Hi, friend! How are you? How was your week?

My week was pretty good, I guess. I was a little grumpy a couple days this week though, and I never quite pinpointed the reason. Anywho — this week, I taught four group fitness classes (with two more today), I took Brady to swimming and to tennis, I played tennis twice, I worked on the blog, and I went to a wine happy hour with neighborhood girlfriends last night too, which is always a good time (and was much needed — due to my mood during the early part of the week).

The next few days are full of social activities for me. I have another girl’s get-together tonight with the moms from Brady’s preschool. Then tomorrow, we have a kid’s birthday party. And on Sunday, we have another kid’s birthday party, with some work and class prep mixed in throughout the weekend. I’ll be over on Instagram stories sharing some glimpses of the fun, so catch me there.

By the way, for those of you who have been trying to get your hands on a 40-ounce Stanley tumbler, like I mentioned in this post about the best gifts I received for Christmas, the tumblers are back in stock with new colors here. Grab ’em while they’re hot!

But in the meantime, let’s get to the faves …

Current faves

Self-care

Visiting The Ritz-Carlton Spa in Charlotte

This was such a treat! For my birthday back in December, my neighborhood girlfriends pulled together a very generous gift card so I could visit The Ritz-Carlton Spa in Charlotte.

I had never been to the hotel or the spa before, and I was very excited about this opportunity to get some pampering in such a luxurious setting. What a great gift! (Thanks, ladies!)

(I’m still wearing this super-comfy sweatsuit I’ve shared about before. Here’s the top, and here are the bottoms. And here are my trusty white sneakers.)

This past Sunday, I had an amazing 60-minute stress-relieving massage, and then I spent a good portion of the day at the spa. I’m going to write a whole post about this experience, but I wanted to mention it here too, because it was surely a favorite.

I hadn’t had a massage in almost a year, and I needed it. I made a video about my spa visit here, so check that out, if you’re interested!

Life

Celebrating one year of playing tennis

Food

A few great Trader Joe’s finds

I don’t go to Trader Joe’s as often here as I did in California, mostly because I feel like the Trader Joe’s here is always so busy (there’s only one here).

Well, the other evening, Brady and I decided to brave the rain and crowds to not only stock up on our favorite Trader Joe’s items (hello pepitas salsa, the best salsa in all the land), but also to do some browsing and pick up new stuff.

Here are a few of the things we picked up, tried and loved …

I had this organic coconut water smoothie between teaching a class and taking a tennis clinic, and it has the best creamy texture and delicious coconut taste. So yummy! Fun fact: I froze it for an hour before leaving the house, so when I drank it mid-morning, it was still a little slushy. 

We used this green goddess seasoning on veggie fries and on butternut squash cubes in the last week, and it has a mild, but excellent flavor profile. I don’t know if I can describe it, but it’s pleasing.

I never buy breaded chicken, but I thought these little organic nuggets looked good, and they were. Dave and I ate these one night with veggie fries, and I even dipped my nuggets in honey just for fun. I will totally buy these again.

And those are some of my Trader Joe’s highlights from my recent visit. I’ll share more when I go again. Happy eating!

Workouts

My workouts from last week

Every week, I like to share a recap of my previous week of workouts. I share this to show you how I try to get diversity of movement 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. You absolutely don’t need to compare your movement to mine.

Workouts from the week of 1/29

• Monday: Taught 1-hour barbell class, 9:45 a.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 1-hour barre class with light weights, 9:30 a.m., took 90-minute tennis clinic, 11:30 a.m.
• Wednesday: Did 40-minute solo full-body heavy weights session, 9:30 a.m., taught 45-minute barre class with light weights, 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 45-minute combo class, 9:45 a.m., took 1-hour tennis clinic, 11:30 a.m.
• Friday: Taught 45-minute barbell class, 11:30 a.m.
• Saturday: Took 90-minute tennis clinic, 11 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

This past week was full and very similar to recent weeks. I’ve been going strong with maintaining my one personal strength workout a week, as well as teaching my five classes, playing tennis and taking a day (or two) off. This is a good routine for me right now.

Here’s the solo workout I did, focused on heavy and slower movement, because I do a lot of faster endurance-strength movement in the classes I teach …

Best listen of the week

Here’s a podcast that I thought was interesting and worth talking about …

Questions to ask yourself and to ask your people. During my workout this week, I listened to an episode of “The Goal Digger Podcast,” which is a great one for entrepreneurial motivation and business tips. This particular episode was about five specific questions to ask yourself and the people you work with or hang out with in order to get deep and truly benefit from the conversation — questions pulled from a business mastermind that the host recently attended. While I think the whole 40-minute show is worth a listen, here are the questions for you:

1. What are you thankful for?
2. What is exciting you right now?
3. What is working for you right now?
4. What are you struggling with right now?
5. What do you need help with right now?

So powerful! I would highly recommend asking yourself and someone else these questions.

Quote of the week

Here’s a really good thought that popped up in the Headspace app last week after one of my guided meditations. In the age of social media, it’s hard not to compare yourself and your life to someone else/else’s. While those thoughts happen, it’s really important that you can let them pass without fixating on them …

Blog archives of the week

Let’s look back at a couple posts …

Museum of Illusions. Have you ever been to any of the 30 locations around the world of the Museum of Illusions? Here’s our take on the one in Charlotte … “Review of the Museum of Illusions in Charlotte.”

Books. There are always great new health books coming out, but these are some of my all-time favorites from the last few years. Have you read any of them? …. “Five health books you should read one day (my TOP health and wellness books).”

Thanks for coming by the blog today, friend! I hope you have a wonderful day and weekend.

Please leave a comment, send me a direct message on Instagram or Facebook, or email me at ashley-at-aladygoeswest.com if you have any post requests/feedback/comments or questions. I appreciate you! 🙂 

Questions of the day for YOU

How was your week?

What is exciting you right now?

What are you struggling with right now?