First of June faves and weekly workouts

Hi, friends! Another set of favorites coming your way, and a fresh new month too! I hope you have some great plans, goals and positivity ready for June. And if you don’t — take a moment today to think of something you are grateful for this month and something you want to accomplish too. You can do it!

First of all, have you noticed that my blog posts keep getting longer and longer? Thoughts on this? Am I overwhelming you? Well, it’s happening again today.

Shall we begin with some pretty flowers Dave gave me for our anniversary?

As far as this week: It was a good one and a short one, because of the holiday on Monday. And this upcoming weekend will be full of teaching barre, hanging with Dave and Brady and going to see the Warriors play in the NBA Finals during game two on Sunday. Go Dubs! Let’s do the faves …

BEAUTY

Witch hazel spray

Looks like I may need to update my “five nontoxic body product swaps I’ve made to my daily routine” post, because I have a new nontoxic product I’ve been loving — witch hazel spray, actually, cucumber mist witch hazel spray by Thayers. I got it in a Whole Foods event gift bag and have been using it multiple times a day. You can also find it on Amazon here, by the way.

It’s sort’ve like a gentle non-astringent toner for your face, but I also spray it on my chest and underarms, because it just seems like a freshener. It adds moisture too. According to some Google research, you can even use it as an all-natural deodorant as well. Check! I feel like it makes my skin clean and clear, and I like the smell. The best part is that it doesn’t have any harsh chemicals — no parabens, no alcohol, none of the bad stuff — so you’re safe using it wherever you want. 

Perhaps my favorite use of this particular product is a quick spray on my face and body after a workout if I’m not going to shower immediately (which happens sometimes, so don’t judge). Overall, a big fan of witch hazel spray. Who knew?

Food

New kombucha flavor

This may be my favorite flavor ever from Health-Ade (one of the cleanest kombucha brands around), because it’s got just the right amount of kick. Blood orange, carrot and ginger. Ummm yes. I found a bottle of it at the Ferry Building in SF over the weekend, and I’m pretty sure it’s brand new.

Pizza night from our pizza oven

Every Sunday night, we’re out there making a pie, and I finally have a good picture to show you of it.

Okay, I lie. Dave is the pizza maker, so I’m just out there. And he’s getting very good at it — using his pizza-making tools and managing the fire too. Having a pizza oven was not on our list of wants for a house, but we sure are making good use out of it now that we have one.

Here’s our latest pie coated in mozzarella and about-to-be-wilted basil …

And there’s nothing better than leftover pizza, which seems to make an appearance in my Monday lunches if possible (there’s not often any pizza left), alongside some additional veggies and eggs …

My go-to weekend salad

For some reason, once the weekend hits, I’m craving a big salad with salmon from Urban Plates, especially now that the weather is heating up. I remember going to UP once a week while pregnant and refilling my water cup over and over because they have the best crushed ice. I LOVED ice while pregnant.

And yes, I always eat the bread that comes with my salad too. (What’s your go-to weekend lunch spot? Do you eat the bread?)

Family, friends and fun

Anniversary date

Dave and I celebrated our 6-year wedding anniversary over the weekend, and we went out on a date night and used a real babysitter — woohoo. After Brady went to sleep, we headed out to Sasa in downtown Walnut Creek for some sushi and cocktails and then The Cheesecake Factory for dessert.

I had a $25 gift card (which was from Rudy for Mother’s Day), and it was just enough to get Dave a drink and me a slice of the red velvet cheesecake. Yes … the slice was just for me.

It was a wonderful time and a long overdue dinner date out. It’s so hard to think back on the days (for years and years and years) when we would go out to dinner every single Friday and Saturday without fail. Oh how times have changed! But now that we have a nice babysitter to call on, maybe we’ll be doing it more often.

City adventure

We also took Brady to the City for a day of walking and soaking up the sunshine over the weekend. Dave took us to the future home of the Golden State Warriors in Mission Bay of SF, which is currently just a construction site on the water (the team will play there the season after next — as they are currently in Oakland). And I loved getting a little ocean breeze.

(New camo shirt, old red shoes.)

We walked along the Embarcadero, grabbed a healthy drink in the Ferry Building (see the kombucha above) and had THE BEST and freshest poke bowls from Poke Delish at Spark Social, which is a food truck hub in Mission Bay.

There were actually a lot of kids there that day, which doesn’t always happen in the City. Fun family times!

Memorial Day BBQ

We also went over to our friends’ house to watch the Warriors playoff game on Monday, and they made one tasty Memorial Day BBQ spread. Tri-tip is a cut of meat that I didn’t really know about until moving to the Bay Area, and it’s so good. Anywho, we had tri-tip sandwiches, Caesar salad, pasta salad and some home-made ice cream — all of which was awesome.

Books 

Join the A Lady Goes West Book Club this month

And we’re off for the first ever A Lady Goes West Book Club. We’re reading Jen Sincero’s “You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life.” It’s a short and supposedly comical read about changing behaviors to get what you want. A self-help book, but with humor and real-life stories — which sounds like something we can all relate to. My copy just arrived, and I plan to start it this weekend.

Here’s what you need to do …

1. Get a copy of the book. I ordered off Amazon here, but you could also try your book store.
2. Start reading the book. Or listening to an audio version.
3. Make sure you join the A Lady Goes West Friends Facebook group to stay up-to-date with the discussions as we read (or listen).

If you’re not on Facebook, that’s cool too — just get into the book and be ready to chat about it on the blog at the end of June. Can’t wait!

Fitness

Weekly workout recap at 33 weeks postpartum 

Now on to fitness. Here’s a look at my workouts from last week …

• Monday: Taught 1-hour BODYPUMP class, 10 a.m.
• Tuesday: Took 30-minute BODYATTACK, 30-minute CXWORX classes, 9:30 a.m.
• Wednesday: 1-hour walk, 10 a.m., 45-minute SoulCycle class, 6:30 pm.
• Thursday: 1-hour walk, 10 a.m.
• Friday: 30-minute lower-body weights workout, 11 a.m.
• Saturday: 15-minute upper-body workout, 2 p.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

I’ve been trying to establish a regular schedule with my workouts, so that I know what I’m doing each day before the days happen, but things always seem to change. What does stay consistent is that I make it to classes on Monday and Tuesday mornings (or teach them, as I did on Monday), and then do more of my own thing throughout the rest of the week until I teach again on Saturday (although my barre class was cancelled this week).

I feel like I operate better having a general idea of my workout plans for the week and am going to try to keep improving my schedule and variety. I’m even considering writing a new workout program for myself or perhaps purchasing one and following along just to switch things up. Change is good! (Are you following a program that you love right now?)

This past week of workouts was pretty solid, but on the lighter side overall for me, with a full rest day, an active recovery walking day, another super light day with just this upper-body workout at home, then three tougher days. Fine by me.

Suggested reading

Ongoing entertainment

• San Francisco: If you’re a Bay Area person and you have Instagram, you’ve got to follow Overheard in San Francisco. And if you ever lived in the City and know about the Marina neighborhood (I worked at an Equinox there, so spent a lot of time there, although I lived in Nob Hill), then Overhead in the Marina SF should be next on your list. These accounts are laugh-out-loud funny, and everything is so spot on (perhaps because it’s all real stuff). I don’t know how I didn’t hear about these accounts until recently.
• Mom life: Have you ever heard of Coffee and Crumbs? I hadn’t heard of it until a lovely reader suggested it to me a few weeks ago, and now I’ve gone through so much of the site. It’s a FAR cry from the humorous accounts I mentioned above — it’s deep, moving, thoughtful and a major tear-jerker. For instance, how sweet is this story? I totally cried when reading it.

Speaking of mom life, here’s Brady on his 8-month birthday this week …

Best reads from around the web 

• Doable healthy habits: This is a simple and good article about daily habits you should start.
• A foot workout: Your feet are so important, and here’s how to exercise them to be strong.
• Group fitness: My post about how to become a stronger instructor was published in the latest issue of Fitness Trainer Magazine, which is pretty cool. 

Favorite A Lady Goes West archives

• Maybe your question is on this list? Check out … “Readers’ biggest fitness questions answered.”
• Thinking of trying a new barre studio? Check out … “Class review: The Bar Method.”
• Baby talk. Here’s the latest on our little guy … “Brady’s 8-month update.”

Have a good one, my friends! See you back here soon. 🙂 

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Questions of the day

Are you going to join in the book club?

What’s something new you’ve discovered lately?

What’s one good thing that happened in your week?