A beauty-filled weekend and my weekly workouts

Hi, friends! How are you? How was your weekend? 

I know this post is going up a bit later than usual, and I want to apologize to those of you who like to read what’s new first thing in the morning (especially my East Coasters). However, quite frankly, the last few Sundays, I’ve been scrambling to get everything done at the close of the weekend, and I end up sitting on the couch finalizing my weekend recaps totally exhausted at 10 p.m. — which is my bed-time. So last night, I decided to give myself a bit of grace and close up shop on the computer after I put Brady to bed — thus finishing this up on Monday morning. That being said, let’s get to the business of the day, and I’ve got a lot of beautiful pictures to share …

Super quick Friday and Saturday recap

The first two days of the weekend were pretty simple for us. On Friday, we had our usual take-out sushi and hanging out at home (we buy our sushi from either Whole Foods or Lunardi’s and have miso soup or ramen with it to fill out the meal).

We love having a Friday night routine, so we never have to wonder what’s on the agenda at the end of the week.

On Saturday, I taught Bootybarre in Moraga, and my class is growing.

I’ve mentioned before it’s a new class on the schedule at a strange time (11 a.m.), so I’ve had to build it up, and we hit 17 people this past week, which is an improvement from the 12 I had at first — and a far cry from the 50-person classes I used to teach in Walnut Creek before I went on my maternity leave. But that’s fine by me, because even small groups need a good workout!

In the afternoon on Saturday, I got my hair cut and highlighted, and it took sooooo long, so basically filled the rest of the day. I was supposed to get it done weeks ago, but my stylist was sick, so this was a much-needed appointment. And the postpartum hair situation is not good, let me tell you …

On Saturday night, we had steak, Brussels sprouts and white sweet potatoes for dinner and watched some “SNL” until hitting the hay just after 10 p.m., which we try to do every day of the week, weekend or not. I mean, we’re pretty spontaneous people over here with a new house and a new baby, you know. Watch out!

But moving on, I did have a little excitement on Sunday …

Whole Foods Market Beauty Week Brunch at Filoli 

I don’t really get out to blogger or influencer events any more, because they are mostly during weeknight evenings in the City, and I just can’t swing that any more with my Brady responsibilities. So when I got the invite for a Sunday brunch with Whole Foods Market, I knew I wanted to make it work.

The event was being held by Whole Foods Market Silicon Valley in order to promote the upcoming Beauty Week, in which all of the facial products, cosmetics and hair care at all Whole Foods locations are 25 percent off — a big deal! The week starts March 21, if you want to check it out.

Anyhow, the event was at Filoli Estate in Woodside, California, which is just under an hour from me. It was a beautiful drive, and I talked to my Mom on the way there and listened to a podcast on the way back, so I actually really enjoyed the solo car time. And I would say this view was worth the drive …

I arrived at the stunning garden estate, checked in and then had a chance to tour the scenery and the botanical gardens, as well as pop into an atrium to visit a kombucha bar.

They were serving kombucha berry spritzer cocktails made by Health-ade Kombucha, in which you could dress up your beverage with various berries and fruits. And I made one pretty drink, if I do say so …

There were also stations to get a little hand massage with some fabulous Evan Healy oils and products (part of the Beauty Week sale and which all smelled amazing), and even get mini-facials and manicures, which I didn’t take part in.

Finally, we all sat down to the most incredible outdoor brunch at a grand banquet table in a garden, lined by floral arrangements and amazing finger foods and desserts, with personalized place-settings, complemented by gifted nail polished from clean beauty brand, Pacifica. 

And let me tell you about some of my favorite bites (all made by Whole Foods Market Silicon Valley, by the way), including probably the most photo-worthy charcuterie I’ve ever dug into and the most delicious smoked salmon bruschetta in all the land …

And the mini desserts may have been small, but they packed some serious sweet flavors …

It was fun to see a few of my fashion blogger friends, who I used to run into at San Francisco events. There weren’t any other healthy lifestyle bloggers there at all, but there were a few foodies, so that was cool. I met some new ladies and caught up with others — so it was a good mix.

And although I didn’t quite fit the glammed-up mold that most of the other ladies were rocking, I didn’t feel out of place, because it was surprisingly laid-back for a fancy affair. 

And like any good event, we came away with a nice gift bag full of clean beauty products that can be purchased at Whole Foods, which I can’t wait to dig into starting today. I am actually already on a mission to clean up my skincare and beauty routine, so this brunch came at the perfect time. (More details on all of that coming soon, I promise!)

Overall, it was soooo nice to spend time in the gardens among the beautiful scenery, eat good food and chat with nice ladies. I’m so glad I made the trip!

Thanks for the hospitality, Whole Foods!

That afternoon, shortly after I got home, Dave and Brady and I turned around and went right back out to Pottery Barn to order some more furniture (on sale!) — we’re filling the place up slowly, but surely, and yes, I still owe you some pictures. Then, we hit up Trader Joe’s and came home to do all the Sunday chores, make a pizza in the pizza oven and get ready for a very busy week ahead.

I’m taking little Brady on a solo plane trip on Friday, and we’ve got a lot to do before then!

My postpartum weekly workouts

Now that we’ve talked about the weekend, let’s look at how I’ve been exercising this past week …

At 21 weeks postpartum …

• Monday: 30-minute lower-body weights workout, 30-minute walk, 12 p.m.
• Tuesday: 20-minute walk, 12 p.m., took 1-hour barre class, 2 p.m.
• Wednesday: 45 minutes of BODYPUMP at home, 30-minute walk, 12 p.m. 
• Thursday: Took 30-minute CXWORX class, 6:30 p.m.
• Friday: 30 minutes of barre at home, 20 minute walk, 12 p.m.
• Saturday: Taught 1-hour Bootybarre class, 11 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

Three in-person classes in one week, what a change! Woohoo! I went to bring-your-baby-to-the-barre class on Tuesday, Dave came home early so I could sneak out to a CXWORX workout on Thursday, then I taught my own barre class on Saturday. That makes me very happy, because you guys know I live for group fitness and miss it so much during the week!

I also took a full rest day and tried to get in walks when the weather cleared up. Overall, a strong week of fitness. But I must say that lately I’ve felt like I sort’ve miss yoga, so maybe that will make a come-back here soon.

Thanks for reading the blog, my friends! I hope you have a GREAT start to your week!

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Questions of the day

How was your weekend?

What’s something that you need to give yourself grace on?

What’s a workout that you’re missing?