A great week of favorites and a cold and healthy giveaway for you

ByAshley Hours
Comments 118 Comments

Oh, hi there, my friends! Well this was an exciting and very busy week over here, including work, fitness, attending an NBA Finals game, a parade and much more. And today on the blog, it’s all about the favorites, and I’ve got a giveaway for you too, so don’t miss that!

My favorite event of the week: Warriors win

On Monday night, I was so incredibly happy to be sitting with my friends at the Golden State Warriors home game to watch the team win the NBA Finals title for 2017! The game was SO fun! I went with my usual crew of Warriors wives, and Dave’s dad and Dave’s sister were also there (and Dave was there working), so we all got to meet up and hang out after the game to celebrate together.

Girls at game 5 of the Finals by A Lady Goes West

Dave has now been working for the Warriors for five years, and this is his second time being part of a championship — which is awesome for him and for us. It was incredible to see the confetti drop in the arena, then even get to go to an employee after party next door at the Coliseum post game and hug all of Dave’s coworkers and their wives and husbands and significant others, whom I’ve met throughout the years. 

Celebration after the Finals by A Lady Goes West

Ashley and Dave after the Finals by A Lady Goes West

To top it all off, there was a celebratory parade in Oakland on Thursday for the entire Bay Area, which I got to walk in with Dave and the Warriors crew. We did this two years ago as well, but this time, there was rumored to be almost one million more spectators, and it seemed like it! We walked the route of the parade just in front of a bus of players, and it was so awesome to see the fans light up when they saw some of their basketball favorites in person approaching!

Warriors parade fun selfie by A Lady Goes West

Luckily, as part of the employee group and in spite of the huge crowds, we had a staging area, snacks, reserved seats for the post-parade pep rally and an after party with more food and drink. It was a pretty hot day, which was the only downfall of the event, because we sat in the sun for quite some time and had to try to stay comfortable in the heat with no shade during the rally.

Also, one more downfall: I had to get back to Walnut Creek to teach my evening Bootybarre class (I couldn’t find a sub), so I was in a panic the whole way home in terrible traffic and ended up walking in the door just in time to change, let Rudy out and turn around and make it to the gym to press play on the stereo when the clock struck 5:30 p.m.. Phew!

Warriors parade fun by A Lady Goes West

Overall, these NBA Finals events and celebrations are seriously once-in-a-lifetime, and yet, we’ve now done them twice. Yay!! I’m so happy for the Warriors, for all of the employees who work so hard and especially for Dave! But now, it’s time for the off-season! 🙂 

My favorite drink of the week: Zupa Noma 

A few months ago, I introduced you guys to Zupa Noma, which is a Northern California brand of ready-to-drink soups, and they are incredibly healthy, tasty and just plain awesome. I recently got another shipment of Zupa Noma and am excited to give you guys a chance to win a 6-pack of bottles of all the flavors as well.

ZUPA NOMA soups giveaway by A Lady Goes West-2

What do you want to know about Zupa Noma? The chilled vegetable soups are ready to drink when you pull them out of the fridge, they are USDA certified organic, and they are full of whole delicious nutrients. You can’t go wrong with Zupa Noma! I love having one alongside my lunch for a cool dose of goodness. Check out the giveaway at the end of this post to win some for yourself! 

My favorite podcast of the week: Blogger to Author

So I was recently interviewed for my first ever podcast appearance, and it was so cool. My blogging friend, Dr. Beth Brombosz, whom I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with in L.A. for the IDEA World Fitness Convention two years in a row, invited me to appear on her podcast, “Blogger to Author,” to talk about how I wrote my first ebook “Fit and Fertile.” 

Our conversation was totally cool and natural, and we recorded it over Skype. A couple of weeks later, the edited and final version of the podcast made its way to iTunes and to Beth’s website. I was SO nervous to listen to my voice, (I mean, who wouldn’t be?) but it didn’t end up that bad. I would definitely do some things differently next time around though …

Writing Your Passion podcast by A Lady Goes West

I’m so thankful for Dr. Beth for giving me the opportunity to talk about my book and about my blog on her show — she’s a pro, that’s for sure, and it was fun! However, the funny thing is that I had my iPhone turned on silent during the Skype conversation to be extra careful, but my Mac kept getting additional notifications that would make noise and throw me off. Now I know for next time I need to put “do not disturb” on my phone and on my computer. Ha!

Anyways, I’d love for us all to show “Blogger to Author” some support, so head to iTunes and download my episode, which is episode 14 and have a listen. Thanks, friends!

My favorite links from the week

Here are a few things I enjoyed reading as of late …

  • This is a good one about knowing yourself and being yourself when you’re in a relationship, and it’s all about using the metaphor, “How do you like your eggs?”
  • There is a cool experience at the Warriors arena in which you can film a 360 video, and here’s the one I did with my friends!
  • Bodyweight exercises are always a good choice. Here’s an excellent selection of moves to inspire your next workout, and I’m partial to the lunge variations.
  • In case you missed last Friday’s post, there’s still time for you to sign up for the Blogger Summer Camp, which is a great workshop for aspiring bloggers and current bloggers taking place in July. Sign up here (affiliate link!) to join the fun and learn a lot. I’ll be doing it too!

And here’s what has been on A Lady Goes West recently …

GIVEAWAY TIME: Enter to win Zupa Noma

Now here’s your chance to get lucky! If you want to win a 6-pack of Zupa Noma healthy soups, leave a comment on this blog post. I’ll randomly choose a winner from the comments on Sunday night, so act quickly.

To leave a comment, click on the title of this post, scroll down and enter your name and email address and comment in the fields below the post. And just so you know, your email address won’t be made public, don’t worry, but I’ll use it to contact you if you win.

ZUPA NOMA soup giveaway by A Lady Goes West

As far as what kind of comment to leave — any comment will do, and you can leave multiple comments for doing any of the following things in order to increase your chances of winning:

  1. Follow A Lady Goes West on Instagram
  2. Follow A Lady Goes West on Facebook
  3. Follow Zupa Noma on Instagram

By the way, to win, you must live in the U.S.

And that’s it for today, my friends! Have a great day and weekend! 🙂 

Awesome favorites and a healthy giveaway by @apstyle ... Click To Tweet

But before we go, here’s a little collage that makes me happy, so I had to share …

Ashley and Dave after party by A Lady Goes West

Questions of the day

What are you up to this weekend?

What’s the best thing that happened in your week?

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118 Comments

  1. So cool that you have been there and that Dave has been a part of the Warriors epic success! That must be such a surreal experience. It must be pretty exhausting to be that engaged all the time during their season!
    have a great weekend, Ashley!

    Reply

    1. Basketball season is LONG, especially when you go into the Finals. So even though they LOVE it — it’s time for a lighter work schedule for just a little bit heheh! Happy Friday, Susie! 🙂

      Reply

  2. That’s so cool that you and Dave got to be a part of the parade! I remember when the Phillies won the World Series back in 2008, I was attending college in the city and the night they won we all marched down Broad Street to City Hall and then attended the parade a few days later. So fun! Have a wonderful weekend 🙂

    Reply

  8. My boyfriend is a huuuuuge Warriors fan — the celebration looks like SO much fun. Must be an incredible week to be in the Bay Area celebrating.

    Reply

    1. Hi Kayla! Awesome! I love that people far and wide are big Warriors fans, even if they don’t live here. Hope you had a great week, lady! 🙂

      Reply

  9. While I’m upset it wasn’t the Cavs celebrating, the parade looks like a TON of fun. I’m kicking myself for not going home to Cle last year to celebrate. And I’ve seen Zupa Noma on Instagram but haven’t tried them yet, they sound delicious. Happy Happy Weekend!

    Reply

    1. Hi Patricia! Totally! It’s really cool when an entire city or region has a reason to celebrate. Happy Friday to you, lady! Enjoy your weekend!

      Reply

  10. Being from OKC and a huge Thunder fan, reading this posts stings a bit. I’m glad you enjoyed the game though. The warriors were amazing this year.

    Reply

    1. Oh man! I know, Sarah! Kevin Durant (and his mom) are awesome, I love to hear them speak — and it was a tough choice for him to leave OKC, but it’s clear it paid off! SORRRY!! 🙂

      Reply

  13. These soups look amazing! It looks like you had a ton of fun. I know my husband and I are due for a date night!

    Reply

  27. I don’t really follow any sports (weird b/c I want to go into sports medicine, haha), but it was awesome how excited everyone was! :]

    Zupa Noma sounds absolutely amazing–I love the sound of those flavors, and chilled soups would be perfect for the weather we’ve been having! :]

    Congrats on being in the Blogger to Author podcast! :]

    Reply

    1. Hi Emily! Yes — all this Warriors fun this week has been great. And Zupa Noma is SOO good on a hot day! Love it! Hope you have a happy Friday, lady! 🙂

      Reply

  36. Great blog, Ashley. I’ve been “quietly” reading for awhile now. Glad you were able to celebrate the victory of the Warriors with your hubby. I’ve also been wanting to check out Zupa NOMA’s (they’re just a little expensive at the grocery, so that’s why I’ve put off purchasing them), so I’m hoping to win your giveaway! I’m actually also pregnant (18 weeks today), so it’s been fun reading your blog…as you’re a few weeks ahead of me! Feel free to check out my blog.

    Reply

    1. Hi Amy! Thanks so much for saying hi! Congrats on your pregnancy, and I hope you’re feeling good. 18 weeks through now for me (almost 23 weeks) was all a good patch — even though the belly was expanding hehehe. Hope you have a FAB Friday and weekend, lady! 🙂 Is this your first?

      Reply

  40. What’s the best thing that happened in your week?

    The new Newark gym opening hands down. Warriors winning the NBA finals comes a close second.

    Reply

    1. I saw some pics from the Newark gym opening! So cool! And YAY for the Warriors. Thanks for saying hi, Benjamin. Hope you have a great weekend! 🙂

      Reply

  41. 28 weeks pregnant with my second here-and wayyyy over cooking!!!!- so I would love to win these soups!!!

    Reply

    1. Hi Amy! Ohhh I feel you — I’ve been having toast or breakfast food for dinner a lot lately to avoid cooking too hahahah! 🙂

      Reply

  50. Organic Beet Orange Basil sounds fantastic! Thank you so much for the chance to try Zupa Noma. *fingers crossed*

    Reply

  56. A chilled soup sounds so interesting, I would love to try it!

    By the way, I am a recently new follower of your blog and love your writing style! It is so funny how you begin to feel like you know a person just by reading their blog. Thanks for being authentic in your posts! 🙂

    Reply

    1. Chilled soup is SOOO refreshing for the summer! 🙂 Hi Alicia! Thank you SO much for reading my blog and for saying these kind words. I love that you have gotten to know me from my writing!! 🙂

      Reply

  57. Those soups sound so good! Especially the Organic Beet Orange Basil!
    Sounds like you had fun in Oakland — we watched it on TV. Too many people for me! Good thing it wasn’t this week with the scorching heat.

    Reply

    1. Hi Carolsue! There definitely were a LOT of people! 🙂 But it was fun to be in the Warriors employee group. It was such a hot day too! Hope you’re having a great week! 🙂

      Reply

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