Hello, my friends! How are you? Are you about to begin a long weekend? Monday is Labor Day in the U.S., so even though I don’t go into an office, I’m considering this a holiday weekend for sure. We’ve got plans to head into the City for dinner and a show with some of our friends, and other than that — it will be relaxing family time, as we gear up for a busy season of life starting after the holiday.

This past week was a decent one. I subbed some extra classes, we attended an open house for Brady’s new preschool (he starts on his 2nd birthday, OMG) and all the other usual stuff. Alright, let’s get to today’s edition of current faves …

Current faves

Fun

Friends and family preview of the new SF arena

So there’s a new sports and entertainment arena in the Mission Bay area of San Francisco called the Chase Center, and it will officially be open for concerts, events and the Warriors basketball season as of next month. While this may not be exciting news for a lot of you, this is a big deal for us. In fact, one of the reasons why Dave and I moved to SF from Orlando seven years ago was for Dave to be a part of planning for and opening this arena. 

Last week, we got to check out the new arena during a friends and family preview, and it did not disappoint. It’s huge, on the Bay, has gorgeous views, a massive scoreboard and a lot of awesome vendors inside and around the arena too.

It was so fun to experience the arena for the first time with Dave and his parents, who were visiting. We had a chance to sample the food and drinks and walk through many of the fancy entertaining spaces. Yet, even though the event was fun, what I liked most of all was seeing how excited and proud Dave is of how much work has gone into this new building. I’m looking forward to checking out a concert and game very soon, even if the trip there will be quite a bit longer from our house than it was to the old arena in Oakland.

Date night out in Walnut Creek

Moving right along, we also took advantage of having Dave’s parents in town last weekend to go out to dinner one night. We hadn’t been out just the two of us in our neck of the woods, Walnut Creek, for months. We’ve definitely had some fun activities this year, like a festival in wine country, a concert in wine country, date nights on our vacation and group outings too, all of which have required us to get a babysitter and have some adult time, but we were overdue for a local dinner date. And of course, I wore my trusty ripped white jeans that I seem to be pictured in over and over and over again this summer. They are sold out, but are Joe’s brand from Nordstrom Rack. 🙂 

We went to Limón Rotisserie, a Peruvian place in downtown Walnut Creek, which was really good, and then we met our friends at a bar, which I hadn’t done in forever. Truth be told, I love being at home and having our at-home dinner routines in pajamas, but it was good to get out for the night. For some reason, it’s much easier to have good conversation when you don’t have the pull of the TV or a kitchen waiting to be cleaned up, you know?

Beauty

The best body lotion

You guys know I’ve been using Beautycounter makeup and facial skincare for just over a year, but I hadn’t been using any of the Beautycounter body products until the last couple of weeks — usually relying on coconut oil or almond oil for moisturizing. Well, I was able to order several free and 50 percent off products after the Friends & Family sale and decided to try out some of the BC body line. 

The second I opened up the Beautycounter Citrus Mimosa Hydrating Body Lotion and put it on my skin, my first thought was … of course I like this, why did I wait so long to try it? It’s moisturizing, smells great, is so easy to blend in, contains amino and fatty acids to support the skin, and best of all, is nontoxic and made with no harsh chemicals. Definitely a fan! Speaking of Beautycounter, there’s a little Labor Day free gift promo going on, and if you spend $150, you get a free body butter. Shop here.

Food

Watermelon water

I tried out WTR watermelon water a couple years ago when it first came out and the brand sent it to me. I was a fan right from the start, but then I didn’t it see it in stores for a while. Well, now I keep seeing it in Whole Foods, and there are new flavors too, so I’ve been buying it regularly. It’s super hydrating, with a lot of electrolytes, and it tastes even better than coconut water, especially this one with cherry in it.

Fitness

Weekly workout recap

How I’ve been moving lately …

• Monday: 1-hour BODYPUMP, 10 a.m. 
• Tuesday: Taught 45-minute BODYATTACK and taught 1-hour barre, 4:45 p.m.
• Wednesday: Practiced barre for 25 minutes, 10 a.m., taught 1-hour barre, 5 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 1-hour barre, 12 p.m.
• Friday: Practiced BODYPUMP for 45 minutes, 10 a.m.
• Saturday: 1-hour BODYATTACK class, 10 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

This past week was completely class heavy, which isn’t ideal for me, but seems to be the case sometimes. I spent a little bit of time alone preparing to teach classes and then the rest of the time in classes. The good news is that I took a full rest day and had a mixture of cardio, weights and barre too. 

Best reads

A few things from around the web …

• Breakfast inspiration. These anti-inflammatory breakfast ideas all sound pretty good, even the savory ones. Although I’m a sweets breakfast person all the way. How about you?
• Healthy alcohol tips. Never one to shy away from wine, I’m all about understanding the best way to drink, how alcohol affects your body and the healthiest cocktail around. Lots of interesting stuff in this article on drinking.

Here’s the quote of the week from the Calm app that I use for my morning meditations. (And I believe the quote is missing a comma, right? Oh well, it’s still a good one.)

A Lady Goes West favorite archives …

• Housekeeping. Sharing a few things I’ve done recently to clean up life a bit … “Five feel-good ways to clean up your life.”

• Real talk. Because there’s a lot of information you probably wouldn’t mind knowing … “Five things no one tells you about postpartum exercise.”

Hope you have an awesome weekend, my friends! Thanks for coming by the blog today. 🙂 

P.S. Congrats to Alaina, who won my sneaky giveaway last week.

Questions of the day

What are you up to this weekend?

Are you a sweet or savory breakfast person?

Do you like to eat at home or go out to dinner?

P.S. Planning to work out this weekend? Why not give a Les Mills class a try in the privacy of your own home using a free 21-day trial of my favorite streaming service, Les Mills On Demand? Here’s my personal link to give you that free 21-day trial and get moving!