Hello friends! Happy Friday! How is your week going? Friends partying this week: how was your vacation?
Before we move on to today’s post, a HUGE congratulations to this year’s Favorite Things contest winner: Mary Anne C. Stay tuned for more giveaways coming in the new year!
It’s been an incredible week. We spent a few nights at the Scottsdale Princess, which is one of our favorite winter traditions. They have so many wonderful light displays, Santa, ice skating, rides, and the atmosphere is so festive and fun.
(They also have a ridiculous hot chocolate cocktail called the Nutcracker that is SO good.) We met with friends and enjoyed all the activities on property, and also had dinner at the new Toca Madera.
We were blown away by the food and service. Everything was cooked perfectly – we shared guacamole, chips, oysters, and the Pilot and I enjoyed margaritas. For starters, the kids had truffle mac and cheese and chopped salad with chicken, while the pilot and I enjoyed the steaks and sides. We ordered three desserts (we want to try everything when we go out to eat lol) and the presentation was so unique – everything was on a board adorned with a lit sparkler.
While we were in Scottsdale we also saw Ballet Arizona Nutcracker; one of my all time favorites!
The rest of the week was spent watching the lights of Winterhaven and having a party with friends, Christmas Eve at my dad’s house and Christmas Day at our house. This week was filled with everything I love: family time, relaxation time, and delicious food.
(All our pajamas come from Hannah Anderson)
We had the usual grandmother’s egg casseroletamales, beans and hhomemade cinnamon rolls.
The Pilot made his famous eggnog:
and for dinner, we had a giant charcuterie board, caviar + sides, shrimp cocktail, and for dinner, beef fillet with horseradish mustard sauce, smoked turkey, Brussels maple and mashed sweet potatoes.
Dessert was a Christmas log from dedicated,
homemade pumpkin pie,
an assortment of macarons and a million cookies that madre and I made 😉 Here are some of the cookie boxes we brought to our neighbors:
We played the saran wrap ball game and a few other games, and the pilot and I finished the evening sitting by the poolside fire pit. It was perfect 🙂
It’s time for the weekly Faves Friday evening! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love hearing about your favorites, so feel free to shout out something you like in the comments section below.
12.27 Friday Favorites
Fashion + beauty + random:
A friend of mine told me it was her favorite Christmas gift, so I ordered one for myself. I’m excited to use it at our next get together to keep food warm.
This sweatshirt is so cute for Valentine’s Day!
A perfect classic sweater dress
Read, watch, listen:
Are you doing Dry January this year?
Fitness, health, life and good nutrition:
While we were in Scottsdale, I was able to take a Pvolve class at their new Scottsdale studio. This was one of the best group fitness classes I’ve taken in a very long time. The instructor had fabulous cues and energy, and I really love the Pvolve workout and format. It incorporates functional strength training with unique positioning – lots of internal and external rotation – balance components, and the tools are effective at adding an extra challenge. It was HARD and I was pleasantly sore afterwards! My full review of my blog post is here.
SO MANY sales on some of my favorite health and wellness brands. If you are looking to use FSA/HSA funds at the end of the year, check out this article.
– EquiLife is having a huge sale on tests and supplements this week. If you want to test as the new year approaches, I highly recommend starting with the Big 5 or the Starter Kit. (If you would like me to take the tests with you, send me your confirmation number to gina@fitnessista.com subject to TEST and I can make sure the results come to me.)
– Last chance to get 20% off at HigherDOSE with code FITNESSISTA20. If you want one sauna blanket, PEMF mat Or red light masknow is the opportunity.
Gingerbread and Banana Muffins
The January detox starts on January 13th if you want to plan ahead! My code is FITNESSITA10 if you would like to participate.
Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today! Have a wonderful weekend and see you soon!
xoxo
Gina
