Hi, friends! How are you? We’re finishing up a busy week over here! This weekend, our dear friends from California, Phil and Kicki, will be visiting us and hanging out. We plan to take them to the pool, take them out on the town (we finally have a babysitter to use!) and do a lot of catching up on the porch over food and drinks. And it’s going to be a hot weekend for sure.

This week, I taught four classes, auditioned to teach a new format at Life Time called Life Barre, and I even went to dinner with a group of ladies from my neighborhood — major yay for that! I also watched a lot of the Olympics. Anyone else? Alright, let’s get into the faves …

Current faves

Fitness

Teaching my last class on Motus

Yesterday, I taught my last ever live virtual class on Motus. I’ve been teaching on Motus for a year and three months, and it has been such an amazing opportunity. Some of you may remember when I referred to working on a “special virtual project for a big company,” and that was before I could mention the name of Motus publicly. Motus is a start-up created within Google Area 120, and so we had to keep things very hush, hush for the first few months I was part of the project. We can now say the name, clearly, and for a short time, we even opened the classes up to the public, and some of you joined me live, which was so cool. 

I was so incredibly nervous to teach live virtual classes when I first began. And I was overwhelmed with the technology a lot of times (we’re talking cameras, switchers, speakers, microphones, receivers, lights and more). But I adapted, and I learned so much along the way.

I’ve truly enjoyed every single teaching experience with my live Google friends who have joined me every week for my signature “Barre Burn” format that I created for Motus, which is a workout I’ve loved to teach and do. However, all good things must come to an end.

This wasn’t an easy decision. But I’ve been assessing my schedule lately, and with the blog, Beautycounter, classes and mom life, something had to give — I’ve been back to working a lot every evening and always playing catch up — and I just knew it was time to lighten up my load a bit. I finally made the decision to say goodbye to my live classes, and I’m definitely a little sad about it. But I will absolutely be taking all the things I learned with me. And I’m truly grateful for the people who trusted me to be involved in such an awesome program — it was a real honor. Thank you, Motus and team! Also, Rudy wants to thank you for welcoming him with open arms as my trusty teaching assistant for so many classes since we moved to Charlotte too. 🙂 xoxox

Fun

A family weekend and taking Brady to Discovery Place Nature

Last weekend was basically our first weekend without travel or visitors for almost two months, can you believe that? We have loved all the fun, but it was nice to keep things more low-key.

On Saturday, Dave finally got to come to Life Time to see the gym, to see the kid-care, to see the pool where Brady takes swimming lessons, and of course, to come take class with me. I subbed a Barbell Strength class, and he was a big fan. Dave likes to work out at home, so he will continue to do that, but hopefully he’ll hop into my class every few months or so. 

And for our red-faced and sweaty post-class pic …

(My leggings, my top and my shoes.)

On Saturday afternoon, we went to our neighborhood pool and hung out for a while, which was relaxing. Then, on Sunday, we decided to change up our routine a bit. After some work and chores around the house, we went to Discovery Place Nature Museum, followed by lunch out at Yafo Kitchen (super tasty Mediterranean spot).

(Outfit repeater! Once again, I’m in a matching set. Here’s the top, here are the shorts, and here are the flops. And here’s my purse, which I bought at the start of the summer and have used every single weekend since.)

The museum was super small, and we were able to see all the exhibits two times in just 90 minutes, and we also just happened to be there during a stargazing show in a little planetarium, and that was really cool for Brady. And, they had bean bag chairs for us to lounge on during the show.

It was only $8 each to get into the museum, and we fully got our money’s worth — yet I don’t see us going back any time soon. Although Brady has mentioned the snakes we saw there over and over again, even days later.

But back to lunch …

At Yafo Kitchen, I made my own bowl, which had chickpeas, falafel, beets, pickled onions, white rice, kale, hummus, tzatziki sauce and more. It was so filling and delicious.

Food

Easy lunch find from Target

Speaking of food, I stumbled upon these Tattooed Chef frozen meals at Target and was intrigued by the name. I checked the ingredients label, and it consisted of all real food names that I could recognize — which is a good thing.

The meals were only $5 each, so I picked up a few, and Dave and I have eaten them for lunch on weekdays when we needed something quick. I have to say … quite tasty. Now, as with almost all “healthier” frozen meals, the portions are very small, so I added an egg and even some seed crackers to mine. But I enjoyed.

I usually like to make my lunches from scratch when I can, but having easy options like these in the freezer sure comes in handy at times. Both the ones I tried were spicy, in a good way. 

Workouts

Weekly workouts 

Quick disclaimer: This section of the post is where I share all the workouts I did the previous week. And please remember that my workout schedule works for me, and it may not work for you. Your workouts should make you feel good and leave you feeling energized. If they don’t do that, it may be time to reassess what you’re doing regularly.

I tend to do a little more than the average person, because I work as a fitness instructor, but I also do a lot of active recovery to counteract my workouts and keep my body and mind in good condition.

If you’re in the mood for more fitness talk, check out this one: “How do you know if a workout is right for you?.”

• Monday: Taught 1-hour full-body barbell workout at Life Time, 9:45 a.m.
• Tuesday: Took 45-minute lower-body weights workout at Life Time, 9:45 a.m., taught 45-minute virtual bodyweight barre class on Motus, 3 p.m.
• Wednesday: 20-minute walk/run intervals on treadmill, 10 a.m.
• Thursday: Taught 45-minute full-body weights class at Life Time, 10 a.m., taught 45-minute virtual bodyweight barre class on Motus, 3 p.m.
• Friday: Took 1-hour barre class at Life Time, 10 a.m.
• Saturday: Taught 45-minute full-body barbell workout at Life Time, 9:45 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

This past week was the first time that I’ve taught five classes in forever. I taught two virtual and three in-person, and it was great to have a full schedule like that. I also took a full rest day to recover and had a lighter day thrown in as well. I’m happy to say that I enjoy every single one of my workouts, and that’s how I like it to be.

Even though you want to be challenged and work on your weaknesses (which isn’t always super fun), life is too short to do workouts you hate doing. If you haven’t found what you like yet, keep looking around, friends. You may never love exercise, but you’ve got to be able to find things that you can at least like a little bit. (See the quote below!)

Promo codes

A Lady Goes West favorite products

There are certain brands that I swear by in my own life, and so I like to share them with you. If you choose to try them too, and if you use my links or promo codes, you will be supporting me. Thanks for that!

• Carbon38. I’m always wearing stuff from here, and it’s 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 supplements. This is my go-to protein powder brand. You can get 15 percent off your order on the Organifi site with the code ALADYGOESWEST.
• Beautycounter. The best safe skincare and makeup. Send me a message, and I’ll share a 20 percent off code for your very first order.
• Les Mills On Demand 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.

Best reads

A good one from around the web 

• The power of no. I love this article by James Clear (who wrote the book I recently reviewed “Atomic Habits“), all about how important it is to say no, when you don’t really want to take on something. Saying no keeps you focused on you, whereas saying yes opens the door to take away your focus. Something to think about.

Here’s the thought of the week, which I posted to Instagram a while back …

A Lady Goes West favorite archives 

• Advice. The fourth edition came out this week. This one covers friendships, nutrition and even teeth … “Ask-me-anything A Lady Goes West Advice Corner: fourth edition.”

• Nordstrom sale. The sale is now open to the public, so check out my top finds for deals … “10 things for your Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2021 wish list (under $100).”

Have a great day, my friends! Thank you, as always, for coming by to read A Lady Goes West. 🙂

Questions of the day

How was your week?

What’s one thing you are looking forward to in August?

Have you watched any of the Olympics this year?