Hi, my friends! How are you? I’m good, but a little bit exhausted! It’s been go-go-go for what seems like more than a week around here with so much going on. We had visitors from Thursday night to Monday morning, I was cramming to learn the new choreography for Les Mills BODYATTACK and BODYPUMP this week, doing all of my usual work, subbing two extra classes, cheering for the Warriors at a Finals game and much more. This weekend will be busy as well, because we’re hosting a dinner party on Saturday night and then celebrating Father’s Day on Sunday. The good news is that I love all of these things, but the bad news is that I feel like I haven’t sat down or relaxed in a while. My time will come soon. Enough of that, let’s get to the faves …

CURRENT FAVES

Fun

Hosting visitors from Orlando

A big fave! Our friends from Orlando, Jess and Amanda and their son, Jack, joined us for four nights last weekend, and we had so much fun together. Jack is almost exactly a year older than Brady, and the two of them were very cute playing with each other and sharing all the toys.

While they were all here, we went to story time, out to lunch a couple times, to a Warriors Finals game, walked around the Lafayette Reservoir, went to Napa, had some delicious dinners at home enjoyed al fresco while the boys slept, traversed through Berkeley and even explored downtown Walnut Creek. Good stuff!

A few photo highlights …

Hanging with Dave after the game. (Sadly, the Warriors lost this one, but we still had a good time. Yes, I’m holding a slice of chocolate cake, and yes, I ate the whole thing shortly after this pic.)

Tasting some fine red wines at Silver Oak on a hot day. We’ve been to Silver Oak before, and it’s a very quiet and chill place to sit back and sip.

Dining on my favorite falafel salad at Gott’s in downtown Walnut Creek. (I was still in sweaty workout wear, because I left the group to go to BODYATTACK and met them there after the gym, so I am very much un-pictured).

And then on the last day, we went up to Tilden Park in Berkeley, not only to ride on the Steam Train with the boys, but also to take in the great views. Brady enjoyed.

Overall, such a fun-filled weekend with great people! Loved it all!

Family

Brady’s first summer camp

We have a little camper on our hands! Brady started his first week of his 2-week summer camp, and he is so darn cute. I had three full hours to myself on Monday after dropping him, but then on Wednesday, I was already scheduled to sub BODYPUMP during camp time, so only ended up with like 45 minutes to myself during that session — but it’s better than nothing. (Camp is Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon.)

(Brand new first day outfit: Brady’s pants, shirt and backpack.)

Also, can we talk about his tiny backpack, which looks big on him, yet is literally like 2 inches in person ahhah. He loves his backpack and has been wearing it around the house too. Overall, this is a big deal for us, and I’m so proud of my little man for doing well at camp — I just may sign him up for another one later in the summer. It’s the perfect warm-up for preschool in the fall.

Quote

The best quote from the Calm app

I’ve been going strong with my daily morning 10-minute meditations using the Calm app, and I always look forward to the quote that you get at the end of your session. I will probably write more about the meditation thing soon, but for now, this particular quote is soooo worth sharing …

Save and revisit as needed. 🙂 

Fashion

New things I’ve been wearing and loving

This dress, which I’m wearing below, is the softest cotton. It’s so flattering and is going to be one of my go-to dresses for summer for sure. Paired with these slide sandals, which are also a recent purchase.

I just ordered and received the following two dresses too, which I’m planning to bring on some upcoming trips. I also ordered quite a few things that went back — online shopping with free returns for the win.

• Ruched dress in pink, which fits perfectly.
• Loose maxi in blue, which has a fun drawstring and is sooo casually comfy.

Beauty

Praise for my favorite skincare company

Why do I love Beautycounter products? They are safe and they work too. This is an awesome article from Business Insider on why the company is leading the pack for better skincare and makeup — way ahead of the outdated regulations in the U.S. too. BTW, I’m always happy to help you if you want to make some swaps and try these products. Let me know, sign up for my Beautycounter list here or shop here. 🙂 

Fitness

Weekly workout recap

A look at how I’ve been moving lately …

• Monday: 1-hour BODYPUMP class, 10 a.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 45-minute BODYATTACK class, 4:45 p.m.
• Wednesday: Taught 1-hour BODYPUMP class, 9:30 a.m., taught 1-hour barre class, 5 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 1-hour barre class, 12 p.m.
• Friday: 20 minutes of BODYATTACK and 20 minutes of BODYPUMP practice, 9 a.m.
• Saturday: Rest day
• Sunday: 1-hour BODYATTACK class, 9:30 a.m.

This past week was still all about Les Mills as I prepped for the launches, and I didn’t do any solo weights workouts at all, which isn’t ideal. I took a rest day and also had a light day with only one barre class, but otherwise, a little too heavy on the BODYPUMP and BODYATTACK this week. Oh well!

Want to try out these awesome Les Mills workouts for yourself? You can still get a 21-day free trial of Les Mills On Demand by using my referral link here. Go for it!

Best reads

Some things I enjoyed from around the web …

• Getting others onboard with your healthy lifestyle. This article is quite long, but has so many good tips on how to help others join you in your healthy endeavors. I really love the idea of setting “approach goals” versus “avoid goals,” where you add a healthy habit instead of avoid a bad one.
• Meat consumption. I only eat meat once a week. It’s true. Sometimes it’s every other week actually, and when I eat meat, it’s usually grass-fed beef in a burger or steak enjoyed at home on a Saturday night. The rest of the week, I eat more veggies, fats, fish and eggs. Not only is meat consumption tough on the planet, but eating too much meat can lead to some risk factors for disease. However, you don’t have to give it up (it has some nutritional value, of course), just eat it less. This article explains more about why you may want to limit your meat.
• Safer tanners. I look forward to the day that Beautycounter makes a sunless tanner, but until then, I’ll be on the lookout for safer versions. This is a good article with a few recommendations.

A Lady Goes West favorite archives

• Healthy habits and collagen … “Three trendy health things I actually do each day.”
• Postpartum fitness … “Five things no one tells you about postpartum exercise.”

Have a most wonderful weekend. Thank you for coming to the blog today, and be good out there! 🙂

Questions of the day

What are you up to this weekend?

Do you like to shop online or in the store?

Have you tried any of the new Les Mills releases yet? What do you think?