Hello from the land of sweat. Running is (so insanely) sweaty, teaching eight heated classes a week is sweaty, being outside with Finn is sweaty – life is just sweaty here in North Carolina in the middle of July.
I am looking forward to lower temps and lower humidity in Colorado but mark my words – I will hate the cold at moments and miss this summer heat. Apparently, when we camp at Leadville and Nova Guides it’s typically in the 30s at night and not uncommon to wake up with frost on your tent!
I ordered a zero degree rated sleeping bag, thermal merino wool base layers for pjs, a camping blanket to cuddle up in during the early evening and mornings and a whole bunch of Hot Hands in various sizes. Of course I’m also taking a hoodies, a puffy jacket, warm socks, a beanie and gloves. They told us to expect all four seasons during our six days out there and definitely to plan for rain every day. I have a rain layer for the trails and a poncho for camp.
It’s going to be an experience y’all!
Let’s keep rolling with the life updates!
FARMERS MARKET
Since I’ve been traveling and/or out on the trails most weekends, I’ve missed my Saturday farmers market trips. It was so nice to visit all of my favorite farmer friends this past weekend at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market and to stock up on all the good summer things – especially tomatoes and peaches!
It’s tough to definitively make this statement but tomatoes are my most favorite of all the seasonal produce items. There is truly nothing like a summer tomato.
You better believe I got right to slicing one up and layering it on freshly baked sourdough with Dukes mayo, fresh basil and sea salt.
FINN THE FISH
We spent half of our weekend at the pool! We were there until 8p three nights straight. Finn is such a fish and will swim for hours and hours. One afternoon it wasn’t too crowded so I jumped in with him and swam laps. I got a mile in and it’s been years since I did that. Felt great!
TEACHING + FITNESS CAREER THINGS
I’ve been teaching a lot of group fitness classes lately and I love it so much! My current permanent class schedule has me teaching five classes a week at The Health Club. Two are our Sculpt x Strength format which is mat pilates-esque and three are Flow x Lift which is a heated yoga flow and strength class.
Another fun piece of news is that I recently accepted a part-time role at THC leading our yoga and sculpt teams. I’ve also moved all of my personal training over to gym earlier this year so it’s been really, really nice to have a “home” where I can do all the things I love.
I’m still teaching a few classes a week at Charlotte Yoga as well!
The amount of time I spend on Spotify and FitRadio every week is a little bananas but I think music just absolutely adds so much to the experience – from what you’re playing when people walk into the studio to your actual playlist during class. This morning I went waaay back in the archives for the playlist for my Flow x Lift class. You can follow me on Spotify here!
ZOEY UPDATE + DOG GROOMING
The dogs got groomed over the weekend by the amazing team at Splash and Dash Charlotte. I typically have them groomed every eight weeks or so but life got a little upside down after Zoey got so sick and then received her cancer diagnosis. I was so scared to send her off to get groomed due to her splenic mass.
By the grace of god, she’s exceeded everyone’s expectations and is truly truly thriving. I am giving her the supplement yunan baiyo twice a day to help with blood coagulation but other than that – she’s just doing her thing. Eating well and generally a happy girl. The groomers assured me they’d be gentle with her and take great care so she got a much needed groom and is looking so cute. Splash and Dash has two locations in Charlotte at MoRa and Southpark.
The one who REALLY needed the groom was this guy. While I adore him shaggy, his coat does not tolerate the shaggy look well. I swear to you Benji must be like 80% poodle and 20% golden because his coat is so poodly and his legs are a mile long. I never love to give him the naked shave look but we just had to have a fresh start. He seems super content and it’s a great time of year for him to have a super short cut with the excessive heat we’ve been having.
COOLING OFF
We’ve been loving our nightly ice cream over here! Perfect way to cool off and enjoy a sweet treat at the end of these hot days. VERY IMPORTANT PSA: Publix always kills it with their Limited Edition flavors and this Caramel Turtle Cheesecake ice cream is to die for. The cheesecake flavor of the ice cream is perfection.
Off to teach yoga!
QUESTIONS
Favorite way to eat summer tomatoes?
If you had to pick just one seasonal produce fave what would it be? Summer tomatoes? Fall apples? Winter squash?
Doodle owners – do you like a shorter or more shaggy cut?
