner (I think I’ve mentioned him before on one of your posts about northeasterner/southerner love) who adores any form of BBQ and inexplicably hates seafood despite growing up right near the Atlantic ocean. But we both agree that chocolate is an important food group 😉
Haha I want to be her too! I eat fish and cheese as well (though I get weird about both at times haha — I guess I am just a terribly picky eater!). I could definitely be better about eating more peanut butter and hummus too. And I will say (in defense of BBQ-loving fiancés!) that barbecue spots often have awesome (if not totally healthy) vegetarian sides 🙂
They totally do! Although there’s always one well-intentioned southerner looking at my plate and saying “honey, are you sure you don’t want more than the cornbread/corn on the cob/coleslaw/mac and cheese/potato salad/collard greens??!”
This is such a great post!!! Thank you for sharing! My favorite your about your grandma! We can all only hope to live that long and stay that fabulous!! I hope you have a wonderful night!!
Thanks so much, Emily! 🙂
Love this post! I often miss the old blogging days too, and even the early Instagram days for that matter. I think we’re all craving more community these days.
Anyway, jealous of your college experience! If I had to do it over again (and my life course wouldn’t change in the process), I would definitely choose a smaller school (I ended up at the largest, UT Austin). Too easy to get lost there (and away with not going to classes!).
I loved fact #10 ! My grandmother splits her time between Nantucket and Florida too:)
What a small world! I wonder if they know each other 🙂
hahaha I’m so with you on college visits!!! I think me and my Dad visited about 25 schools and I took the ACT 5 times?! We always joked that we should write a book about college visits and the application process because I’d make way more than actually going to college 😉 I ended up at Washington University in St. Louis and couldn’t have been happier!
Haha we are birds of a feather for sure! And congratulations — Wash U is an amazing school!!!
I love how you gave a shout out to your grandma! She sounds like someone I’d like to be!
Aww me too! 🙂 Thanks for reading!
I’ve never heard of Bucknell, maybe you could share more about it for those of us who aren’t familiar with it!
Hi Judy! I graduated from Bucknell six years ago so I don’t share much about college on my blog anymore! I’m happy to answer any specific questions you have over email. Here’s a little info for you: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/bucknell-university-3238
This is such a cute post!! Your grandmother sounds amazing, haha! Totally #goals! xo Devon Seventeen Dresses
Thanks, Devon! 🙂
loved this Mackenzie!! I’ve been reading for at least 6 years…and still love coming back everyday! 🙂 xx
Oh my god, you just made my day! Thank you so much for reading!!! 🙂
Love this post, Mackenzie! I originally had a bridal-focused blog from 2008-10, and I couldn’t agree more on sometimes longing for the “old days” and the way everyone engaged with each other online. Have a great day ahead, lady!
No way! I would love to read your bridal blog 🙂 And you more than anyone I know do such a fantastic job of engaging with blogger friends and readers! So inspired. xoxo
I was also obsessed with the college application process and totally think of it as my fallback career! I went even a little more crazy than you and applied to 11 schools! I picked Syracuse, which was the perfect place for me 🙂 I still love visiting college campuses, and would love to experience student life on other campuses — a small liberal arts school, a southern school, an urban campus, etc.
Loved this post! xx
No way! #kindredspirits for sure. I loved Syracuse when I visited too! 🙂
It’s nice to get an occasional dose of the personal! And your grandmom is some serious #goals! 🙂
Thanks so much, Shirsha! 🙂
I love this!That’s so crazy about all your college applications- whoa!
xo, brittany
five ways to help your child love reading on my blog today!
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Your French language journey is so cool. I learned French for seven years myself but have never had the chance to live with a host family. Must’ve been memorable!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
That’s amazing that you took French for seven years! It’s the most beautiful language in my opinion 😉
Love getting to know you a bit better through this post- so much fun getting to know the girl behind the adorable outfits!
xoxo,
Katie
chicincarolina.blogspot.com
Aww thanks, Katie! 🙂