#and all it took was a pink kettlebell

[disengaged]

i’ve been messaging this dude for a couple weeks, we haven’t met in person yet but i …… think he walked past me at the gym

[pippins-island]

Finally got Chelsea’s photo! My first Sanrio one!

[plainjaneoliver]

bad friend / jane + charlie

If Charlie stared at Owen’s house for long enough, then it might just disappear. The very foundations of the building might just sink into the earth out of sight, out of mind. After working to her very first deadline and being very proud of the small interview piece with Rory that she turned in, she was looking for a celebration that didn’t involve this – standing around the back of Owen’s house and wishing to be somewhere else.

Even though it had been a matter of weeks since Matt’s death, it felt too soon for returning to the life she had been living before. Especially when that was a life she was trying to distance herself from. Evenings spent sat in Owen’s house as her, Jane, Owen and JJ did drugs. Or the nights where Charlie assisted Owen with the running of his business, streamlining processes and helping with the finances. She wished she had lied about being done with her article.

Maybe the house would just crumble to the ground.

She lit up another cigarette – the fifth of daily allowance. Fuck it; she’d have six or seven today. Everything in her life resembled her cigarette habit that she could not quit. Owen, this life, the drugs, the undying need for destruction in her otherwise normal life – when would it end? Tomorrow, after another cigarette…?

With her head pressed against the brick wall, exhaling smoke around her head like the opposite of a halo, she didn’t hear the gate opening wide and Jane coming through it.

Charlie was dressed in all black. Shoes, blazer, trousers, top – black, black, black. In contrast, Jane was in a little white dress, a huge white fluffy coat, white boots and a light pink bucket hat.

“Hello, Jane,” Charlie started in her husky tones, causing Jane to release a squeal. Squinting in the poor light, she calmed down when she realised who owned this voice. “Careful, that dress would not survive you shitting yourself.”

Jane laughed once without humour.

“Read the room, Charlie, there’s like, a literal murderer loose on the streets.”

Jane was pretty aware that this murder was most likely a targeted attack, but it felt easier to pretend there was a psycho killer on the loose. Especially since it was only a matter of time before JJ was forced into the spotlight for being a suspect and even though they were trying to help cover things up before there was a shift in focus from Owen to him, there appeared to be more against him than for him at this point.

“That’s a fun idea considering this person probably just wanted to kill Matt and Matt alone.”

So Charlie wasn’t interested in pretending.

Jane rolled her eyes and got her own cigarettes out, because she needed a smoke for this conversation. As she was struggling to light it in the cold air, Charlie took this as an opportunity to continue speaking.

“What’s happening in there anyway? Developing a plot to save JJ’s bacon?”

There was a smirk in her voice that Jane couldn’t shake.

They had been talking about it in there. The Keira Problem, The Rumour Problem (although carefully not telling Owen about Alice, as JJ was still adamant Owen couldn’t know anything about her even though Jane was sure Owen gave less than two shits about him dating stupid Alice and he probably already knew) and yes, how they would save JJ’s bacon.

It annoyed Jane that Charlie seemed to be getting out of anything to do with helping them. Sure, she got Owen out of jail, but that took JJ to convince her. She didn’t even lie in the interview, whereas Jane would give a false alibi to get JJ out of that situation. She wanted to be the one who saved him.

“Have you come to offer your valuable insight?”

It’s not like Jane and Charlie didn’t get on. When Charlie was still in college, she just seemed to care more about this little group. They would sit in parks getting trashed, Charlie or JJ buying the alcohol, trying new drugs, fuck, they had even kissed once. Or twice. Definitely not more than three times anyway.

Since then though Charlie had been drifting. Getting coffees for people at the office being more important than buying her alcohol. She felt replaced by her grown-up alternative – Robin. And now when the four of them should be sticking together, she had to be bribed into fixing things. She was the leak in their boat and she could capsize them all in a matter of minutes.

“You must all have it under control if you’re leaving now.”

There was an ease with which she spoke as if Owen hadn’t just gotten out of prison. As if her insides hadn’t been in bits due to it all. Jane felt the constant fear in her stomach, was Charlie sick all the time too? Did she find it hard to fall asleep, because she could wake up to news that affected them all? Did she spend nights looking behind her shoulder?

It didn’t seem like it.

“I have a wax.” She offered, causing the ease on Charlie’s face to spread, like a warm sun had been hitting her face. Something in Jane snapped. Fuck the leak in the boat. “We were all there that night, you know, you’re part of this too and -,”

“Jane.”

The ease parted like it wasn’t the sun at all. It was just the calm before the storm. And Jane knew then that she was feeling all the same things as her, but not out of a sense of group guilt. She was worried about herself.

“I was there that night. I saw JJ go off, I saw Owen go off, and I saw you get so drunk that you probably don’t remember the end of the night. I’ve saved the person I need to save, if Owen wants to get involved with saving JJ then that’s on him, but I think it’s his responsibility. Not yours, not ours, certainly not mine. I know JJ isn’t as smart as Owen, but really, we shouldn’t be coddling him like this, sweetheart.”

Jane watched Charlie put out her own cigarette in the most casual of manners. She chewed on her bottom lip ferociously, thinking about the leak in the boat.

Charlie felt the dynamite ready to blow and as she was very bored and not wanting to join the boys without a little excitement first, she continued to push at the buttons just a little bit more.

“How are things going with that girl in the petrol station? Owen said that was a major issue for JJ. I’m guessing you’re helping with that, just like you’ll probably end up falsifying an alibi for him. Unless you’ve already lied to the police…”

Charlie was thinking about dynamite.

Jane was thinking about the leak in the boat. Leak, leak, leak.

She exploded and turned to run back through the gate.

“I don’t think you should be told anything else. I’m going to make sure they don’t tell -,”

Charlie grabbed at her arm and despite Jane doing kettlebells class, she felt weak in that moment. She tried to shake her off, but Charlie got her face as close to Jane’s so she could whisper the words that would later come to mean a threat. It was a threat.  

“Jane, honey, I was talking about JJ being stupid and now you think this. Do you think I have a death wish? I’m not going to do anything with what I know. Even if I am pretty sure JJ is a killer. As long as I’m with Owen, that’s what I owe you all. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Charlie smiled sweetly, moving closer ever still to plant a kiss on Jane’s lips. Just a peck.

So maybe now it was four kisses.

“Now don’t you have a wax to be getting off to?”

Jane nodded once as Charlie moved backwards. The ease was on her face again and Jane felt that fear tighten in weird ways.

She threw her forgotten cigarette on the floor and started to walk away, hearing the gate open behind her. Quickly turning around, she threw the last thing she could say to make this interaction any more normal.

“I’m throwing a party on Friday. It’s to look more normal, less –,”

“Suspicious. That is smart, Jane. I’ll be there, of course.” Charlie nodded with a thoughtful smile, as if she actually meant it was smart. The softness in this moment where Charlie had previously been intimidating her caused her to get sweaty and nervous.

There was only one thing left to say.

“Uh… don’t tell Robin anything, as well.”

Charlie could have rolled her eyes at how Jane was really losing her cool so easily. The police hadn’t even started questioning JJ yet, would she actually be having a breakdown then? She felt pity for Jane, standing there with balled fists, looking like a child more than ever, begging her not to tell the adults about what she’d been doing.

She shook her head with a smile that would be given to a child if she ever saw one.

“I don’t like to repeat myself, but I’m not doing anything with what I know.” She saw Jane visibly relax and decided she could throw her another bone. God, she was being helpful. “I would try to be an extra nice sister if I were you though, because I wouldn’t want the best friend of the murdered boy to be suspicious of my boyfriend being the killer.”

And so they went their separate ways. Charlie to go and make JJ feel so uncomfortable that he’d probably leave within the hour and she’d be free to have sex with Owen, Jane to go and get a wax.

[feministshawnmendes]

Sweaty

A/N: literally every time I go to the gym I listen to Shawn & one day I got super in my feels & came up with the idea for this concept so please enjoy.

Summary: Shawn can’t keep his eyes off a sweaty stranger at the gym.

____

Y/n didn’t understand why her parents would pick Mexico City of all places to go for a family vacation. Only gringos and rich Mexican-Americans from California vacationed in Mexican resorts. But maybe that’s why they’d decided to secretly fly out to a way too expensive hotel instead of their small hometown in the middle of rural Mexico where they’d for sure get roped into doing manual labor.

Just as she was finishing up her jogging, her face now bright red and sweat lining her entire hairline, an entourage of about a dozen people came filing into the gym, catching y/n’s attention as she stepped off the treadmill. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, smiling as the weird cast of characters came in one by one. They didn’t look like they’d really run in the same circle, one guy’s arms bigger than her head while another was very slim and awkward looking.

When she saw him walk in, with his perfectly intact curls and headphones plugged into his ears she felt her heart involuntarily pick up speed. She thanked God that she was already sweaty and out of breath as it provided a great cover for the shock that took over her as Shawn Mendes and his entourage casually strolled into the hotel gym, each of them splitting off to do their own thing.

“What the fuck,” She squeaked under her breath as she grabbed a paper towel and spray bottle to wipe down her machine. She controlled her breathing, pressing her lips together as she tried hard not to look in his direction. Why was Shawn Mendes at the same hotel as her? And why oh God did her first ever celebrity encounter have to be when she was a sweaty mess?

She watched as he hopped on the treadmill and broke out into a jog like it was nothing. Shit. He was right by the treadmill she’d used. She didn’t want it to seem like she was some weirdo and trying to get close to him, especially because the gym was so massive. She ditched the paper towel and spray bottle, silently asking for forgiveness from the gym gods for her poor gym etiquette as she made her way over to the rowing machine which was conveniently located in front of the treadmills.

She acted as natural as she could, not even looking at him as she passed in front of him and plopped down onto the rowing machine, yelping lightly when she slid back farther than she expected. She strapped her feet in and sat up straight, very aware of how labored her breathing was as she began rowing. She was so winded already and she’d barely started.

Fucking relax. He’s literally not paying attention to you. She tried to convince herself as she continued to struggle through her rowing.

After a terrible ten minutes of heavy breathing and forcing herself not to look over her shoulder, y/n caught a glimpse of someone in her peripheral.

Shawn plopped down on the machine next to her, already red and sweaty from his jog. She couldn’t help but look over at him, her breathing definitely quickening as his gaze caught hers.

He hadn’t noticed her when they’d walked in, immediately going into hyper focus mode the minute he’d pressed play on his playlist. She glanced at him quickly, giving him a small smile as she continued to go to work on her machine. He was grateful that he was already red because he felt his face grow warm as his eyes danced across her body. She was wearing a lot of clothing considering it was the middle of summer in Mexico - a pair of black leggings and a loose grey t-shirt. Her hair was wet with sweat, sticking to the side of her face, her lips parted as she pushed through her workout. She had smooth tan skin but her face was red from working so hard.

She was absolutely beautiful and Shawn didn’t realize he’d been staring until she’d stopped suddenly, letting out a heavy breath as she went to unstrap her feet. He gulped nervously, rubbing the back of his neck and lifting his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Fuck. She probably thought he was some weirdo, just staring at her. She hadn’t said anything. Did she even know who he was? He began rowing, his gaze following her as discreety as he could as she went to lift some weights.

He couldn’t help but look over at her. She was over by Brian, smiling at him as she asked to use one of the kettlebells once he was done with it. Brian handed it off to her, Shawn’s entire body growing warm as he rowed faster as she thanked Brian and went to one of the bench presses. He was being creepy. He knew he was. But Shawn couldn’t help but watch her. She looked so soft. He didn’t know how else to describe her. Her smile was gentle and the way she moved looked light. He wished he could think of something to say to her but his mind went blank and he felt nervous all of a sudden, unsure of himself as he finished up his rowing and awkwardly strolled over to where Brian was. He didn’t want her to think he was following her.

He kept stealing glances at her, catching her gaze every now and then and she’d just give him a closed mouth smile, the dimples on the side of her face deepening every time she did. He caught himself getting distracted by her, accidentally dropping weights and losing count of his reps as he watched her. He wondered if she was a local or if she was visiting. Was she here alone? Did she have a boyfriend? Why did it matter anyway? It’s not like he was going out of his way to talk to her.

Y/n thought he’d been looking at her but brushed off the idea. Ha! No way! There was no way that Shawn Mendes was looking at her. At least not in the way she was thinking. But after she finished with her weights and went to step on the stairclimber, she felt her body grow warm and a tingle run through her spine. When she turned around her eyes met his, his hair tousled now and damp with sweat. His eyes danced across her body. It was clear as day what he was doing and her stomach twisted and her throat tightened as his eyes met hers again and he gave her a shy smile. Shocked, she quickly turned around and started her climbing. She convinced herself that she was out of breath because of the amount of energy she was exerting. When she glanced back again ten minutes later and saw Shawn’s eyes still locked on her, his tongue peeking out and licking the corner of his mouth she physically felt her throat go raw and she let out a heavy pant.

Shawn saw her bounce off the stairclimber and assumed she was wrapping up her workout, watching a she grabbed a yoga mat from the stack available near the exit. He hadn’t said anything to her. Had just stared at her like a weirdo for an hour. He sighed as she moved over to where he was, his breath catching in his throat and his cheeks burning once again as she confidently laid out her mat right in front of the bench press he was situated on. He gulped nervously as she sat down and started stretching. She must of known he’d been staring at her the whole time. It’s not like he was being overly subtle. He wanted to hear her voice. Wanted to stop being such a dumb ass and just say hi but every time he thought he had convinced himself he could, he got too nervous.

After about five minutes y/n stood up from where she was, Shawn’s attention completely on her as she rolled up her mat. She was getting ready to leave. He knew she was and now was his last chance to just get over his nerves and say something to her. He stood up suddenly, awkwardly facing her as he held a weight in his hand. She looked up at him, her cheeks red and her lips parted as she tried to catch her breath still. She smiled at him, making his knees go weak. Before he could say anything, she pulled out one of the headphones that was in her ear, giving him an open mouthed smile.

“Hey,” She started hesitantly, Shawn’s lips curving into an easy smile as he set down the weight he was holding. He ran a hand through his hair and instantly, looking at her, he felt like he couldn’t help but smile.

“Hey, honey” he laughed lightly back.

“I know this is probably super annoying and you get this all the time but I just wanted to say hi,” She rambled, the sound soothing his nerves as he watched the pink tint on her cheeks deepen as her eyes stayed locked on his. Any worries he had melted away as she beamed up at him.

“Hey honey nice to meet you, I’m Shawn,” He said smoothly, making her laugh as she grabbed the hand he’d extended for her. It felt like holding onto fire, his giant hand sliding against hers.

“Yeah,” She laughed. “I know who you are”

“Oh right yeah,” he mumbled, still holding onto her hand. “Uh you said that didn’t you?”

“It’s okay,” She smiled, letting go of his hand. “I usually get a foggy brain after an intense workout too.”

She flashed him a knowing smile and he couldn’t help but laugh, biting his bottom lip as she stared up at him and rocked back and forth on her heels. He had no idea who this woman was but here she was, making a fool out of him and for once he felt completely okay with it.

[littleharpethcrossfit]

Saturday,  23 July, 2022........ Warmup.....Power Cleans..... A  WOD SANDWICH.

It was already warm at 0930.  And humid.  It’s supposed to get close to 100 degrees.

Warmup #1:     

Admiral Armando started us off with some mobility/flexibility play.

Warmup #2:

20 Kettlebell Swings  EMOM  For 5 Minutes.   Any Weight KB.  The girls complained that the boys took some of their pink KB’s, forcing them to use the heavier yellow ones.  It wasn’t Paul this time.

Strength WOD:

POWER CLEANS

2  Reps  EMOM   X   12  Minutes

All Together

Start Light.....Progressively Increase Weight.

The Last 3 Sets All The Same Weight = POST WEIGHT.

Shane=225     Andy/Bernie/Average Dave=205     Armando/Robert=185    Timmy=175      Nathan=165      Scott/Dana=135     Paul/Mike/Tom/Rodney=115     Coach=110     Warren A=100     Linda=90     Joe/Sue/Alicia/Angel=85     Shannon=75     Carolina=45      Rick/Warren G/Jayme=no posting

Metabolic Conditioner

A  WOD  SANDWICH

Run 400 / Row-Ski 500 / Bike ERG 1000m

Then         21  /  15  /   9        Of The Following Exercises

Ground To Overhead Bumpers     ( E=55 / 45 / 25 )

Dumb Bell Bench Press     ( E=50 / 35 / 20 )

Pull-Ups     ( E=C2B )

Run 400 / Row-Ski 500 / Bike ERG 1000m

NOTE:  Everyone Must Use 2 Options Of Run/Row/Ski/Bike.

Elite:

Robert=11:40     Average Dave=12:54     Shane=13:08

RX:

Dana=12:35     Timmy=14:02     Bernie=17:32     Andy=18:29

The Rest:

Alicia=11:20     Warren A=12:03     Sue=12:06     Coach=12:15     Linda=12:37     Angel=13:15     Joe=13:28     Armando=13:45     Nathan=14:07     Paul/Mike/Shannon=14:15     Scott=14:45     Rodney=17:00     Tom=18:35      Warren G/Rick/Carolina/Jayme=worked hard, but no posting.

Notes:

Jayme (sp?) is Andy’s lovely wife.  She’s been here ‘way back, but today was almost a new day for her.  Actually, I think she is friends with several of our girls, so she wasn’t new to them.  Andy coached his wife so she’d get a good workout and kept her safe.  She left with a nice Buck’sgym shirt.

Mike is a long-time friend.  Several of us have worked in surgery with him for decades.  Mike has even operated on a few of us.  We’ve been nagging him for years about coming to the Barn,  and Paul finally wore him down.  I gave a little speech about how Mike got me started lifting weights 25 years ago, and how all of this CrossFit activity stemmed from him.  Paul did a great job coaching Mike and it looked like Mike enjoyed the trauma.  We all hope Mike becomes a regular attendee.  Yes, he got a shirt. 

Sunday at 0730 for all our elderly, and any others susceptible to heatstroke.  It is likely to be 100 degrees at the start of the 1 PM session.     

[inkandblade]

February Words 22: Garage

Stiles stumbled down the stairs, bypassed the siren call of the coffee machine and headed towards the sound that he thought had likely woken him up.

He’d not been at home on a Sunday morning since… He couldn't remember. It had been a long standing tradition between him and his dad to do the father/son bonding thing after their late shift on Saturday nights; they drank a little, watched old movies or sports, and got up late and had pancakes and bacon at the diner halfway between Casa Stilinski and House de Hale.

But, John Stilinski had finally decided, after several years of pestering and a whole heap of encouragement from his deputies and the pack alike, to take a vacation. Stiles, Derek, and everyone else that was in the Sheriff’s phone had been getting photo updates and badly punctuated messages for the last week.

Stiles rubbed his eyes and then squished them closed as he opened the door to the outside world. The May sun was bright at nine at the morning. He walked down the steps from the front porch, over the paved driveway and towards the shed that Derek liked to tinker in.

At least Stiles thought that’s what Derek liked to do. Stiles had the computer room upstairs—Derek always knocked, never entered—and Derek had the shed or barn or whatever the hell it was. On Valentine’s Stiles had scored a really cool looking made-of-old-computer-parts statue thingy that Derek had made out here, so, yeah. Derek tinkered.

Stiles rounded the cute looking flower bed that was actually full of medicinal aconite and held his hand up in the air a moment before knocking. Whatever Derek was doing sounded suspiciously like revving the Jeep.  

Stiles shook his head, he hadn’t moved his old car for years, just like Derek hadn’t touched the Camaro.

He knocked, and there were a few moments before Derek opened the door a ways. Stiles hadn’t had a plan for what he was going to say or do once he got here. He hoped it wasn’t too painfully apparent when he said, “Hey. Have you had breakfast?”

Derek smiled the smile that said he knew exactly what was going on in Stiles’ head. Stiles wrinkled his nose and tried not to make it obvious that he was both embarrassed at his own predictability and comforted by Derek’s knowing him so well.

“I’ll be finished in about ten or fifteen? I can make you something, or I’ll shout you at the place where you usually eat with your dad?”

Stiles thought both ideas sounded good, the first especially, but. He could kinda see over Derek’s shoulder and he really, really wanted to—

Derek shifted to the side a little and Stiles couldn’t see anymore. He tried not to pout.

“I’ll tell you what, I’ll shout you at the diner if you let me take a peek at what you’re doing in there.” Never let it be said that Stiles Stilinski wasn’t a nosy bastard. “Before, it sounded a lot like—”

“It sounds a lot like you wanting into my space,” Derek snarked with a smile on his face. “The only way you’re getting through this door is with a pinky-promise that the next time I need help with something on my laptop that I can walk into your sacred cyber-domain instead of standing like a fool in our upstairs hallway.”

There wasn’t actually ever a discussion about their separate spaces. It had just happened that way. A ten year habit was a hard one to break, though.

Stiles leaned forward and pressed a kiss under Derek’s eye, then one in front of his ear. He pressed his face against Derek’s for a moment and pulled back just enough to lift his hand up with his smallest finger extended. He let it spark a couple of times, ‘cause he could.

Derek lifted his own hand, extended his pinky-claw only ‘cause he could show off too, and curled it around Stiles’.

Stiles snorted, and Derek smiled and kissed him on the cheek, before turning their pinky-embrace into a more comfortable hand-holding. He pushed the door open with his other shoulder and turned to lead Stiles inside.

“Oh.”

It was an involuntary sound, and the wave of shocked joy scent that he was sure came with it was just as much of an exclamation.

The tops of Derek’s ears tinged pink enough for Stiles to notice before he looked back at what was before them.

It was a big shed, that he knew, but he’d never given thought to just how big. It was about six cars wide, thought there were only two just in front of them. He made himself look over them for a moment.

The other end of the building had work benches, electrical and hand tools, and a big open space. They shared some weights and the like in the basement of the house, but out here Derek had a heavy looking punching bag and some kettlebells that Stiles wouldn’t even think about trying to lift.

Stiles let himself focus on the two cars in front of him. They both looked better, newer, than he could ever remember them being. The Camaro was sleek and black and low and the light glinted off the lines up along the hood and down over the tubbed wheels. The Jeep, despite not looking sexy at all, looked the way Stiles imagined it had when it rolled of the production line in 1985. He hadn’t realized that the blue was that bright.

“I wanted to keep the original paint, but there were a couple of panels that were too far gone, I’m sorry.”

Stiles squeezed Derek’s hand, not sure he could form words that would make any real sense. “I…” Yeah, no, he had nothing.

Derek breathed in deeply and squeezed back. “I’m glad you like it.”

Stiles dragged his eyes away from it and instead looked into Derek’s. “It’s amazing. I.” He glanced back at the Jeep, then ran his gaze over the Camaro, but landed his attention back on his husband before he asked, “When did you? I…”

He really wasn’t doing well on the speaking thing.

“It took a while. Every Sunday I take them out for a couple of miles. It keeps the batteries charged, makes sure the brakes don’t seize, and confirms that nothing like oil lines or power-steering pumps are leaking.”

“Could we take one for a drive? Go down to the diner for breakfast in style? Or, you know, in the Jeep.”

Derek actually snorted. It turned into a chuckle as he bent a little and put his head on Stiles’ shoulder. “They’re not registered anymore, unfortunately.”

Damn. And yet. “In that case, I’ll take the second option. Breakfast cooked by my lovely husband. Then, maybe we could try that thing that you would never let us do back then?”

Derek’s growl rumbled into Stile’s chest. “Will we both fit?”

“Only one way to find out.”

♠

garage (v-trans): to put into, keep in

Prompt masterlist

[jonasmaurer]

Friday Faves

Hey friends! Happy Friday to ya. I hope you’re having a lovely morning. What do you have going on this weekend? We’re just hanging out – no official plans – and I’m trying to catch up on some work stuff before the fun begins. I feel like every summer Friday Faves post starts the same way: we’ll probably be swimming with friends, getting some house chores done, and prepping for the week ahead. It’s predictable, but for now, I kinda like it this way.

A nice surprise was that the Pilot came home after a little over a week away. The girls and I were so happy to pick him up, and we’ve enjoyed having him back in town. We all grabbed dinner at Culinary Dropout, 

took the girls roller skating, and even got away for a morning date. 

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some of my fave finds from the week and around the web. Please share something you’re loving in the comments section below if you’d like to join in the fun.  

Good eats:

The new August Rhodes Market! YOU GUYS.

Kyle and Nate have been scheming this restaurant concept for a while, and it was so incredible to see them bring it to life. They opened this one in the previous Prep & Pastry location (Prep moved to a bigger location and got all swanky), and completely repurposed and redesigned the space. It has the most gorgeous wallpaper and plant accents, fresh flowers, candles, and the food is out of this world.

All of the bread is baked fresh in house (Kyle has been tweaking the recipes for over a year), and everything is fresh and vibrant. The Pilot and I were able to try out a meal during their soft opening, and we were both blown away. The Pilot ordered a grinder, which came with house-made kettle chips,

and I got the half and half: half a chopped vegetable salad with half a vegan BLT (vegan mayo, marinated tofu, lettuce, tomato on sourdough). Everything was perfect. Tucson friends, be sure to check it out! They’re officially open TOMORROW, so Tucson friends, you need this. Check out the Tucson Foodie feature here.

So proud of this guy and always love watching his successes and his creations. <3

How cool is it that my lil nephew already has a restaurant named after him?!

A lot of people have made the collagen brownies lately, so I was hankering for some. We didn’t have any cocoa powder on hand, so I made a blondie version, using powdered almond butter instead of the cocoa powder. I also used Nuttzo instead of plain almond butter, and they came out perfectly. Turns out that they’re a versatile recipe, and make such an awesome healthy sweet bite.  

Fitness:

Diastasis Recti- friendly workouts.

12-minute kettlebell HIIT workout.

Get up and dance,

A short bout of exercise can enhance brain function.

Fashion + beauty:

The Nordstrom Sale ends this weekend! It wasn’t my fave sale compared to previous ears, but I still used it to order a couple of holiday gifts and stock up on some fall/winter staples. If I could narrow it down to 5 must-have items (that are still in stock!), here they are:

This bra. It’s my favorite bra in the entire world. I have like six of these now and will always wear these first. They’re wireless, give a nice shape, and are totally seamless under a t-shirt.

These pajamas. They’re just the perfect everyday pajamas. They’re comfy and still look chic. They also have a shorts version here, too.

This V-neck sweater. I ordered this one in pink and ended up liking it WAY more than I was anticipating. The fabric is light and stretchy, and it’s very flattering. It does run a little big, so if you’re in between sizes, size down. 

These kids’ Adidas shoes. They’re $40 and are so cute and well-made. They run a little bit big, so I ordered their current sizes and they have a little room to grow.

The leggings! These are my very favorite leggings and you can’t beat the price. They’re thick enough to wear in real life, moisture-wicking, and have a glorious high waist. Thumbs up all around. 

Speaking of leggings, I’m launching my own pair next week and I can’t wait for you to see them!! Stay tuned, friends.

I’m looking to add a couple of new rockstars to my Beautycounter team this month. If you think this may be a fit for you, email me or comment below and we can chat about it. <3

Read, watch, listen:

Check out my latest podcast episode here with 5 common fitness mistakes. It’s a shorter episode than usual; please let me know if you like having some shorter listening options mixed in.

It’s hard to believe I’m coming up on two years drinking decaf. 

Welp, this is terrifying. 

I took morning phone breaks and am a happier person.

The power of no.

Happy Friday!

xo

Gina

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