Hi, friends! How are you? How was your week? This is the last blog post of April, which is crazy, because I feel like we just started the year. Do you feel like time is moving quickly in 2022 too? You know which year didn’t go by quickly? 2020. Ick. Perspective, right? Things are so much better now in my world, in many ways. I hope they are better in yours too.

My week was good! I taught my usual five classes, took Brady to swimming, worked, and I put together some new moves and music for my barbell class for next week. I also did a lot of chores (that’s nothing new), and we tried to plan a getaway for Memorial Day weekend. We’re always so last-minute when it comes to planning trips, so we’re hoping we can figure something out that doesn’t break the bank. And I know I mentioned we had been trying to plan a summer beach getaway with our besties as well, and that is no longer a beach getaway at all. Instead, we rented a big cabin in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and are staying there for a few days, so we’re looking forward to that. I should really start planning our trips for next summer if I was smart, right?

But back to the short term: Tonight, I’m having drinks with my girlfriends (we haven’t had a get together in three weeks or so, which is a long stretch for us!). Then, I’m participating in a cycle class/fundraiser at Life Time tomorrow morning, and Dave I are getting out for a date in the evening tomorrow, so it’s a full one, especially compared to last weekend, which was really low key.

Now for the current faves of the week …

Current faves of the week

Fun

My mom’s visit and a low-key weekend

I already shared that my mom was here for Easter, and she left last Saturday to go back home to southwest Florida. But I wanted to make this another favorite as a standalone.

My mom stayed with us a little over a week, and we had an excellent time. We are so grateful she is willing to make the long drive up, because we love having her around. She helps with household stuff, she plays with Brady and we have a good time together.

(Sharing this blue floral wrap dress again, because so many of you ordered it. I’m wearing a small, and it’s very comfy and flattering. And here’s my purse.)

Last weekend, Dave was gone on a golf trip with some of his friends for three nights, and my mom was around for two of them, which was great, so I had some extra hands with Brady.

One of the nights, we took a picnic dinner to the park and let Brady play while we ate (and sipped on Sauvignon Blanc, of course), and it was a super-fun casual Friday evening, because the weather was perfect.

We also did some shopping, and she helped me organize and purge both Brady’s and my clothes. I sold a couple things on Poshmark, and donated the rest, and I love the way it feels to lighten my load and clean things out. Anyone else? These are the kinds of things that no other visitor would find fun, but my mom does. She even came to my barre class, so we did a lot, while also having a lot of down-time.

I’ve gotten back into the swing of being over-scheduled during the weeks and weekends, so it was nice to have a weekend of very little, even though we missed Dave. Once my mom left, Brady and I ran some errands, hung out and had lunch at the park one time too (smoothies from Smoothie King, shown above). I’m happy to have a full calendar, but I also enjoy a little stretch of time that’s free and clear like I had last weekend. It’s restorative, for sure. 🙂 

Entertainment

“White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch” documentary on Netflix

I love a good documentary, and this one was interesting.

Last weekend, when my mom was here, we watched a documentary on Netflix, called “White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch,” over the course of two nights (because I never make it much past an hour show in the evening, so we split this one up over two). It was totally enjoyable.

Do you remember how cool the brand Abercrombie & Fitch used to be? Then it had a dramatic decline? Well, this documentary covers the rise and fall of the brand, and how the brand thrived on being exclusionary (something that wouldn’t fly today). They had some seriously questionable hiring practices, they produced semi-racist conversational tees, and they basically tried to make people feel bad about themselves. Also, the CEO of the brand was a big part of the problem. I won’t tell you the whole story, but I will say that I definitely enjoyed watching this documentary and learning all of this backstory.

(Image source: Netflix.)

Fun fact: I worked at a Hollister store in Coconut Grove of Miami for a few months during my freshman year of college at University of Miami (before transferring to University of Florida for my last two years of college, which was an amazing decision I stand behind), and it was a very strange experience. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I didn’t like it. We had to try our clothes on for the store manager before we could wear them, and the rules were weird about appearance. The point of telling you that? Hollister is a sister store of Abercrombie & Fitch, so I had a tiny bit of insider knowledge about this, but didn’t even know that I did. 

Nonetheless, I’m always into watching documentaries, and this one didn’t disappoint.

Fashion

Casual classic Reebok sneakers

I buy a lot of shoes from DSW (and I return a lot of shoes to DSW too, to be honest), and so sometimes I get product credit back. I recently got a $50 DSW credit, which was huge, so I decided to order some casual sneakers that were about that amount.

I wear my trusty leather Superga shoes several times a week, but I wanted something a little more sporty. I settled on these classic leather Reebok kicks. I like to get leather when I get white shoes, because it holds up so much better than canvas with wear and tear.

(My new classic leather sneakers.)

They are so comfy, and I debuted them this week. These are not for working out, but just for streetwear, and I’ll be adding them into my weekly rotation right away. I wear my regular cross-training sneakers to the gym most days, but if I’m teaching barre (which I do in bare feet) or going to tennis and planning to change into real tennis shoes, I wear casual ones like these there and back. This gives me a chance to wear them more often so they don’t just sit in my closet, and I’m excited about these ones.

Workouts

My workouts from last week

Here’s where I share a recap of my previous week of workouts. I share this to show you how I try to get diversity in my week, and how I always take a rest day (almost always). But remember, I do a little bit more than the average person, because I’m a group fitness instructor. 

Workouts from the week of 4/18

• Monday: Taught 1-hour barbell class at Life Time, 9:45 a.m., 90-minute tennis lesson at Life Time, 6 p.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 1-hour barre class with light weights at Life Time, 9:30 a.m.
• Wednesday: Taught 45-minute barre class with light weights at Life Time, 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 45-minute combo class with weights at Life Time, 9:45 a.m.
• Friday: Taught 45-minute barbell class at Life Time, 11:30 a.m.
• Saturday: 30-minute full-body weights bike bootcamp via Peloton, 9:30 a.m.
• Sunday: 90-minute tennis lesson at Life Time, 11:30 a.m.

This past week was full of movement! I taught my usual five classes, I did a solo session at home on the bike and floor (Peloton bike bootcamps combine cardio and strength), and I also went to tennis twice. I’ll be back to once-a-week tennis now, but I was making up for the Easter holiday. I was missing some yoga and a full-on rest day, so I’ll try to get back to those this week or next.

Also, it was nice to switch it up with a Peloton bike bootcamp, and maybe I’ll do another one soon. Jess Sims is my favorite bootcamp instructor on Peloton, by the way. I like to get inspiration from taking other people’s classes, so this was another way to do that. Overall, my workouts are going well.

Best read of the week …

Here’s an article I read this week that I felt like sharing with you:

All about coffee. Are you a coffee drinker? On social media, I see more and more people saying that they have cut out coffee, but they really miss it. And while I know some people are sensitive to caffeine and need to limit it, coffee is not all bad. In fact, if coffee is not negatively affecting you, you don’t need to cut it out entirely at all. You do, however, need to be mindful of how much you are drinking and how late in the day you are drinking it so it doesn’t affect your sleep. The moral of the story? Coffee is not an evil drink, as long as you don’t fill the mug with artificial sweeteners too. Personally, I drink green tea every morning, but I often have a cup of coffee in the afternoon (around 2 p.m. after lunch, while working), a few times a week, if I’m feeling like it. This article from Les Mills has some research on the effects of caffeine and it’s a good one, if you want some more information on everyone’s favorite drink (other than wine!). One of the things I really liked from this article is the idea of another way to get a pick-me-up rather than coffee. What is it? A brisk walk. Yes!

Quote of the week …

Here’s a quote I shared on Instagram that I wanted to share here too:

Blog archives of the week …

There are so many posts on the blog worth revisiting, so let’s look back at two good ones (one recent, one older) …

Wellness on a budget. Wellness should be inclusive, and that’s why I felt compelled to put together this post with some ideas on how to save money while focusing on your health and wellness … “Six ways to save money on health and wellness (wellness on a budget).”

Mother’s Day. Next Sunday is Mother’s Day in the U.S. Have you shopped for a mom in your life or given a wish list to someone who is shopping for you? This is the guide I created last year, and the ideas are still good ones … “The best gifts for Mother’s Day 2021.”

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! Hope your weekend is fabulous, my friends!

Questions of the day for YOU …

How was your week?

What are you up to this weekend?

Do you plan to exercise this weekend or take some time off?