Hi, my friends! How are you? We’re doing well over here. This was an exciting week, because Brady officially started at his new preschool. In addition to that, I taught some classes, worked, we met with a designer who may help us source some furniture for part of the house (because it’s still very empty), and that’s about it. No big plans for the weekend. And because we’re nearing the official one-year anniversary of the start of all this COVID shut-down craziness (I taught my last in-person class March 15, and I remember it like it was yesterday, because it was the last time I was around a lot of people), I’m starting to feel a little sad and weird. Anyone else?

Before we get going with the topic of the day, make sure you head on over to Instagram to enter my latest giveaway for my favorite protein powder from Organifi. This giveaway closes tomorrow. Now let’s do the faves …

Current faves

Family

Brady’s first day of preschool in Charlotte

Brady loves going to school, and we love him going to school. But he hasn’t been in school consistently in his life so far for a couple of reasons …

Here’s Brady’s schooling story: He started out going to preschool two mornings a week as soon as he turned 2-years-old, and he loved going so much. However, his first school-year was cut short after just six months, once COVID hit. Then, his school closed down. In September of last year, Brady was able to start at a new preschool for three mornings a week. But then, after three months, we had to pull him out at the end of the year for our big move across the country.

And once we got to Charlotte, we needed to figure out where we were going to live before identifying a preschool. Not to mention, we had to get him potty trained first, because that is a requirement here in the 3-year-old classes, and it wasn’t required for his last school in California. We had not pushed potty training with him before now, knowing that we had a lot of transition coming up in our lives with the move.

Then, in order to find a preschool here, I asked around, toured and researched many preschools, and a lot of them were already full for the year. But we were able to find a perfect church school for Brady to attend for the remainder of this year, and we’re very pleased with it.

Fun fact: Brady went to a discovery day of a different preschool last week, and he didn’t like it, nor did we. It’s funny how you can have intuitions about this sort of thing — because as a mom, even though all the reviews and signs pointed to this one franchised preschool as being amazing — I didn’t have a great feeling about it from the outset. I sent Brady to the discovery day there, and the whole process was a mess, and it made it crystal clear to me that my intuition was right from the beginning. Nonetheless, we ended up going with a different school that seems to be a great fit for him.  

Brady will be in school Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings for about three-and-a-half hours, and I’m so pumped to have some extra time to work, as well as to work out too.

With Brady in school, it feels like we have even more of a stake here in Charlotte, which is nice, so we can continue trying to make it feel like home. Also, he does super well with trying new things and hopped right out of the car to march into his new school with a smile. I’m proud of him!

Beauty

Happy 8th birthday Beautycounter!

This week, Beautycounter officially turned eight. And while some people may think of Beautycounter as just another makeup and skincare company, it’s a lot more than that. Beautycounter is a movement, and in addition to selling safe and sustainable products made in ethical ways, Beautycounter continues to push for stricter laws in the United States for personal-care products, so that everyone is protected. And I’m here for it.

Here are a few positive legislative actions Beautycounter has helped advocate for since its inception in 2013:

• Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act
• The Safer Sunscreen Bill
• Cleaning Product Right to Know Act
• Safer Salon Bill
• Microbead-Free Waters Act
• Pollution Prevention for our Future Act
• Safer Fragrance Bill
• Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act
• Toxic-Free Kids Act

I’ve been a Beautycounter consultant for almost two-and-a-half years, and I continue to feel more invested and loyal to the brand as the months go by. If you want to know more about how you can get involved in Beautycounter or just try out the products, please reach out to me at any time, and you can shop here. Thanks, my friends. And HBD Beautycounter. 

Workouts

Weekly workouts 

Here’s a look at my workouts from last week …

• Monday: 30-minute upper-body workout via Peloton, 3 p.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 45-minute barre class on Motus, 3 p.m.
• Wednesday: 30-minute BODYPUMP via Les Mills On Demand, 10:30 a.m.
• Thursday: Taught 45-minute barre class on Motus, 3 p.m.
• Friday: 20-minute cardio sampler via Bande, 12 p.m., 20-minute cycle via Peloton, 5 p.m.
• Saturday: 20-minute slow-flow yoga, 6 p.m.
• Sunday: 30-minute Les Mills Barre via Les Mills On Demand, 11 a.m.

This past week, I switched things up a little bit, and it felt good. I picked up weights three times, although only very light weights during one of those sessions — but I felt strong and mobile in all of my workouts — even if they weren’t super intense.

By the way, I ordered these 20-pound dumbbells the other day, so I can get more variety in my weights workouts. Currently for weights, I only have my Les Mills Smartbar and plates, which are amazing, but the plates don’t work as well for regular circuit training. I can’t believe I’m a full year into my home workouts and continuing to make do. 

Discounts 

A Lady Goes West recommended favorite products

I only share what I use and love in my own life, and here are some of the brands I swear by. And when you use my discount codes and links, you support me, so thanks for that …

• Fit Revolution. Get a 14-day trial and 33 percent off your first month of this amazing workout platform (where you can take my classes on demand) with the code ASHLEYPITT3PC1.
• Carbon38. The coolest activewear around. Get 15 percent off your first two orders of $100 or more using the code ASHLEYPITT. 
• G2G protein bars. I love these tasty and minimal-ingredient protein bars. You can get 15 percent off your order on the G2G Bar site with the code ALADYGOESWEST.
• Organifi superfood supplements. I’m all about the Organifi Complete Plant-Based protein powder. You can get 15 percent off your order on the Organifi site with the code ALADYGOESWEST.
• Four Sigmatic. These superfood coffees and teas are so good — I especially love the Cacao Chill and Lion’s Mane Latte. Get 15 percent off your order with the code ALADYGOESWEST.
• Beautycounter. The best safe skincare and makeup. Send me a message, and I’ll share a 10 percent off code for your very first order.
• Les Mills On Demand streaming workouts. My favorite fitness brand. You can do a whole month of workouts during a free 30-day trial by using my special referral link here.
• Les Mills Coach program. You can get 15 percent off a 4-, 8- or 12-week guided coaching and accountability program with the code ASHLEY15.

Best reads

A few things from around the web 

• Hilarious stuff. I’ve always been a “Saturday Night Live” fan, and this recent sketch about a pop song just kills me. So funny! The episodes have been full of good moments lately.
• Mediterranean diet. This is a very comprehensive article on the Mediterranean diet, and while it provides the benefits of the foods that people tend to eat with this style of eating, it also talks about how the food is sourced (locally grown), how people eat (together, communally and slowly), and how people move (regularly) as why this works so well. By the way, I don’t think you need to have a “diet,” but I think there are some great tidbits in this article for everyone.
• Coffee additions. Are you on team-black-coffee or on team-add-all-the-things-to-your-coffee? I mostly drink green tea, but I add a lot of things to it each day. I’ve been using collagen in my morning tea latte for years, but this list has some other things worth throwing into the mug.

Here’s the quote of the week from the Calm app, which I use to do my daily morning guided meditations …

A Lady Goes West favorite archives 

• Books, shows and podcasts. Did you check out this list yet? … “Five things on my must-watch and must-read list for early 2021.”

• Food. I’m due for another food post, but for now, check out this older one from last summer … “Here’s everything I ate in a day.”

Thank you for reading the blog today! I’ll see you back here soon. Have an awesome weekend!

Questions of the day

How was your week?

What are you up to this weekend?

When is the last time your intuition was right?