Somewhere between Eeyore and Tigger

Recently I was talking to a friend of mine.  We met while we were Riordan fellows, and we've been on this MBA journey together.
He asked how the application process was going.  I'm 7 apps submitted, and 2 more to go over the next week...yes I am applying to 9 schools.
One of the schools is Harvard Business School.  HBS is the most prestigious brand in the bschool game (I won't even venture in to going on about rankings, perception, etc.).  HBS sent out around 800 interview invites on October 8th, and the remaining 150 invites and dismissal emails go out on the 15th.  I didn't get an email on the 8th...
The waiting game for business school is nerve wrecking.  When my buddy asked me about how I was doing recently, my answer...I'm somewhere between Eeyore and Tigger. I swing between wildly hopeful, optimistic, and excited, to anxious, discouraged, and pessimistic.  Every time I hit submit on an app it's exhilarating and thrilling, only to be followed by sheer panic 15 minutes later...I get submitters remorse.
I'm sure I'm not the only person applying to business school feeling these emotions, but I feel like no one admits it.  So I'm willing to say it...applying to business school is wonderful and terrifying, but I know ultimately it's worth the risk.  So I will keep pushing forward with persistence and strength, and I know ultimately I will end up where I belong.

Next week I head to Hanover, NH for my Tuck interview, so I will be sure to chronicle that trip.

XOXO,
MacKenzie

MacKenzie, Miss Green if Ya Nasty

I love clothing, I can't help it...I just loooove clothes with an insane passion.

I was having major writers block thinking about what to write about today.  While I was procrastinating about what to write, I found myself searching on one of my favorite sites...Nasty Gal!

I spent 8 months commuting back and forth between DC, NYC and LA last year while I was an MBA Fellow at UCLA Anderson.  I resisted the West Coast constantly, but it worked its way in to my spirit.  And somehow LA worked its way in to my style aesthetic.

East Coast and West Coast dressing is drastically different, and I was one of those jaded Eat Coasters who didn't think LA had a style, that it was just a bunch of surfers and girls in barely there bikinis, in a more wheat grass-y version of Miami.  But boy was I wrong...

...I devoured City of Style in on plane ride from DC to LA.  I fell in love with the book, and Nasty Gal fed the obsession.

They blend my favorite 90s Clueless esthetic with that cool LA vibe.  In my mind, slash alternate life, I'm the epitome of the Nasty Gal customer...but really I'm a J Crew loving preppy.  What they provide me, is a break from my usual clothing to dress like a hipster 25 year old.

So while I California Dream in this continual Polar Vortex, I'll keep scrolling through Nasty Gal, and reading City of Style dreaming of alternate MacKenzie who owns a beach cruiser and rides around Santa Monica...green juice in hand.

What style sites and books inspire you?

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