How are you, lovely people? I hope your week has been a good one! Over here, it was totally back to business as normal, with work, group fitness classes, momming and the rest. This weekend, I’m planning to get some work done, practice POP Pilates, sub a BODYPUMP class, and we’ve got a double date on the agenda too.

Let’s hop into our weekly favorites round-up. This is where I share a few things I’ve been loving lately …

Current faves

Books

“Everything is Figureoutable” by Marie Forleo

A great read and one that I recommend. I was on the waiting list for this book, “Everything is Figureoutable” by Marie Forleo, for weeks and weeks, so I was very excited when it finally became my turn to pick it up at the library (yes, I’m a big library book gal). Marie Forleo is a successful life coach and the creator of the popular B-School series for business. She’s also a dancer and the person who coined the term “multi-passionate entrepreneur” — a descriptor that I can certainly relate to.

This book is all about Forleo’s belief that everything is figureoutable. From the mundane daily problems we face, to the much bigger ideas we have for our future. She says that all problems can be figured out, and if they can’t, then they are facts of life or acts of nature — not actual problems.

(“Everything is Figureoutable” by Marie Forleo.)

The book is fairly conversational in style (she’s not quite as funny as Rachel Hollis, but definitely uses humor here and there), it includes stories from Forleo’s life and client testimonials (which are a little vague and light, but prove the point that people have been taking her advice and overcoming things that they needed to figure out) and a lot of writing exercises, which she recommends writing down on paper. I have to admit, as much as I know that writing things down on paper works best (I even wrote this post about the practice of writing), I didn’t complete the exercises, because I always read in bed at night when I’m winding down. But I still feel like I took a lot away from the book.

You can control two things: your work ethic and your attitude about anything” – Ali Krieger

For instance … these ideas stuck out to me as important to share:

• A very destructive way of thinking is that “I know this already.” This closes us off and doesn’t allow our brains to grow. A better way to think is “What can I learn from this?”
• Another destructive thought is “This won’t work for me.” But instead we should say, “How can this work for me?”
• Our brains reinforce what we already believe: So if you think something is some way, you will often find evidence to support it, because that’s what you already believe. And all beliefs are a choice, and choices can be changed.
• When you say you “can’t” do something, what you usually mean is you “won’t” do something. Change your terminology, and you’ll feel more powerful over what happens in your life.
• There are two kinds of people in this world: those with reasons and those with results.
• Do you want to know how to make a decision? Try this one: Ask yourself, “Does saying yes to this make me feel expansive or contracted?”
• Or ask yourself “In 10 years, will I regret NOT doing this?”
• Real change is practically invisible as it’s happening. (I LOVEEEE this one!!)

Forleo’s big suggestion is to free up two hours a day. Wow! That’s a lot, right? She says everyone can do this by eliminating TV, social media, the internet, meetings and non-essential errands and more. With this two hours, you can work toward your goal or dream little by little. Using this free time, she recommends that you stop fearing failure and know that failure is just a thing that happens, a person cannot be a failure. She also totally stands by the idea that we should all start before we’re ready and never disguise our procrastination as “research and planning.”

As a content creator, the very best piece of advice from this book that spoke to me was this … “The world needs a special gift that only you have.” Because we are all so different, and we each have something different to share. I love that. In this saturated blogger/writer/influencer market, sometimes it’s hard to keep sharing when it seems like there’s so much noise, but Forleo thinks we all need to be heard.

Who would benefit from this book? Anyone who needs a little kick in the pants and some motivation to look past the word “no” and change your life. I really enjoyed it!

The most powerful words in the universe are the words you say to yourself.” – Marie Forleo

Fashion

The sweetest personalized ring

This is another one of my birthday presents from Dave, and I absolutely love it. Apparently he saw an Instagram ad for this company, Golden Rule, and decided to order the double name custom ring for me on a whim, knowing I really enjoy personalized stuff. Here it is …

It’s dainty, features the names of my two boys, and fits great on my middle finger too. It’s not real gold or anything, but it’s rust resistant and gold plated. Right now, it looks like this particular style is currently sold out, but the site has a ton of cute personalized jewelry options. Bookmark it for future gifting perhaps.

Food

New plant-based bowl at my favorite lunch spot

I eat almost all my meals at home all week long, so I look forward to our regular Saturday or Sunday lunch outings as a fam. We often go to Urban Plates, because it’s close and delicious. They just launched some new plant-based bowls, and I tried both this past weekend.

Here’s the sweet potato and chickpea bowl, with red cabbage, peas, goji berries, chia seeds and all sorts of goodness (I paid extra for the avo and didn’t regret it). This one may be worth recreating at home soon, because it all went together so well, especially with the harissa sauce on top.

Fitness

Weekly workout recap

Here’s my latest week of workouts …

• Monday: Practiced 30 minutes of BODYPUMP, 5 p.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 45-minute BODYATTACK, 4:45 p.m.
• Wednesday: 45-minute SoulCycle, 9:30 a.m., taught 1-hour barre, 5 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 1-hour barre, 12 p.m.
• Friday: Taught 1-hour BODYPUMP, 12 p.m.
• Saturday: Practiced 1-hour of POP Pilates, 9 a.m.
• Sunday: Practiced 45 minutes of POP Pilates, 10 a.m.

This past week felt great, because I was back to my regular workouts. While I didn’t take an official rest day, I was coming off a week before where I took many days off, so it was alright to do this. Not to mention, I’m prepping to teach my first POP Pilates full class next week, so in addition to learning choreography for my other programs and teaching, I’ve got a lot of practicing to do. I picked up heavier weights twice with BODYPUMP and lighter weights three times with the arms portion in SoulCycle and Bootybarre, so all that was good. More to come on POP Pilates soon!

Best reads

A few things from around the web …

• Things to do on your phone. Have you found yourself waiting at the dentist or standing in the kitchen waiting for water to boil and you just instinctively open your phone and scroll? Me too. This is a cool list of things to do with your phone instead of scrolling. I want to try the geography one for sure.
• Two minutes of pure entertainment. I’m still over here obsessing over the “Cheer” series on Netflix. And here’s a link where you can watch the entire two minute (and 15 second) performance they won with.
• Signs it’s time to break up with a friend. Our friendships in life are very important, and we get so much from social connection (including benefits to our health and wellness). But if you find that some of your friendships are bringing you down, it may be time to walk away. Here are some signs it’s time to move on from a friend.

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

A Lady Goes West favorite archives …

• Makeup routine. I really liked putting this post together, complete with tips and product recommendations … “This is my mostly clean beauty makeup routine.”

• Breakfast inspiration. Here are some delicious meals worth trying if you’re in a breakfast rut … “14 super simple and healthy breakfast combinations.”

Thank you for stopping by to read the blog. I appreciate you!

P.S. By the way, if you want to jump on board with some Beautycounter makeup, through the weekend, when you purchase the Flawless in Five discounted makeup set, you get a free retractable foundation brush ($35 value). Shop the Flawless in Five through my link here.

Questions of the day

How was your week?

What’s something you’re looking forward to this weekend?

Have you read any great books lately?