Hi, friends! Happy Friday to you!

How was your week? Mine was good. I taught my usual five group fitness classes, I took Brady to swim, I went to tennis two times (once was a solo trip where I used the automatic ball machine, and boy, that was tough), I got my nails done, I worked a lot and that’s about it.

Dave went on a little work trip this week too, so I had a couple of solo-momming nights, which were totally fine. But whenever these solo days happen now, I’m reminded how much more balanced and better our lives are in Charlotte than they were before in the Bay Area, when Dave was always gone for work, before the pandemic. Perspective is everything.

Another good point from the week is that I heard back from a client on the first freelance project that I’ve done in a long time. For this client, I researched and wrote a very technical fitness piece on heart-rate training zones, and I was waiting on the feedback, crossing my fingers I had done it well — it was challenging. The good news is that I did do it well, and it’s already published. I took a couple years off of freelance writing, but when this new project was offered to me a few weeks ago, it sounded interesting, so I decided to go for it. It’s always good to diversify, so I’ll stick with it, as long as I can manage everything.

Quick side-note on my nails: I branched from my normal bright red and went with a pearly white, and I’ve been enjoying it …

This weekend, we have a pasta dinner party with friends and some other fun activities on the agenda, which we’re looking forward to. Now for the current faves …

Current faves of the week

Fun

Belated Galentine’s Day celebration brunch

So technically, I think “Galentine’s Day” — a Valentine’s Day for girlfriends created by Leslie Knope from the show “Parks and Recreation” — is supposed to fall on the day before Valentine’s Day. We didn’t quite make that, but my friends and I did commemorate the occasion last Sunday, and it was a lovely outing.

There were about 10 of us, and we met for a fancy brunch at the Ballantyne Hotel. We’d been there before for a holiday tea, and Dave and I had been there a couple times, as well, to eat at the restaurant/bar. Most of the ladies I already knew, but a couple were new, so it was nice to expand our circle even more. And it’s always a treat to put on a dress and go out.

We had some brunch cocktails, and I ordered the smoked salmon benedict for my meal, shown above, with potatoes, and it was excellent. If there is a dish with smoked salmon on the menu, you can bet I will order it. Sadly though, I didn’t finish everything and saved a bit. But by the time I finally got the takeout box home, it had sat out for far too long, so I never ended up finishing it. Darn. I hate to see any of that beautiful meal go to waste.

Anywho, our group chatted about all sorts of things during brunch, then once we were done eating, we moved to the hotel lobby to sit around and hang out for longer. Fun fact: Whenever I go to hang out with this group, I usually give Dave an estimate of when I’ll be home, and I’m always at least an hour off or more. As in, we always stay longer than expected. That happened again.

As usual, time flew, and we were there for way more than three hours. And it was such a great time to get out, get dressed up, eat some good food and enjoy good company with my neighborhood friends. Speaking of friends, did you catch the post I wrote last week about how I made these friends with tips on how you can too if you’re in the market for some new folks in your life? Here’s the post: How to make friends in a new place.

Fashion

Chunky yellow cardigan

Last weekend, on Saturday, after we went to a neighborhood friend’s birthday party, I took myself out on a little solo outing. I went to buy some real tennis shoes from a tennis store, then I walked around Old Navy and HomeGoods with an oat milk latte in my hands, and it was lovely. I don’t have a lot of free time to go out little adventures like this, so it felt very nice. 

(Here’s my sweater. I’m wearing an extra small, and last time I looked it was on sale. I also have this lipstick in the Garden Party shade on my lips, which is my current go-to color. And my jeans are here, and I’m wearing a 27. I’ve had them for two years and still love them.)

I bought Brady a cute little outfit at Old Navy, and I picked up two things for me. I had my eye on this happy yellow cardigan and when I tried it on, I knew I had to have it. I bought an extra small, and it’s nice and chunky and a little bit cropped. It’s on sale, and I’m a fan (and they also have other colors).

I actually wore the cardigan out to a casual family dinner at a burger place that same evening with Dave and Brady. Fun fact: I never wear my new stuff right away, so this was strange for me, and I’m trying to do it more often. I also bought this shirt, which was only $8, and I think it will be very cute with white jeans in the spring and summer.

Overall, this past weekend, I had a couple of chances to breathe, relax, socialize and have some alone time, which I really needed.

Entertainment

Finally watching “Yellowstone” on Peacock

So many people suggested the show, “Yellowstone,” to Dave and to me over the last couple of years, so we are finally watching it.

We’re watching it on Peacock and are just about done with season 3, and at that time, we’ll have to find another provider to watch it, because that’s as far as Peacock goes for now. I have to admit, there is some hard stuff to watch in this series, including a ton of violence … I definitely find myself cringing here and there.  

(Image source: Paramount.)

While it’s a little hard to tell if some of the characters are good people or bad people, the show is just so incredibly well done, and the acting is excellent. Have you watched it? It’s based on the trials and tribulations of a family who owns a beautiful ranch in Montana called the Yellowstone.

I look forward to catching one episode a night, most nights, with Dave, and I like that they are only 45 minutes too. This is another series that I wasn’t excited to get into, but then I’ve ended up truly enjoying. I’ve never been to Montana, but after watching this show, I can see why people say it’s breathtaking.

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 2/14

• Monday: Taught 1-hour barbell class at Life Time, 9:45 a.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 1-hour barre class with light weights at Life Time, 9:30 a.m., taught 45-minute combo class at Life Time, 5:30 p.m.
• Wednesday: Taught 45-minute barre class with light weights at Life Time, 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 45-minute combo class at Life Time, 9:45 a.m., played 1 hour of tennis, 6:30 p.m.
• Friday: Taught 45-minute barbell class at Life Time, 12 p.m.
• Saturday: Rest day
• Sunday: Took a 30-minute outdoor walk, 9 a.m. (Rest day)

This past week of workouts was totally full of classes. I taught my regular five classes, and I subbed an extra class too. While I wanted to fit in a solo workout over the weekend, I chose rest and a light outdoor walk instead, so that’s fine with me. 

Best read from the week …

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

All about nuts. Either you love to eat nuts or you hate them, right? I didn’t eat nuts until I was 25 years-old. I actively didn’t like them. Then, slowly but surely, I started adding them into my diet, and now I love them. Every single day of my life, I eat nuts. I have raw Brazil nuts in my breakfast, and sometimes I snack on almonds or cashews, and I also eat peanut or almond butter most days of the week. Some people think nuts are too high in calories or are too expensive, and both those points can be valid. But I think nuts are a great addition to your diet, in moderation, if you like the taste of them. If you’re wondering more about the health value of nuts or are wondering which is better, almonds or peanuts, this is a very useful article/infographic from the folks at Precision Nutrition.

Quote of the week …

I think everyone has a chance to be creative in their life, so I like this one: Can you prepare a new-to-you dish? Can you spend some time writing or coloring or moving decor around in your house? Can you think outside the box for a routine task? Sometimes it’s fun to challenge yourself to be creative …

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) …

Food. I hope you enjoyed this post about some common lunches and dinners I eat at home. Also, I made a reel about this one on Instagram, which you can view here … “10 easy, healthy and quick meals I’ve eaten recently for lunch and dinner.”

Recovery. If you work out, you should also recover. Check out this one on tips for how best to do that to keep your body feeling good … “Seven recovery methods to try on your next rest day.”

Thanks for stopping by, my friends. I hope you have a great day! I have a BIG giveaway coming up next week, so come on back for that.

Questions of the day for YOU …

What are you up to this weekend?

What’s one good thing that happened in your week?

When you buy something new, do you wear it right away or wait? If you wait, what are you waiting for? 🙂