My friends, how are you? I’m doing well over here! Lots of work and group fitness classes this week, that’s for sure. This weekend, I’m subbing BODYPUMP, working on some blog projects and packing for my trip to L.A. for IDEA World and Fitness Convention in the middle of the week next week, which will mark the longest I’ve ever been away from Brady by far (three nights ahhhh) — a huge deal for this momma. Lots of stuff going on! Let’s get right to our weekly current faves …

CURRENT FAVES

Blog biz and fashion

New activewear collaboration and clothes

Other than the sponsored posts that appear on A Lady Goes West, I don’t talk a ton about the projects I’m working on, but I want to share more, as it’s been a recent request. So here’s one: For the rest of the year, I’m working on a collaboration with the CALIA by Carrie Underwood clothing brand sold at Dick’s Sporting Goods, and I’m pretty excited about it.

Basically, they send me cute outfits and pay me a fee, and I come up with concepts and shoot the pictures — then, they use those images in their marketing materials. It’s a total win-win for me, because I love the brand, I love new activewear, and I love new projects. Here’s my first set of photos from the end of May …

Showing a second position plié with relevé, which is a classic barre move …

(Leggings, top and sports bra. I’m wearing a medium bottom, small top and medium bra. And I could possibly fit into a small bottom, because they run just a tad big.)

I’ve worn this outfit a couple times to teach barre, and the pants have the best fabric and feel, and overall, the outfit is adorable. For some reason, I always associate pastel colors with teaching barre. And I tend to wear black and blue for BODYATTACK and black and red for BODYPUMP. Anyone else have colors depending on your workout of the day?

And for a good barre stretch, the dancer’s pose is one of my favorites …

I’ve got three more outfits to shoot in the next week, and I’ll be sure to share more with you. 

Food

Organifi Gold superfood powder

I have tried so many “superfood” powders, and they are rarely good on their own (perhaps tasty when mixed into a food or smoothie, just to mask the taste). Well, because of that, I let a shipment of Organifi superfood powders sit in my pantry for far too long.

My favorite podcaster, Shawn Stevenson, sent me a bunch of Organifi months ago, and I waited and waited to open it all up. Then, I did. And I’m happy to say that I’ve found a powder I absolutely love — it’s the GOLD, which has turmeric and reishi in it, as well as a bunch of other beneficial vitamins and minerals. I haven’t talked about reishi, or other adaptogens or medicinal mushrooms on the blog before, mostly because I avoided them while pregnant and breastfeeding, which took up two years of my life, just as they were getting popular in the wellness world.

However, I do like to take products with these medicinal mushrooms sometimes, because they are just so beneficial and who doesn’t want an extra boost from a totally natural substance?

Although I will say, I definitely don’t take these types of products regularly. (Wondering why I didn’t take any adaptogens while pregnant or breastfeeding? Not a lot of research has been done on pregnant or breastfeeding women and the use of adaptogens/medicinal mushrooms, so I did my own reading and felt it was best for me to stay away from them during those times, just in case.)

Anywho, this particular superfood blend goes great in a tea or mixed with coconut milk and water and heated up — especially at night before bed. It helps with inflammation, it’s calming and relaxing, and it supports detoxification too, not to mention the most important part to me, it tastes sooo delicious. I plan to drink a serving of this every day leading up to my trip, to keep my immune system functioning great. 

(Edited to add: I liked this product so much, I signed up to be an ambassador, and you can get 15 percent off your order on the Organifi site using the code “aladygoeswest.”)

Fun

Outdoor dining at our dinner party

California living means being able to be outdoors a lot.

Well, we hosted four couples over for dinner last Saturday night, which is part of our rotating dinner group we have with some friends every other month or so. I must admit, we waited to do all the shopping, cooking and prepping until Saturday mid-morning after both going to the gym, so it was a bit of a rush. I was trying to play with Brady while setting the table as Dave did all the cooking of multiple dishes in the cluttered and messy war-zone-of-a-kitchen. But, we pulled it off and ended up having everything ready in time, even if multiple spills and disasters happened during the rush of the prep, to make things seem even worse.

We had homemade pizza as an appetizer and then salad, baked ziti and garlic bread as the entrée, with cheesecake and tiramisu for dessert (dessert was store bought, because who has time to make dessert?). And of course, lots of wine.

It was a bit colder that day than any other day that week, so we had to put on the outdoor heater and hand out some blankets to the ladies at the table, but we were able to sit outside, which was so nice. Lots of fun conversation, good food and good peeps. I literally took two pictures the whole day and night, so not much visually to share, but I did wear a new outfit at least …

(New jeans — these are my favorite brand of denim — and new top.)

Quote

Daily wisdom from the Calm app

I just love the daily quotes I get after finishing my morning meditation. Here is the best one from the week …

Fitness

Weekly workout recap

A look at how I’ve been moving lately …

• Monday: 1 hour of BODYPUMP practice, 5 p.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 45-minute BODYATTACK class, taught 30-minute barre class, 4:45 p.m.
• Wednesday: Taught 1-hour BODYPUMP class, 9:30 a.m., taught 1-hour barre class, 5 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 1-hour barre class, 12 p.m.
• Friday: 30 minutes of BODYPUMP practice, 5 p.m.
• Saturday: 1-hour BODYATTACK class, 9:30 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

This past week was all about Les Mills again as I prepared for the launches of BODYATTACK 105 and BODYPUMP 110. I didn’t do any solo workouts, and that’s not good at all. This upcoming week will be better.

Speaking of Les Mills, if you want to try these workouts, you can still get a 21-day free trial of Les Mills On Demand by using my referral link here. Go for it!

Best reads

Some things I enjoyed from around the web …

• Southern hospitality and fun. I listen to a lot of wellness podcasts, but this episode of The Skinny Confidential’s Him & Her Podcast featuring Patricia Altschul was more about life, what happens in the south and Bravo’s show “Southern Charm,” and I found it so entertaining.
• Cortisol-friendly workouts. I mean, high-intensity workouts are not always good for highly stressed people. That’s the truth. Yoga and Pilates and walking are all cortisol friendly. This article tells you more on why you may need that kind of movement in your life.
• Get uncomfortable. I love this article and everything it stands for. It’s all about why and how you should step out of your comfort zone.

By the way, I usually share some links and chatter during the week in the A Lady Goes West Friends Facebook group, if you’d like to join us there. 🙂

A Lady Goes West favorite archives …

• Les Mills. Because I get so many questions and wanted to answer them all in one place … “Everything you need to know about Les Mills workouts and how to get started.”
• Motherhood. You have to arm yourself with some tools, and here’s what I used … “Five essential things that truly helped me as a new momma.”

That’s all I’ve got for you today. I hope you have an amazing day and weekend. And as always, I truly appreciate you stopping by the blog today.

Questions of the day

What are you up to this weekend?

Are you gearing up for any summer trips?

Do you wear certain colors for certain workouts?