IN HER SHOES: Design Darling

For a while now Mackenzie has been one of my very loyal readers. Her comments always make me smile and I was totally jealous of her while she studied abroad. Well the lovely Mackenzie is now back at home (CT) and I’m still jealous.

 

Why you may ask? Well, because she get to see this guy all the time:

Lucky Mackenzie gets to intern a couple of days a week at Jonathan Adler!

 

I heart Mr. Adler. I love his philosophy on happy design, I love that he loves orange, I love his tweets, I love his designs and I love that early on in my career someone described one of my rooms as having a touch of Jonathan Adler to it. What a compliment!

 

Of course knowing that Mackenzie gets to rub elbows with Jonathan I wanted to swap places with her and pretend to be in my early twenties, but since that’s not happened I asked her to share a little glimpse into one of her typical days.

 

Enjoy!

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Hi, everyone! I'm Mackenzie from Design Darling and I'm so excited to be sharing my day as a Jonathan Adler intern with all of you. Here goes!

 

7:15 Alarm goes off.

 

7:23 Actually get out of bed and shower.

7:35 Get dressed. Wearing Rugby top, J.Crew bangles, AG Adriano Goldschmied jeans, andCharlotte Russe sandals. Apply make-up and sunscreen — trying to get better about that! Sit down for a quick outfit-of-the-day picture with our dogs, Coach and Fenway.

8:00 Hit up my first Starbucks of the day. My latest love: an iced vanilla latte with two Splendas. So, so good.

 

8:23 Waiting for train in the car with Mom. Make plans to drive to Fairfield tonight to check out set of chairs I found on Craigslist if I can get in touch with the seller before then.

 

8:29 Say au revoir to Mom and catch the train to Grand Central. Read Chelsea Handler's Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea en route. Laugh out loud several times, much to the chagrin of grumpy morning commuters.

9:22 Arrive in Grand Central. It doesn't matter how many times I've been here — that turquoise ceiling gets me every time.

 

9:26 On the S shuttle from Grand Central to Times Square/42nd Street.

9:32 Waiting for the 1 train downtown. Having spent the last six months traveling through Europe via flawless public transportation, I am especially disappointed by the NYC subway system this morning. Too dirty, too hot, and too slow! Finally my train arrives.

 

9:54 Done with the morning commute. Starbucks again, this time right next to Jonathan Adler headquarters in Soho. Devour a blueberry muffin (did they have to post the calorie count?) and pick up a bottle of water before changing shoes in the bathroom. These heeled sandals are from J.Crew and are one of my all-time favorite pairs.

 

10:03 Arrive to work on the tenth floor. My boss Starrett, the Press and Marketing Director, tells everyone to be nice today because I'm covering my day for Camila.

 

10:04 Email overload! The last intern was here on Thursday so I'm looking at four days of unanswered emails. They're primarily from magazines requesting high res images or sample loans plus a few from charities looking for donations.

10:20 Shoot off replies to the Metropolitan Opera, Redbook, and The World of Interiors before the office is interrupted by the marching band that seems to be making its way up Hudson Street. Here's Starrett up on the windowsill taking a peek.

 

10:40 Get an email from the Craigslist seller I've been trying to track down. She is free tonight and I'm brimming with excitement. These chairs will be perfect for my new bedroom for my downtown house at Bucknell next year!

 

11:05 Break in the action: a New Canaan mom calls looking for a babysitter. That's me! I line up a couple jobs for the coming week then get back to work.

 

12:00 Starrett needs content for our Facebook and Twitter pages and sends me down to our showroom on the seventh floor to ask people about company lingo — words and phrases we use in the office that might sound strange to an outsider. People come up with "ressies" for "reservations" and things like "tablespiration" and "patternrific" then promise to email me with more as they think of them.

 

12:38 Peek at my daily horoscope and find some obscure way to relate it to my life.

 

1:36 Tummy grumbling. Head to Getting Hungry, an aptly named eatery around the corner whose salad bar caters perfectly to my vegetarianism. I top mine with avocado, corn, tofu, and balsamic vinaigrette and it is delicious. Did you know that Hawaii is further south than Florida? I love Snapple facts.

 

2:05 Starrett needs me to run wallpaper samples to the House Beautiful office at Hearst Tower. It's my first time at this iconic building and I have to stop for a picture.

3:07 Third stop at Starbucks for another iced vanilla latte. It's so hot outside — I can't resist!

3:15 Back to work, this time scanning recent press that we'll eventually upload to our website. Isn't the office très chic?

 

4:20 Receive a call from the Craigslist seller, who informs me she's already sold the chairs I was planning on buying tonight. I don't blame her and yet I can't help but feel disappointed. They were so right for my space!

 

4:42 The email situation is under control and Starrett lets me start my trek home a little earlier than usual. She even snaps a picture of me and Jonathan before I go, which completely makes my day. What a peach!

 

4:48 On the 1 train from Houston Street to Times Square/42nd Street.

 

5:10 On the S shuttle to Grand Central.

 

5:28 Having completed all my subway-ing for the day, I'm on the train back to Darien. I call my mom to let her know we won't be going to Fairfield tonight and she feels my pain.

 

6:35 Eating dinner with my parents and two brothers in the backyard. My sister, who wants to become a sound technician for movies or theater, is running the tech aspect of the local high school graduation tonight. There's something very satisfying about recounting my day over salad and a baked potato. It's been a busy day!

 

7:10 Check my email and the better half of the 55 blogs I currently read daily. Bookmark favorite posts to use for the new Friday Finds feature on my blog.

 

8:45 Meet up with a couple of girlfriends for Coldstone. If a family dinner is a good way to unwind from a long day, a kids' size cake batter ice cream with graham cracker topping is a dangerously close second.

 

9:50 Head to my boyfriend's house for a quick cuddle. He doesn't completely understand myCraigslist let-down (who would?) but provides the pick-me-up I need nonetheless.

 

10:30 Check email again. Respond to a few readers' questions and realize I'm too tired to finish my daily reading. I close my computer and nod off dreaming of the double loveliness I'll read when I check the blog circuit tomorrow.

 

Thank you so much for having me here today, Camila! I'm such a huge fan of your blog and this series in particular! It's been a pleasure sharing my day with you and your readers.

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Thanks so much Mackenzie! Loved seeing what you are up to!

 

How chic is Starrett! Let her know if she needs another intern I’m her gal! I would gladly pick up trash piles at Jonathan Adler!

 

Plus she got a snap shot with the boss. What a lucky lady. I would love swap shoes with her.