Friday Favorites: Week of 1/8

Hi there and Happy First Week of 2021! And what what a week it was.

My heart is heavy as I am still trying to process what has happened at our nation’s capitol on Wednesday. This is an unfortunate moment in time that will go down in history, and this makes me angry, frustrated, confused, and mostly sad. What has happened and what is now our reality is truly unfathomable.

I have been taking a lot of time to pray for hope, healing, unity, and peace in our country, and I didn’t feel right starting this post without acknowledging the state of everything. That’s where I stand, but I do want to continue to keep things light and positive around here, so here is the latest set of faves to hopefully distract you a little with some chatter and coffee talk.

It has been a few weeks since I complied some faves for the typical Friday Favorites post, so I wanted to make sure and publish this edition today. We have celebrated a few things since the last one, so you can check out the recaps of Christmas and our New Year’s Eve if you missed them. Thank you so much for checking in today!

FRIDAY FAVORITES: WEEK OF 1/8

• night runs with Scott

I haven’t been running consistently as much as I would like, thanks to the colder temperatures and holidays. That said, it makes me happy to say that I’ve been on two runs this week and plan to keep the pattern going for a while.

What’s even better is that Scott and I have been able to go on runs together, which is something that hasn’t happened in years. Scott is much faster than I am, so we prefer to take our runs solo. But, with Skyler now in preschool two days a week, it has given us a chance to revisit the idea of being running buddies again. It’s been really nice.

Scott doesn’t go as fast as he would on his own, and I hustle a little more to keep a good pace with him when we go together. We have found a compromise here, and last night’s 4.5-mile loop was the first time we both didn’t need to stop to walk at least once in forever. It felt amazing!

Our new routine on Skyler’s school days has been to finish up working on the computer by 5 p.m., get changed, stretch, and head out the door by 5:15 for a 30-40 minute run together on our way to pick him up by 6. We literally run around the neighborhood to the front door of the daycare, and it’s been a good strategy.

If you’re looking to up your fitness game this year, start with something that you can easily add into your schedule and try to stick to it. You can totally do it!

• Total Body Strength Workout — Dumbbells & (optional) Stability Ball

I shared this workout earlier this week on Instagram stories, and I broke it down with more description and demonstration links in the Life In Leggings Community Page yesterday. (This page is about to get a lot more fun … stay tuned!)

I wanted to share it here, just in case you need a quick and effective total body workout, too.

This workout has two circuits with four exercises each. You will need at least two sets of dumbbells, (ideally three – light, medium, medium-heavy), and a stability ball if you have one. If not, you can just do chest presses from the floor.⁣⁣Complete the first circuit of exercises for 2-3 rounds before moving on to the next one, and do 12-15 reps of each exercise.⁣⁣

There are a few single arm/single leg movements which challenges stability and balance. It’s also extra work for your core!

EXERCISE BREAKDOWNS

sit-ups with dumbbell reaches

dumbbell side bends

dumbbell deadlifts

dumbbell chest presses on stability ball

single arm rows

dumbbell one leg hammer curls

dumbbell overhead triceps extensions

dumbbell split squats

dumbbell swings

As always, reach out with any questions and don’t forget to drink water, take options and rest when needed.⁣ Let me know if you give it a try!

• No Requests NYC Coffee

Shouting out to the small business owners hustling through the hardships of this pandemic! I like to support friends and local shops as much as possible, and I am excited to introduce you to a line from a friend of mine.

I’ve only tried the coffee, but there is a really cool story behind the “No Requests” name and what it means. Basically, it’s a mindset to enjoy things how they were supposed to be made and enjoy the simple things without interruption. I like that.

I was gifted a bag of coffee with flavor notes of Dark Chocolate and Brown Sugar and oh my gosh it’s good. Like, it doesn’t really need anything added kind of good. But, for comfort, I usually add some steamed oatmilk which makes it a little more fancy.

You can read more about it and purchase them here.

It’s been a treat to sip on gourmet, locally-made coffee for sure!

• simplified litter box system

This one might seem weird to share, but it has been a serious game changer in our household. If you have a cat and dread having to change the box, smell the litter, and deal with the mess that comes along with it, this is for you.

The Purina Tidy Cats Litter Box System is slightly more expensive to maintain than the typical litter, but it’s genius and is worth it one hundred times over. You have the box, the scooper, the pellets, and then a tray underneath that captures all of the wetness. (Aren’t the pee clumps in litter the worst?!)

(You can also find it on Chewy.)

I scoop the poop every day or so, but I only have to change the pee pad one to two times per week, and it’s incredibly easy and timesaving. It’s recommended to change out all of the pellets about once a month. And, the best part, the pellets stay in the box and barely make a mess outside of it.

Sending a huge thank you to my friend Lauren who recommended this to me! We are big fans, especially in an apartment setting where the box is in a common area.

Once you know, you know!

• Reels, Deals & Beautycounter News

You can always catch the latest scoop on the Life In Leggings – Beautycounter page or ! But, since there are some major things in the works, here are a few things that I wanted to drop over here.

But first, I need to share that I have finally embraced Reels over on Instagram. I’ve resisted making them for so long (and still haven’t joined over on Tik Tok), but I actually gave them a chance this week and published two. They were time consuming, but so, so fun to create! Aka, stay tuned for a lot more in the future — hehe.

Well, yesterday I covered the business side of Beautycounter and some common misconceptions in what I do with it. So, just in case you’re wondering what makes this brand different and why I talk about it so much, here you go.

It’s much more than just selling makeup and skincare, my friends. And while we are on the subject of the business opportunity, would you be open to talking more about it with me?

It’s seriously the best “yes” decision I’ve made, and now that I’ve found my groove and hit several milestones, I wish I started five years ago when it initially peeked my interest. I want to share the love and this experience with you and I am bringing it up today because of an amazing offer that is attached to the sign up through 1/15.

FYI …

You do NOT need to have all the answers, you do not need to know a lot about skincare, and you do not need to know anything about sales to make it your own and do well with this company. You definitely don’t have to be a blogger, have a huge following, or even be on social media for that matter.

To do well as a Beautycounter consultant, you just have to care about clean beauty and spend as much or as little time as you want on it. This is a super-flexible side gig (that could turn full-time … let me show you how!) that’s also really FUN and extremely rewarding. And, of course, you’re doing an important job of educating and helping people improve their skin and their health, too.

Helpful links:

IG Live Recording: Beautycounter Business Opportunity Chat

Blog Post: 

EXCLUSIVE OFFER THROUGH 1/15 …

If you sign up in the first two weeks of January and you get a starter set, you will also get a FREE Countertime Mini Deluxe Set, which is no longer available to buy and valued at $219. (It’s the anti-aging line and the perfect way to test out the line, travel with, or even use for sampling to help get you started!)

Please reach out to me if you have any questions or want to chat about what it’s like to be a consultant. I would be thrilled to be your mentor!

If you’re new to Beautycounter, browse the site and use the code CLEANFORALL20 to get 20% off of your first order!

Also, keep an eye out for a much-anticipated new product launch next week. The Clean Deo is finally coming, and I’ll be sharing more on that on the next round of faves.

And finally, I want to give a heartfelt thank you to those who have purchased from the links I share and/or reached out to me with questions. A few of you have shown up in my inbox after years of reading this blog, and that brings me the biggest smile.

Thank you for your continuous support!

• casual sneaker surprise

The Facebook ads got Scott last week, and he ended up ordering these Cole Haan sneakers at a steal for $30. Well, what do you know, he didn’t realize that they were actually a women’s sneaker and the size that was delivered to our house happened to be mine. We weren’t able to process a return since they were on clearance, so I kept them and have been really loving the look and practicality of a shoe like this for walking in the city.

By the way, Cole Haan is having a great sale on shoes right now. I love some of their sneaker prints in metallic fabrics and subtle animal prints. So cute! Also, check this page out for more steals at as low as $30. Yes!

• favorite LIL posts

» The Best of Life In Leggings 2020

The year 2020 certainly threw us unexpected twists and turns. Creating content and sharing the positives along with the real life struggles was a big part of coping and normalizing for me! Just for fun, here’s a look back at the top blog posts written in 2020 according to analytics with your favorite posts, my favorite posts, and the top ten posts of all time that are still circulating. I hope you enjoy!

»

My biggest success in 2020 was realizing that I need to get specific with daily, weekly, and monthly tasks for all of the moving parts to my business and stop overcomplicating things. Here’s why SIMPLIFY is my word for 2021, and what it really means for the year ahead.

---

All right, I better sign off and get to some important projects on deck for today. Thank you for reading and Happy Friday!

I hope you all have a great weekend. Sending hugs and prayers to you!

---

*Disclaimer: Friday Favorites posts may contain affiliate links. Also, I am a Beautycounter consultant and love what I do with the company. By using the links provided in this post to order products, you are supporting my business. I always appreciate you!