Hi. Thursday nights are always a little “catch my breath” after teaching five yoga classes at three different studios in the span of 27 hours. When I first came back to teaching in January I felt a bit ungrounded and overwhelmed but with every week that passes and I am getting more in the groove of being back at it and enjoying it so much!

Today was a super special day because I got to take my friend Suzanne’s yoga class for the first time in almost four years. Suzanne is the teacher who made me fall in love with hot power yoga when I moved to Charlotte 10 years ago and we have recently reconnected. I respect her so much as a teacher, mother and human. She’s the real deal and I am honored to be working with her again.

(Photo circa 2015!!!!)

I took Suzanne’s 4:30 p.m. class at Charlotte Yoga before teaching at 5:45 p.m. When I started to teach the 5:45 p.m. class on back in January I thought I’d get to take Suzanne’s class every week but life with a baby and juggling childcare proved otherwise. (Which is all good and I am not complaining.) Her class today was everything that I need my practice to be right now. Quiet, soft, slow, mindful, breath-focused and simple. I mean all of those things in the very best way. Suzanne is an incredible teacher and if you are in the Charlotte area, you’d be doing yourself a huge favor by practicing with her. ESPECIALLY if you are a new yogi. Suzanne is so skilled at teaching classes where all levels are accommodated and new yogis feel welcome.

One of the most difficult things to find balance with in motherhood has been my yoga practice. Again, I know this is just a short season of life but I am really looking forward to being on my mat with a lot more regularity. I am feeling such a pull to in and a desire to dig deeper. I have so many ideas swirling for myself and my upcoming yoga trainings.

Okay, so for this post I’m just sharing some Friday faves. I’ll be back over the weekend with recent eats for both Finn and myself! 🙂

INA’S INDIVIDUAL MEATLOAFS

(Photo Food Network)

One can never go wrong with an Ina Garten recipe and her individual meatloafs did not steer me wrong this week. I’ve eaten this every night for dinner for the last three nights and YUM!

MANDUKA GRP MAT

(Photo Manduka)

After practicing on the same Manduka Pro Black Mat for over eight years, I bought myself a new yoga mat last fall. Although my pro was still in perfect condition, I kinda felt like it was time for a fresh start. The owner of VIDA Hot Yoga was raving about Manduka’s new GRP mat so I decided to try it out. I AM IN LOVE! This mat is amazing! It’s designed to offer a lot of traction so that you don’t feel you are slipping on your mat. It also absorbs sweat so that you don’t need a mat towel. And I can tell you that it works!

THE REWATCHING OF SCHITT’S CREEK

So I hesitate to say that you must watch Schitt’s Creek because it seems to be one of those shows that you love or hate. BUT…judging by the number of Instagram DMs that I received after posting that I was starting the series over from the beginning, I must add this to the favorites. I’m typically not a fan of over the top or dumb humor but this show does it so right. I need a real life David!

THIS PLAYLIST

I’ve enjoyed being back to creating regular playlists for my yoga classes.

This one was so good!

LITTLE MAN ON THE MOVE

One minute he was crawling around on the kitchen floor, the next he and Zoey were both all up in the dishwasher. Welcome to my new life! 🙂 I love it.

WORDS

I am forever screenshotting things that I love on Instagram. Here are some words that have spoken to me in the last week.

WHAT I AM NOT LOVING

The book I have been trying to read lately. It’s one of those where I keep trying to get into it but I fall asleep 2 pages in and it’s not hooking me. We’re going on 2 weeks now.

Sooo…tell me what I should read! What have you loved lately? 

And now it’s time for me to decide whether to re-watch more Schitt’s Creek or try to read. I hate it when I don’t have a book that I look forward to reading when I get in bed. 🙁