Hi, friend! How’s your week?

This week felt like a true return to normalcy, with classes, work, tennis, mom life, a trip to the dentist (love that clean-teeth feeling) and more. And today, I’m waking up in Columbus, Ohio. Dave, Brady and I are visiting our besties, Grant and Bre, and their kids, for the weekend. We were supposed to have made this trip a few weeks ago and had to postpone it due to recent events. We plan to have a lot of fun this weekend doing joint-family stuff, and I’ll share more about that soon. You can always keep up with me in real-time over on Instagram as well.

Did you catch my midyear check-in on the blog yet this week? If not, please do. I’m hoping Dave and I get a chance to ask each other the questions I posed this weekend.

Also, if you’re in need of some effective clean beauty and skincare, my favorite brand, Beautycounter, is having a 20 percent off sale through next week, and you can shop with me here.

Now, let’s get right to the current faves of the day …

Current faves

Fashion

The best-fitting adidas tennis outfit

*adidas sent me a gift card to pick out a few things, and I’m so thankful for that.

You know I’m a big adidas fan. There’s just something about this well-known brand that has somehow remained cool for years and years.

And the gear works. I’ve been wearing adidas tennis shoes to play tennis since I started just over a year ago, and it’s about time I had a full-on adidas tennis outfit to complement my shoes. (Here are the adidas tennis shoes I wear, by the way, which have served so me well — no pun intended.)

A few weeks ago, I ordered these adidas Tennis Match Shorts and this adidas Club Tennis Tank Top, and when these two items arrived and I put them on, I felt great. I couldn’t love these tennis shorts any more than I do, because they are super high-waisted, they stay in place, and they feel so supportive when I play. I like that my thighs are covered from the biker shorts below the flowing shorts, and the flowing shorts almost look like a skirt. These shorts are made from recycled polyester and elastane, and I’m wearing a small in them. And the tennis tank top is light and airy and keeps me cool. It’s also made from recycled polyester, and the back is sheer (and it comes in other colors). I’m wearing a small in the tank. These two items were totally meant to be worn together and they now make up my favorite tennis outfit I own. 

There’s a lot of great women’s tennis gear, shorts and shoes on the adidas site, so if you’re a fellow player, I recommend you take a look around.

When I was writing up this description, I decided to look up a little history about adidas. According to the brand’s website, adidas was started by a man named Adi Dassler in Germany in 1949. That very same year, he registered a shoe with the infamous three-stripe logo, and over the next few years, he began working with athletes and designing athletic gear with their input. Now, almost 75 years later, adidas is still going strong. The brand has the coolest matching track suits, golf clothes for men, golf clothes for women, kids clothes, classic sneakers, fashion forward streetwear and much more. 

Thanks, adidas, for helping me to look the part out on the court!

Fun

Father’s Day weekend 2023

Last weekend was a really nice weekend. I went to our neighborhood pool for the first time all year, I spent a little time with friends, I spent a lot of time with my family, I played my first ever real tennis match (outside of clinics and playing for fun), Dave and I went out to dinner, we celebrated Father’s Day, and I did some work too.

Here are some of the highlights …

Our neighborhood pool has been open for a few weeks, but I haven’t felt like going (even though Dave and Brady have been a few times together). Last Friday afternoon, a girlfriend told me she was heading over with her family, so Dave and Brady and I joined in. It was not too hot, the pool area wasn’t too crowded, and we had such a relaxing time chilling on the side of the pool for a couple hours. I was quickly reminded that I love going to our pool in the afternoons — totally the best time to be there. And this was the perfect kick-off to the weekend.

On Saturday night, Dave and I went out to dinner, just the two of us, for the first time in months. While we used to be so good about going on little dates every couple of weekends, we’ve totally let it slide, and we’ve been busy on the weekends too. And as I had mentioned, I was not feeling well on our anniversary a few weeks ago, so we didn’t even make it out then.

This past Saturday, we went to a new rooftop bar in Ballantyne, called Hestia, and the view was so cool. While our drinks and apps were only decent, the scene was excellent, and I’d definitely go back. Funny story: I ran into some group fitness class members on the rooftop there, and I went over to say hi and they didn’t recognize me in real clothes with my hair done. I had to tell them who I was before it registered. Guess I look somewhat different at the gym. 

Also, big shout-out to these new floral summer shorts I debuted for our outing. I’m in a small in them …

On Father’s Day, we took a family trip to a local driving range. While Dave has taken Brady to hit balls there once before, it was my first time swinging a real golf club. I wouldn’t say I was a natural at all, but I did like trying. I’ll probably go back again with Dave some time, even though golf is another thing that Dave is great at and I’m not, and that can get annoying (just kidding — love him!). It was super hot this day, so we only worked through one basket of balls, then went into the A/C to enjoy lunch at Middle James Brewing in Pineville, connected to the driving range. Our food there was good, and I liked this casual Sunday activity combination, and so did Dave.

I loved trying new places and new activities this past weekend, and that made me want to get out of my bubble even more for the rest of the summer. 

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

Workouts

My workouts from last week

Now it’s time to take a look at my workouts from last week.

I share this recap to show you how I try to get diversity of movement in my week, 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 6/12

• Monday: Taught 1-hour barbell class, 9:45 a.m., played 60 minutes of tennis, 4:30 p.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 1-hour barre class with light weights, 9:30 a.m., took 90-minute tennis clinic, 11:30 a.m.
• Wednesday: Did 1-hour full-body weights workout, 10 a.m., taught 45-minute barre class with light weights, 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 45-minute combo class, 9:45 a.m., played 60 minutes of tennis, 11 a.m.
• Friday: Played 60 minutes of tennis, 10 a.m., taught 45-minute barbell class, 11:30 a.m.
• Saturday: Played 100 minutes of tennis, 10 a.m. (my first real match!)
• Sunday: (Rest day) Took 45-minute slow neighborhood walk, 9:30 a.m. 

This past week was a full one. I played tennis five times, taught five classes and did a super-tough workout on the fitness floor. While this workout was technically a solo workout outside of the classes I teach, I actually did it with a friend, and that means I did way more than I would have done alone. It was excellent. 

Here’s my workout from the fitness floor, which left my back incredibly sore, because I hadn’t worked on chin-ups in many, many months …

Best listen of the week

Here’s a podcast episode worth sharing with you …

Toxins, toxins, everywhere. This episode of “The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Show” features an interview with the co-founder of the Environmental Working Group (EWG), Ken Cook. The Environmental Working Group has a really helpful app/website called the Skin Deep Database, and you can use this to check the safety of the personal care and home products you’re using (Beautycounter stuff is always safe). The EWG tests various ingredients and rates them on how likely they are to cause you harm. This podcast episode offers some valuable insight on why we need to be in charge of checking our own products (and can’t leave it up to the government), as well as doable tips on how to start small to make better choices in your life product-wise to keep you and your family healthy. Find the episode here.

Quote of the week

Here’s a thought worth sharing with you from Tiny Buddha on Instagram …

Blog archives of the week

Let’s look back at two posts worth revisiting, including the latest from earlier this week …

Midyear check-in. We’re almost halfway through the year. Here’s how you can check in on how you’re doing, and I’m sharing how I’m doing too … “We’re halfway through 2023: Here’s your midyear check-in (and how I’m doing).”

Dupes. This is a fun one about stuff I buy that’s not quite the real thing … “Three affordable imitation items I’ve been loving over the real thing.”

That’s it for today. Thank you for reading A Lady Goes West.

Questions of the day for you

How was your week?

Do you have any trips planned for the summer?

Have you listened to any good podcast episodes lately worth sharing?