Happy Friday! I hope you had a good week! This week was one of the most productive weeks I’ve had in quite some time. I was in town all week, and Michael was traveling for most of the week. I essentially didn’t leave my house on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday (except for workouts at SoulCycle and Anytime Fitness). I caught up on blog work, made a few updates to my Contracts for Creatives website, and worked on a few other projects after hours.

On Thursday I had two coffee dates, which was nice, especially after not interacting with many humans at the beginning of the week. 😉 I’ve been meeting lots of new-to-me bloggers in Houston, which has been great. It’s always nice to be able to chat about blogging and all that goes along with it! Rebekah and I hit up 2nd Cup and then I met Andréa at Golden Bagels & Coffee (one of my favorite weekend coffee shops!). Andréa runs Switch Natural and is a great resource for all things clean living! Check out here site here!

THIS WEEK’S BLOG POSTS

New to My Closet for Fall // I’m hoping September brings cooler temps to Houston so I can start pulling out all of my new fall pieces! In Monday’s blog post, I shared 9 fall pieces that I’ve recently added to my closet!

August Recap, Look Ahead to September // My monthly recap post! I shared an update on my travel plans, a wellness update, including a few clean beauty promos, the most popular blog posts from the month, and the most clicked on items! Check out the post here.

August 2019 Amazon Favorites // I shared my favorite Amazon purchases from August plus a couple of oldie, but goodie products that I use on the daily too!

WORKOUTS

I’ve been trying to find a new-ish weekly workout routine with incorporating my half-marathon training. Here are my workouts from this week:

• Monday: Anytime Fitness weight workout + evening SoulCycle ride
• Tuesday: 3 mile morning run
• Wednesday: Anytime Fitness weight workout
• Thursday: 3 mile evening run (it’s too hot for these in Houston!)
• Friday: Anytime Fitness weight workout
• Weekend: 7 mile morning run (Saturday morning)

PODCASTS

Since I work from home most days, I like to have a podcast on in the background. As a result, I listen to a lot of podcasts throughout the week. Most are business related, but some are just for fun. This week I was on a binge of The Skinny Confidential …

• The Skinny Confidential: Jorge Cruise – How To Intermittent Fast, The Myths and Truths Behind Intermittent Fasting, Diet, Fitness, & Weight Management
• The Skinny Confidential: Color Me Courtney aka Courtney Quinn – How To Ignore Negativity, Create Community, A Highly Recognized Brand, & Not Compare Yourself To Others
• The Skinny Confidential: Heather McMahan – Comedic Relief, Laughing Through Hard Times, The Life of a Comic, & Building a Comedy Career

Things to Note – Labor Day Weekend Sales!

Follain // Follain, one of my favorite clean beauty shops, is having a sitewide 15% off sale! I ordered another refill of my everyday hand soap (I have several bottles around my house). A few other Follain favorites: Jane Iredale Lash Conditioner & Primer, Instant Glow Body Oil, and this Sugar & Shea Body Scrub.

Antrhopologie // 20% off home decor. If I could have my entire home decked out in Anthropologie home decor, I would. If you’ve been eyeing any of their pieces, now is a great time to pull the trigger!

Abercrombie // 50% off almost everything! I recently purchased these jeans (they run TTS, I have the medium distressed wash, seen here) and these two bodysuits: here (seen here, wearing small) & here (seen here, wearing medium). If you haven’t come around to trying out Abercrombie’s updated pieces, give them a go! I’ve been pleasantly surprised!

Loft // 40% – 50% off almost everything! Love this cute floral dress, this easy pull-on midi skirt, and this leopard print tie-waist skirt!

Beautycounter // There are currently 2 Beautycounter promotions happening!

1. My personal promo: Today & Tomorrow ONLY. With any purchase of $50 or more with me at beautycounter.com/ashleehightower, I’ll personally send you a sample set of the new Countertime line. (Grace published a thorough and honest review of the new line here!)

2. Beautycounter is having its own Labor Day weekend promo: With any purchase of $150 or more, you’ll receive a FREE Body Butter in Mimosa Citrus ($39 value). It will automatically be added to your cart once you hit the $150 threshold.

Interested in the business side of Beautycounter? Want 25% off all Beautycounter products, all the time?! Shoot me an email – [email protected] – I’m a consultant for Beautycounter and it’s the best thing ever! Not only do I get to purchase my products at a discount, I’ve met the most amazing community of women through joining Beautycounter as a consultant (my team leaders are Jess and Blair!). I love what Beautycounter is doing as a brand – for a little insight, check out this ad Beautycounter was involved with that was published in the NY Times last week. And it’s a great way to add another income stream to your business or start your own side hustle!

Liv Bliss Loungewear // Liv Bliss is a local DC area company that has the softest, comfiest loungewear! I have three of their tees (this one seen here, this one, and this one – all in size small). They pair perfectly with jeans or with joggers for lounging around the house. Use code COBALT20 for 20% off!

WEEKEND PLANS

Michael and I will be laying low tonight since we have an early wakeup call on Saturday morning. We’re squeezing in a 7 mile morning run before getting on the road and heading down to Galveston for the weekend! I’m excited to check out this Texas beach town with our friends from New Orleans! Follow along on Instagram as I’m sure I’ll be posting plenty of Stories all weekend long!

FAVORITE THINGS THIS WEEK

Oversized Boyfriend Blazer (seen here) // My favorite blazer for fall is currently 50% off! Marked down to $34.50 from $69. I have a size XS.

Grayson Button Up Shirts // I have several of these button ups (love the Heart Print!). Grayson is a new-to-me brand, but its button ups are the softest, comfiest, and made specifically for women! I wear a size 2 (a bit oversized). Eyeing the flannel versions for fall!

Air Fryer // I picked up this Ninja Air Fryer a few weeks ago after a friend was raving about it. We used it this week, and I’m still in awe! I made sweet potato fries and they turned out just as crispy (maybe even crispier) than they do when I “fry” them in oil on the stove top!

Have a great weekend!