In Color

This is a partnership between FP Movement and me.

Let’s talk about exercise as a mom and chef. Seems like a perfect combo for fitness if you ask me…...

Some months I’m so good. I’m up, I’m moving, I’m in it. Other months it just doesn’t happen. I used to call that failing. I’m done doing that. It isn’t a failure. My cup is just full from every other part of life.

Still, I’m battling myself. Movement matters to me. It gives me energy and confidence. I alter food choices and maybe drinking choices. It’s how I feel. So when it drifts away, I drift away from myself too.

Last year I trained for the marathon and fell hard for strength training. It started as support for the running and became its own love. I kept it up all winter through spring into summer. Guys, I have never felt so strong in my life. It’s a hot feeling, confidence overload. The first time someone complimented my arms I thought it was a joke. Then a man complimented my back at a bar and asked what my routine was; I didn’t believe it until I SAW it.

Then summer hit; I got less strict. Then late August hit, and September workflow did what September workflow does. It erased everything physical. I’m feeling that right now, in my head and in my body.

And no, being on my feet all day doesn’t cover it. I’m an event chef. My days are long and physical, standing, lifting, hauling crates and sheet trays. My body is tired at the end of it, but that movement belongs to the job. It isn’t for me. And when event season ramps up, the movement that is for me is the first thing to go.

I love yoga and Pilates, but they come and go. Running is different. There’s a clarity in it, and a pain, that is so satisfying. You’re uncomfortable and completely clear at the same time. Nothing else gives me that.

After the marathon, my knee got so bad that I didn’t run for months. It was almost a full year of no running up until a few weeks ago. I laced up and went on my first run since the marathon. Felt serendipitous since we’re in the final countdown for this year’s NYC marathon. Only 3 miles, but all 3 felt amazing. So maybe I’m back?!

Fitness can’t be touch and go for me. I love it too much. But life is messy and busy and always shifting, and the perfect schedule I dream about isn’t always real. Moving is always real. 20 minutes counts. A walk counts.

I’ve been walking a lot. Calls on foot. Coffee dates turned into walk dates. I’ll ask a friend to grab a coffee and meet me in the park, and we talk while we walk. The few who thought I was out there? Try, try, try again. The ones who were down, even psyched? You’re my people.

Now the fun part. I’m a consumer at heart. At least that’s what I tell myself. When I get a new set, new running leggings, a vest, anything, a very specific smile shows up. It’s not about the stuff. It’s about showing up for myself and loving how I look doing it. That matters. It gets me out the door.

For the past two years I’ve fallen in love with color. I was a black leggings, PERIOD, kinda girl. Now my workout drawer is blue, red, purple, green, and more. I shop a lot at FP Movement. If you like color, you’ll love them. I’ve been living in this Hit The Slopes Fleece Jacket. I walk Mars to school every morning, and this is the uniform.

To be honest, I've also worn these Super Scrunch Socks quite a lot. They just bunch up exactly how you want. Especially when you want a maybe-lazy workout look to feel chic and put together. I have them in Ivory + Chocolate.

So when @fpmovement asked me to be part of their new Salomon collection, it was an easy yes. I’ve always loved black-and-white sneakers with a little pop, and every year I let in a little more color. This collection skips the pop and goes all the way. Two styles I already love, the XT‑Whisper and the XT‑6, hand dyed in ombré colors, these are colors Salomon has never made before!! (These are also the ones I have on in all the above photos. The collection drops October 1 (TODAY), only at FP Movement.

To moving in color <3

Xx,

G