YEAR IN REVIEW...

I can hardly believe that 2012 is coming to a close. What. A. Year!

In January, I started writing for my favorite digital magazine, Matchbook. In February, I attended New York Fashion Week for the first time and made a little street style cameo on Unabashedly Prep. In March, I launched Design Darling {The Boutique} (definitely the highlight of my year!). In May, I cohosted a Jack Rogers party (hello, dream collaboration!). In August, I attended Alt Summit NYC. In September, I hosted Fashion's Night Out at Alice & Trixie. In October, I found out I'd be speaking at Alt Summit Salt Lake City. In November, I hosted a holiday event with Elle Magazine at Kate Spade New York (pinch me please!). In December, I filmed a segment on holiday gifting for NBC Connecticut. And last week I stumbled upon the teeny tiniest NYC studio and yesterday — eeek! — signed a one-year lease.

All the while, I made steady progress on my 101 in 1001 list: buying my first grown-up bag, buying my parents an Apple computer, working out with a personal trainer, seeing a new Cirque du Soleil performance, trying acupuncture, taking a cooking lesson, seeing a comedy show, going to the top of the Empire State Building, going zip lining, upgrading to a DSLR camera, taking a self-defense class, and even participating in a flash mob.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of this amazing year. I truly cannot wait to see what 2013 has in store!

xx

Mackenzie

Keep up with Design Darling

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I can hardly believe that 2012 is coming to a close. What. A. Year!

In January, I started writing for my favorite digital magazine, Matchbook. In February, I attended New York Fashion Week for the first time and made a little street style cameo on Unabashedly Prep. In March, I launched Design Darling {The Boutique} (definitely the highlight of my year!). In May, I cohosted a Jack Rogers party (hello, dream collaboration!). In August, I attended Alt Summit NYC. In September, I hosted Fashion's Night Out at Alice & Trixie. In October, I found out I'd be speaking at Alt Summit Salt Lake City. In November, I hosted a holiday event with Elle Magazine at Kate Spade New York (pinch me please!). In December, I filmed a segment on holiday gifting for NBC Connecticut. And last week I stumbled upon the teeny tiniest NYC studio and yesterday — eeek! — signed a one-year lease.

All the while, I made steady progress on my 101 in 1001 list: buying my first grown-up bag, buying my parents an Apple computer, working out with a personal trainer, seeing a new Cirque du Soleil performance, trying acupuncture, taking a cooking lesson, seeing a comedy show, going to the top of the Empire State Building, going zip lining, upgrading to a DSLR camera, taking a self-defense class, and even participating in a flash mob.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of this amazing year. I truly cannot wait to see what 2013 has in store!

xx

Mackenzie

Keep up with Design Darling

Boutique / Facebook / Pinterest / Twitter

HOME STRETCH...

Bring on the coffee and the holiday cheer! This weekend is going to be a mad dash to the finish line: last-minute shopping, gift wrapping, tree trimming, house cleaning... you know the drill. We celebrate Christmas here in Connecticut which means come Monday our house will be bursting at the seams with nine cousins, six aunts and uncles, three dogs, a partridge in a pear tree, and of course my beloved grandmother. How do you celebrate the holidays? I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! xx

*Images 1 / 2 / 3

Keep up with Design Darling

Boutique / Facebook / Pinterest / Twitter

Bring on the coffee and the holiday cheer! This weekend is going to be a mad dash to the finish line: last-minute shopping, gift wrapping, tree trimming, house cleaning... you know the drill. We celebrate Christmas here in Connecticut which means come Monday our house will be bursting at the seams with nine cousins, six aunts and uncles, three dogs, a partridge in a pear tree, and of course my beloved grandmother. How do you celebrate the holidays? I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! xx

*Images 1 / 2 / 3

Keep up with Design Darling

Boutique / Facebook / Pinterest / Twitter

5 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

I've never really been big on resolutions (besides, I already have this list) but I love the feeling of a fresh start, whether it's flipping to a new page in my planner or sending out the last order for the day. Lately I've been thinking about a few things I'd like to improve upon and the start of a new year seems as good a time as any to get going!

Name tag // Watch // Heart print // Tape dispenser

1. Be better about remembering people's names.

I'm not naturally good at this and it doesn't help that I'm constantly "meeting" new people online. Whenever I attend blogging conferences (like Alt Summit, coming up in January) I get overwhelmed trying to put names to faces and always wish I could remember everyone I meet from one conference to the next. I mentioned this on Twitter and my girl Courtney says she tries to mention the person's name three times in conversation to get it to stick. I'm always so impressed when people I've met in passing recall my name so I'm definitely going to give this a try!

2. Learn to be on time.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm almost perennially late and if not I'm at least panicked because I've cut it too close and I'm down to the wire to get somewhere in time... Not a good look. If it's just a question of leaving five or ten minutes earlier — even if it means being the one waiting for a change! — it's something I plan to work on this year.

3. Only buy things I absolutely love.

Maybe this means instituting a "one in, one out" policy for my closet because seriously, things are getting out of control. Especially as I think about settling into a tiny apartment, I want to strategize on making quality purchases I love rather than shopping to fill every nook and cranny at once. This is something I've gotten better at over time but there are always more ways to pare down and save up for something special.

4. Support more small businesses.

You get back what you give out, right? I'm fortunate to get to work with some amazing fellow small business owners both through my blog and the boutique and I have some seriously awesome sponsors here on Design Darling. Whether we're buying art or clothes or furniture, let's all show small business some love this year!

5. Work smarter, not harder.

I put a lot of pressure on myself to constantly strive for more. While this drive has its perks, it also makes me more likely to burn out from taking on too much at one time. This year I want to focus on working smarter — hiring interns, minimizing distractions at my desk, unplugging as much as possible at night — instead of burning myself into the ground by saying yes to every project that comes my way. This is something I imagine I will always struggle with as an entrepreneurial type but, hey, baby steps!

What's one thing you'd like to work on this year? Do you believe in setting (and keeping!) New Year's resolutions? 

Keep up with Design Darling

Boutique / Facebook / Pinterest / Twitter

I've never really been big on resolutions (besides, I already have this list) but I love the feeling of a fresh start, whether it's flipping to a new page in my planner or sending out the last order for the day. Lately I've been thinking about a few things I'd like to improve upon and the start of a new year seems as good a time as any to get going!

Name tag // Watch // Heart print // Tape dispenser

1. Be better about remembering people's names.

I'm not naturally good at this and it doesn't help that I'm constantly "meeting" new people online. Whenever I attend blogging conferences (like Alt Summit, coming up in January) I get overwhelmed trying to put names to faces and always wish I could remember everyone I meet from one conference to the next. I mentioned this on Twitter and my girl Courtney says she tries to mention the person's name three times in conversation to get it to stick. I'm always so impressed when people I've met in passing recall my name so I'm definitely going to give this a try!

2. Learn to be on time.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm almost perennially late and if not I'm at least panicked because I've cut it too close and I'm down to the wire to get somewhere in time... Not a good look. If it's just a question of leaving five or ten minutes earlier — even if it means being the one waiting for a change! — it's something I plan to work on this year.

3. Only buy things I absolutely love.

Maybe this means instituting a "one in, one out" policy for my closet because seriously, things are getting out of control. Especially as I think about settling into a tiny apartment, I want to strategize on making quality purchases I love rather than shopping to fill every nook and cranny at once. This is something I've gotten better at over time but there are always more ways to pare down and save up for something special.

4. Support more small businesses.

You get back what you give out, right? I'm fortunate to get to work with some amazing fellow small business owners both through my blog and the boutique and I have some seriously awesome sponsors here on Design Darling. Whether we're buying art or clothes or furniture, let's all show small business some love this year!

5. Work smarter, not harder.

I put a lot of pressure on myself to constantly strive for more. While this drive has its perks, it also makes me more likely to burn out from taking on too much at one time. This year I want to focus on working smarter — hiring interns, minimizing distractions at my desk, unplugging as much as possible at night — instead of burning myself into the ground by saying yes to every project that comes my way. This is something I imagine I will always struggle with as an entrepreneurial type but, hey, baby steps!

What's one thing you'd like to work on this year? Do you believe in setting (and keeping!) New Year's resolutions? 

Keep up with Design Darling

Boutique / Facebook / Pinterest / Twitter