Downtime - Recs #75: Ins and outs for 2025
“Receiving Downtime is the highlight of my week!” “I’ve been a longtime reader for years and finally decided to upgrade my subscription.” Join in! Paid subscribers unlock exclusive content, gain access to reader chats, the full archives, giveaways, and more—and your support directly helps grow the newsletter (and pay our editors, designers, and collaborators!). Subscriptions are $5/month or $4/month if paid annually. I’m thinking of you, dear Downtime readers who live in LA. I hope you and your loved ones are staying safe. The destruction is just devastating and heartbreaking. Too many people and families have lost their homes. If you’re looking to support relief efforts, please visit the Mutual Aid LA Network, the California Community Fund, or California Wildfire DirectRelief. Baby2Baby is distributing essential baby products to families who’ve lost everything, and Bobbie is also giving away free formula to impacted families. Please feel free to share other resources, links, or fundraising efforts in the comments section today. 💔 Our week started with a heavy snowfall that shut everything down. My first instinct? Grumpiness—after all, it followed a long, childcare-less winter break. But as I surrendered to the disruption, something unexpected happened: I felt a surge of gratitude for the cozy days spent indoors with my family. It became a welcome challenge to get creative with “fun activities”—like the surprisingly satisfying entertainment (at least, to our daughter) of emptying and refilling the Tupperware drawer. We made a beautiful mess, both literal and figurative (those newly acquired finger painting kits came in clutch). Sitting in the living room, which glowed brighter than usual from the snow’s soft reflection through the windows, I couldn’t help but feel happy, the grumpiness melting away. And I had a thought—that I’ll never get these moments back again, the ones when our daughter is so little and delighting in pushing blue paint around and squeaking with glee playing hide-and-seek behind doors. I could be getting work done, sure, but there’s also this. I want more of these moments in 2025, the ones that make me pause and take everything in with awe. The ones where I’m not in total control, things are imperfect, and that’s okay. ![]() I’m today’s newsletter: I’m easing in with a fun list and some quick recommendations. Enjoy! —Alisha My ins and outs for 2025Everyone is making these lists and…I love them. They feel like a low-stakes way to to set some soft goals (and anti-goals) for the year. Below are mine. Would love to hear yours in the comments! IN:
OUT:
I’m curious to hear…what’s on your ins/outs list this year?Let’s share ideas — leave a comment below! Downtime Edit: Piling on all the cozy.I looked at my recent shopping saves and to no one’s surprise, it’s all leggings, sherpa, and cozy knits. I’ve felt uninspired in the style department lately and I’m leaning into a lazy uniform of leggings + t-shirt + sweater. Instead of berating myself though, I’m leaning into it and enjoying this season to just be comfortable and hibernate a little. Here are a few of my recent finds…
Fun LinksWhat was open in my tabs this week…
And a few recommendations:
*Sponsor I hope you have a restful weekend. Coming up next: a new installment of the Bookmarked column with an author I admire so much. —Alisha Previously on Downtime So many great comments in last week’s post! 👇 You’re currently a free subscriber to Downtime. If you’ve been enjoying it, please consider upgrading! For $4/month, you’ll unlock exclusive content, access to our subscriber chat, the full archives, giveaways, and more. Plus, your subscription directly supports everything that goes into this newsletter each week—writing, editing, interviewing, graphic design, and beyond. Either way, thanks for reading and supporting my work. This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click something and buy it, I may earn a small cut of the purchase at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work; I only recommend things I truly love and/or have vetted. If you enjoyed this post, please click the like ❤️ button below—it helps others discover Downtime and is a totally free way to show your appreciation. You can also forward it to a friend who’d love it, or screenshot your favorite part and share it on Instagram (tag me @alisharamos so I can repost!). |
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Your Toughest Gifting Questions, Answered
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Ideas for your hard to shop for dad and your fancy boss who already has everything. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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