Happy Friday! What are you up to this weekend? We’re celebrating our daughter’s first birthday, so my week was been packed with prepping for those celebrations (I’m attempting to bake this cake from scratch - godspeed to me). I also hope to carve out some time to reflect on my first year of parenthood (mostly — ahhhh, HOW has it been a year?!).

On a sillier note, I’m still processing *that* House of the Dragon finale if anyone cares to share your thoughts in our subscriber chat. 🫨 Have a great weekend! x Alisha

What Downtime Readers Are Up to This Summer

Thanks for all your comments in this thread last week. It was fun to see what plans, both big and small, you’ve got brewing for the rest of the season. It was also a good reminder that summer plans don’t need to involve traveling to far-flung destinations to feel meaningful.

Here are a few of my favorites…

“It's taken me until this year to realize that my summer is really mid-May to the end of July. I work at a college, and while classes don't start until mid-August, the emails start to build up in early August. This realization has been very eye-opening and will help in years to come. All this to say, I just wrapped up a yoga retreat, and I plan on spending this upcoming weekend outside as much as I can.” —Megan B.

“Rest of summer plans: headed to London for the Eras tour and Hadestown, then on to Nice to finish up my master's dissertation with a change of scenery! Being able to splurge on a getaway like this is very new, so I'm very much looking forward to it ☀️” —Shannon

“Super excited to celebrate my older sister’s wedding this weekend (just two months after my younger sister got married!). Then this two-time matron of honor is packing her bags and heading to the beach to soak up the sun and recover from a summer of planning wedding festivities!” —Jenny H.

“My dad recently passed away, so my siblings and I are taking turns this summer to spend a month each with our mom. She’s hanging out with me now. Last night, my kids and I taught her how to play Catan and she beat us all.” —Raj [Editor’s note: ❤️❤️❤️]

(Congrats to reader Amanda on winning the Olive & June summer kit!)

• ICYMI: First off, if you haven’t read my Q&A with author Rufi Thorpe, please do! She is a delight.

• Cooking: I made this lemony asparagus orzo pasta again this week. It’s an easy “my brain is overwhelmed right now” recipe.

• Secondhand browsing: When that Doen barn jacket sold out, I rounded up 20 vintage options, most of which are under $100. (I own a 12-year-old Barbour jacket, so I’m all set! It feels great to de-influence myself!)

• To better prioritize my ever-growing to-read list, I created an “up next” shelf on Goodreads (did you know you can make custom shelves). This shelf acts as my true queue, helping me avoid feeling overwhelmed when choosing my next book. Currently, my shelf includes The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand (something fun), Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (for a book club), and My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (something literary), which has been making the rounds on my bookish feeds lately, probably thanks to that NYT books list.

As a mood reader, I’ve found that I need a diverse mix on my to-read list: something fun, something literary, and something to discuss with others. I also love having a blend of current reads alongside “older” ones that I’ve been meaning to get to. What about you?

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• Two quick reading updates:

  • I’m glad I didn’t give up on The Wedding People by Alison Espach. It started off quite dark, got more interesting, and stuck the landing. Rarely do I finish a book and feel utterly satisfied with the ending. Much like Margo’s Got Money Troubles, this book has a solid balance of heart and humor. The situational irony is off the charts, and parts of the book (if you’ve read it, you probably know which) had me literally laughing out loud. 4/5 stars

  • Funny Story by Emily Henry — This wasn’t my favorite Henry book, but it was still enjoyable. The introduction of a new character towards the end (no spoilers here) felt a bit forced, and some of the reveals fell flat for me. 3/5 stars

• Two beauty recs: I've been trying two beauty products* for over a month and had to share:

  • This gel-like eye serum plumps the skin and reduces darkness under my eyes. I use it at night, and it feels great. You can use code ALISHARAMOS for 20% off.

  • I have sensitive skin, so I use a pea-sized amount of this retinol serum once or twice a week. It leaves my skin smoother the next morning. (Tretinoin, by contrast, irritated my skin.) *disclaimer - these were both gifted…but it’s worth noting I reject 99% of gifting requests from beauty brands. I simply do not need more beauty stuff!

• VOTE: I must alert everyone that my favorite Kamala merch shop is BACK. All profits go to the campaign. On that note, I loved Emily Amick ‘s informative post about Walz here, and I just put her book, Democracy in Retrograde, in my cart.

Style Notes: Maximizing My Closet

I've challenged myself to work with what I own before finalizing my fall wishlist. Through trial and error, I'm discovering that the secret to keeping my minimalist color palette interesting is incorporating a variety of textures and accessories. This feels like such a “duh” tip but it finally sort of clicked for me after physically experimenting in my closet, pulling out different layers, snapping photos, and analyzing what was working and why.

For instance, I love how my vintage suede jacket (a $25 find on Depop) pairs with a silky brown skirt, a cream pointelle cardigan, and a leather bag and flats. I can see this “texture formula” working for various other color palettes, too. It’s got my brain whirring. Suede, silk, cotton, leather, and some hardware via jewelry or a belt keeps the look exciting.

Another bookish mix this week…...