Current faves: Friendsgiving, healthy food, fashion, beauty and weekly workouts

Hi, friends! It’s that time again for a look at a random selection of favorite things in the fitness, food, fun and beauty world. I know you’re busy, but take a moment for this one, because it’s light and quick.

I hope your week has been a good one. This week went okay for us. Poor Dave has been gone SO much for work and games lately that it’s been a little rough around our house, as I try to navigate getting all of my own work done, as well as being with sweet Brady all day without much of a break (and at times, Brady isn’t all that sweet). The nap times and evenings are spent glued to the computer in a frantic rush to be productive, which just seems to be the norm for me right now. But other than that, the good news is that I got a new car, we transitioned Brady into a new big-kid (convertible) car seat (we got this one), and I hit the gym each day for various enjoyable workouts, as well as teaching a class. 

This weekend, I’m subbing a barre class on Saturday, and that’s about it for the day. (Fun fact, I used to teach at 11 a.m. on Saturdays for about eight months since January, if you recall, at a gym slightly further away from our house, however, that class, combined with travel time and Brady’s nap times, started to take up our whole Saturday, so I ended up giving it up, which now means I have the freedom to take other classes or sub on Saturdays now. Yay!)

Also this weekend, Dave is working, and we have family photos on Sunday. I’ll share a sneak peek of them on the blog for sure, and we’re hoping to use them for holidays cards or maybe a canvas or two for the walls of our house if they turn out well. Brady’s not a huge fan of photoshoots, so we shall see … 🙂 

Alright, let’s do those faves!

Fun

Friendsgiving fun

Last weekend, we got to kick off the holiday season with a Friendsgiving party with our group of great friends, who we have a rotating dinner party with every other month or so (going strong for the last four years almost). The hostess of the night was Clare, and she has such adorable table decor, as well as delicious food.

The girls gathered in the kitchen for wine and appetizers, while the guys hung out outside around the fire watching sports, then we all met at the table for a traditional meal with all the fixings. And I forced Dave to snap one blurry photo for me, because I was excited to be out of workout clothes …

We ended up staying at their house past midnight, which was WAY late for us, but so fun though.

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food? I like stuffing (the good kind) and sweet potato casserole. And pie. Lots of pie! Oh and wine and bread. I could take or leave the turkey.

By the way, Clare served us warm butternut squash soup in those pumpkin jars on the table. I mean, talk about being extra. Nice touch.

Fashion

New workout gear

As someone who spends their days in activewear, goes to the gym a lot and teaches group fitness classes, I don’t shop for workout clothes as much as I should. In fact, I wear the SAME things over and over and over until I wear them out. 

Well, I finally picked up a few new pieces of workout apparel recently, and so far those pieces have been making their debut at the gym and on Instagram and Facebook, so I wanted to share these two items here …

This high-neck tank with sheer detailing is so cute I could see wearing it outside of the gym, and it has a lot of breathability. It comes in other colors, and I may need to go back for more. I actually wore it with a denim jacket later that day, and it literally looked like a regular shirt — but shiny.

These slightly patterned black leggings are my new favorite workout pants for sure. They are shiny, fitted, high waisted, and I love the detailing. High waisted and tight fitting are two things I look for in workout leggings, and these pants have both. I have no problem investing in workout leggings knowing how much I wear them.

These shoes aren’t new, but I’m still loving them.

Overall, getting some new workout gear has made me happy to get dressed for the gym lately, so three cheers for that.

Beauty

Clean fragrance

I used to be a perfume hoarder. I loved trying new scents and always had a rotation of a few designer ones, including some body sprays too for other occasions.

Well, times have changed. I’m still clutching one of my favorite conventional perfumes close to the chest (Flowerbomb, anyone?), even though I’ve learned how it has several toxins in it and may not be the best for me. So you can imagine my absolute delight when I came across this Good Chemistry perfume while waiting for a prescription at Target recently.

Totally reasonably priced, comes in body sprays or a regular perfume, no parabens, no dyes, vegan, no phthalates, and the fragrance comes from a mixture of essential oils. The sugar berry scent is so fresh and fruity and happy, I literally smile when I smell it. Apparently it’s an exclusive line to Target. I recommend!

Beautycounter Overnight resurfacing peel

Big surprise! Another beauty fave from my favorite beauty company. When I joined the Beautycounter world as just a customer, I started hearing chatter about this “overnight resurfacing peel” product but never tried it until recently. OMG. Game changer. Hands-down amazing.

Basically, you wash your face as normal at night, then apply a little bit of this peel to your skin and it gives the BEST tingling sensation. You let it sit for five minutes, then apply your nightly moisturizer over it and go to bed. In the morning, your face is tight, clear, moist and just … like … amazingly better, without having to actually get a peel, which I’ve never had.

I will definitely be using it the night before our family pictures. I don’t think I’ve ever had a more consistent skincare regimen than I do know with all of my Beautycounter products, and my face is appreciating it. And you know all of the Beautycounter stuff is safe, with no toxins, and the company does so much good!

For instance, if you purchase a set of mini face oils (a best seller and comes in a little gift box) during the holiday season, Beautycounter will donate one set of mini face oils to a woman undergoing cancer treatment at UCLA. It’s called Shop One, Share One. Let me know if you’re interested.

Food

Holiday kombucha

Somehow I never got my hands on this holiday celebration kombucha last year from Health-Ade, because it was hard to find. Well I stumbled upon some in Sprouts this week and was pleasantly surprised with the taste of it. It has a bit of a chocolate aftertaste too, which is festive as can be. I would definitely recommend it if you see it.

Falafel salad from Heritage Eats

After a SoulCycle class last week, I walked down to the new Heritage Eats fast casual restaurant in Broadway Plaza of Walnut Creek with a friend and ordered some take-out for Dave and for me. I got the Mediterranean bowl made into a half rice/half salad bowl, and it had some crispy chickpea falafel and all sorts of veggies and the most delicious sauce. I’m on a real falafel kick lately. So good! There are more locations of Heritage Eats around the Bay, and the menu is mostly meat, but there are some tasty options, like this falafel, which is meat free.

And I mean, everything tastes better during nap time … 

Fitness

Weekly workout recap

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

• Monday: 1-hour BODYPUMP class, 10 a.m.
• Tuesday: 30-minute CXWORX class, 10 a.m.
• Wednesday: 20-minute solo full-body weights workout, 11 a.m.
• Thursday: Taught 1-hour Bootybarre class, 12 p.m.
• Friday: 20-minute GRIT Strength workout, 11:30 a.m., 1-hour walk, 4:30 p.m.
• Saturday: 45-minute SoulCycle class, 10:45 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

This week of workouts was pretty similar to the last, because I’m a creature of habit and have been following mostly the same structure. I try to do resistance workouts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with easier and lighter days on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Seems to be a good mixture for me right now.

Suggested reading

Best links from around the web

• Travel health. We’ve been on so many flights this year, and the last round of them got us all sick. This article has some worthy tips on how to stay healthy when you travel. I ordered these supplements to take before we travel for Thanksgiving.
• Push-ups. One of the best workout moves around that basically anyone can do in some form, with absolutely no equipment. Here are some excellent tips on perfecting your push-ups. And this isn’t an article I’ve shared before, because I know I share a lot of articles on push-ups.
• Dry brushing. Do you do it? It’s on my list of things I’d like to add to my routine, but haven’t made the step yet. It’s good for your lymphatic system and has some potential aesthetic benefits too.
• Healthier treats. These primal peanut butter cups sound delish. Perhaps I should go ahead and purchase a food processor ones of these days so I can make this kind of treat. But then again, I also like store-bought treats. 

A Lady Goes West Favorite archives

• Thanks for the great comments about this one … “How to know what health and fitness information to follow.”
• As we’re getting into the holiday season and some of you are fearing the food, parties and loss of routine, here’s a good one to revisit … “How to be less rigid to find your real health.”

Have an awesome day and weekend, my friends! Be good!

Questions of the day

Where was the last place you traveled to?

How was your week?

Did you get out and vote in the U.S.? I did!