ashleyd /

Friday Favorites–September 8th, 2017

Happy Friday friends! I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been a bundle of nerves during this short week. When Bo and I left Savannah on Tuesday the sun was shining, temps were cool and we’d just had the most incredible visit home. Now my family is on the road, evacuating from Hurricane Irma and hoping for the best. For perspective, last October when Hurricane Matthew hit Savannah it was a Category 1 storm but the tornadoes that accompanied it did thousands of dollars worth of damage to my brother’s property and Savannah. This storm is predicted to be far worse for the Southeast so I’ll just be over here updating the Weather Channel non-stop the next few days.  My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who is dealing with the horrible weather right now whether that’s extreme heat, forrest fires, or hurricanes.

At least I was able to distract myself for a few minutes while putting together this week’s Friday Favorites. So, let’s dive into this week’s edition of Friday Favorites, including recipes, articles, posts and other things that caught my eye this week.

  • I’m in love with this throwback that J.Crew just introduced and ordered it in two colors – navy and pink. The relaxed fit, longer length and classic look I know I’ll wear this frequently throughout the Fall! I may even pair it with jean shorts this weekend!
  • My friends at Vega sent me a box with their newest goodies including the delicious, ready to drink nutrition shake. I enjoyed the vanilla flavor yesterday during a pumping session and was amazed how delicious it was considering the great nutritional stats! There was no chalky taste or weird aftertasted. Bo took the chocolate flavor to work today as an afternoon snack!  They are having a Back to Campus sale so everything on their site is 25% off which means you can get 12 of these shakes for for just $1.87 each which is cheaper than an afternoon latte!
  • If you follow me on Instagram then you’ve seen me rave about Beauty Counter’s Five Minute Face. It’s been 2.5 weeks since the package arrived with the six products to take me from freshly washed face to finished face. I’ve fallen in love with the easy routine that takes the guess work out of applying makeup! In fact, these six products have made my routine so easy that I found myself cleaning out my makeup  bag and getting rid of other products that I don’t need anymore! For less than $150 you can clean up your beauty routine and refresh your makeup with updated hues and tones for Fall. As an FYI, I ordered the Tint Skin in Sand, Concealer in Light, Brow Pencil in Medium, Lengthening Mascara, Tulip/Bloom blush and the bare shimmer lip gloss. 
  • I never realized how helpful and crazy Facebook mom groups could be at the same time. I spend at least 15 minutes a day in my neighborhood group and I think that all moms could benefit from reading this Facebook mom group etiquette guide following the falling out in the UES Moms group last month.
  • Looking for home workout inspiration? Julie’s 15 30-minute or less home workouts is a great post to pin and keep for future reference!
  • Since I frequently find myself grabbing for a snack while Katie and I are out and about, I love keeping a few healthy snacks in my diaper bag. Recently I’ve enjoyd the single-serve trail mix packs Sunkist Snacks sent. Available in a wide range of flavors, they pack in a lot of flavor with the fruit and nut combinations such as ginger peach, guava chili mango, and mango dark chocolate.
  • When we were in Vermont I picked up this Vineyard Vines quarter zip at the outlet and found myself wearing it everyday. The thumb holes make it great for colder days while the front pocket allowed me to easily stash my phone, cash and car keys during errands or walks.   
  • As the cooler temperatures arrive in New York, I find myself looking up Fall recipes including chillis, breads and soups. This healthy turkey piccata recipe seems like a perfect transitional dinner for this in between weather.
  • Did you see the new campaign Strava released last week? I love the way it goes against the traditional ideas of an athlete – egos, curation and judgement – and instead highlights the everyday athlete! There are some familiar faces in the #AthletesUnfiltered campaign!
  • Speaking of Fall, this vest is always a fall favorite and it’s on sale right now!
  • Another Fall favorite, I lived in these pants last year and plan to wear them on repeat on Fall and Winter paired with tall boots or flats.

Your turn: What is your favorite Fall wardrobe item?

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored and instead is a list of the things of my favorite things this week. As normal, it includes lots of beauty and fashion items which means there are a few affiliate links via ShopStyle. It takes time and money to maintain a blog so I thank you for the support and few cents that come from clicking through the links!

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ashleyd /

Weekly Workout Recap–August 30th–September 6th

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Hello! It’s been a hot second since I blogged as I took made an impromptu decision to disconnect from blogging during the second half of our vacation. I realized that I never took a true leave from blogging after giving birth to Katie as I found so much support, inspiration and energy from blogging right after she was born. As soon as we landed in Savannah I felt the urge to disconnect 100% from email, blogging and most of social media. While I shared a few stories on Instagram and a few posts, I spent most of the time soaking up the Savannah humidity and all the love from our Savannah friends and family.

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In a similar vein, working out was not my number one priority. While many people assumed that Bo and I would take advantage of the time with grandparents to run errands, go on a date together, or workout we both found ourselves wanting to spend the time together with everyone, including Katie. For me, that meant that workouts were not a priority during this trip. While I did squeeze in a few workouts, I spent more time chatting with family, rolling on the floor with Katie, sipping beers on the back porch, and enjoying delicious food. Maybe it’s the unofficial end of Summer or cooler Fall weather, but since returning to Brooklyn yesterday, I’ve been inspired to dive back into blogging as well as a healthier, more mindful workout and food routine. Most of my maternity and post-baby clothing that I’ve worn all Summer is just that, Summer clothing, and therefore if I have any hope of fitting in some of my Fall wardrobe, I need to get back to workouts and cleaner eating. Don’t get me wrong – I have no skewed thinking that these new hips or my larger chest will fit in some items, and that is just fine. But, I know that if I can shed the few pounds that I gained over the past month of travel and fun, a majority of my leggings, jeans, sweaters and flowy blouses will be an option for the cooler, Fall temperatures.

Since I’m aware that dieting and extreme exercise can have a negative impact on breast milk supply as well as add unnecessary stress, I’m taking a realistic, healthy, manageable approach. I am taking pictures of my food as a way to stay accountable and nix the mindless snacking and I’m dedicating Katie’s morning nap to the Post Baby Bod Workouts. This morning nap tends to be her longest one of the day so it’s realistic that I can do an at-home strength/cardio workout at least three days a week during this nap. The afternoon nap, around 5pm, tends to be the least reliable one so this is going to become a stroller walk time a few days a week. In regards to out of home workouts, my goal is two per week – one early, morning YMCA workout during the week before Katie wakes up and one weekend workout while Bo can watch Katie.

So, now that we’ve covered those bases, let’s get to last week’s workouts, shall we? Most of these workouts ended up being cardio since I didn’t spend anytime at a gym, fitness studio and were enjoyed with my mom.

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  • August 30th: A quick, 30 minute walk/jog around my aunt and uncle’s driveway in Vermont before our drive home to Brooklyn.
  • August 31st: I headed to the YMCA at 5:30 AM to squeeze in a workout before our flight down to Savannah. I did 30 minutes on the Stairmill and 15 minutes of arms/back before returning home. I added a bit more to the workout by doing a 5:1 walk/jog interval for the mile commute home.
  • September 1st: I headed out for my first solo walk/run through the neighborhood which was 45 minutes of 5:1 walk/jog intervals. It was hot and humid but the sunshine was so refreshing as was some alone time to disconnect and zone out to the music on my playlist.
  • September 3rd: I headed out for a solo 60 minute walk/run through the neighborhood and was able to cover 4.25 miles using a 5:1 walk/jog interval system. The workout felt especially tough due to the heat and humidity in Savannah but the views were gorgeous!
  • September 4th: My mom and I enjoyed chatting together during a 60 minute stroller walk through the neighborhood while taking advantage of the lower, evening temperatures.
  • September 5th: Travel Day home from Savannah, aka rest day.
  • September 6th: Since the weather in NYC isn’t conducive for a long walk today, I did 10 minutes of cardio (mountain climbers, jumping jacks, speed skaters) as well as the Total Body Workout from Gina’s Post Baby Bod ebook.
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