Friends, food, faves and weekly workouts

I love to travel, I love to go new places, and I love to be out and about, but I must say that I didn’t mind being back into our routine this past week at home. We’ve done a lot of traveling so far this year (five plane trips already) and have another one coming up next weekend, so it was good to be home this week. I hit the gym each day, taught my classes, subbed an extra evening class, made all of my meals in my own kitchen, hung some pictures in my office and got a lot of work done. And I love that. How’s your week been going? Hopefully great!

Because it’s the end of the week, I’ve put together some random and unrelated faves for you, as usual. Let’s do it …

Fun 

Barre and brunch with friends

This was a super social week for me, and it started out on Sunday with a ladies’ workout and brunch date. After our fun Cinco de Mayo workout and brunch get-together, I planned a follow-up healthy activity for my lady friends this past week, and we tried out Barre3, and then went to lunch at a restaurant in Danville.

This was everybody’s first time taking a class at Barre3, and many of the ladies’ first time taking any type of barre class. A few of them said they were sore for days. Love it!

So I feel like I can’t write an official review on Barre3 based off of one session (in case you haven’t heard of it, Barre3 is a franchise with 129 studios in the U.S., Canada and Philippines, as well as online workouts and an app), but I will say that I was mostly a fan. I thought it was a welcoming environment and not stuffy, like some other barre studios can be. I also liked that the warm-up was long, we did some functional moves like squats and push-ups, mixed in with a lot of barre-style isometric holds and little pulses, and we also picked up some small weights. Perhaps my favorite aspect of Barre3 is that there is definitely a yoga and mind/body element, with some yoga poses and breathing involved in the beginning and end, which I really enjoyed. I was certainly sweating at the end of the one-hour session and would love to go back to try more classes.

Following class, we walked a block away to Harvest for a long outdoor lunch. Our food was pretty good, but service was slow, nonetheless, we still enjoyed the girl time. I’m already thinking of where we can go next!

And here’s my salad from our brunch/lunch, which was tasty, but could’ve used more avocado and more shrimp too. Un-pictured is the bread and butter we shared to start, because you should always refuel after a workout with carbs. 🙂 

Visits from friends

I’m very fortunate that I don’t have to go into an office every weekday any longer, and if you’re doing that right now, I feel for you! It’s not easy, but also has many perks.

My schedule is much more loose, and because of that, I get to see friends during the week. On Monday, one of my first girlfriends I made when we moved to San Francisco, came over to have lunch with Brady and me. I picked us up some take-out salads, and we chatted and caught up. On Wednesday, I went on a walk with my usual group, and I also had a visit from another wonderful girlfriend, who happened to bring me flowers too for no reason. Yay!

Being a mom, and one who works from home at that, can be lonely, so it’s really good for me to make these dates as much as I can.

It’s very important to have a network, even a very small one, of people who you can chat with, rely on and learn from. Community is important, and if you don’t quite have one, I encourage you to get out there and look. Facebook groups? Gyms? Recreational sports? Mom groups? Who knows! Even if you have a super busy schedule, there’s always time for an early morning coffee date or a weekend walk every few weeks or so.

Food

Beauty water from Vital Proteins

I almost always consume my daily collagen in my morning tea or afternoon matcha, or usually both, but I recently tried a new-to-me product from Vital Proteins — the strawberry and lemon beauty water, which doesn’t need to be in a hot beverage. It’s a powder containing collagen, hyaluronic acid and probiotics, and all you do is mix it with cold water and enjoy. Seems much more fitting for summer and a good option if you’re not into hot beverages. 

The flavor is very mild and not too sweet, so it’s pretty easy to sip on in your regular water glass. I have been enjoying it, but my favorite Vital Proteins product is still this creamer for sure.

Thanks to VP for keeping me stocked, as I’m an ambassador for the brand.

Early dinners

You may have seen my social post this week about two goals. The first one is hydrating (I know, after the A Lady Goes West hydration challenge, I was going strong, then let things slip a little — not the time to do that in this summer heat), and the second is eating dinner by a certain time.

Two different types of veggie burgers (Dr. Praeger’s mushroom and Hilary’s Eat Well black bean), two Vital Farms eggs, some raw Trader Joe’s sauerkraut, half of an avocado, some Cece’s riced broccoli, all covered in turmeric, sea salt and green salsa.

Dave and I are trying to eat dinner earlier, and by earlier, I mean sitting down to eat at 8 p.m., which seems to be quite the struggle, but we’ve managed to do it every day so far this week. (We had been eating at 9 p.m., which is crazy I know, but somehow turned into our norm.) It helps that it’s still light out, so I actually took some pictures of a couple of dinners too. Woohoo!

Two different types of veggie burgers (Dr. Praeger’s kale and Hilary’s Eat Well original), two Vital Farms eggs on a bed of organic arugula, some raw Trader Joe’s kimchi, half of an avocado, and some veggie-filled quinoa from the frozen section at TJ’s as well, covered in sea salt, turmeric and green salsa. And some super cool pajama pants left over from pregnancy.

We got a new outdoor table and have been sitting there after we put Brady to bed. A major favorite!

Fitness

Weekly workout recap 

Now on to the fitness.

Here’s a look at my workouts from last week …

• Monday: Rest day
• Tuesday: 2-mile run, 11 a.m.
• Wednesday: 45-minute SoulCycle class, 10:45 a.m.
• Thursday: Taught 1-hour Bootybarre class, 12 p.m.
• Friday: 30-minute full-body weights workout, 11 a.m.
• Saturday: Taught 1-hour Bootybarre class, 11 a.m.
• Sunday: 1-hour Barre3 class, 9:45 a.m.

This past week started out with a rest day and a light day with an easy run with Dave down in San Diego. From there, I took two classes, taught two barre classes and did only one full-body weights workout.

I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m feeling uninspired in my solo workouts right now and not enjoying them, so I know I need to come up with a plan or find a program to follow soon to get me reenergized. Anywho, I did have some diverse movement this week, so it’s all good, although once again, the heavier weight training is lacking overall, so I need to get back to that soon.

Suggested reading

Best links from around the web

• Positive people. This is my favorite article of the week for sure, because I’m on a kick lately about positivity, being around good people and putting out good energy. It could even make you live longer. I love this one.
• Running form. Running is a weight-bearing exercise, so even though it’s not the only thing you want to do for exercise each day, it is beneficial for your joints, overall health and cardiovascular fitness. However, runners develop injuries quite often due to the repetitive nature of running, so you need to make sure you aren’t favoring one side. Here’s a good article on how to figure out if you’re unbalanced in your runs.
• 5-day challenge. My friend, Jessica Joy, who hosted the awesome women’s interview series I was part of a few months ago, is now offering a free 5-day meditation and healthy eating challenge starting on Monday. You can find out more, and sign up here. I looked through the free recipe ebook she’s giving away, and the food sounds delish.

A Lady Goes West Favorite archives

• Want to kick things up a notch? Check out … “Six ways to burn more calories during your next workout.”
• Heard the term superfood? Here’s more info on this popular wellness word … “Superfoods 101: Why to add superfoods to your life.”
• Baby stuff! I’ve had some questions about baby gear, and it’s all in here … “My favorite things you actually need when you have a new baby.”

P.S. The Nordstrom Anniversary sale starts next week, which is a great time to stock up on super cute stuff.

This weekend, I’m teaching barre, getting my hair done and we’re hosting a dinner party to break in the new table. See you soon, my peeps!

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Questions of the day

What are you up to this weekend? 

Have you gone on any trips this year? If so, where to?

Do you have a good community of friends?