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Today’s letter is unlocked for everyone thanks to our sponsor, Sol de Janeiro.
Despite the bleak news and weather, there were quite a few good and useful things to share from the past month, so I thought I’d share a quick roundup.
A perfect example of the kind of thing that’s been keeping me buoyant lately: This past Wednesday night, I had the best time chatting with author Olivia Muenter about her new literary suspense novel, Little One, which I gobbled up in just two days. If you attended in person at East City Bookshop in D.C. or virtually, I hope you had a blast laughing with us about cults, Twin Flames, hot journalists, and immaculate vibes. The event was a good reminder that it’s always worth trekking to your local bookstore to participate in bookish community. I made a mental note to do more of these in 2026. Books are magic! Book chats count as self-care!
Things I Recommend That Made My Life Better Last Month
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I use the free version of the Opal app, and it works shockingly well for me. I’ve reduced my average time on Instagram from something like 1 hour plus to 15 minutes or less. !!! Many, many of you are also really into the Brick device. I say, do what actually works for you to avoid doomscrolling!
Decide when your workday actually ends.
Pick a time and let that be the end of it. Laptop closed, work put away once the clock hits 8pm, or whenever your cutoff is. I also like to challenge myself to just focus on one, fun thing. As in, no little screen while the big screen is on to quickly check emails. No checking texts while reading a book. Just good old-fashioned enjoyment of one thing (can you even imagine!!). My track record so far is mixed but I’d like to keep trying. It feels nice to completely shut my brain off and turn on an ep of Bridgerton.
Take your shower at night.
Why aren't we all doing this? Or are we?? There’s no better feeling than sliding into your sheets after a relaxing, warm shower with the smug knowledge that you’re fully clean and won’t have to take a rushed one in the morning. And I recently picked up this post-shower tip from a friend: don’t be shy about layering on a scented moisturizer or mist before getting into bed for the full sensory experience.
Sol de Janeiro recently sent me their Rosa Charmosa Dewy Cream to try, and it’s up to the task for hydrating your skin and wrapping you up in a punchy cocoon of fragrance pre-bedtime. The scent “Cheirosa 91” is floral-forward, with juicy, fruity notes. (If you’re into layering, there’s a perfume mist, too.) I’ve been rubbing it over my belly (currently doing heroic work in the third trimester), and it’s felt like a small but very welcome nightly treat.
Downtime readers can use the code DOWNTIME10 for 10% off & free shipping on soldejaneiro.com.¹
Make a perfect latte at home.
After asking the Downtime reader chat for your best espresso machine recs and hearing many of you gush about Breville’s espresso machines, we decided to go with this model that includes coffee-grinding and milk-frothing capabilities. (Not to be confused with the model one step above it, the “Express Impress” which has the tamping feature included. It turns out tamping manually is pretty easy.)
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And reader, we now use this every single day. 10/10 would recommend. I haven’t ordered a thing from Starbucks since. The appeal is not only the end product but the low-effort, high-reward rhythm: pull a shot, steam milk, drink something genuinely good before the emails start flying. Ahhh. We’ve been buying beans from Ceremony, but I suspect there’s an even better option lurking. Bean connoisseurs, please share your recs in the comments.