Weekend Recap: 3/29-3/30

L-a-z-y is how you spell weekend.

Well, at least this past weekend...

Saturday was wall to wall movies, first Silver Linings Playbook then Rush then basketball.

Sunday was basketball then This is the End.

Of course there was sushi, champagne, and ice cream thrown in there too. 

Oh and lots of snuggles with the Sophie. This pretty much sums up Saturday...

And then this was Sunday..

Wrapped up the weekend the best way possible, with a Tervis and a thriller.

Now on to invoices and long runs, final countdown to 13.1! 

Friday 3/28

That Ad Life

Working in advertising is a never ending roller coaster. You never know what's gonna being going on in the office or, in the case of this morning, the parking lot. One of the "burdens" of having a super cute car is production asking if it can be in a commercial shoot. How could I say no?

So, I was up on and "on set" by 6:30am, donuts and coffee made it worth it.

Oh, and getting to watch them film was pretty cool too! 

Best part, our soundtrack for the morning was the old school TSwift CD I happened to have chilling in the glove box. Oh, don't worry, I made sure to get video proof here.

You know, just another day in the ad life. 

Springtime Snow

This recent weather has been killing me [and my sinuses.]

We have gone from 70 and sunny to 35 and snow that was coming down like rain yesterday.

The only person more upset about this out of control weather than me is my closet, so many cute outfits just waiting their turn.

So, since I can't bust out the scalloped sun dress and wedges just yet, I'll simply day dream of them while I scroll away through Tumblr. 

I am loving all these looks and can't wait to try and put my own spin on them come warmer weather, sooo in about 72 hours. 

Nashville weather, gotta love it.

And then I don't feel so bad

So, it's Tuesday.

It's snowing.

I've been up since 2am.

It's the awkward week in between broadcast months at work.

And I have nothing planned to post about.

So, I figured I'd share some of my current favorite things.

I've got a nice little smattering of all things Pekarsk-ing Around approved.

1. Southern Charm on Bravo

2. Longchamp's spring colors

3. Gillian Flynn's trifecta of Gone Girl, Dark Places, and Sharp Objects

4. Dr. Teals's Lavender Epsom Salt

5. Target having Smart Ones, Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice mix and match BOGO this week!

6. Lady Gaga's "G.U.Y"

7. Spring Flowers around the loft

8. Nilla waffers

9. Hannibal is finally back on NBC

10. Jimmy John's Totally Tuna sandwich on these meat-less Fridays during Lent

What are you loving right? I'm always up for a new "#obsessed"

Weekend Recap: 3/22-3/23

The threat of rain may have canceled my original weekend plans but I would have to say we recovered nicely! 

Saturday was suppose to be flea market day for me and mom but with the chance of rain growing we decided to just call it Friday afternoon and plan for basketball and a movie afternoon instead. Pitt lost, we made hot dogs, and Sophie dragged me and mom around the block in between basketball and movie time. We decided to rent American Hustle for our movie afternoon and it was actually really good. Jennifer Lawrence was hilarious and I can only hope I look like Amy Adams after two kids [dahm girl.] We topped the day off with homemade pizza for dinner. 

Sunday I was up and at em' thanks to the jack-hammering and pipe handling going on below me so I decided to take advantage of the sun shinning outside and get a run in on my off day. Over the river and around the stadium for a nice 2 miles.

Quick rinse off and I was off for a coffee/grocery shopping date with my Brentwood lady Julie and then to Hendersonville for mass and dinner with my momma Julie. The whole family watched the Tennessee game and we are Sweet Sixteen bound! WOO WOO! Go Vawls y'all! 

Then it was birthday party time for Sophie! This little lick monster turned 12, read about how we celebrated below! 

Now on to a full week of running, working, and DVR. Happy Spring! 

Sophie turns Twelve

This weekend our sweet pup Sophie turned 12. 

If you read my blog regularly or follow me on any social media you already know just how much I love this fuzzy midget. 

Sunday night we celebrated the birthday girl, complete with cake, presents, and singing!

Be sure to click here to watch Sophie open her present with a vengeance and here to watch her sing-a-long with us as we sing Happy Birthday to the little smidge! 

Happy happy birthday Sophie! 

Run, Run, Run Away Baby

If you saw my Blogmopolitan Quiz post on Wednesday you know it's been a big challenge for me to train for my half marathon coming up in April. I am not a morning person so morning runs are out of the question and we can all agree after working 8:30am-5:30pm the last thing you want to do is go run six miles with hills at your HMP [half marathon pace.] Yuck.

I decided the best way to get out of my rut and combat my lack of motivation would be to have a change of scenery every run this week. Wednesday I did 3 miles over the river and around the stadium.

This view was well worth running directly into the wind for 1.5 miles!

Yesterday I balled out an epic 4 mile run at Centennial Park.

It was surprisingly nice to be running with an audience. And a special thank you to the girl that was right off my shoulder for the last 2 miles, helped me hit an 8:44 pace!

Oh, and our medal design being released might have added some motivation.

Any and all training tips would be welcomed!

So here's to the next five weeks of training, keeping a 9 minute pace, and those sprinkle donuts that will be waiting for us back at my loft after! 

Friday 3/21

March Madness

It's bracket season y'all! 

"Monogram Madness" is submitted and set to win it all in our Hoop Hooted work group on espn.com

Watch out y'all, I got robbed last year and am going for #1 this March.

May the upsets be ever in your favor.

Post Grad Pizza Face

My name is Caroline, I'm 23 and I have acne.

I've had skin issues since the 7th grade.

You name it, I've tried it.

Proactive, topical gels, topical creams, oral meds, birth control, tanning bed. 

It has been an ongoing battle, and let me tell you sometimes a disheartening one. 

And then, Clarisonic.

I had always heard people raving about the Clarisonic brand and everytime mom and I went to Origins for her face creams and goodies they always had them spotlighted. Thanks to an Ulta 30% off sale and coupons, I decided to indulge my curiosity and give Clarisonic a try.

I got the Acne Clarifying Collection, which includes the Acne Brush Head and Acne Daily Clarifying Cleanse. 

Now, I'll be completely honest with you about two things regarding Clarisonic:

1) You have to be patient. The first two weeks are the break-in phase, your face is getting use to it and then you'll start to see results.

2) You do not have to use the Clarisonic cleanse, when I ran out of the sample bottle they send you I went right back to my face wash and saw great results! 

Since my skin has been looking so great the amount of make-up I wear has slowly dwindled, which is the best feeling! Instead of using a foundation/cover-up/BB cream, powder, power blush every day I now throw on some light weight powder, cream blush, and go! 

I'm now hyper sensitive to what make-up I use since I don't want to upset my face and Neutrogena has helped me with that. 

Their Skin Clearing Mineral Powder is wonderful! 

It does a great job of covering up any imperfections or blemish spots all while giving you a fresh face look.

And believe me after caking on make-up to hide problem spots since age 15 this is great!

So that's my two cents when it comes to clear skin. It's not much and I probably won't be staring in any face wash ads anytime soon, but when you've had problems like I have any advice you can pass along to others you do! 

Luck of the Irish to Ya

I may not look it but I do in fact have some Irish in me [thanks Julie] so here's a blessing for you this St. Patty's day! 

Weekend Recap: 3/15-3/16

As much as I love laying on my couch doing absolutely nothing on the weekends, I love getting out to Hendersonville and spending good ole family time even more.

Saturday I watched some DVR'd Grimm and Hannibal [can only watch that show with the lights on] to start off the day before hopping to and getting out to the 'ville for the Pitt game, BBQ sandwiches, Sophie cuddles, and of course a trip to Target with mom. Pitt lost, but so is life. Good thing mom and I found lemon milano cookies during our Target haul. 

Sunday I was so rudely awoken by the lovely construction crew of the Frothy Monkey, directly below my house, at 6am. So I did what any girl would do, lit all my candles and watched some Gossip Girl. I lasted till about 10am when I packed up my VV tote and headed to Starbucks. The rainy Sunday afternoon gods were on my side and I found a big comfy chair with a little table to boot. The people watching was wonderful. 

Then I was back on the road to River Chase for the best surprise supper of Mom's amazing spaghetti. Per usual things got out of hand, people were crying they were laughing so hard, we watched one of the most violent [LOTS OF BLOOD] movies there is on Netflix, and I wasn't driving home till 10:15pm.

It was a very good night.

Now on to deadline week! 

Happy St. Patty's Day! 

Friday 3/14

Thursday Tunes

This is gonna be a short and sweet post all about Spring, and the songs that sound like it.

The weather in Nashville has been miraculous these past couple days which of course means windows down on the bug [with the AC on low.]

Here are some of my favorites right now, it's constantly changing, but the Goo Goo Dolls track is just perfection.

And just for y'all I'll "listen and tell," the Reign Season 1 CW Playlist has been feeding me songs for the past two weeks now, SO good. Check it out! 

"Wedding genes or Seven jeans"

There are books that are life changers and then there are books that are game changers.

Jesus Calling is a life changer.

I fully believe this. 

It has changed my outlook on each day and had an impact on my faith.

The Single Woman is a game changer.

I fully believe this.

It has truly changed the way I view where I am in my "journey" and opened my eyes to just how blessed I am to be where I am. 

[Be on the look out for aspecial post about The Single Woman. It's so good it had to have its own post.]

The incredible woman that's responsible for this wonderful book is Nashville's own Mandy Hale, who I had the absolute pleasure of meeting last night at her book release party.

Yes, she's just as gorgeous, friendly, funny, and charismatic as I imagined her to be while reading The Single Woman on my lunch breaks, weekends, and before bed. 

And now I have her sweet messages in both my The Single Woman and her new book I've Never Been to Vegas, but My Luggage Has to cheer me on everyday!

If you're not following her on Twitter you should be, @thesinglewoman and check out her blog too! 

Weekend Recap: 3/8-3/9

After what was an emotionally exhausting week last week, this weekend was exactly what I needed!! 

Mom let me know Friday morning that Dad and Joe would be heading up to the mountains for the weekend and that it would just be her and Sophie at the house. And thus began my ploy to get her to invite me out to the house so I could get some yummy food and steal Sophie to sleep in my bed. And, I got shot down twice. Until, she told me to come out Saturday morning for a girls day. 

["Girls day" in our book involves Publix, walks with Sophie, and the usual causing trouble]

Perfection, I tell you.

We hit up Publix, Target, World Market, Ulta, Hendersonville Flea Market. Took Sophie for a walk. Grilled out. AND topped it off by playing the Logo game, my "family" Christmas present this past year. 

Sunday I had every intention of laying on the couch and binge-ing Gossip Girl Season 5 but with this weather it would have been a sin to stay inside. It was the perfect afternoon to grab a table in Fifth Third Plaza along with a great book and soak it all in. 

Then it was off to Hendersonville for mass with mom [Happy first Sunday of Lent!] and home to River Chase for a wonderful family dinner. I enjoyed mom's garden while Sophie stalked Momma [the cat] through the yard. 

 Now onward to this week! So many exciting things happening this week, be on the look out for posts!

Friday 3/7

Para-Para-Paradise

I am not a huge Coldplay fan. 

Except for Paradise. I could listen to that song over and over [and on some days I have, no shame.]

I am a huge acoustic cover fan.

Especially Paradise by Tyler Ward. I could listen to this song over and over [and yesterday I did, no shame.]

But don't just stop with Paradise, Tyler has playlists and playlists of incredible covers.
Some of my favorites right now include Dark Horse, Timber, and Dynamite.
Happy Friday Eve! 

Go Pens, Y'all

What do you do to surprise the man who has everything and is also responsible for giving you everything?

Easy, you hide 4 tickets to the Preds-Penguins game in your George Foreman grill and ask him to check and see if it's hot enough yet [even though it isn't even plugged in.]

AND IT WORKED! 

Well, once he started talking again. Think we surprised the words right out of him. 

It was perfect.

Once everyone had changed into their game attire, we bundled up and headed down the hill to Bridgestone. After climbing two flights of stairs and an escalator we found our seats and were relieved to see we weren't the only Pens fans in our section.

[This came in handy when the Preds goal was overturned and we might have feared for our lives for a second.] 

Even though we missed the first Penguins goal since we were in line for food [and beer], and then missed the second goal [my fault] because we were in the bathroom we were front and center for the third goal and it was a w e s o m e! 

The Pens ended up kicking butt and winning 3-1, but the best part of the night was surprising dad and finally getting our Pittsburgh family sporting event! 

*this was the first Pittsburgh sporting event we have attended as a family where the Pittsburgh team won, hallelujah amen*

Weekend Recap: 3/1-3/2

New York may have the Hamptons, but I [Nashville] have Hendersonville.

Mom had let me know earlier in the week that Friday night Joe would be heading up to Bowling Green to see some friends and if I wanted to come out for dinner and a sleepover we could hit up Wal-Mart Saturday.

Well obviously my response was Heck Yeah. I was packed and ready to go by lunch Friday afternoon and hit the road straight from work. I arrived just in time to catch dad out by the pool area with steaks on the grill. We watched our favorite Friday night feature, Grimm on NBC and laughed our butts off at Dad not being able to touch mom without shocking her. Wrapped the night up with one of my favorite things in the world, snuggles with Sophie.

Saturday morning we were up and at 'em! We hit up the Wal-Mart and then sped home for the Pitt-Notre Dame game. Oh but don't worry we got home in time just to see the final minutes of Tennessee BLOWING OUT Vandy. A very very good day indeed especially since mom got me a little "present" at Wal-Mart, Tennessee solo cups. She knows the way to my heart. 

[meanwhile Sophie tanned]

Sunday was the Oscars of course. I made it to 10pm, right after I heard the song Let It Go for the 79,834th time. But mom kept me updated even while I was passed out.

Now I would say it's another manic Monday but thanks to the snow [more ice but hey] I have my first ever post grad snow day. Bring on the DVR and random naps!

Tomorrow we try this work thing again.