Hi, friend!

How’s life? We’re doing fine over here. Are you signed up for my email list? Because this week, I sent out the first newsletter I’ve written in a few years. If you didn’t get it, send me an email (ashley-at-aladygoeswest) and I’ll forward you the newsletter. And if you want to be on the list to receive future mailings and new posts by email, sign up here. 

This week has been going well so far. I’ve been teaching classes, working, playing tennis and doing all the usual stuff. I even took Rudy to a special pet dermatologist, which was a blast (not exactly), but our little pup needed some extra care.

Here’s Brady and me at Whole Foods a few days ago, where we went to film some content for a project …

(This is a brand new sweater, and I wore it for our family pictures on Saturday, then for lunch and errands on Sunday. I’m in a small, and it’s the perfect amount of cropped, without being too cropped.)

Can you believe next week is Thanksgiving in the U.S.? Personally, I’m looking forward to it. I’ll be teaching a class on the holiday in the morning, then hanging and relaxing. We’re expecting my brother, Matthew, and his wife, Stephanie, next week/weekend, and we’re so excited to spend some time with them.

But today, let’s catch up with some faves …

Current faves

Fashion

Sporting family adidas three-stripe jackets 

*adidas sent me a gift card to purchase gear in exchange for my review. Thanks, adidas!

Still over here wearing a lot of adidas in the Pitt family! 

I’ve known all year long that once it started to get a little bit colder, I was going to order us all some classic three-stripe tracksuits, and I finally did that a few weeks ago.

I got Brady a full tracksuit, and he’s been loving it. In fact, his new adidas tracksuit has now become his “Tuesday Tennis” outfit, so he’s in it at least once a week (does anyone else have days-of-the-week outfits chosen for your kids to make things easier?).

I got myself the three-stripe jacket shown above, and I got Dave one too. And yes, we’ve worn them all at the same time already on a couple occasions. I actually considered wearing them for our family photos, but then changed my mind for something more traditional.

Here’s everything we got in our latest adidas haul:

• Here’s my jacket, and I’m in an extra small. (I bought a men’s version.)
• Here’s Dave’s jacket, and he’s in a medium.
• Here’s Brady’s jacket, and he’s in an extra small.
• Here are Brady’s pants, and he’s in an extra small.
• Here are Brady’s shoes.
• Here are my shoes.
• I also got myself these sweatpants and this women’s hoodie for cold casual days.

Although I wish I spent more time in “regular clothes,” as a group fitness instructor, I’m mostly in activewear every day of the week, and that’s not changing any time soon — so now I just lean into it. And as a big activewear repeater, I have to find items that I won’t get sick of and that will last with a lot of washes and wears. This adidas jacket is absolutely an item that will stand the test, I can tell already. I’m literally wearing it while typing up this post, in the cafe at my gym, before heading up to teach a class. I chose to get a men’s version, because I liked the collar on the men’s versions more than the women’s, and it’s a good fit.

I can’t think of many brands who design pieces that the whole family would want to wear, but somehow, adidas nails clothing for men, women, kids and adults — and these three-stripe jackets are a great example of that.

I’ve got my eye on a tote bag and some new women’s tennis shoes for my next order.

If you’re in need of some cute and functional activewear, head to the adidas site and check out the women’s athletic sneakers, women’s tracksuits, and all the awesome women’s hoodies and sweatshirts too, as well as stuff for kids and men. Thanks, adidas! We love our gear!

Sports

Taking Brady to his first Panthers game (and my first NFL game too)

This was literally the best time. We loved everything about it. And I was worried, because attending big sporting events like this can be stressful, but this was not at all. It was awesome!

A couple weekends ago, I took Brady to his first Panthers game, which was also my first Panthers game (the Carolina Panthers are the professional football team here in Charlotte, in case you didn’t know).

We brought our sweet friends with us (a mom, who is my friend, and her son, who is Brady’s friend), and we stayed until the end of the third quarter, which is a lot longer than I thought we’d make it for this first big NFL outing. The boys loved it, and so did the moms. 

The pregame stuff was really cool, because there was a jet flyover, and we had great lower-bowl seats to see all the action in the stadium.

I mentioned on the blog a few weeks ago that Dave got a new job, and this is it. He’s working for the Panthers (and Charlotte FC), so we have a lot of sporting events in our future. When Dave worked at the Golden State Warriors, once we had Brady, I didn’t go to a lot of games the last few years. I’m glad he’s old enough to enjoy all the sports fun now. I’m taking another friend and her little one to the next Panthers home game this upcoming weekend, yay!

Writing

Writing a piece about my December birthday for The Everymom

I love to write for you here on A Lady Goes West, but I also like to write for other places too.

Last week, “The Everymom” website published a piece I wrote about having a birthday in December. Why is that a topic that matters? Because growing up, I wasn’t a fan of having a birthday two days from Christmas, because I never got to spend my birthday at school with my classmates. And apparently parents of children with December birthdays are interested in this topic. 

Here’s the article I wrote with some details on how we handled my birthday growing up through now: “I have a December birthday, here’s how my parents make sure it wasn’t overshadowed.”

Sales

The biggest Beautycounter Black Friday sale yet

Get 20 percent off sitewide, with free shipping on orders over $50 and a free gift with orders over $150.

This is the biggest sale on Beautycounter products that I’ve seen over my five years with the company. I’m still using exclusively Beautycounter skincare and makeup (minus the mascara, because I love me some cheap drug-store waterproof mascara, you know). If you’re looking to clean up your products, treat yourself to some new skincare or upgrade your makeup, may I recommend trying out Beautycounter during this sale? 

To shop with me, head here to look around and make sure it says “Ashley Pitt” at check-out. And if you shop with me through November 22, I’m offering a little giveaway to one lucky person. Thanks for the support, friend!

The best deal on my favorite brand of fitness equipment

Get 20 percent off sitewide and free ground shipping through November 30.

Les Mills equipment is 20 percent off with free shipping through November, and I’m here to shout it from the rooftops! So good! If you work out at home, then you deserve a setup like this. The barbell, weights, step, mat and resistance band are the best you can find for home use. I’ve been a big Les Mills fan for years and years and Les Mills is my longest-running blog partner. Head on over and look around and enjoy this sale.

That’s it for the faves. Let’s get to the movement …

Workouts

My workouts from the last two weeks

Now it’s time to take a look at my workouts from the last two weeks.

I share this recap to show you how I try to get diversity of movement in my week (with a focus on lifting weights), and how I always take a rest day (almost always). But remember, I do a little bit more than the average person, because I’m a group fitness instructor, so you don’t need to compare your movement to mine.

Workouts from the week of 10/30

• Monday: Taught 1-hour barbell class, 9:45 a.m., played 90 minutes of doubles tennis, 11:15 a.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 1-hour barre class, 9:30 a.m., took 60-minute tennis clinic, 12 p.m.
• Wednesday: Taught 45-minute barre class, 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 45-minute combo class, 9:45 a.m., took 90-minute tennis clinic, 11 a.m.
• Friday: Taught 45-minute barbell class, 11:30 a.m.
• Saturday: Did 45-minute weight-room workout, 9:30 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

Workouts from the week of 11/6

• Monday: Taught 1-hour barbell class, 9:45 a.m., played 90 minutes of doubles tennis, 11:15 a.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 1-hour barre class, 9:30 a.m., took 60-minute tennis clinic, 12 p.m.
• Wednesday: Taught 45-minute barre class, 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 45-minute combo class, 9:45 a.m., took 90-minute tennis clinic, 11 a.m.
• Friday: Taught 45-minute barbell class, 11:30 a.m.
• Saturday: Did 45-minute weight-room workout, 9:45 a.m.
• Sunday: Took 30-minute neighborhood walk, 11 a.m.

Two good workout weeks complete! I played some tennis, taught some classes, did one personal workout a week on the weight-room floor and had some rest days too.

Best watch of the week

Here’s a video worth sharing with you …

How to save at Whole Foods. Check out this video I recently did for Neighborhood TV about how to save money while shopping at Whole Foods. In this video, I also share a few of my favorite Whole Foods finds.

Quote of the week

Here’s a thought worth sharing with you from The Chalkboard Mag …

Blog archives of the week

Let’s look back at two posts worth revisiting …

Dresses. I had fun putting together this post, because I was simultaneously shopping for holiday party dresses for myself and kept a few that I ordered from this list … “10 holiday party dress ideas.”

To follow up — I got a few questions about the dresses I ordered, here’s what I kept based on try-ons:

• This gold dress (planning to wear it on my birthday)
• This red dress (planning to wear it to a few holiday activities)

Advice. These ask-me-anything posts were always fun to write, and in this one, I covered friendships, teeth, nutrition and more … “Ask-me-anything A Lady Goes West Advice Corner: fourth edition.”

That’s all I’ve got for you today! Have a wonderful day, friend!

Questions of the day for you

What’s something you’re looking forward to this holiday season?

Are you traveling for Thanksgiving next week?