Hello, friend!
We’ve been busy as ever over here, and we’re leaving for a big trip this week … we’re heading to Munich, Germany. Brady and I are tagging along on Dave’s work trip there, and we’re really excited for Brady’s first time in Europe (and only my second time, believe it or not). I’ll be sharing some of our adventures on Instagram, if you want to say hi there. But for today, it’s time for some current faves from life in Charlotte …
Finding the best blue adidas sweatsuit for fall and winter
adidas sent me a gift card to purchase this gear. Thanks, adidas!
It’s officially comfy and cozy season in Charlotte, and I’m ready to pull out my favorite sweaters and sweatsuits, as well as debut some new ones.
I recently bought this adidas Z.N.E. women’s full-zip hoodie and these adidas Z.N.E. women’s pants to go together (you know I live for a matching set). I got a small in both items, and they fit loosely, but properly, in such a good way. I’m thinking of wearing these on the plane either to or from Germany (which just happens to be the country where the adidas brand was born).
What’s cool about this matching set is not only that it’s comfortable, but also that it’s made partially from recycled materials, which some adidas clothes are in order to reduce the company’s reliance on finite resources. I particularly like the slightly thicker quality fabric that really feels luxurious on. I have a couple sets from the Z.N.E line of adidas, and it’s top notch. Plus, the royal blue is bright and fun.
I’ve been wearing a ton of adidas this year (and I wore a ton last year too), and I’ve been so pleased with nearly everything I’ve ordered both for me and for Brady/Dave. We tend to be a pretty casual family, so these functional pieces just work for us.
If you’re looking for some comfy fall and winter gear like women’s fleece, shoes under $100, women’s workout clothes, matching sets and more, head over to adidas to shop around. As always, thanks, adidas!
Enjoying our fourth Halloween in Charlotte
We had a great Halloween season, if you can call it that, complete with two Halloween parties, some trick-or-treating and two chances to dress up. It was pretty moderate weather both times we were in our costumes, and each Halloween celebration was totally different.
We went to one Halloween party at our country club with my mom the weekend before Halloween, and that party had a dance-floor, a deejay and a very scary haunted house. Then, we went to a neighborhood block party on actual Halloween with some friends, which was a good time, outside of Brady falling and skinning his knee pretty badly. Nobody wants tears on Halloween, and they put a little damper on some of the night, but he recovered in time for trick-or-treating fun.
The last two years, we’ve worn matching family costumes (skeletons once and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles once), but this year, it didn’t seem like we were going to settle on a theme.
We let Brady select his costume, then Dave wore what he already had (a lobster costume and a soccer player outfit), and I did a quick Amazon purchase of a neon sweatsuit that I really feel like I may have an opportunity to pull out again one day. I was quite comfy in it and even threw on an old microphone headset that I had laying around at home to complete the look.
(Here’s my Halloween outfit, and here are my sneakers.)
While Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday, I do love that it kicks off the fun of the pending holiday season. One last pumpkin picture, then we’re on to the next thing …
(Here are my gold sneakers, and here are my sunglasses.)
Seeing the Morgan Wallen concert
I love country music, and I really love live country music.
More than a year ago, some friends and I purchased tickets to see Morgan Wallen way in advance. Then, the original show date was postponed, so we had to wait even longer for the concert to take place. I would say it was worth the wait.
The “One Night at a Time Tour” was a blast, and Morgan Wallen sounded great in person and really put on a good show. We had perfect weather for an outdoor stadium concert (this concert was held at Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte). But my favorite part of the concert was actually the tailgating in the parking garage beforehand.
(Here’s my faux leather skirt, which is only $15 on sale. Sadly, I had to retire my 10-year-old cowboy boots after this night, because they started to disintegrate — they had a good run.)
During our tailgate, my girlfriend, Tiffany (shown above), and I did some people watching while sipping on bubbles, and we loved hanging out in this casual way before going into the big show.
Experiencing the Concert for Carolina
While the Morgan Wallen concert was great, the Concert for Carolina was truly incredible!
This concert took place just one week after Morgan Wallen at the same location, and it was far beyond expectations. I enjoyed it so much, and it was a very memorable night.
This concert came together in less than a month (Dave was a big part of the planning and work for the concert, so it was cool for him to see it go off so perfectly). The evening featured a ton of big-name country stars like Luke Combs, Eric Church, Keith Urban, Bailey Zimmerman, James Taylor, Scotty McCreery and more — all of whom played for free and donated their time and efforts to help raise money for Western North Carolina — an area still dealing with some pretty bad destruction from flooding from Hurricane Helene a month ago.
Let me just say, singing along to some favorite country songs and dancing under the stars with more than 82,000 people in attendance was simply amazing. Also, the concert raised more than $24 million dollars for Western North Carolina relief efforts.
The concert started a little late due to a rain delay, and so it didn’t end until after 1 a.m., and it was a very long night. I woke up (exhausted) but smiling from the fun, especially from this little line-dancing video I made in the parking garage with two friends before the show. Good times.
This was my fourth big concert of the year — all of which I went to in the span of two months — and it was also my last concert of the year. I wonder who I will get to see next year? (Big regret: I didn’t make it to Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour,” and I’m actually pretty sad about that. Oh well.)
Cheering on the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC
We go to a lot of professional sporting events these days.
It seems like almost every single weekend, I’m inviting friends to come with Brady and me to experience a game and hang out. We’ve had some extra good times lately, especially last weekend, when Charlotte FC won its first home playoff game on Friday night, and the Panthers won for the first time at home this season on Sunday afternoon.
(Here are my wide-leg jeans, which are the softest jeans I’ve ever owned.)
Although both types of games take place in the same stadium (once again, Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte, just like the two concerts I went to), they are very different experiences.
Charlotte FC (MLS) plays at night, and the games go a lot quicker, with tons of non-stop soccer action on the field. The Panthers (NFL) play during the day, and the games are longer with a lot of breaks, fanfare, TV coverage and a big half-time show. I go back and forth on deciding which I prefer to watch. I asked Brady which he prefers, and he can’t decide either. It’s safe to say, we’re just fans of sports in general.
(Here’s my skirt, and here are my shoes. I was a little cold during last Sunday’s game, so I think that’s my last time wearing skirts to games for the year.)
Hanging out with the folks from Meta
A few weeks ago, I was invited to attend a really cool event in Charlotte hosted by the Meta company (that’s the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, by the way).
This event — the Meta Screen Smart — was part of a series of roadshows Meta is doing across bigger cities to meet directly with influencers to have open conversations about improvements and new features on the app. At this event, I loved hanging out with some sweet friends I already know (like Jen, seen below) and meeting some new people too.
(Here’s my crossbody bag, which I use all the time.)
This event was so perfectly executed, and I was honored to be included. We learned about the new Instagram Teen Accounts, which recently debuted on the Instagram app. These accounts default to private, have pretty strict messaging controls, have time-limits and sleep-mode enabled and require parent approval too.
While we’re nowhere near the days when Brady will be on social media, I liked learning from the experts about how to talk about social media to kids openly and often. I made a video about my time at the Meta Screen Smart event you can see here.
A Lady Goes West favorites
Here’s what’s been going on on the blog …
Fitness. I know that not everyone is excited about exercise, but you can try to change that … “What you should do if you don’t love working out.”
Real-life shifts. In this one, I’m sharing what I need to work on the last couple months of the year … “Five things I’m focusing on during the last 75 days of the year.”
Group fitness. This is one of my favorite subjects to write about and talk about … “Five super-satisfying aspects of taking group fitness classes.”
One more thing worth sharing with you! As some of you know, my favorite clean beauty brand, Beautycounter, changed hands this year and is in the process of relaunching. Well, right now, for the next couple of weeks, you can get your hands on Beautycounter products, as well as enjoy some free gifts with purchase and free shipping on orders over $125. While I’m not a consultant for the new company yet, you can shop through my link, if you’d like. And thank you for doing so! 🙂
That’s it for today, friend! I really appreciate you coming by A Lady Goes West to read my words. Have a wonderful week! I’ll share all about our Germany trip in a recap when we return.
Questions of the day
Did you dress up for Halloween this year?
What’s the last concert you went to?
What’s one thing you’re looking forward to in November?