Hello, my friends! Happy Friday! Thank you for clicking over to A Lady Goes West today, you know I sure do appreciate it. 

First of all, a lot of you reached out to me after my post earlier in the week about life after a miscarriage, and I’m so touched by your messages. You always make me feel good about opening up and sharing things, even when what I’m sharing isn’t all that easy to share.

Second of all, how was your week? Our week had a different start to it, because not only was Monday a holiday for MLK Day here, but also, the gym cancelled my class because of icy roads on Monday, so we had a home-based start to our week, and we didn’t leave the house for two days. On Sunday, we got snow, which is not a yearly occurrence for Charlotte. I was crossing my fingers we’d get some snow this year, and we sure got some. More on that below.

But other than a snow day, this week was mostly back to normal, and we were all healthy (thank goodness). I taught three classes, had some meetings (one was for a new brand ambassadorship I’m taking on this year with NOW Foods, which I’m excited to share more about soon), I worked, got to see some of our sweet Orlando friends who came through for a wedding (hi Amanda, I know you read the blog sometimes) and even took my first tennis lesson (I’m a total beginner and have zero skills at the moment).

This weekend, I’m getting a haircut, I’m going out for drinks with some girlfriends, I’m hanging out with Dave, Brady and Rudy, and I’m even doing a refresh life-coaching session with my life coach, Jill, which I can’t wait for. I’ll absolutely report back on what we talk about, because I always come away inspired and clear-headed after our sessions, and we haven’t done one since 2020. By the way, if you’re in the market for a life coach, I highly recommend Jill.

Now, let’s get into the faves …

Current faves of the week

Fun 

Our first snow day in Charlotte

This was a favorite, favorite. I think I’ve mentioned this on the blog before, but it needs to be said again: I’ve never really been in snow. For clarification: I went snowboarding once back in Tahoe (but it was bright and sunny that day and at the tail-end of ski season), and I’ve seen light flurries falling from the sky on another couple occasions. But I had never played in the real snow or seen full-on snowflakes falling until this past weekend, at the ripe young age of 38. That’s what happens when you grow up in Florida and then move to California. In fact, Brady and I experienced our first real snow at the same time, this past weekend.

Because Charlotte only gets snow every few years, the snow was a big event around here. Businesses closed, schools closed, and we were told to stock up on groceries in case we lost power too. Luckily, we didn’t lose power, but we did eat all of our meals at home and stay off the roads for two full days.

Here’s how it went down: When we woke up on Sunday, there was already a dusting of snow and ice on the ground, and it just kept coming throughout the day, ending with the most beautiful snowflakes falling before we went to bed on Sunday night. While we didn’t have the proper snow gear for heading out in such conditions (I was totally inappropriately dressed in sneakers and leggings), we sure made the best of what we had and did some adventuring on the snow-covered golf course in our neighborhood.

First, Dave made Brady a sled out of a cardboard box. (It was a Les Mills equipment box, to be exact, and I think Les Mills himself would appreciate that ingenuity.) But the box got soggy pretty quickly, so then we switched to a tarp. The tarp sled was super fast, and it was a total blast sliding down the snowy hills. There were several families out there the same time as us, and you could hear children’s laughter coming from everywhere. 

We each took turns riding the tarp sled down and we even all went together once. Brady was a little nervous in the snow and was scared of falling, and he didn’t want to go very fast. He’s not exactly a daredevil, and I’m okay with that.

I know this sounds silly, but we may have only been out there playing for an hour that day, but it was so fun my cheeks hurt from smiling. And we will always remember our first family snow day.

We came inside and had hot chocolate by the fire, and it was like a wintery-day experience out of one of Brady’s books — and one that I hadn’t had before. Since then, the snow has been melting slowly but surely, but we’re supposed to have another “winter event” soon. Three cheers for living in a place with all four seasons. And three cheers for snow. Now, I’m off to get some gear for next time, any tips?

Food

Sugarwish cookie delivery

This is a great instant gift idea. You guys know I like some real sugar-filled sweet treats here and there. To be clear, I don’t eat them every single day, but I do have them usually once or twice a week. During the week, I usually stick to coconut-covered dates for my sweet tooth, but I like the real thing at least weekly, mostly on weekends when I’m most in the mood for it. Anyone else?

Well, my brother, Matthew, and his wife, Stephanie, always gift me sweets (like a Cheesecake Factory gift card and an ice cream maker). And for my birthday this year, I opened up my email and saw that I had a pending Sugarwish cookie delivery. I had never heard of Sugarwish, but now I think it’s something I’ll gift in the future. They have all sorts of sweet treats, but I only sampled the cookies. (I’m not a candy person, and I just want to put that out there.)

As a gift recipient, all I had to do was go on the website and select which six cookies I wanted, and then they were sent to me in a couple of weeks, with shipping and everything already covered by my gift givers. You may think six cookies doesn’t sound like much, but these cookies are pretty big, and some of them were even stuffed inside.

My cookies arrived mid-week, and I decided to put them in the freezer for a few days, because I wasn’t sure when we would get to them, but figured the weekend was a safe bet. And by the way, you can put the whole box in the freezer, then pull out however many you want a little while before you’re ready to eat them. I think this is a good way to ensure you don’t eat them all at one sitting. 

Then, on Friday of last week, I starting pulling them out, two at a time. And because of our snow day and long weekend, we had no problem finishing all six — Dave and I shared two cookies each night for three nights in a row (Brady was already in bed all three times, so the cookies were just for us). Also, fun fact: If you heat the cookies in the microwave for like 10 seconds, they become incredibly soft, and I encourage it. We loved every cookie, but the Stuffed Red Velvet and Stuffed Brownookie flavors may have been my favorites. Very decadent, which is my type of dessert. Well done, Sugarwish.

Now let me say this: These are not minimal-whole-food-ingredient cookies. They are full of sugar. They are full of taste. And if you’re going to have cookies, you may as well have some good ones like these. Perfect for a gift, especially with Valentine’s Day coming up. Yum! Also, the Sugarwish folks gave me a referral link, so if you ever order, use this link (and thank you)!

Fashion

The best on-sale mom jeans

Let’s talk about jeans. I don’t wear them as often as I used to, but I do put them on during the weekend a lot of times. And now that all my jeans aren’t skinny jeans, I find myself reaching for them even more. Anyone else?

I’ve linked these jeans before, but I don’t think they’ve had a full feature in a favorites, like they deserve. And right now, they are on sale for where you can get two pairs of jeans for $99 (at the time I published this post). These mom jeans are comfy, and they can be dressed up or down.

(Shop the mom jeans here.)

I have three pairs in this style, two in the light and one in the dark denim. I’m wearing a size 4 here, and they stretch out just slightly while wearing them, but they have a great high-waist fit. They were out of stock for a while, but they are back. If you want to try some mom jeans, or you already know you’re a fan, these are flattering. I tried many styles that didn’t work before landing on these, that’s why I keep sharing about them.

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. But remember, I do a little bit more than the average person, because I’m a group fitness instructor. 

Workouts from the week of 1/10

• Monday: 45 minutes of practicing barre with light weights at home, 5 p.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 1-hour barre class with light weights at Life Time, 9:30 a.m.
• Wednesday: 45 minutes of practicing barbell at home, 10 a.m.
• Thursday: Taught 45-minute combo class at Life Time, 9:45 a.m.
• Friday: Taught 45-minute barbell class at Life Time, 12 p.m.
• Saturday: Rest day
• Sunday: 30-minute bike bootcamp via Peloton, 11 a.m.

This past week of workouts was a good one. I was back to teaching at the gym and taught three classes. I also took a rest day and did a Peloton bike bootcamp workout. I hadn’t done one of those bootcamp workouts since the summer, and I love how fast it went by, in just 30 minutes. I’ve enjoyed working out from home or resting on the weekends rather than going to the gym, and I think I’ll stick with that for a little while. It’s nice to have a hybrid gym/home routine.

Best read from the week …

Here’s an article I read this week that I felt was worthy of sharing with you:

The case for eating junk food occasionally. I love so many things about the content and information that Precision Nutrition puts out into the world, and this article about the case for eating junk food is speaking my language. If you tell yourself you’re not allowed to have a certain food, you’re only going to want it more. While a bit long, there are some amazingly actionable steps in this one on why you should let yourself have your favorite junk foods even every week. You guys know not a week goes by that I don’t have a big dessert and a couple glasses of wine, so I’m in total agreement with this knowledge. Check out the article here.

Quote of the week …

In case your year hasn’t started off like you had hoped …

Deal of the week …

Get 15 percent off your first two orders of $100 or more on Carbon38

Whenever someone asks me where I got a piece of workout clothing, I almost always answer Carbon38. I’ve been wearing workout and casual clothing from this website for coming up on two years. I love the variety, because the styles are so different from everywhere else. I’ve even written a post about my favorite Carbon38 items here. If you are looking for some new workout clothes to kick off 2022, head on over to Carbon38 to search around. I highly recommend the Carbon38 brand (there are several brands on the site available), especially the Cloud Compression leggings. Use the code ASHLEYPITT for 15 percent off your first two orders of more than $100 on the Carbon38 site.

A Lady Goes West archives of the week …

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

Miscarriage. This post is a reader request, and I did some oversharing in it … “Life after a miscarriage: A three-month update.”

Motivating others. This post is from a few years ago, but the topic is always timely … “How to motivate others to work out.”

That’s it for today! Thank you for coming by A Lady Goes West, my friends. Stay healthy and stay hydrated!

Questions of the day for YOU …

How was your week?

Does it snow where you live?

What’s ONE thing you hope to do this weekend?