Hi hi! Happy Friday! How are ya? What’s going on this weekend? I feel like it’s our weekend of calm before the celebration avalanche begins. We have the PIlot’s birthday Monday, P’s birthday Wednesday, her party Friday, Trunk or Treat Saturday, a Halloween party on Sunday, and Monday is Halloween. We also have a promotion for the Pilot the following weekend, so I’m excited to just buckle up and enjoy the season because from now on, it’s wild around here, and I’m.ready.for.it. This weekend we’ll probably just hang out, visit a pumpkin patch, and celebrate the Pilot’s bday with the fam. I’d love to hear what you have going on and what your kids or pets are going to be for Halloween!

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section.

Friday Faves

Random/life:

Seeing Six again. Friends, it’s UP THERE with my favorite musicals of all time. I saw it with Madre last week and was blown away, so we took Nani and Liv with us on Sunday night to see it again. (Heads up that some of the content is a bit more adult, so use your discretion. There’s only one song that I’m iffy about for the kids; the adult humor in the other songs just fly over their heads.)

The touring cast was insane… easily the best live vocal performances I’ve seen in a very long time. (Amina Faye was Jane Seymour. Give your ears a treat with her version of “Heart of Stone.”) Definitely check it out if a touring cast is coming near you!

Detox update. I’m officially on Day 5 of the functional medicine detox. It’s been quite a journey, and I’ve loved doing this with a community. (If you decide to do this on your own time, you can use FITNESSISTA20 for 20% off.) Day 1, I felt amazing and super energized. Day 2, I hit a little afternoon slump, and by Day 3, I felt like I was cruising along. The channa masala I made for lunch tasted like a dream. I feel like inflammation in my face is way down, and it’s been a much-needed little reset. I’ll share more details next week, plus all of the recipes I’ve been making! If you have any questions I can answer in my post, please let me know.

These journals for the girls! Julie from Read more

Hi friends! Happy Friday! What’s going on this weekend? P has a soccer game, we’re meeting friends for dinner, and I’m making a baby meal for a friend with newborn twins. I hope you have a lovely weekend ahead! Read on for a lil giveaway at the end of this post, too. 🙂

This week was a good one. They all seem to go by so quickly lately that I need to remind myself to sloooowwww down. I feel like I’m going to blink and it’s going to be Valentine’s Day.

If you’re feeling like everything is happening earlier in the year and way too quickly, take some time to plan out things that purposefully make you slow down. I’m trying to do the same! Little things like Uno in the evening, walks as a family, reading a book (even though I’m surrounded by laundry to fold), and sitting together for meals makes a huge difference.

(Halloween decor is up! We didn’t go too wild but we have Jack and Sally in the window, our usual pumpkin displays, and our little Halloween table)

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below!

Fashion + beauty:

Beautycounter holiday is heeeeere! SO much great stuff! If you’re shopping for holiday gifts, I would order soon because some of our top sets tend to sell out. It’s hard to get into the holiday shopping mindset – I’m still in a tank top over here! – but I’m also trying to get as much shopping done as early as possible.

Here are some of my favorite BC holiday picks:

Mini Beyond Gloss vault. LOVE these for stocking stuffers! I also break sets apart to give to Liv’s friends over the holidays. I feel much better giving the kiddos makeup with safer ingredients and love these for myself, too. They’re not sticky and have the perfect glossy shine.

Best in Clean Heroes. If you’ve been wanting to try Beautycounter, this is such a great intro to our bestsellers. You’re able to try out smaller sizes of our hero products at a bundled discount. This is another great one to break apart for stocking stuffers.

Multi Masker set. You can try out our extremely popular

Hi hi! Happy Monday! Thank you so much to those of you who let me know you were missing the old school blogging recaps, so I’m bringing them back. It won’t be every day, but will definitely be scattered more frequently on the blog. Thank you so much for sharing your feedback with me. It’s my goal to create a blog that you want to read (that I also enjoy writing). I always appreciate your perspective, and take your thoughts and comments to heart.

It was a packed and fun-filled weekend around here. Friday afternoon, I met up with some friends to get everything ready for our school auction, and headed straight from that to a meeting with the dance moms to plan out Trunk or Treat. We have a lot to look forward to this month!

(I saw this tree at Hobby Lobby and didn’t end up buying it because it’s huge and tacky, but also SO perfect.)

We had Greek bowls for dinner, which is one of our frequent staples.

It’s grilled chicken, rice, hummus, cucumbers, olives, grape leaves, salad, and tzatziki bread. I totally forgot to add falafel to this meal, which takes it over the top. (I just air fry the frozen falafel from Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s.) The kids always go wild for this one – they like crafting their own bowls- so I cling tightly to the recipes they genuinely love. (They’re not picky, but are definitely vocal about which meals they like more than others.)

Saturday morning, we cheered for P at her soccer game, dropped Liv at dance, and I headed back to the auction venue to help set up decorations and last-minute to-dos. I look forward to our school’s auction each year, especially because our community is truly amazing. The kids SO lovely and kind, their families are incredible, and the teachers are the best of the best.

We’ve been able to make friends through our school that have become like family, and I feel blessed that after some school hunting, we’ve certainly found the right spot. (We switched schools two months before the world shut down, so we didn’t get to have a true experience until last year!)

Auction attire:

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Hi friends! How was the weekend? I hope you had an amazing one. This blog post is a way to bring it back old school and share some more real-life adventures. Quite a few of you let me know that you missed the style of blogging from the past (I do, too!) so I’m trying to do it in a way that’s low-key and still focused on my experience, instead of the kids’ experience if that makes sense? It can be tricky because the kids are obviously a huge part of my life (and by far the most exciting and such an enjoyable part of my life). I’m still trying to navigate blogging in a way that feels authentic to me without overdoing it on kid content, while continuing to create value-driven posts, too.

If you guys enjoy this and want more everyday-style posts, let me know!

This weekend was a wild one and packed with so many fun adventures. Friday night, we went to a local fall festival with the fam. My dad, stepmom, aunt, cousins, Kyle and Meg, and their kiddos were all there.

We also ran into so many familiar faces that evening! Tucson is a small world, but feels smaller the longer we stay here.

BEFORE fall festival, the Pilot took P to a birthday party while I took Liv to dance, so P had double fun times. The kids played in the obstacle courses, got their faces painted, did the cake walk and bingo thing, and it was a blast.

Saturday morning, P had a soccer game, I took care of some work stuff and chores, and then one of Liv’s best friends came over for a sleepover.

We took the crew to sushi at Ginza,

(dress is here! Heads up that it runs big, so if you’re in between sizes, I’d size down)

and then picked up one of P’s friends so she would have a buddy, too. We headed to the mall, where the younger kids hit up the giant arcade with the Pilot, the older girls and I went to Claire’s and got boba teas.

We made it back to the arcade for some motorcycle races, Dance Dance Revolution, and then grabbed ice cream before P’s friend went home.Read more

Hi hi! Happy Friday! How was the week? Ours was a bit of a blur (the Pilot was flying nights), but I’m so pumped the weekend is here. I’m going to the Sebastian Yatra concert with some friends, we’re having friends over for dinner on Saturday, and then celebrating my dad’s bday on Sunday. I hope you have a fun and wonderful weekend ahead!

We’re into Self-Care September with Fit Team, and it’s been inspiring to to dive into some self-care and nurturing habits, especially since we’re about to head into the busy fall and holiday season. If you’d like to join us, enrollment is technically closed, but email me (gina@fitnessista.com) and I’ll get you a link!

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

Friday Faves

Read, watch, listen:

Adding so many books to my to-read list. 

Don’t forget to check out this week’s podcast episode with Laura Varney here.

Mindset shifts to stop worrying about what other people think.

Another study demonstrating the value of consistency.

Fitness + good eats:

30-minute bodyweight-only barre workout.

Lots of meal inspo in this post.

Pumpkin season is HERE and I’m making these asap.

Tips for running with a baby.

Fashion + beauty:

I keep thinking about canceling RTR Unlimited, but then we have a vacation or event, and I’m so glad I have it. I realized I haven’t shopped much for myself lately (besides a couple trips to lulu!) because I’ve been enjoying rotating through these 8 pieces each month.

Wore this skirt the other day:

(tank is here, shoes are here)

and this dress yesterday 🙂

(shoes are here)

Labor Day Sales!!

Labor Day weekend is here and there are so many great sales!

Here are some of my top picks:

The BEST Labor Day sale is t