Hi, my friends! Should I come up with a new greeting for faves posts? Because that’s how I open almost every single one. Anywho, here we are with another edition of weekly favorites, and it’s also officially November too. Let me start this one out by saying that there have been better times in the Bay Area than we’ve been having recently, for sure. Wild fires, power outages, windy conditions and unsafe air quality all around us. Not good, but we seem to be on the up and up.

In addition to that, this past week was quite busy for us. Brady had his first ever dentist appointment, I taught three classes (and am teaching again today), had a couple conference calls, worked, studied for my nutrition program, took Rudy to the vet, prepared for my POP Pilates instructor training this weekend, and of course, we did Halloween too. Here’s our little man in his puppy costume before his preschool’s Halloween parade around the courtyard, which was a priceless experience. I die …

Now let’s get into the faves!

Current faves

Fun 

Warriors home-opening game

So much fun stuff going on lately worth sharing in today’s post. Last week, I went to the Warriors season opening game at the brand new Chase Center arena, and the following night, we went to a dinner party at our friends’ house, which meant using a babysitter two nights in a row — oh my. It was good to catch up with some lady friends I hadn’t seen in a while at both events and be out and about in real clothes too. (Yes, I love to be home and enjoy my weeknight routine, but I also know I’m always happy when I veer off routine a bit.)

The Warriors didn’t win that night, but I still enjoyed checking out the arena in the Mission Bay area of San Francisco on such an important occasion. We actually moved out here for Dave to a part of the team that worked to open the arena, so it’s all come full circle. Also, fun fact: the Warriors dance team now has men on it. How cool is that? I always love watching the dancing.

(Sporting these jeans and this lip color and hanging with my friend, Jill.)

Friends dinner party

Our group of friends is still going strong with bi-monthly dinner parties rotating at each other’s homes. This past weekend, the theme was fall comfort food, and it was delicious. As usual, the girls hung in the kitchen surrounding the cheese board, and the guys hung outside, until we came together at the table to eat.

I had to share this one for you: Here is the delicious fall harvest salad that went with our dinner, and it was so amazing, I had to get the recipe from my friend, Jen, who made it. She found the dish on Pinterest. Totally worth bookmarking for the season, because it was so good.

Overall, two nights in a row of outings and a couple adult beverages was a lot for me these days, so we kept the rest of the weekend very chill.

Family trip to a corn maze

Another first for me recently (and Brady too, of course): Going to a corn maze. We had planned to take Brady to the Oakland Zoo this past weekend, but with all the fires and winds around the Bay Area, the zoo was closed and without power.

Once I realized we wouldn’t be zooing, I did a little Google research and found a corn maze/pumpkin patch attraction about 30 minutes from us in Livermore called G and M Farms. (Which is different from the first pumpkin patch we went to a couple of weeks ago.) We’d already done pumpkins this season, so decided to try out the corn maze and take a ride on the cow train. 

Here’s the deal on corn mazes: They are dirtier than you expect. And well, full of corn. During the short time we were there, Brady fell twice and got covered in dirt (little kids fall a lot when they run, and he was not hurt, don’t worry), and all of our shoes and jeans were sooooo dirty even just a few minutes into the maze.

We had a little map to follow in the maze, but quite frankly, it didn’t help much. I wasn’t a huge fan of the corn maze. Naturally, Brady loved it, because he loves everything. I did, however, like the cow train, which was fast and fun and worth $10 for us all to ride.

To all my local East Bay friends, if you want to check this place out and want a discount, I downloaded a $1 off coupon on the G and M Farms website to to use on our corn maze admissions.

Are you liking Brady’s beanie? He is. 🙂

Food

Pumpkin spice ORGANIFI Gold

Okay, my friends, I know I’ve told you about Organifi GOLD powder original, but I have to mention it again, because I broke into the limited-edition seasonal pumpkin spice flavor, and it literally makes me squeal with delight. Like literally. 

I drink this every single night as part of my post-dinner-dessert. I have two dates and a mug of warmed-up Ripple milk with a big scoop of Organifi GOLD pumpkin powder in it. Pumpkin perfection, without any bad ingredients and full of good stuff.

It’s soothing, tastes absolutely amazing and has so many beneficial ingredients — like medicinal mushrooms reishi and turkey tail — to help you sleep well, reduce inflammation, relax and even to soothe sore muscles. Can’t stop, won’t stop. By the way, you can get 15 percent off your entire order on the Organifi site with the code ALADYGOESWEST, and this makes it cheaper than ordering off Amazon.

Fitness

Weekly workout recap

Here are my workouts from last week …

• Monday: Practiced BODYATTACK 30 minutes and BODYPUMP 20 minutes, 5 p.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 45-minute BODYATTACK, 4:45 p.m.
• Wednesday: 15-minute weights workout and taught 1-hour barre, 4:45 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 1-hour barre, 12 p.m.
• Friday: 1-hour POP Pilates and practiced BODYPUMP 20 minutes, 9 a.m.
• Saturday: 1-hour BODYATTACK, 9:30 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

This past week of workouts was lighter than the past few weeks, and I spent almost all of it teaching, taking or practicing group fitness, outside of the 15 minutes of weights I did before teaching on Wednesday (consisting of a few sets of Roman chair leg lifts, push-ups with feet elevated and back extensions). However, I will say that I really enjoyed the POP Pilates workout I did — it felt lengthening and strengthening at the same time, and my core was really sore the next two days. I’ll be sharing a lot more about POP Pilates coming soon, as I get more into it.

Best reads

A few things from around the web …

• Be kind. This article is a great reminder why being nice to others, caring for people and having real relationships can actually make you healthier. It gives you the science on why kindness matters for your health, as well as three tips you can use to be kinder today.
• Pelvic floor therapy. I can’t tell you how I often I find myself recommending to moms that they should consider going through pelvic floor therapy — especially when they are questioning whether everything healed properly after childbirth or if they are having an issue with leakage. Luckily, I didn’t have to get pelvic floor therapy, but I think it’s an awesome offering and something that OB/GYNs and regular doctors should mention more often to women. If you think you’re a candidate for it, then you are. Read more about it in this article here.

Here’s the quote of the week from my morning meditations …

A Lady Goes West favorite archives

• Day in the life. This turned into the longest post ever on the blog, but I know you like details … “This is an actual day in my life from start to finish.”

• Loosen it up. I recently stumbled back on this blog post, which is sooooo good for some of us perfectionists to read. “How to be less rigid to find your real health.”

Have a wonderful weekend! Thank you for stopping by to read today! 🙂

Questions of the day

Have you ever tried or heard of POP Pilates?

What’s one way you can be kinder this weekend?

Did you dress up for Halloween? I didn’t! Just Brady.

What’s the best thing you learned this past week?

By the way, if you need a workout over the weekend, you can give Les Mills On Demand a try using my special referral link that provides you with 21 days for free. Just do it!