First of March favorite things

And then it was March. Like what? I hope your day, week and even your year is going well, my friends! We had a lot of rain over here this week, which kept us indoors a bit. But we got some workouts, walks, blogging and a whole lot of laundry complete (because there’s always a lot of laundry). Oh, and Dave went away for a night for work, so I had my first solo night with Brady — well actually, it was like 36 hours, and it went totally fine, outside of a few wake-ups, of course.

Other big news? Because February was a short month, we didn’t get to celebrate the exact five-month mark for Brady on the 30th, so today it is! Happy five months to this little sweetie, who has already developed a big personality for a tiny guy! He gets very nervous for the camera though, so we’ll need to work on that … 🙂 

Okay, now it’s time for another edition of favorites — featuring a few things that have no rhyme or reason, but I like them …

Baby at the barre class at Open Barre

This is probably my favorite favorite of the week for sure! So you guys know that I have to work out at home during the week (and here’s how I get the motivation to do it), because Brady isn’t old enough for child-care at my gym yet, and you also know that I make the best of it — but it’s not my preference, being a group fitness lover at heart. I only make it to one class a week these days — and that’s the class I teach on Saturdays. So, you can imagine my excitement when a friend sent me a picture of moms and babies at a local barre studio on Instagram last week. I immediately jumped on it and signed up to go.

It was awesome! The class took place at Open Barre Fitness, a local barre studio in Walnut Creek, which is known for being welcoming, friendly and basically nothing like The Bar Method (which I reviewed here and was the last barre studio I attended). The class was at a non-busy time (2 p.m.), so we showed up with our babies and set up in a spot with plenty of room to have all our stuff nearby, like the diaper bag, etc.. Some babies stayed in their infant seats and some babies laid on a blanket, but all babies were right near their moms, so they could watch us do the one-hour workout. I left Brady in his infant seat, and he was a little angel, whose eyes followed my every move, which he sucked on his Wubbie. It was so cute!

(My outfit is new and from Fabletics.)

Perhaps the best part was that the barre workout was a good one — not too hard, not too easy — just right, with a good burn. We had a warm-up, did some resistance work for the upper-body using bands attached to the barre, then we did glute work with a ball between our legs, core work and finished with a plank and some stretching. We didn’t move from our spot at the barre, in order to stay close to our babies, and that didn’t matter at all. I felt great at the end, mostly because I did a workout NOT in my living room. Word.

Honestly, there should be WAY more options for moms to bring their babies to work out together. I’ve attended a local baby boot camp, which was pretty good, and I also taught a couple of baby boot camps too — but I was eager to get into the gym or a studio for a more official workout and not just something outdoors with the stroller, which is also quite weather dependent. I’ve often wondered if anyone would notice if I snuck Brady into my regular gym and set him up next to a weight-rack heheheh. Anyways — overall — yay for baby at the barre at Open Barre in Walnut Creek! I’ll definitely be back next week. Local friends, your first class is free at Open Barre, so give them a call and let them know I sent you. They have a full line-up of classes outside of just the baby barre too.

Adorable Living Royal socks

A girl can never have too many socks, am I right? I’m constantly at the end of my sock supply when laundry day comes, especially with my athletic ones. Well, right around the holidays last year, I received a very fun package full of colorful socks from the Living Royal brand, which has livened up my sock drawer.

You haven’t seen much of these on the blog, but believe me — they’ve been enjoyed! I realized I had never shared these, other than an Instagram post of my Christmas socks, so it was about time. I think fun patterned socks like these make the greatest gifts, so if my friends or family are reading this, perhaps you’ll be gifted a pair one day. 

Cupcakes and nautical sea creatures, two of my favorite design themes! Would you agree?

Anywho, you have to check out the Living Royal site to see all the very many designs you can choose from — they run the gamut and aren’t all so pink, I promise. Even though boot season is ending in some places, these socks deserve to be out on display. And you know it’s totally coming back for people to wear visible socks with shorts. Just sayin’. You can get 20 percent off your order with the code ALADYGOESWEST20 too, and I’ll get a little kick-back, so thanks for that. 

Custom protein bar love

Remember when I shared the custom protein bars I made in last week’s post? The founder was so kind to offer free shipping to anyone who wants to order using the code GOESWEST if you’re interested.

Super colorful and full lunch plate

Here’s a look at what I had for lunch most days this week, and it was so darn delicious and filling! I think I need a bigger plate …

I tend to repeat a lunch for a full week, then switch up some of the elements the next week. We’ve got two Vital Farms eggs, a Hilary’s Eat Well hemp veggie burger, four sourdough crisps covered in tahini, sautéed cauliflower rice and a whole avocado, covered in turmeric and everything-but-the-bagel seasoning from Trader Joe’s. Yum central! I actually had this for dinner once this week too, because I had all the ingredients on hand. Don’t be scared to fill your plate, friends!

Best reads from around the web …

• Cooking hack: Easy is best! So, I happen to love frozen vegetables, and frozen cauliflower rice is my go-to for lunches and dinners (see above picture). Cauliflower rice is delicious when sautéed — but otherwise, I like my veggies roasted. I’ve actually tried roasting veggies from frozen and was surprised at how well it worked. It’s so darn easy, and here’s how you do it.
• Movement: In case you need just another article telling you not to sit around all day, this one from the Les Mills blog is all about how to maximize your calorie burn when you’re not working out. 
• Oils: Did you know that you probably shouldn’t be using vegetable, corn or soybean oil? Nope! But you should be using high-quality avocado, coconut or olive oil. Here’s a great article explaining why and how to use and choose olive oil. Not all EVOO is created equal.
• Workout move: Okay, this one looks terribly hard. Try this lateral skater hop burpee combo, and let us know how you do!
• Family: Well this nearly made me cry! Dave sent it to me, and I think we need to copy the idea.
• Girl power: Did you sign up for the totally free “Get Your Sexy Back, Mama!” Summit I’m part of? The video interviews are delivered via email once a day, and it’s not too late to join the fun and get inspired! I’ve been watching every day!
• Fitness and fertility: Thank you SO much for your kind words and messages about my post earlier this week on recovering from hypothalamic amenorrhea. It’s important to me to spread the word about this issue, especially in the wellness world!

As always, thank you for reading, my friends! Go off and be your beautiful selves and have a great day and weekend! 🙂 

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Questions of the day

What are you up to this weekend?

What was your best workout this week?