Friday Favorites, Vol. 13
TGIF!
I don’t know about you guys, but this week felt super weird and heavy. The news from Las Vegas was definitely the hardest for me to swallow out of all of the seemingly endless tragedies that have happened in the last couple of months and, while I refuse to talk about politics in this space, I find it necessary to at least acknowledge that I am endlessly saddened about the violence and suffering that transpired last Sunday. As someone who intentionally works towards finding and spreading positivity, happiness, and growth not only within myself but also amongst my health coaching clients and yoga students, I feel inspired now more than ever to continue being a light whenever and however I can. One of the most well-known mantras in yoga is, in the ancient language of Sanskrit, ‘lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu’, and I’ve found myself repeating it over and over again this week. The translation is below and I wanted to share because it perfectly reflects the energy I am hoping to manifest every day. I hope it brings you the same peace it brings me
I spent most of the week catching up on life and client work but was able to squeeze in a workout every single day this week (I am attempting 30 days of exercise in a row–wish me luck!), which made me feel extra accomplished and motivated to get things done. I’ve mentioned it before, but I am seriously loving Cut Seven workouts and am trying to go 2-3 days a week and maintain my yoga practice the other days. While yoga will always be my one true love in the realm of exercise (though to me it is deeply spiritual as well), I really crave intense workouts with loud music (my favorite part about Cut Seven!) and lots of weight training which is exactly what the workout is — if you live in DC give it a try and let me know what you think!
I’m also back on the Vegetable & Butcher meal delivery schedule after a couple of weeks without it due to travel and I can’t rave about it enough. Most people don’t realize that I teach somewhere between 6-10 yoga classes every week so I am always in and out of home/the studio and making time to prepare myself food doesn’t always feel realistic, so having V&B in my life has made things 10x easier. If you’re curious to try you can sign up here and use my code “katieheartsv+b” for 15% off!
On Thursday I headed to my friend Michelle’s house where she prepared us the most delicious lunch that inspired me to make the same for myself today for lunch! Michelle is just a couple of weeks away from having her first baby (yay!!) so it was special to enjoy some girl time before life changes and things shift into full-on baby mode for her.
We don’t have too much on the books for this weekend other than enjoying the beautiful early Fall weather we’re having here in DC — as of now the only thing planned is a hike and getting some pumpkins and fall plants to decorate our front stoop! My birthday is next week and we are heading out of town to celebrate, so I’m excited to soak up some solid time at home in DC.
Here are a few of my favorite things from around the web this week:
1. Spend 20 minutes watching this. I promise you won’t regret it.
2. The most perfect gift for just about any occasion!
3. For our anniversary, Blair and I decided to take a trip to Austin, TX next year after talking about wanting to go there for years (so. many. restaurants.). I’m bookmarking this and taking notes of all of the Austin recommendations!
4. bought a second pair of my favorite shoes ever before they are discontinued. I have gotten so many questions about these!
5. drooling over this recipe and can’t wait to cut up my leftover halloween pumpkins to make it myself!
Podcasts I Listened to and Loved This Week
The Spiritual Practice of Making Music Trevor Hall on The Yoga Girl Podcast
Dr. Mark Hyman’s Personal Health Crisis on the MindBodyGreen Podcast
Time is Our Most Valuable Gift with Pedram Shojai on The Ultimate Health Podcast
On Sugar & The Ketogenic Diet with Kelly LeVeque on MindBodyGreen Podcast
Where do you thrive? With Gretchen Rubin on The Rich Roll Podcast
Happy weekending!