Friday Faves

Helloooooo. Happy Friday! The weekend is here! Iโ€™d love to hear what you have going on. Iโ€™m still emerging from the post-vacation blahs, so Iโ€™m thankful that we only had a couple of weekdays until the weekend arrived. Yesterday, I went to Target and picked up all of our baking supplies and Iโ€™m looking forward to a family baking party, cocoa, and Elf  later tonight.P and I are heading to the zoo with some friends, tomorrow weโ€™re seeing the Southwest Nutcracker and Iโ€™m catching a Peloton live DJ class. What are you up to this fine weekend?

Itโ€™s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some of my favorite finds, wears, reads, and eats from the week. I always love to hear what youโ€™re enjoying, too, so please shout out somethinโ€™ youโ€™re loving in the comments below.

Liberty station

(Take me baaaaaack) 

Fashion + beauty:

Iโ€™m not sure if we can count pajamas as โ€œfashionโ€ but I ordered these cozy flannels and am stoked for them to arrive. I wanted some cute pajamas for xmas day since I bought the girlsโ€™ already, and found these online. I like that theyโ€™re not too Christmas-y so I can keep wearing them throughout the winter. (It was a little weird in previous years when I would get cold and sleep in essentially an elf costume.)

Xmas jammies 758x1024

(I promise my hair was in a weird spot and I donโ€™t really have sideburns. Also, itโ€™s so crazy to see that house! We rented all of the furniture and appliances since we were only in town for a few months. The things we do.)

Fitness:

A new workout! A friend asked me to join her at Telos Strength, and since Iโ€™m always pumped to try new classes and formats, I definitely wanted to give it a try. It was CrossFit-ish, but not totally CrossFit. (They do have CrossFit classes, circuit training, bootcamps, kettlebells and rowing. I attended the Mom Strong class which is geared towards moms.)

Telos

We started off with some mobility work and then alternated 5 bench presses (adding weight each time) with a 30-second chin-up hold. I havenโ€™t done max strength bench presses in a thousand years and whoa. My arms are feeling it today! After a few rounds of those, we moved into some 3-minute AMRAPs.

Round 1 was 10 ground-to-presses with a plate alternated with 5 V-ups 

Round 2 was 10 kettlebell deadlifts with 5 burpees

and Round 3 was 10 renegade rows with 5 sit-ups (I modified and did some DR-friendly core exercises instead of full sit-ups)

I loved the balance of the workout and the emphasis on safe form. Most of all, I LOVED all of the people. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly, which I think truly makes a difference in motivation. I joked with my friend that I was a member at the OTF in San Diego for 2 1/2 years and when I left, I knew no one from the studio. No one talked to you; you just went and did your thing. 

During this class, I was a little apprehensive because it was upper body-focused and my upper body is pretty weak from previous surgeries. I can do cardio and leg work ALL DAY, but upper body is my weak point. When I struggled through the heavy chest presses, the girls spotted me and cheered me on โ€”  it really helped me push through the last couple of reps for each set.

Iโ€™ll definitely be back and am excited for this to be an extra way to challenge myself with strength training. 

Holiday barre blast

This slider workout looks intense

Workout advent calendar

2017 82 ZF 9146 27171 1 081

 Read, watch, listen:

– SO much exciting Beautycounter press this week! Weโ€™re the #1 Googled beauty brand of 2018.  The company is doing some truly incredible things, and if youโ€™ve been looking for a side hustle or have been considering joining our mission, please reach out and let me know. I canโ€™t wait to see whatโ€™s in store for 2019.

Latest post for WebMD is here!

Eats and recipes:

If youโ€™re looking for a different twist on holiday cookies, try these truffles! The texture is amazing (crunchy and sweet on the inside with a chocolate outer shell) and they make a fun addition to cooke trays and gift tins.

Chocolate almond butter crunch truffles 7

Holiday sangria

Egg-less nog

Naughty cocoa

Canโ€™t wait to try Julieโ€™s holiday puppy chow recipe

Have a happy Friday, friends.

xo

Gina

Got 2 mins? Would you mind helping me out with a quick survey? I truly appreciate your feedback if youโ€™d kindly share your thoughts with me. Iโ€™m always working on making the blog better for you, and take all of your feedback and comments to heart. <3

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6 Comments

  1. Heather Brown on December 14, 2018 at 8:45 am

    I love theElf PJs, ha. I’ve been doing PJs on Christmas eve for all of us, so I have quite a few pairs. This year I went with Christmas themed leggings instead. I don’t sleep in pants PJs so it was sort of a waste to keep buying them. I’m the total opposite- I can work legs and do my fair share of cardio, but give me upper body allll day! Is the Pilot deployed? I hope you guys are hanging in there without him around!

  2. Reenie on December 14, 2018 at 11:46 am

    That wall of succulents you are standing in front of….. beautiful.

  3. Nicole Kump on December 14, 2018 at 5:55 pm

    Love the pic of you and the hubby! Speaking of hubbies, mine is coming back tomorrow for a few weeks! I’m so excited! It’s been almost months!

  4. Melissa Caulfield on December 16, 2018 at 12:13 pm

    Just made the truffles! Absolutely Delicious!

  5. Melissa Caulfield on December 16, 2018 at 12:57 pm

    How would I calculate macros on those truffles?

  6. Jocelyn on December 16, 2018 at 8:58 pm

    Those truffles look delish!!!

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