After getting back into the swing of things during the first full week of the new year it’s safe to say I’ve never been more ready for a weekend than I am now! I’m fairly certain my body is made up of 99.9% caffeine at this point as I’ve been running on Americanos and cold brews, while single-handedly keeping La Colombe and Starbucks in business. 

This week hasn’t been bad by any means, just an adjustment getting back to my routine after the holidays and so much time off.

I took a few spin classes at Studio Three and absolutely loved being on the bike again (I realized I hadn’t been to a cycling class since mid-November!), but other than that, I didn’t push myself too hard in that department. (Side note: If you’re looking for a good way to jump start the new year and get out of your comfort zone, you can get a free month at ClassPass to try a few new workout studios. I first became a CP member back in Kansas City and have used it ever since!)

Wednesday morning I met up with my friends Victoria and Tim who are opening up Ethos Training, the new gym I’m going to be starting at in early February, and it was beyond refreshing to hear them talk about what they’re creating. Their enthusiasm and drive is so infectious and I feel really lucky to call them my friends!

The rest of my days were filled with work and any remaining hours after that I really worked to prioritize rest and writing (something I’ve been leaning into lately and I swear I’m becoming a better human being for it 😉 ), and I finally put together my Chicago guide for the blog! It’s very much a work in progress, so bear with me there. I’m mostly just excited to have a place to send people when they email or DM saying they’re visiting the city and would like recommendations.

That’s really it from me. I’ll leave you with a round-up of things I loved this week. I hope you enjoy everything as much as I did!

Song of the week: When I Get My Hands On You – New Basement Tapes. My best friend Whitney sent me this song and I haven’t stopped listening! Turn it up and listen as you browse this week’s links 🙂

AROUND THE WEB/WORLD:

• If you’re looking for something fun to do tomorrow morning, Shred415 is hosting an event at Skydeck, which is home to one of my favorite views in Chicago! Other than getting in a good Saturday sweat, they will have lululemon giveaways, and you’ll get access to the Skydeck without the usual weekend crowd!
• And on the opposite end of the spectrum, if you’re looking to for an incredible excuse to get black tie ready, I’ll be attending Junior Council Snowball‘s the weekend after next and would love to see you there!
• My rosacea has been flaring up lately so I turned to this soothing face mask and it’s helped to calm my skin down a bit!
• I recently rediscovered Carbon38 and was blown away by their selection of workout wear. These tights are speaking my language. I love the cosmic feel!
• ….and my absolute favorite workout tights were made by Nike (I bought them two years ago and they’re still going strong after countless washes, but they’ve since stopped making this style) and these training tights are the closest thing I’ve found since. They’re also making me want to completely refresh my sports bras. New year, new….workout wardrobe? 😉
• I talked more about making my workout wear last on Instagram stories this week and got quite the response from you all! Basically, I hang dry everything because the heat from the dryer breaks down the fibers in the material faster. This sport spray is great too, as is everything The Laundress does. I swear by so many of their products!
• My good friend Lorin is a Club Pilates instructor down in Miami and I loved reading about how she moved toward a more fulfilling life.
• Grace was a guest on Julie Lauren’s podcast Hashtag No Filter and listening made me love her even more! I’m planning to binge on the rest of the episodes this weekend.
• I always look forward to Grace’s Saturday morning post and was thrilled that she included my end of year letter last week.
• Constantly inspired by what my friend Kit has built and really enjoyed reading more about what got her to this point today.
• This pale pink pom hat and cream sweater from Free People are a good way to lighten and brighten up your wardrobe between now and spring!
• What’s one more striped tee, right? This one is under $30!
• RXBAR came out with nut butter jars and while I don’t completely trust myself to buy one and exercise self-control, that’s not going to stop me. All in the name of research, ya know?
• In case you missed it: 13 things you probably don’t know about me and the best things I bought in 2018!

SHOP THE POST:

Whatever you’re up to this weekend, I hope it’s the best! I’ll be sharing in real-time over on Instagram stories, so be sure to follow along there!