Birthday Wish List

One of the joys of being an adult is being able to treat yo self. However this makes it difficult to answer the annual question "What do you want for your birthday?" This year was no different. 

Luckily, I have a handful of sites I frequent always adding things to my cart but never checking out.
Full disclosure, I am not as fit minded as this list makes me look!
My Kind of Lovely started carrying the Aviate brand this spring and I constantly get compliments on my BNA hat. So I naturally had to add the Pittsburgh hat to my birthday list. Sarah Marie Design Studio is a great site for running merchandise that has some sass to it. I discovered her through Runners' World and Instagram last month after the half marathon and now want everything she posts. And of course a coral Fitbit sport band has my name written all over it [mom has the black version and loves it.] But really all I want for my 27th birthday is a Penguins win [and something monogrammed.] 😉
Happy Gemini season! 

1// Aviate PIT baseball hat

2// Fitbit Charge 2 HR sport band

3// Sarah Marie Design Studio
bRUNch tank
I'd Rather Be Running sweatshirt
iPhone 7 phone case

4// Nike Free Run

5// Tory Burch Love Relentlessly 

26 Candles

As of Saturday, it is now the season of the Gemini. 

While I'm biased, because I am a Gemini [17 days till June 8] the majority of my friends are Geminis too. That's probably why we all get along so well, we understand each other's crazy. 

So, if you're looking for a gift idea for your Gemini bestie, here are a couple of my favorites. 

From Lilly to Keurig to Emily Giffin and finally the greatest pool float ever... take your pick! #26

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!

Baby it's [freaking] cold outside

It's a balmy 25 degrees here in Music City and I'm scheduled to run a brisk three miles today.

Let me tell you, I am pumped. Not.

I am a summer girl through and through. And I also don't particularly enjoy feeling like my lungs are going to explode while trying to run 100 ft. 

However, I have figured out a couple tricks that make 13.1 training not so bad. 

When I was at the Nike outlet with the little brother after Christmas I started browsing the running accessories section [aka things I could afford] and found something so wonderful I had to share. 

Say it with me now, Nike Therma-FIT Reversible Running Headband.

Now go buy one.

This purple gift from running heaven has saved my ears more than once this year AND [added bonus] keeps my earbuds perfectly in place. It's a win-win. Plus, it's so warm I left it on for a good 20 minutes after I got home. 

Nike wins again. 

Now about those three miles tonight...

Push it, Push it real good?

Last week I laid it all out there by listing my resolutions. Yesterday I talked about a blog resolution but today I'm back to the list hanging on my bulletin board. Can you sense the theme for this week's posts? 

My main goal of 2014 is to run 13.1 in 2 hours or less. 

Wait..back up: this was my main goal of 2012. And I missed it by twelve minutes. 2:12 is the time that haunts me. Dang bathroom breaks. Y'all, hold it. Your time will be worth it. 

Okay, back to what I was rambling about. 13.1, sub 2. 

I will be completely honest in saying this scares the hell out of me. 

Can I really do this again? Heck, 5 miles feels like a marathon right now. 

But after a lunch date/pep talk with the little brother I am hydrated and motivated.

How motivated you ask? I ran in the dang rain last night.

My last 13.1 I trained for without a plan. I also had no more than three classes a day and could run 6 miles at two in the afternoon. This time, eh not so much. Joe runs with a Garmin, but he also doesn't run with music like I do. So I went off in search for an app I could use to track my training and *bonus* could set a training plan for me. 

Hellllo Nike Running+

Download it. 

The new "Coach" feature is amazing. I now have a 12 weeks training plan with my goal pace loaded complete with run reminders waiting to kick my butt starting February 3rd. Till then I can do Distance Runs or Speed Runs to get my butt ready for this thing.  Oh, and lots and lots of chocolate milk.

See ya soon April 26th. I'm coming for ya this time. 

[NO bathroom breaks]

Three words. Eight letters.

   Valentine's Day... 

   Yes I went there. It's um, the greatest and the worst holiday depending on who you sleep with at night. If it's the heart shaped pillow your mom got you Valentine's day freshmen year of college, then maybe you should steer clear of the intense red and pink heart explosion also known as the Hallmark card display at Wal-mart. If it's your precious boyfriend who we all know has some amazing surprise planned for you, then you can just leave now. So, thinking ahead and pulling from personal experience of being single the past two February 14ths I put together a cute little list of things you can get yourself for heart day or hint at your mom to get you or get your best girlfriends and won't bust your budget. And remember, it took Noah and Allie SEVEN YEARS to get their shit together so don't stress about this over hyped holiday. Fat Tuesday is way better anyway. 

10 Things... you can get yourself for Valentine's Day

1. Your very own set of May Notes or a May Book or both!

2. Lilly Pulitzer coffee/tea cup or travel mug 

3. A new book, you know there is always one you want on the New Arrivals table at Barnes&Noble

4. Something cute for your office, I have one of Primitives by Kathy's box signs and love it

5. A set of Stickygrams, your Instagram pictures turned into magnets I mean come on

6. School or office "supplies", Office Depot's See Jane Work line is adorable and more importantly affordable

7. Finally buy that movie that you always watch and crack up at whenever you catch it on HBO 59 times a week, Friends with Benefits is mine

8. Um anything from Marley Lilly, monogrammed goodness

9. Obsessed with picture frames? You'll love Magnolia Lane. Or anything else in their The South collection.

10. Norts. So you can run and stuff..

All 10 things are $30 and under so you can treat yourself and still save. And don't worry this is the only post about Valentine's Day you'll see on here, gotta keep my surprise underwraps for a certain someone!

Pink Champagne

  I had always been dreaming of this day and then all of a sudden it was happening. In the blink of an eye I was hanging up the phone call, about in tears, that had delivered my first job offer. It had lasted all of seven minutes.

  My momma was the first person I told. We cried together. I will remember that moment forever, "Mom, I need to tell you something." I about scared her to death. "I got it." That was it, the moment we had been talking about for years. 

  From the moment I got up, something was different about Thursday April 5th. My roommate and best friend Lauren was abnormally home that morning, we had a random roomie Sonic date for lunch, and my favorite pair of Nike shorts and my favorite long sleeved t shirt were both clean on the same day. This never happened. We had planned to walk to our 2:10 classes together that afternoon but instead found ourselves jumping up and down in the hallway, screaming, and both crying after that magical call came. Celebration was in order and we knew just how to do it. You see, Lauren and I had been talking about this moment for months. 

  

















    
Pink champagne was our drink of choice at 2pm on a Thursday afternoon. In fact we bought every pink champagne they had. Bottles were popped off the balcony, multiple toasts were made, and it still didn't seem real it. It still doesn't. The next day a surprise delivery from my wonderful family arrived at our door complete with balloons and a pink vase. I officially signed my offer letter and contract Friday morning. We celebrated all weekend.

  I had blogged last week that multiple friends were sharing their good news of job offers via social media and if I was lucky enough to have news of that matter I would, of course, do the same. Don't worry, I made good on my word. I even tagged BOHAN in my Facebook status and attached an Instagram picture of their building to my tweet. I don't just talk a big game, I am a social media queen.
  






So now it's unfortunately back to real life. Only three more Mondays left of college with 31 days to go till graduation. Graduation announcements have been ordered, my graduation dress has been purchased, my cap is decorated (Lilly print with monogram of course), graduation tickets have been reserved, job offer has been accepted and signed...now all that's left to do is actually graduate, oh and win that XPS 13. But it's all worth it because May 15th, 2012 my career in Media starts as soon as I walk through those gorgeous doors at BOHAN Advertising in Downtown Nashville. Watch out y'all, little person in high heels coming through!

"Now you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I could run like the wind blows. From that day on, if I was going somewhere, I was running!" -Forrest Gump

  Exactly two months from today I will run the Music City Half Marathon. And let me tell you this day's been a long time coming. I made a promise to myself the weekend after my birthday, which also turned out to be the end of my relationship, that I would run 13.1 miles and in the process get over him and let go of it all. I come from a family of runners and have run on and off my entire life, mostly as means of staying skinny, but Junior year of high school I used it to get over a boy and here I was doing it again four years later.

  I am blessed with an incredible family who loves me like no other and has supported me through it all. However, I also come from a family who will tease your pants right off you. I am not the most graceful person in the world nor am I the most elegant in every day life; so when I announced at family dinner downtown one July night my marathon plans my dad about choked on his burger. Nonetheless, when we got home that night Joe helped me pick out a new pair of running shoes for training and the half-marathon. Mom put the date in her planner and Dad wished me good luck. And here we are. I would bet I will be more emotional after I cross that finish line and find my family, especially my momma, than I will be on graduation day. There is something so emotional and personal about running, it takes everything you have to give and then some. The most raw moment you can have is finishing a run in tears, legs shaking, knowing you did it. 

  After training for a good solid seven months now I can say in confidence I couldn't have done it without my little brother or Map My Run. Map my Run is an amazing website that I seriously would not have been able to train without. It's like Facebook for runners but so much better. You can find friends, or in my case little brothers, to share runs, workouts, and diet plans with. I've mapped every run on the site to get my exact mileage for the day and Joe has sent me runs he's mapped out for me through the site as well. It's simple and fast and has a huge array of resources for runners along with an iPhone app that has definitely come in handy. So once again social media has found another way into my life along with Pandora for a nice soundtrack during workouts, Pinterest for inspirational running quotes along with finding the coolest running gear, and of course Facebook to share all those sweaty "I DID IT" pictures. 

  I started this goal as a means of getting over someone and finding a way to heal. But it's grown into something so much more. I'm doing it for me. And let me just say I am pretty dang proud of myself. So here we go, sprint those last 100 yards no matter what. I'll see you at the finish line.