Friday 5/30

If I had one wish [or eight]

Staying with the birthday theme for this week's posts (since I'm a firm believer in birth[week]days) I thought I'd share some Pekarsk-ing Around approved birthday presents!

I know I would love to find any of these goodies under pink polka dot tissue paper! 

Happy Birthday CPR by crpekarsk 

Follow me on Polyvore!

It's my party

We are about to hit full tilt birthday madness here come June.

Tiernee joins the 2-4 club three days before me on the 5th.

Molly hits 23 June 10th.

Jenn officially enters her "late twenties" aka 26 on June 13th [same as the Olsen Twins.] 

Target's card aisle and I are about to become BFF.

There are tons of cute [and affordable] birthday ideas to send friends besides flowers [trying not to break the bank over here, we still have Father's Day to go.] 

I personally am crushing on these gold number balloons from Party City. 

This balloon clad cutie from Sugar Paper LA is just presh!

And doesn't any #postgrad bestie love a good coffee mug? 

What's on your birthday wish list?

You can never start planning too early! 

[long] Weekend Recap: 5/24-5/26

Where do I even start?

This weekend [and a Monday] was absolutely fabulous y'all. 

Friday technically isn't part of the weekend but since we got off work early it gets a pass. 

Friday morning I got coffee with my Catholic soul sister Ashley who was in town from Knoxville for work. 

We are two tall chi tea lattes in a pod I tell you.

We were off work at 2:30, let Memorial Weekend begin! 

Saturday was finally FLEA MARKET day!! Mom and I were parked and through the gates by 9am #dedicated. We were on a mission!

My [early] birthday present this year was sweet goodies for my porch.

Mom and I had been bouncing ideas around for months and it all came together by 2pm that day!

First stop: the cutest red benches that perfectly match my front door!

After wandering some more booths and a tad more people watching we decided to just go for it and headed to the nearest Home Depot. After lining up a couple combination of flowers and taking pictures, but no real winners we headed back downtown with four green flower pots for me and a Black Eyed Susan for mom.

FF to 20 min later when we were back in the car heading back to Home Depot to get four more Black Eyed Susans for me. Per usual mom was a genius and put her Black Eyed Susan in one of my pots just to see how it would look and it was love at first sight.

Now I need to have a porch party! 

Sunday was lazy but good. Dad and Joe came downtown and fixed my sink along with double checking my AC unit [after it leaked through my bathroom ceiling last summer.] I bummed around the house for a couple hours then packed up my bathing suit, Clarisonic, and Steeler blanket and headed to River Chase to finish out the long weekend.

Monday was heavenly.

Mom, Sophie, and I camped out by the pool for the afternoon and soaked up every ounce of sun we could.

Life does not get much better than this. 

I truly do live a blessed life.

Land of the free because of the brave. 

Simply perfect

I posted a picture of my planner sprawled out on my couch Wednesday night and in no time flat had tons of questions about what brand it was; so I figured I'd share with everyone!

I have been a long time Lilly planner lover, it was the first thing Lilly I ever bought.

Swore by them all through college, but post grad life called for something a little more structured.

Now don't get me wrong, I still love the prints and stickers that come with a Lilly planner. That's why I now have the Lilly wall calendar hanging by my desk at home. But then I was introduced to Emily Ley.

Emily Ley's Simplified Planner is a game changer.

Thank you Sara for this one! 

The 2014 planners only came in the rainbow stripe but this coming 2015 planners will have three different cover options, all precious.

Each day has a quote, your day broken down by the hour 7a-7p, a built in To Do list, a Notes box, and in my case the usually neglected Dinner box. There's a huge front cover pocket and monthly calendars at the beginning of each month. 

I mean what else could a girl want?

Oh, cute stationary? Well while you're planning out your day in your Simplified Planner don't forget to make your grocery list on one of Emily Ley's adorable notepads. There's gold foil and personalized options, you can't go wrong with either! 

Planning has never been so fun or looked so good! 

Friday 5/23

and it leads to really great things! 

Right here, I swear, this is where you're meant to be

#tbt
"Wish that I was on ole Rocky Top down in the Tennessee Hills"

Evin Photography

Dance it out

If I have learned anything from Grey's Anatomy it's to dance it out [along with don't get on any tiny planes, offer your life to a gunman, stick your hand in a body cavity with a bomb in it, the usual.]

Last week's season finale/goodbye to Cristina ended with a signature Meredith/Cristina "You're my Person" dance it out session.

I of course cried. 

I absolutely love the song they used for this final scene, it was perfect for the episode and these two.

So go ahead, dance it out [it's even better in your undies.] 

If they don't dance [watch Grey's] then they're no friends of mine

This past season of Grey's was one for the books. 

What started off with a runaway bride ended with saying good-bye to the timeless Cristina Yang.

It seemed like every episode something huge happened paired with the absolute perfect song in the background.

Whoever does the music for Grey's, I want your life. 

As the season progressed I noticed myself recognizing songs each week, throwbacks with a modern acoustic spin on them. 

I was obsessed.

Thanks to my handy dandy Shazam app I was able to track one down on Spotify.

And after a couple clicks I hit the jackpot, the album all these wonderful songs had been coming from.

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic is just beautiful.
Can The Safety Dance get any better? Um yes, when Sleeping At Last covers it.
Go ahead and belt out Total Eclipse of the Heart while washing your face, I did.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for more songs from the Grey's finale! 

#BlairWaldorfProblems

I am a Gossip Girl lover to the en-th degree.

Blair Waldorf is my self proclaimed spirit animal. 

So when I was looking for some little pieces to spring-afy my little house I took some inspiration from my favorite brunette.

White Girl Secret #97: Wal-Mart has the absolute best fake flowers.

You're welcome. 

Weekend Recap: 5/17-5/18

Last week was seven kinds of nuts so the weekend could not have come fast enough.

I was out the door at 5:30pm sharp, zoomed home, washed my face, threw pjs/extra set of norts/tooth brush/hair tie in my Longchamp, and was out the door to Hendersonville.

Saturday was a rainy no good weather for yard work but very good weather for coffee/couch morning. Sophie and I took full advantage of this while talking politics and real life with dad.

We decided to continue the coziness after Joe came home with doughnuts for brunch and we found a new Showtime series to binge watch [Penny Dreadful, except Josh Hartnett is not so dreadful at all.] After I took the remote hostage and made everyone watch the season finale of Hart of Dixie we switched over to our current favorite, DaVinci's Demons on Starz. And then we all crashed since we were so exhausted from our busy day. Sunday I woke up to this face..

Sunday morning was sunny but the four of us [including Sophie] still sat and yacked for a couple hours. Around 11am I forced myself to actually shower and change clothes, since I do have a house of my own to take care of. I hit up Wal-Mart, did dishes, ran laundry, took out the trash, and caught up on Grey's. 

*Self high-five* 

I ended the weekend where I started it, bothering Sophie and eating Mom's yummy food.

It's Eric Church Sophie, y'all.

She hates [loves] me, I know it.

I don't know what I did to deserve this life.

Now about this Monday thing...

"-you’re a homophobe.”

*Disclaimer: if you've been reading Pekarsk-ing Around for a while or follow me on Twitter @cpekarsk, you know I am a Republican. I however am not a racist because I didn't vote for a black president. And I am not a homophobe because I think a 7th round draft pick should not have a Visa commercial simply because he's gay.*

One of my sorority sisters shared this article on Facebook yesterday morning and it has since blown up around conservative sites and well the internet in general.

Matt Walsh’s “homophobic rant against Michael Sam” is absolutely brilliant

I've sent it on to my parents, friends, and even went out on a limb and tweeted it yesterday [and yes I did lose a follower for it.] I could give my commentary on the issue and thoughts on the article, but instead I'm simply going to leave it here for you to read and digest. 

Regardless of your thoughts on the issue, this is an extremely well written piece. 

I for one won't pass judgement on Sam until I actually see him start a football game.

After all that's what he does, plays football. 

Friday 5/16

[i'm a judger, i admit that. one of the little life gems i've learned the hard way lately is don't let someone else's judgey ways take effect on your life and decisions. you just have to trust your own madness.]

I'll be there to say what up in the morning

The name of the game today is "two".

I spent two years in the advertising program at the University of Tennessee.

I had two job offers approaching graduation.

I have worked in media at two agencies.

And today marks my two year Ad-iversary!

It would be an understatement to say it has been a crazy ride.

But a ride I wouldn't trade for anything.

If today should be about anything it should be thank yous.

Thank you to my wonderful family for their unending love and support, through all the ups and those few downs.

I would not be here without you. 

Thank you to my incredible best friends for the steady flow of morning texts, surprise Starbucks, and ridiculous gchat lunch chats to keep me going.

Thank you to my professors, who have now become friends, for their personal cell phone numbers and anytime advice.

And thank you to my advertising family. You don't have to be at the same agency to still be "cubicle" buddies.

Two years down, can't wait for what's to come!

When I met ya in the Summer

One of the my favorite #whitegirlproblem phrases I love to throw around on a daily basis has to be "the struggle is real." And after living in Nike shorts, oversized frockets [a tshirt with a front pocket], and Nike Frees, getting up and getting ready every morning makes the struggle very real.

Friday is my two year "Real Life" work-iversary and one of the many skills I have picked up in this time is how to shop for staple pieces. 

Black pants, 

chambray shirt, 

white button up [with some bling], 

navy skirt, 

riding boots,

anything with neutral stripes. 

If you can throw it on with a printed piece it'll serve you well!

Mom got me some great pieces from JCrew for Christmas and I've just started to play with them and my summer wardrobe. Tuesdays may be my least favorite day of the week but this is definitely my favorite outfit of the month:

JCrew Factory is having an awesome sale right now, tons of super cute staple pieces.

Don't view it as shopping, view it as an investment, right?

Weekend Recap: 5/10-5/11

How much do I love our little media clique? Um I spent half my weekend with them!

Saturday was a whirlwind of the best kind. That morning I was up bright and early and off to Franklin for Kylie's baby shower! You name it, this shower had it: headband station, cupcakes in the shape of a giraffe, mimosas, and some of the cutest baby clothes you will ever see!

The only thing missing was my blonde partner in audit crime, Maggie.

Thanks to a tractor trailer accident Sarah and I got to explore the backroads of Franklin/Brentwood for a scenic 90 minute drive back into Nashville. This gave me just enough time to sit in my robe and watch The Last Samurai for an hour before dawning outfit #2 and heading off to our CEO's wedding reception.

We partied down and then some. There was dancing, laughing, precious baby holding, and of course champagne. And this wasn't even the main event of the weekend!

Cue Sunday and Julie Day!! We kicked off the party with brunch at Bricktops on West End. Then it was off to my house to grab presents, norts, and my car. We moved the party north to mom and dad's house for presents, dinner, and lots of sweets. I could write a whole week of posts about my incredible mom but Julie said no more blogging about her. "Do not put that on Twitter!"

Now on to audits, deadlines, and trying to find something for dinner.

You'll be missed, Miss California

If you haven't noticed by the explosion of cap and gown pictures on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook this week, it's graduation season! So here's a little #tbt for you along with a big CONGRATULATIONS to all the new alums. I promise you'll sing Rocky Top with a new found gusto at all wedding receptions and tailgates to come! 

GO VOLS! 

I know you'll kill it

Last week ended with me taking lunch, sitting in the Walgreens parking lot, and venting to mom.

My life is entering another transitional phase; transitioning out of friendships, letting relationships go, baby showers instead of wedding showers, and not going to Steeplechase and being okay with it. 

This isn't a bad thing. I'm not upset about it. But change is always hard.

There's a song I like to put in the middle of my runs that I feel like was written exactly for this kind of thing. Bastille hit the 20-something problem nail on the head when they penned Weight of Living.

All that you desired, when you were a child

Was to be old, was to be old

Now that you are here, suddenly you fear

You've lost control (You've lost control)

Do you like the person you've become? Oh

Under the weight of living

You're under the weight of living

Under the weight of living

You are under the weight of living

The weight of living, the weight of living

Do you like the person you've become?

I think I'm just getting to know her actually. 

But, she's pretty awesome [if I do say so myself.]

Friday 5/2

Push it? I pushed it REAL good

Back in January, which feels like years ago, I blogged about my resolution to run the CMM half marathon in 2 hours or less and my wonderful discovery of the Nike+ Running app to help me get there. 

Well I survived training and race day and am back to report.

This app is BOMB!

If you do not have it downloaded you need to get it ASAP, like this afternoon.

Everyday I would get a notification of what distance run I had the next day.

A nice lady [well, some days a mean lady] talks to you every mile, half way, and once you're finished to let you know your pace and overall time. And your home screen shows you your overall average pace. This comes in super handy when you're setting your distance for your run, the app will give you an estimate finish time based on your average pace. I played with this after every run in the weeks leading up to 13.1.

Race day the app didn't freeze or cut out based on my signal strength.

And I'm not one to accuse anyone of lying but according to Nike+ I actually ran 13.THREE last Saturday. 

So it looks like I really did hit my goal of running 13.1 in 2 hours, right? 

You can train for a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or full marathon with Nike +. 

It really is the best running app out there! Our CFO, who ran the half this past weekend as well, downloaded it Friday afternoon when he found out there wouldn't be clocks on the course this year; and I didn't hear any complaints Monday morning! 

So whether you're ready to get some medals on your wall or just getting ready for a bikini on the lake, 

Nike + Running is your girl/guy/nice lady! 

It's gonna be...MAY

If you use that thing called the internet I'm sure you've seen this floating around the past couple days.

Stemming of course from the iconic N'SYNC music video It's Gonna Be Me

We decided to have some office fun this May Day and decorated desks with JT's oh so 90's Ramen noodle hair. I got to the office around 8am and in no time had everyone's computer adorned with our little prank.

I would say it was a hit!