ashleyd /

Friday Favorites – June 8th, 2017

Happy Friday! After coming back from vacation, this week was a tough one. It took longer than normal to catch up on work emails, laundry and errands but after five days of routine I feel like I’m ending the week on a strong note!  My consistency goals are also helping me feel better.  I had one glass of wine between Sunday and this morning, tracked my food, enjoyed six workouts, and increased my average number of steps. We are kicking off the weekend with a date night in Manhattan before enjoying a relaxed weekend in the neighborhood.

Now, let’s dive into this week’s edition of Friday Favorites, including recipes, articles, posts and other things that caught my eye this week.

  • You guys were right! After discovering Younger on Hulu a few weeks ago, we just made it to season four of Younger.  This witty series follows the story of Liza, a 40-year-old mom who finds herself working in her dream job while posing as a 26-year-old. Our favorite characters include her roommate Maggie and her hilarious friend Lauren.
  • This time last year I was enjoying ice cream from one of our many neighborhood ice cream shops each night during my final trimester of pregnancy. This year, it isn’t quite as easy to leave the house at 8pm for an ice cream walk so instead, I’m enjoying Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt bars. While they are no subsitute for real ice cream, they are convenient and delicious. My favorite flavors are chocolate chip cookie dough and cookies and cream. While they aren’t cheap, they do go on sale frequently at Whole Foods and are available at Costco.
  • The cooler weather in New York has allowed me to continue my love of quarter zip tops. Most mornings when I take Katie to our nanny share, I’m wearing either this colorful, fun Lilly Pulitzer Skipper Popover or my Vineyard Vines Shep Shirt.
  • I can’t imagine taking conference calls or going on walks without my Apple AirPods. In just a few short months I’ve fallen in love with the convenience, sound and quality of these odd looking headphones.  Don’t get me wrong, I still think they look funny when I see other people wearing them but I love how easily I can charge them when not using them, pop them in my purse or running shorts and the microphone for conference calls works perfectly.
  • Making smoothies for breakfast this week reminded me how much I love my Aloha protein powder. I’ve tried numerous powders over the years and this one has the best flavor, consistency and least after taste. My favorite flavor is the vanilla bean but the banana is pretty tasty too! If you’re a member of Thrive Market, you can get it for $3-$4 cheaper, depending the week.
  • My mom and I whipped up this quick & healthy shrimp recipe when I was home last week and everyone, including my dad, loved it! We paired it with brown rice and Asian roasted green beans for an easy, healthy and filling dinner.
  • We have three packs of strawberries in the refrigerator, which have been tempting me to bake something delicious. I have my eye on this Smitten Kitchen recipe for Strawberry Summer Cake which, when paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, seems to scream summer!
  • I spent some time updating a few older posts, including this post on running shorts. It includes 7 great short and skirts for summer running, even if you have muscular legs. After years of dreading running in shorts due to chafing or feeling uncomfortable, these options come highly recommended from me and other running friends!
  • I just started Educated after more than 40 of my Instagram followers recommended it earlier this week when I asked for a book recommendation. A powerful memoir, this New York Times bestseller shares the story of a girl who doesn’t step foot into a classroom until the age of 17 and then goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University.

Your turn – What are you loving this week?

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ashleyd /

The Best Running Shorts

Summer is here and suddenly that means that even the earliest of runs leave me red in the face and drenched in sweat. It also means grabbing shorts when I open my drawer instead of my favorite capris and leggings that have kept me warm all Winter and Spring. The first run in shorts can either be wonderful or horrible.

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Wonderful – Running in shorts feels so free compared to the constriction and coverage that leggings and crops provide. It almost feels as if I’m flying, even if I’m running a relaxed pace. 

Horrible – If you’re blessed with strong, muscular thighs then you quickly realize that you forgot to apply Glide in between your thighs and you come home chafed and bloody. That post-run shower is not refreshing but instead feels like daggers as it pierces your thighs and the chafed, exposed skin. 

RUN_2

Since you guys had so many comments on my Instagram post, I thought I would share my three favorite loose fit running shorts as well as the links to your recommendations!

Your turn: How about you? What is your favorite short?

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored however there are a few affiliate links via ShopStyle. 

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Consistently Striving to Feel My Best Again

Consistency.

This is a word that I’ve thought about a lot recently, spurred by my friend Kristine, who wrote a post about her wedding bod goals as well as a discussion with my therapist. Since giving birth to Katie and returning to work, balancing everything has been harder than I expected. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t go into November expecting things to be easy. But, I felt like my type A personality and persistence would help me achieve everything I wanted. There were certain things that I had to prioritize – family and career.  Once I did everything possibly daily to be the best mom, wife, daughter, and colleague possible, it left very little time for me to focus on anything physical or aesthetic.

But, seven months after returning back to work, I’m starting to feel like I have space in my life to focus on feeling comfortable in my skin again. When I became pregnant with Katie in September of 2016 I was at my healthiest – emotionally and physically.  While a lot has changed since then, luckily, I am still very healthy mentally thanks to a team of friends, family, and professionals who have helped me manage this life change. But, from a physical aspect, I am not feeling like my best self. I’ve found myself hiding in the back row during pictures, untagging myself in Facebook pictures, feeling weak during workouts and lethargic. There are wonderful events coming up over the next few months including Katie’s first birthday party, a week-long beach trip, two weddings and a goal half marathon for which I want to be feeling my best. But, more important than a half marathon time or the way I look in a bridesmaid dress, I am doing this for me and for Katie.

I want to be a strong, energetic and confident role model for Katie.

These changes won’t come overnight. Instead, I know that consistency is key to feeling strong and healthy not just for an hour, a day or a week but for the future. When I lost 50 pounds during my senior year of college, 12 years ago, it was due to small, consistent changes versus things like cleanses, restrictions, etc.  I know that at the age of 34 losing weight and getting in shape will be a bit different than it’s been in the past but I’m excited. I’ve embraced the new curves that motherhood has provided but now want to focus on living a healthier, more moderate life to help me feel my best.

In order to hold myself accountable and share my journey with you all, here are the things I’m focusing on for June:

  • Consistently moderating my wine consumption – Over the past few years, I’ve typically enjoyed wine a few nights a week. But, over the past few months, I have started having two glasses on a nightly basis. While I have no desire to cut out wine altogether, I am reducing my enjoyment to four or five nights per week.
  • Consistently increasing my steps – I did some research in my iPhone’s HEALTH app and realized that my average steps per day have changed greatly over the past few years ( 2015 – 11,821 – 2016 – 8,630 – 2017 – 5,768 -2018 – 6,191). I was surprised to discover this but since I don’t commute most days and my stroller time with Katie is now limited during the week, I am going to have to make movement a priority. My goal for June is to increase my average steps to 8,000 for the month. I can do this by taking Katie for more frequent walks, running more, walking for exercise and using my two feet for errands instead of subway, taxi or Citibike.
  • Consistently track my food – Bo and I have done a great job planning in advance to ensure we are able to enjoy homemade dinners an average of five nights a week. We do a lot of meal prep on Sunday so that cooking during the week is easier. But, I haven’t been as mindful of my breakfast, lunches, and snacks. Since I work from home, I have my pantry and refrigerator just steps away. This can be a blessing but also a curse, especially if I give into the snack monster.  Starting yesterday, I’m keeping track of my breakfast, lunch, and snacks Monday through Friday.
  • Consistently following a training or workout plan – It has been a long time since I’ve had a workout plan and this lack of structure has resulted in me doing a little bit of everything but not sticking with anything consistently. While I’ve been working out, I’ve found myself at one end of the spectrum or the other.  I will have a few great workouts in a row and then find myself either skipping workouts or dialing it in.  Consistency will not only help me feel better but it will also help ensure that I don’t injure myself by going too hard without a strong base. Now that Theodora is coaching me for my fall half marathon, she is putting a plan together that will enable me to feel my strongest going into the half marathon while also making sure I don’t burn out. You can expect a mix of strength training through Body Pump and pilates in addition to the prescribed running workouts.

Since I just took measurements for my bridesmaid dress, I actually have measurements that I can track my progress against in addition to the scale and physical achievements like seeing improvements in the weight I use during Body Pump, form during Pilates classes and my paces. But, more than anything, I look forward to feeling better in my skin by making a few, consistent changes.

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