Life lately and what I’ve been loving in early 2025

Hello, my friend! Thank you for coming by A Lady Goes West today. I hope you’re having a great week. So much to catch up on, shall we? 

(Here’s my top. And a look at my Super Bowl outfit.)

We’re coming off quite a week over here in the Pitt house. Brady was really sick for three days last week and was home from school, then he got better for a few days until he ended up with a bad ear infection and had to miss school again. (During this time, we learned that Children’s Motrin works better for ear pain than Children’s Tylenol, by the way, in case you’re ever in the same boat.) 

Honestly, we’ve been so lucky with how healthy Brady has been most of his childhood so far, and this felt like a lot of illness and caregiving in the span of a week (and a lot of missing school for a kid who didn’t take a single sick day last year). It made me sad to see him not feeling well, that’s for sure, but we’re on the mend now. My mom jumped in to help me out so I could make it to work, thank goodness.

Meanwhile, Dave was out of town for six days in New Orleans for work last week through early this week. He went to a bunch of NFL events and then even attended the Super Bowl (and made it onto the Jumbotron during the game) on this trip. He had a good time, but we’re glad to have him back home with us.

In other news, yesterday marked exactly four years that we’ve been in our house in South Charlotte, and thus just over four years that we’ve been in North Carolina. And today is Rudy’s 10th birthday, which is hard to believe. Much to celebrate!

We’ve got a pretty light weekend this weekend for the first time in months, and we’re looking forward to plenty of family time. Now, let’s chat …

What I’ve been up to at work

We’re way overdue for a check in on all things life. 2025 has been a great year for me professionally thus far, and I’ve been busy with some old and some new things. And even though I’ve been as busy as ever, I’m feeling really good about all the things I’m doing — alignment, if you will? I didn’t have that feeling in the latter part of 2024, so this is a good change.

Current teaching schedule at Life Time Charlotte and something new

As of this month, I’ve got eight regular weekly classes on the schedule at Life Time, and I finally have my classes almost exactly how I want them, after some shifting around and waiting for new time-slots to open up. I’m teaching four programs regulary, including LIFT Barbell Strength, Life Barre Fusion Off the Barre, Shred and GTX, and I teach each of these twice a week. As an instructor, you want to teach a program more than once a week to make your content creation go further, so this schedule is excellent for that.

(Here are my sneakers.)

I’m only teaching in the mornings during the week right now, and that’s what’s best for us with Brady’s ever-expanding sports schedule. But in addition to the classes, I’ve also taken on a small social media role with Life Time, and it’s been so fun for me. I realize I really like being the one producing the content almost more than the one being in the content, you know? Want to see what I’ve been up to? Follow Life Time Charlotte on Instagram.

Speaking of teaching, these are my stats from 2024 … so cool, right? I’m grateful to be a fitness instructor because I can reach so many people in such a big way. And I love it.

Two awesome group fitness events I co-hosted at Life Time Charlotte

A couple months ago, I co-hosted and co-taught an all-Taylor Swift-music barre class in the evening, and it was a literal blast. I love using Taylor Swift music in my classes, and this event was full of Swifties and barre lovers too.

We did this on a Friday evening and followed up the class with some healthy snacks and socializing. I’m definitely hoping we do a themed event like this again one day because it was so special for the ladies I taught the class with and the ladies in attendance. Here’s our Taylor Swift playlist, in case you’re interested. (I made this video from the night.)

Last week, I co-hosted and co-taught a “Strength Mashup” event at Life Time with my fellow instructor, Miki, and this event was nothing short of incredible. We had a full house, and we all had a great time working hard together, and the energy was insane.

I taught portions of LIFT Barbell Strength, and Miki taught portions of MAXOUT Core, and we put it all together in an hour workout, followed by healthy treats and chatting. I made this video from the event, and I’m still on a high from it. I think Miki and I make a great team, and I’m always so impressed by her skills!

(Here are my leggings.)

What I’ve been up to outside of work

There’s never a shortage of fun times with my group of friends (and family) here in Charlotte, and while I don’t get a chance to write about all of those activities, I almost always have some pictures. Let’s do a brief review …

Dream on 3 Dream Gala

Last month, Dave and I were lucky enough to attend such a special charity gala with friends at the convention center in Uptown Charlotte. We went to the Dream on 3 Dream Gala, which raises money for children with life-altering conditions to live out their sports dreams. Some of the young recipients were there to share their stories, and it was so moving!

(The dress I wore this night is a couple years old, and here’s a similar version.)

Not only was the event super enjoyable with our friends, but it also raised a ton of money. That night more than $1 million was raised locally, and two of my friends won auction/raffle items too. I bid on a trip to Oregon wine country during the live auction, but it quickly became way too expensive, and I had to pull out. What a rush that was. 

Brady’s first Charlotte Hornets game

A couple of weekends ago, we took Brady to his first ever Charlotte Hornets NBA game. This outing was a birthday celebration for one of my friend’s sons, who is also Brady’s good friend, so the parents and the kids were able to enjoy this sporty night. And we all had fun!

(Here are my jeans.)

What I love about watching basketball is that it’s indoors, it moves fast, and the action on the court is nonstop. Brady’s been playing basketball for a few months, and he was totally into the game, and he’s already asking to go to another one. His second mini-basketball season finishes up this weekend, and I signed him up again for spring. While he’s begging to do flag football, right now, we’re sticking to basketball, soccer and tennis as his staple sports.

Plenty of girlfriend time

Even though I love my time with my little family, hanging out with my friends has always been important to me. I’ve probably had four or five ladies nights already this year with more to come. Here are some recents …

(Here’s my sweater dress. I’m in a small.)

(Here are my boots.)

What I’ve been wearing

I’m usually wearing the same old stuff I’ve been wearing for forever, so when I get new items in the rotation that I love, I like to share about them …

Alo Yoga Select Hooded Bomber Jacket

I was so in need of a new daily jacket! Dave bought me a super-nice Lululemon one for my birthday, but I wanted something different, so we returned that and ordered this one from Alo Yoga. And since it arrived, this jacket has basically been on me every single cold day over the last couple of months. It’s a hooded bomber jacket, and it’s got an oversized fit, which I’m very into.

I ordered a small, and it’s super roomy. I love the pockets, the hood and the fact that it’s so much more stylish than most plain black winter jackets. This jacket is definitely an investment, and I’ll be in it for seasons to come. Find my Alo Yoga Select Hooded Bomber Jacket here.

POPFLEX Supersculpt Leggings with Pockets

I’m pretty sure I’m going to devote a whole post to these leggings one day, because they’re that good. I’m often not that pleased with new leggings, and I return them, so I just keep ordering the same brand over and over again. I had wanted to try the POPFLEX line for a long time, and let me tell you — these leggings live up to the hype.

I ordered a size small in this style, and they fit like a glove, they’re compressive, and they’re perfectly high waisted. I’ve only had them a few weeks and worn them maybe five times, each time to teach a double-header of fitness classes, and they’ve worked so well. More to come on these awesome leggings. Find my POPFLEX Supersculpt Leggings with Pockets here.

What I’ve been loving

And for a few things I’ve enjoyed lately outside of fashion, work and play …

Olive Rose Serum Skin Tint

Beautycounter (my previous favorite skincare and makeup) is on hiatus, and during this time, I’ve been looking for a replacement for the light Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer I had been using daily for years. Dew Skin was sort’ve like a foundation, but a very light one — and that’s what I prefer for the everyday, as opposed to thicker makeup for a going-out night.

I finally ordered Olive Rose Serum Skin Tint from Oliveda, and I’m so glad I did. This serum has skincare products in it, so it improves your skin, and it has light coverage as well. You can layer it for more coverage, and it goes on smoothly. I used the shade-finder quiz on the Oliveda website and found that I was a shade 4, which works great for my skin. Big fan of this new item in my makeup bag, because I feel great wearing it. Find Olive Rose Serum Skin Tint here.

“The Paper Palace” by Miranda Cowley Heller

I finished this book a few weeks ago, and I still find myself thinking about parts of it. I loved this book, and even though it had a slow start, once I got into it, I got really into it. Some of the descriptions of the natural environment were so very detailed — it actually reminded me of “Where the Crawdads Sing” in that way, although the vibe is different. 

“The Paper Palace” is fiction, and it’s a love story, but with a twist. Basically, in it, a woman has to choose between her childhood love and her husband of many years, and the decision does not come easy — intertwined with history and a summer beach house. If you’re looking for a real page-turner, may I suggest it? Find “The Paper Palace” here.

The best of A Lady Goes West lately

Have you caught up on all these? It’s been all about fitness recently, but I’ve got some other stuff up my sleeve for the next month.

That’s it for today! I’ve enjoyed chatting with you in this post, and I hope you enjoyed it too. Tell me what’s been going on in your world. And I’ll see you over on Instagram, until we’re back here again.

Questions of the day 

What’s one thing you’re excited about so far in 2025?

And what’s the most fun thing you’ve done so far in 2025?