Hi, friends! How are you? Welcome to the month of July! You may be gearing up for a long weekend in the U.S. for Fourth of July, like we are here. On the holiday, I’m heading to a 90-minute outdoor bootcamp with a friend, then we’ll do some sparklers and mini-festivities at home, but that’s about it. Another quarantine celebration for us all. 🙂

This week was good. Here are the highlights: Dave did his 100th ride on the Peloton (I’m way behind him in amount of rides); I was interviewed for a podcast episode on fitness and fertility (which I’ll share when it comes out later in the month); I took Brady to the park to explore; we rode our bikes around the neighborhood in the hot sunny afternoons; we went to lunch in the City (so Dave could pick something up from his office); and I was excited to do a welcome call to another amazing Beautycounter team member. Alright, let’s get to the favorites for the week …

Current faves

Fun

Our little day-trip to wine country

I know I’m not alone when I say that we’ve had about four cancelled trips throughout the spring and summer thus far and have been in major need of a change of scenery.

Well, Dave and I finally got away for a few hours to wine country last weekend, and it was GREAT! Although yes, it was different, in light of the times we’re in.

For our anniversary (over Memorial Day), Dave made a future appointment for a special tour and tasting at Castello di Amorosa, and I was not very confident that we’d be able to keep the appointment with local regulations. But, we were able to. And neither of us had been to the property before.

Here’s the gist: A lot of wine country establishments are open for tastings, but you have to make an appointment, they are limiting capacity, and of course, you have to wear a mask as much as possible. (And we followed all the rules, but I pulled my mask off for a photo or two.)

(The dress is super old, but here’s something similar. Here are the sandals, which are new and super comfy, and the sunglasses.)

We did the Antipasti and Wine Pairing Tour at Castello di Amorosa. “The Castle of Love,” as it is called, is a full-fledged authentic Tuscan castle, and we went through many of the rooms, including a torture chamber, ballroom and the wine production facility, learning all about the history of the Sattui family that commissioned the building of the castle. So cool.

The final part of our experience included a seated antipasti and wine paired tasting, and it was incredible. There were only three couples on the tour, so we each had our own spaced-out table in the room, and the food was so good. We had five different bruschetta, topped with heirloom tomatoes, pâté, lamb, filet mignon, you name it, nothing like we’ve been eating at home for the last three months. I mean, so fancy and so delicious, especially paired with wine. And this seated portion was the only time we got to take our masks off too — it almost seemed … normal.

We had such a nice time!

After we finished our two-hour tour at the Castle, we went to Brix and had an outdoor lunch looking at some beautiful vineyards. This was a chance to just sit and chat and enjoy the scenery.

We were only gone for seven hours away from home, but it felt like a mini-vacation to leave our neighborhood and to spend some lovely adult time together too (away from our little man, who was hanging with his auntie at our house), that’s for sure.

We’re planning another trip to wine country at the end of the month, and I can’t wait. Hopefully the dresses I ordered for this last trip finally arrive after a big delay in shipping, so I’ll have something new to wear for the next. I had definitely missed wearing a dress instead of workout clothes.

Beauty

A full face of Beautycounter makeup

Does anyone else do their makeup in the car when going somewhere that’s more than 10 minutes away (and while being a passenger)?

Ever since we’ve had Brady, I’ve always saved my makeup for doing in the car when we’re heading somewhere, so it’s one less thing I need to do before leaving the house. And it felt good to put on a full face of makeup for the first time in a while when we went to Napa …

Here’s what’s on my face:

• All Bright Vitamin C Serum (I use this three times a week to brighten my skin)
• Skin Twin Featherweight Foundation (shade 210 applied with a foundation brush)
• Touch-up Concealer Pen (shade fair under my eyes applied with my finger)
• Beautycounter Red Color Intense Lipstick
• Color Pinch Cream Blusher (shade hibiscus on my cheeks applied with my finger)
• Color Define Brow Pencil (shade light)
• Velvet Eyeshadow Palette (all over pink eyeshadow, with dark grey eyeshadow in corners)
• Cheapy clumpy toxic non-Beautycounter mascara
• Mattifying Powder (all over to set)

By the way, I have a new 20 percent off code for first-time Beautycounter shoppers in the month of July, so send me an email or DM if you want in.

Stuff

The biggest mug ever 

I like big hair, and I like big mugs. I’ve been searching for a really big mug for a long time, and believe it or not, they aren’t that easy to find.

My mom found and sent me this beauty as a belated Mother’s Day gift, and I’m quite excited about it. She got it from Personalization Mall, for your reference.

What’s in the mug with that beautiful golden hue, you ask? Some Four Sigmatic Golden Latte mix with frothed oat milk, for the perfect afternoon treat.

Workouts

Weekly workouts 

Here’s how I got moving last week …

• Monday: 30-minute Les Mills GRIT Strength via Les Mills On Demand, 4 p.m.
• Tuesday: 45-minute cycle, 11 a.m., 30-minute POP Pilates, 4 p.m.
• Wednesday: 30-minute full-body weights via the Peloton app, 4:30 p.m.
• Thursday: 45-minute cycle, 10 a.m.
• Friday: 45-minute weights circuit, 10:30 a.m.
• Saturday: Rest day
• Sunday: 30-minute cycle, 30 minutes of Pilates, 10 a.m.

This past week of fitness was solid. I’m going strong on my three weekly resistance sessions, three cardio sessions and a rest day, with some Pilates thrown in. I’m missing teaching, but I hope to be back to virtual classes again soon.

By the way: Here’s the free 30-minute Pilates session I did this week. It was tough and a lot like POP Pilates, but not quite as fun.  

Discounts 

A few A Lady Goes West recommended products …

• G2G protein bars. I love these tasty and clean protein bars. You can get 20 percent off your order on the G2G Bar site with the code ALADYGOESWEST. 
• Organifi superfood supplements. I’m all about the Organifi Complete Plant-Based protein powder, the RED powder and the GOLD powder. You can get 15 percent off your order on the Organifi site with the code ALADYGOESWEST.
• Daily Harvest frozen foods. I’ve loved every single thing I’ve tried from this healthy frozen food delivery service, including the smoothies, flatbreads, desserts and bowls. You can get $25 off your first order on the Daily Harvest site with the code ALADYGOESWEST.
• Beautycounter. The best safe skincare and makeup. You can fill out this skincare survey if you want some help figuring out what’s right for your skin, and I’ll give you a 20 percent off code.
• Les Mills On Demand streaming 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.
• Carbon38. The coolest activewear around. Get 15 percent off your first two orders of $100 or more using the code ASHLEYPITT.
• Four Sigmatic. These superfood coffees and teas are so good — I especially love the Cacao Chill and Lion’s Mane Latte. Get 15 percent off your order on the Four Sigmatic site using the code ALADYGOESWEST.

Best reads

A few things from around the web …

• Podcast on race and health. This is one of the most moving podcast episodes I’ve ever listened to by my favorite podcaster, Shawn Stevenson of The Model Health Show. And it’s a must listen if you want to further your education on understanding racism, as well as how health plays a role in misconduct too. Shawn shares his personal story of being a black man, and he is super raw and real.
• Song of the summer. You know sometimes you hear a song and it just clicks. I cannot get enough of this Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande jam. It’s on repeat over here.
• Giveaway. I’m giving away some Vital Proteins collagen creamers over on Instagram, so head here to enter to win.

And here’s the quote of the week from the Calm app, which I use to do my daily morning meditations …

A Lady Goes West favorite archives …

• Life coaching. This super-long post is everything I’ve learned and what you may want to know about life coaching too … “What I’ve learned while working with a life coach.”

• Information overwhelm. This is a great one to read if you feel overwhelmed with everything you see on social media … “How to know what health and fitness information to follow.”

Thank you visiting the blog today. I’ll see you over on Instagram. Have a wonderful day! 🙂

Questions of the day

How was your week?

Are you doing anything special for the holiday weekend?

What’s one thing that has made you happy recently?