Friday Favorites: Tasty stuff + gift sales

Hi friends! How was your Thanksgiving? I hope you feasted, relaxed and spent time with some good people. I’m down in San Diego with Dave and his family. To celebrate the holiday yesterday, we ran a Turkey Trot 5K in the morning, had a lovely meal outdoors, went for a walk and hung around playing some games. Let me tell you, I like the warm weather down here in Southern California, because it sure beats the fog of San Francisco.

So in case you haven’t heard the commercials or seen the signs, it’s Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year. True story: I’ve never done Black Friday, nor Cyber Monday, shopping, and I don’t plan to start anytime soon. However, I know you can get some good deals this time of year, and so I have a couple for you below. But other than that, I’ve got just a few fun random things I’ve been enjoying lately — and yes, I’ll admit this isn’t the most riveting “Friday Favorites,” but hey, it’s a holiday week, and I’m sure appreciative that you’ve even stopped by to read. Let’s get to it.

My favorite new packaged good: Spiced Pumpkin Pie Clif Bar

It’s still all about pumpkin for me right now. I received this bar in my goody bag for running the Coronado Turkey Trot yesterday, and of course, I was super excited to try out this new-to-me flavor. (Full disclosure: I actually received an Iced Gingerbread-flavored bar and traded with Dave’s Dad to get this pumpkin one, so we can thank him for this favorite.)

Get them while they last, this Spiced Pumpkin Pie Clif Bar is only available for the season.

It was just as wonderful as I had hoped. I love Clif Bars, I love pumpkin,  and when you put the two together you get a killer combination. I had this bar after we got home from our Turkey Trot, and those 240 calories and 8 grams of organic protein held me over until our early afternoon feast. Good work, Clif Bar.

My favorite new wine: Wente Chardonnay

I do love a good glass of wine. And I like to try new brands whenever I can. Dave brought home this lovely bottle from Wente Vineyards, and it is absolutely delicious. I don’t know about you, but I like my Chardonnay on the buttery-side, and this one delivers. So smooth!

That’s a fine-looking bottle of Wente Vinyeards Riva Ranch Chardonnay from 2013.

I had a glass of this on Sunday night with some sushi and left the rest in the fridge, so it’s waiting for me to get back to finish it off after the holiday. If you’re a Chardonnay drinker, check it out. And of course, it’s a California variety, which makes me like it even more.

My favorite new coconut water: Cadia

Wow, it’s really all about food and drink today. I had this hydrating beverage yesterday, and it’s so yummy. Although I always buy the regular Zico or Vita Coco brands you buy from the grocery store to get me through teaching BODYATTACK classes each week, I do love sipping on a fancy canned coconut water sometimes, and this one is good.

Oh hey, that’s just me holding the can before I opened it up and chugged it.

Yup, quite tasty. So check it out, if you’re in the market for coconut water and come across Cadia. Fills you up, has a good taste and a hearty serving of potassium. 

There you go, some tasty stuff I’ve been loving lately!

Now, for a little diversion …

My favorite gift ideas: Black Friday SALES!

Because it’s Black Friday, and it’s shopping time, I thought I’d share a couple of things that I think would be excellent gifts for someone who is hard to shop for. And if you order soon, you can take advantage of great deals happening right now. You can believe that I truly like these services, because I’ve tried them and written about them both before — official stamp of approval here.

Gift subscription to LE TOTE clothing delivery service and get your FIRST MONTH FREE for Black Friday. <<affiliate link!>> Have you heard of LE TOTE? It’s an awesome service in which you get five pieces of clothing and accessories delivered right to you door. Once you wear the clothing, you send it back for more stylish duds or you purchase the items at a discounted price. I’ve been rocking some LE TOTE fashions around town lately, which you can see in deliveries showcasing LE TOTE 1, LE TOTE 2 and LE TOTE 3.

If you don’t order right away for the first month free, then you can use this special promo code for 20 percent off your first order at another time: ALADYGOESWEST20.

Gift subscription to the POPSUGAR Must Have Box and take advantage of the current new sign-up discounts. <<affiliate link!>> We all know how much I love POPSUGAR. The great people at POPSUGAR have kindly invited me to be a part of the POPSUGAR Fitness Select group, have published my work and even invited me to a fun event. Clearly, I’m a big supporter. The POPSUGAR Must Have box, which I’ve reviewed here, would be a very cool gift for someone special in your life, because you never know what you’ll get each month, and it’s always a hand-selected collection of unique items, from cosmetics, to electronics, to clothing, and everything in-between.

Here’s the deal through Monday: You can get a big discount on a subscription, so check out the POPSUGAR Must Have box today, and use the promo codes of $15 off a 1-month subscription with GIFT15; $25 off a 3-month subscription with GIFT25 and $75 off a 6-month subscription with GIFT75. Order today! 

And one more deal to note …

Les Mills Good Protein Black Friday $20 off. Until Monday, you can get $20 off a bag of either flavor of Les Mills Good Protein, which is normally $69. I reviewed the product here and continue to be in love with it for all my post-workout protein needs.

Only a few natural ingredients and tons of creamy flavor.

This is a big savings, so act quickly on this one and maybe consider it as a gift for an instructor friend or family member who has caught the Les Mills bug? I know I’d be impressed if this was under the tree for me. But luckily, I still have some left that I’m working through.

Now those are some steals!

My favorite links of the week

Before you go, I hope you didn’t miss out on some of my favorite things from the web this week that took place around here:

• One of the biggest reasons people find my blog is because of what I write about Les Mills group fitness. Here are the Most popular questions I get asked about Les Mills.
• A little bit of self love and a fun game for Treat Yourself Tuesday, which is something you can do on your own blog or with your friends on a slow night. Here’s What I’m an expert at …
• Everybody loves to look at pictures of real meals. Here are all of mine from a day earlier this week reported fully in What I ate and some commentary about it all.
• Tis’ the season to be thankful. Here’s a little greeting to say Happy Thanksgiving Day note to all of you.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend. I’ll be back with you on Monday after having a little bit more traveling fun. If you want keep tabs on my adventures exploring California over the next few days, you can just check out my Instagram. Bye for now, friends. Be good!

More Friday Favorites 

Having fun with “Friday Favorites”? If so, see below for previous editions or visit the the link-up hostesses, Heather, Clare and Katie. 

1. A snack, a purse and a ritual
2. A delivery, a bra and a guy
3. A sweet, a wine and a read
4. A drink, a gadget and a plan 
5. A time, a bottle and a powder
6. San Francisco edition
7. Beauty edition
8. Beach vacation edition
9. Hidden meanings
10. Kicks, a book and a bowl
11. The very best sweatshirts
12. Party hosting and froyo
13. Fourth of July daytime activity
14. Beauty basics edition
15. Workplace edition
16. Shopping, sales and a show
17. The foods I always buy
18. Sushi, a game and pants
19. Fitness apps
20. Delicious and healthy products
21. Comfort, fitness and function
22. Beauty, buddha and blog events
23. Dining, the city and gift ideas
24. POPSUGAR, sweets and such
25. A bunch of fun stuff
26. e-book, food, picnic and tunes
27. A link, a superfood and a mask
28. Pants, shoes, food and links
29. Dining, protein and goodies
30. Shopping, events and a book
31. A gym bag, pumpkin and juices 
32. Workout gear, a top and a massage
33. prAna, a watch, tea and more

Questions of the day

How was your Thanksgiving? Are you doing any Black Friday shopping? Do you have any new favorites to share from this week?