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Welcome to our last week of COZY DAYS, a four-week series on the things we're doing to find comfort during the holidays. This week we're exploring smol bright spots, in recognition of our 200th issue! Forward this issue to a friend who could use GNI in their life each week. If a friend forwarded this to you, you can subscribe here.
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note from the editor
Morning
,
Happy Friday! It’s our 200th issue, and also our final of 2020 as our team prepares to take a little winter break. It always feels like a gargantuan task to try and sum up a whole year, let alone the past 200 issues of GNI, but we wanted to do something fun to mark the occasion.
To celebrate almost four years of GNI newsletters, the team and I made something for you. In the past, we've published spreadsheets (aka my love language) to help you take better care: everything from grocery list templates to budgeting spreadsheets, to... uh, some more unique ones. And every time we publish them, you ask for more.
So! For this 200th issue, we created a subscribers-only hub for ALL our spreadsheets, plus seven brand-spankin' new ones (some helpful, some just for fun) to spread a little care and cheer as you close out 2020 and start thinking about 2021. I hope you enjoy this little project and DM it to all your friends. You can scroll down to the "weekly picks" section below for the password.
Since this was also a particularly heavy year, I thought it would be nice to spend this last note recognizing some of my personal faves of the year. Even among the bad, there were so many smol bright spots that kept me (and I’m sure you too) going. I mean, does anyone else remember the Dalgona coffee and “growing green onions on my window sill” phases of quarantine? As we all continue to process the many hardships of this year, those small moments feel worth remembering. Below are some of the favorites that kept me going.
💗 Favorite GNI moments from this year:
• Lots of newsletters but I loved the Sunday Night Rituals issue, the small joys issue, one issue where we shared my home admin spreadsheets that got lots of love, and our Juneteenth issue by Loungers
• We released Stay Home Take Care (it's still up!) in a span of seven days in March as a hub for taking care during COVID
• We launched The Lounge, our membership platform! *faints*
• We also launched our sibling brand, Whiled!
🥘 Favorite things I made/cooked:
• I got real into mastering specific genres of what I call no-recipe recipes: brothy beans or lentils, pasta with sausage and veggies
• Chicken kofta with baba ghanoush
• Butternut squash and red onions with tahini sauce
• Spam musubi and a corresponding virtual musubi night with some West Coast friends
• In general the NYT Cooking app became my bff
📺 Favorite things I watched:
• Never Have I Ever (Netflix)
• The Crown (Netflix)
• Just Mercy (Amazon)
• The Great (Hulu)
• Selling Sunset 😬 (Netflix)
• Monty Don’s Gardeners World (BritBox)... every night before bed for a few months 😅
• Miss Americana (Netflix)
• The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix)
• Hot Ones (YouTube)…. I finally succumbed to my husband’s obsession
🎧 Favorite podcast episodes I listened to:
• Armchair Expert: Halsey's Episode
• Conan O’Brian Needs A Friend: Ali Wong's episode
• Oh, I Like That: How to give gifts episode
• Romcompods: Season 1 for some silly escapism
• Gee Thanks, Just Bought It: This is shameless self-promo but I loved the episode I was on because we just talked a lot about Selling Sunset
📚 Favorite things I read:
• Know My Name by Chanel Miller (a GNI book club pick) for its poignant story and beautiful writing
• The Art of Showing Up by Rachel Miller (hey, all the Millers!) for its extremely practical tips on how to nurture and grow friendships and, yanno, put in the work of friendship.
• I re-read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and went DEEP into the Mantel fandom, including watching the mini-series adaptation. 😅
⚡️ Favorite memes / cultural zeitgeisty things that made me laugh or sparked joy:
• Early quar vibes meme.
• @ziwef on Instagram.
• This video of Meryl Streep. Iconic.
• This personal attack on me.
• This meme.
• Florence Pugh’s cooking classes on Instagram Stories
• #cottagecore and leaning hard into house dresses
💭 Favorite memories and bright spots:
• I got married! In a “mini-mony.”
• Saw my friends get married, have babies, and continue celebrating joyful milestones in new and special ways.
• Moved to a new neighborhood and house! It came with a Little Free Library!
• I was able to garden, in earnest!
• We created new rituals with our GNI team… like virtual drawing parties!
• Learned exactly ONE TikTok dance.
☕️ Favorite quarantine purchases that are so specific to this year:
• A powerful little electric whisk. To make great lattes at home.
• Neon bike shorts. Because quar was all about questionable fashion choices.
• This little rattan lamp from Etsy (which wasn’t actually a purchase but a gift from the GNI team)
• A sweatsuit.
• A mini, waterproof wireless speaker. For moody showers/baths and socially distanced backyard hangs. But uh, mostly just-me backyard hangs.
• A RING LIGHT. For all my Zooms and IG Lives.
🌲Favorite 3 songs on evermore (sorry to all non-Swifties)
• willow
• ‘tis the damn season
• gold rush
Thanks so much for sticking with us this year. To all our new subscribers — welcome to the cozy world of GNI. I’m so looking forward to getting to know you and hearing from you all next year. For now, I'm curious: What were some of your favorites of 2020? Reply or tag us @girlsnightinclub with your answers.
Until 2021 — stay cozy and take care,
Alisha Ramos, CEO & Founder at Girls' Night In
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weekly picks
how we're cozying up this week
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image via @eunibae
- Because we're feeling festive... 🎉 "Our GNI spreadsheets are all in one spot now, in three categories: getting organized, slowing down, and just for fun. This project is subscribers-only and the password is cozydays. We hope you enjoy! (And pls let us know what results you get on Mary Anne's Which Member of the GNI Team Are You? quiz.)" - Tyler, Content Team
Also included: Alisha's Ultimate Budget Spreadsheet, Olivia's Never-Forget-Another-Birthday Guide, Jenna's Journal (with 30 days of prompts!), Katrina's Pet Care Spreadsheet, Tyler's Color-Coded Guide to Staying In, Carey's Comprehensive List of Cheeses and How to Use Them, and Jenny's Indoorsy Person's Guide to Getting Outdoors.
- If you're missing travel this holiday season... 🌍 "I love travel and seeing the ways that cities celebrate, but that's not a possibility for me this year. Thus, I present to you: YouTube videos of people walking around their cities in pre-2020 winters (that’s it, that’s the rec). Perhaps you’d like to take a Christmas walk in New York? See also: 9 minutes of holiday lights in Paris, the Old Town Square of Prague, and Disney Land at midnight circa December 2019." - Mary Anne, Community Team
- Sustainable pieces you’ll be proud to wear... 🌎 Psst... one of our favorite brands is offering GNI readers 20% off sitewide this weekend (yes, even on sale items) and we're giddy about it. Here's why we love them: 1) THESE BOOTS. 2) They specialize in ethically produced products that ensure a living wage for all their makers. 3) They're a carbon-neutral brand, pushing back against climate change. Use code GNISALE at checkout. #SPONSORSTHING
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Read this if you like ooey gooey brownies... 🤤 "I made this recipe from Dessert Person this week and WOW, I'm a believer. Also, very into this tool that lets you CREATE your ideal cookie and tells you the exact recipe for it." - Katrina, Partnerships Team
- To learn more about financial wellness in 2021... 💸 "Shout-out to The Financial Diet for their always on-point money advice. If you subscribe to one financial newsletter in the new year (and you also want it to sound like a friend), make it this one." - Carey, Content Team
- If ice cream always melts too fast for you... 🍦 "You need to see this ice cream koozie." - Jenna, Content Team
- Some Friday night plans for ya... 📚 "In celebration of the holidays, our Lounge membership community, and the greater GNI community, we're opening tonight's Lounge gathering to everyone — yes, that means you! Tonight, we'll be gathering around for A Fireside Chat with Anne Helen Petersen, Author of Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation — for a conversation about burnout, and how we can better combat it, as we head into 2021. You can join us at the Zoom link here. The event starts at 8pm ET/5pm PT." - Olivia, Community Team
A note: If you join this gathering after we reach 1k attendees, you could be redirected to view and chat with us through YouTube. Have questions about the event? Email thelounge@girlsnightin.co.
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sponsor spotlight: Dermalogica
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The skincare product Alisha uses A LOT... 👀
2020's thrown us for a loop in countless ways, but it's also reminded us how small routines and comforts can go a long way in helping us feel cared for each day. One skincare brand that's stood out above the rest: Dermalogica.
Alisha's Daily Microfoliant review:
"I mix the Daily Microfoliant powder with a bit of water so that it becomes a paste to wash my face with. I love that I can control the final texture of what goes on my face. The best part is that it's an extremely gentle physical exfoliant — really the OPPOSITE of walnut scrubs — so I can use it every day if I wanted to. And an added bonus: I always feel clean and glowy after using it. That goes a long way in 2020." - Alisha, CEO/Founder at GNI
Dermalogica is a certified cruelty-free, gluten-free, vegan brand. 🌿 Use code GIRLSNIGHTIN for a free fan brush and the travel sized Daily Microfoliant with any full size purchase through January 31.
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read/watch/listen
✨ some picks of the week ✨
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This one's a big one... 💫
Ah! It's our final FINAL giveaway of this Cozy Days season, and it's the coziest one yet. This week's theme: the makings of an ideal night in — that includes some Our Place items to nourish you, some Universal Standard to keep you cozy in loungewear, a Lounge membership to keep you connected to others, and Dermalogica to make your skin feel just great.
This week's haul will set you up for a cozy night in:
• An Our Place Dinner for 4 Bundle
• A one-year Lounge membership
• A $250 gift card to Universal Standard for loungewear and more
• $500 for Dermalogica skincare products, custom regimen, plus a virtual consultation with a skin therapist
How to enter:
1) Open this week's Friday GNI newsletter. That's all you have to do!
2) For an additional entry, post a screenshot of that week's Friday GNI newsletter to your Instagram story and tag us @girlsnightinclub.
Sweepstakes ends December 24, 2020 at 11:59pm eastern standard time. Must be 18 and up to enter. Open only to residents of the contiguous U.S. No purchase necessary.
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* GNI may receive a small commission from items you purchase from this newsletter. *
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