Turn The Beat Around...Don't Stop Till You Get Enough...obviously this post is about music

I recently decided among my many accidental roles to happen upon the part time position as spin instructor...you know, because I have copious amounts of free time (HA!)

One thing that is essential to me when I teach, and workout is music.  It can either get me going, help me zone out and not focus on how hard I'm pushing or exhausted I feel.  If a bad song comes on my iPod I have a horrible visceral reaction...believe me it is not pretty, and probably freaks out the people on the treadmill next to me.

So I figured I would share two playlists I have recently used in my classes, and maybe they can get you going too.

Playlist 1
1) Mercy feat. Big Sean, Pusha T, etc. (it really doesn't say that on iTunes but I didn't feel like writing all the names)
2) No Church in the Wild feat. Frank Ocean
3) Scream by Usher
4) Bangarang feat Sirah
5) Let's Go from the Step Up Revolution Soundtrack
6) Paris (Ooh La La) by Grace Porter and the Nocturnals
7) Hot Tottie feat Jay-Z
8) Party Rock Anthem (If I need to tell you who this is by I'm going to assume you live under a rock)
9) Moves Like Jagger/Jumpin' Jack Flash (an awesome Glee mashup, don't judge until you hear it)
10) Runaway Baby by Bruno Mars (loooooove this song)
11) Run This Town/Posthumus Zone (if this doesn't get you going and feel like you can go through a brick wall I don't know what to say)
12) Turandot: "Nessun dorma"
13) Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker, Op. 71 No 14a: Pas de Deux: Intrada

Playlist 2:
1) Out of My Head feat. Trey Songs
2) Hard to Handle by The Black Crowes
3) Bad Girl feat. Missy Elliot
4) I'm So Hood by DJ Khaled
5) Brokenhearted by Karmin
6) Part of Me by Katy Perry
7) E.T. from The Sing Off Season 3
8) E.T. feat. Kanye West
9) Otis feat. Otis Redding (If I don't include Jay-Z at least once in a workout, it feels incomplete)
10) Shake It Out (When times get rough, this song helps me keep my head up)
11) Runaway Baby (Did I mention that I looooooooove this song)
12) Rimsky-Korsakov The Firebird (L'oiseau de feu): 6
13) Rimsky-Korsakov The Firebird (L'oiseau de feu): 7

As you can see I enjoy listening to a wide range of music, and every influence in my life creeps in to my music choices.  I like to cool down with classical music at the end of a workout, and some of the songs I like I know how to play on bassoon (yep I just got a bassoon brag in).  Also, anytime I can listen to Nessun dorma, it's a good day.

I hope as you're on your fitness goal these two playlists can add some variety to your workout.  Or maybe you just need a new update to your commute playlist...either way, enjoy the music.

XOXO,
MacKenzie

Naptown's Taste-y Flight

If you're like me you frequently find yourself in the bustling metropolis that is Indianapolis, Indiana.

And before you try to tell me about the joys or sorrows of Midwest living, I should tell you first that my mother is from Indianapolis so I have spend much of my life heading over the liver and through the woods to grandmother's house in Naptown.

I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do for my blog post, but I knew I wanted it to be about one of my favorite places (and it's high on my list solely because it is the home of the people I love the most, just had to put that disclaimer out there).  So I toyed with the idea of another style blog, or even my travel workouts, but I thought I'd go with something food related.

For two big reasons I went with food.  One, because I just love food.  I enjoy everything about the process...the growing of it, creating it, cooking, enjoying it, and sharing it with others.  And secondly because Indianapolis has a very unique food scene.  Not as structured and high brow as Chicago, nor as "farm to table" chic as Portland, but it has elements of those things.

I wanted to share two lovely places I like to go to when I'm in town.

The Flying Cupcake

One is a fun bakery called "The Flying Cupcake." It's the original cupcake bakery of Indy, or so the website says, along with being the top cupcake bakery.  I can tell you in all honesty, that in the city of Indianapolis, it has the best cupcakes.  My family indulged in some of the more adventurous flavors, while I opted for the gluten free chocolate this time around.  But their red velvet, which I have had before, is divine.

Now the other place that I go to every single time I'm in town without fail is Taste Cafe in Broad Ripple.  It is just the most heavenly place.  It has everything I love...amazing breakfast food, local and fresh ingredients, amazing specials that keep you excited no matter how many times you frequent them.  I can't even manage to  full give this place its just dues for how AMAZING it is.  All I can do is tell you that at some point, before you die or at least when you want to eat amazing food, to try this restaurant.
Just to give you an example, this past trip I had sweet potato fries with garlic aioli, a delicious salmon salad with red pepper pesto.  I also had breakfast there, but I was so focused on eating I couldn't pry myself away fast enough to take a picture :-)

If you follow my twitter (@MacKenzieAGreen) you know I am very strict about my diet, so I am not kidding when I say these are the kind of meals that are worth the splurge.  Always remember everything in moderation, don't go HAM on splurges.

Maybe this blog wasn't completely a restaurant review, but I was an honest personal endorsement for delicious food in a city that is wonderful...if you know where to go.

XOXO,
MacKenzie