Favorite things: Bootybarre, BODYPUMP, Lemonade restaurant, TV and more

Hey, hey, party people! How are you? I hope you’ve been having a great week! Mine’s been okay. A little excitement here and there, and a lot of routine as well. This weekend is a special one though, because Saturday is Dave’s birthday! He shares a birthday with one of our friends, so the boys are golfing in the afternoon, and the ladies are meeting them for a fun dinner after that in the little town of Lafayette. Other than celebrating the birthday boy, I’ll be teaching a class and taking care of the 9,432.92 things I needed to handle this week and didn’t have time for. Such is life! Sit back, relax and enjoy my latest faves …

Latest favorite things 

Favorite education: Bootybarre Instructor Training

Remember last week when I said I was taking on a new program? Surprise — it’s a barre-style class called Bootybarre. I’m so excited to be expanding my repertoire to include some barre, as it’s one of the few formats I’ve not taught before. The two-day training I attended last weekend was entertaining, educational and sweaty. 

We did a lot of working out! A few cool things: Bootybarre was created by the uber-fit former dancer Tracey Mallett, it’s performed barefoot, and it’s a great way to lift your tush, lean out, improve your flexibility and get in shape — and it’s low impact!

Because I’m diving in to learn the intricacies of teaching Bootybarre and will be working toward shooting my full certification video, you can bet I’ll give you all the lowdown on the class on A Lady Goes West, so expect to hear more about it soon. But needless to say, I loved the small group of ladies in my training weekend and especially loved our trainer, local gal, RaeLea! She was super sweet and helpful, and I look forward to getting my Bootybarre on very soon. (Side note: I’ve already got a class and will be teaching it on Thursday nights in Walnut Creek starting at the end of the month — shoot me an email if you want the details!)

Favorite class: Les Mills BODYPUMP release 99

Last weekend, I team taught with fellow instructor, Will, to debut Les Mills BODYPUMP 99 in my usual Saturday morning class. Will is not only a fellow instructor, but he also recently became a Les Mills presenter too, by the way (Go Will!). We had more than 50 people in the house, and it was super fun, and super sweaty. While I don’t take the time to write reviews on each of the Les Mills group fitness releases like I used to, I still have my opinions on each, and this one is HARD! It also has great music. My least favorite track is the abs, because it’s solely filled up with two different form of crunches, which are not my jam. The biceps song is awesome, as is the lunges song!

But other than that, BODYPUMP 99 packs a punch, with tons of reps and a few tough songs with minimal breaks. Never been to BODYPUMP? It’s a barbell group fitness class set to popular music, and you are sure to enjoy yourself as you work your muscles (and here’s what to expect in your first BODYPUMP class). I really love my Saturday class and will be sad when I have to give it back to the original instructor who has been on an extended maternity leave. Oh well! But seriously, how cute are our matching “rep” shirts? Will gave me mine before we taught the last release together in July, and it’s by far my favorite BODYPUMP teaching top.

Favorite moment: My Big TV debut

In case you missed my little announcement on the A Lady Goes West Facebook page, more than six months ago, I went on a secret mission to L.A. to be part of a production for a new reality TV series. The show is out, and the episode that I took part in aired this week on E!. “Catching Kelce” is the show, and I got to interview Travis Kelce, the NFL star of the show, first-hand. He was totally cool. I watched the episode on Wednesday night, and you definitely caught a few seconds of me on screen, of course, you had to pause it to be sure it was me hehehe! Funny thing is my Mom took a photo of the TV and posted it to Facebook like a proud parent. Love it! Check out my article: “Catch Him if you Can: NFL Star Travis Kelce Talks Life and Love.” 

Favorite event: Lemonade Walnut Creek Opening

Have I told you how much I love Walnut Creek? While I definitely miss living in San Francisco, there’s really not a better place outside the City than Walnut Creek. We have nice weather, nice parks, nice people, nice gyms, amazing shopping and now a Lemonade restaurant in our very own downtown. Just look at the spread … salmon, caramelized Brussels sprouts with anchovies, kale and fig salad and curried cauliflower — and an un-pictured brownie for dessert, of course. 

I visited the new Lemonade in San Francisco multiple times, and was instantly obsessed with the flavorful and healthy options available. This week, I was lucky enough to attend the Lemonade media preview the day before it opened and was hosted for a complimentary meal, complete with lemonade and dessert. While the line was pretty long, we got our food quickly, enjoyed some live music and even talked to other guests at our table. I attended the night with a lovely lady from Kendra Scott jewelry, and will tell you all about that more soon. Overall, I’m so happy to have another healthy, fresh lunch option just five minutes from my house, which will make my usual Saturday afternoon lunch outing choice much easier. Welcome to the neighborhood, Lemonade. Friends, if you haven’t been to one of these restaurants before, get there soon! And find other locations for the L.A.-based restaurant on the website — they are mostly in California right now.

Favorite recent reads: Sales, Blogging and More

Did you miss the latest on A Lady Goes West? 

• Real-life details: Seven elements of a healthy weekly routine
• Favorite family vacation, a healthy giveaway, POPSUGAR event and more — By the way, congrats to the winner of the ZUPA NOMA giveaway, Amy Lauren. I’ll have another giveaway coming up next week, so check back for that!

And more things worth reading …

• SALES GALORE: If you are in need of some online shopping for all your fall and winter clothing, head over to Shopbop today. There’s a huge MAIN EVENT sale going on now, and you get 25 percent off your order with the code MAINEVENT16. A few of my favorites are available, like these jeans, and these shoes. And there are a few things I want, like this jacket.
• MUSIC: Serious favorite of the week! Bruno Mars FINALLY put out a new song and it’s absolutely a jam. The video is super entertaining as well. Here you go, “24K.”
• CURRENT EVENTS: I can assure you, I won’t be getting political up in here, but this is one “campaign related” story I can get behind. The guy who wore the red quarter-zip sweater at the debate on Sunday? Ken Bone? I’m sorry, but it’s hilarious that this little moment took off. Just read his interview, “The Kenneth Bone Effect.”
• BLOGGING: Pinterest! I used to spend hours and hour scrolling for fun and now really only dabble on the site, but it’s a great way to grow blog traffic. Check out this great post by Running in a Skirt on “Four Ways I Skyrocketed my Traffic from Pinterest.”
• FITNESS: While I like doing reverse lunges more than forward lunges, because I’ve always felt like forward lunges are more difficult, I do those more often in my solo weights sessions. But after reading this piece from Les Mills, sounds like we should all stick with stepping back instead of front to protect our knees, “Mythbusting Lunges.”

Have an awesome weekend! 

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Read more Favorite things

To see more favorites, visit Heather‘s blog or my older “Favorite things.” 

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Questions of the day

What’s something you’ve been loving lately?

What’s your favorite lunch restaurant?