Hi, I’m Alisha Ramos, a brand marketing + strategy consultant based in Washington, D.C. You might know me as the founder of the cult-fave Girls’ Night In newsletter, a small media business I built for six years that’s now evolved into this little space: Downtime. My work and this newsletter have been featured in Vogue, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, NPR, The Cut, and others. I’ve been advised to mention these publications to establish credibility. Fancy!

What is Downtime?

Downtime* is a newsletter about the little (and big) things we're doing to feel good these days. I share obsessively-curated culture and lifestyle recommendations for your (you guessed it) downtime—think books to read, shows to watch, stuff to buy, and recipes to try. Plus: musings on culture, interviews with cool people, and other fun roundups and links worthy of the group chat.

Downtime is for the curious and creative reader who craves low-stakes inspo for bringing a little more fun and intention into their daily lives. Some personal updates will be sprinkled in here and there—because I kinda miss personal blogs (remember those?!) and spaces on the internet to build a deeper connection.

*formerly known as the Girls’ Night In newsletter, if that name rings a bell.

Subscribe to the newsletter

Free subscribers get…

• Occasional weekly Friday newsletters

Paid subscribers get…

• EVERY weekly Friday newsletter, in full, featuring recs and links

• Bonus newsletters that feature a rotating mix of personal essays, audio posts, interviews with cool people, culture chatter, and fun roundups

• Access to participate in the community: you can comment on posts, join discussion threads, and connect with other readers

• Access to the full archives

• Exclusive subscriber-only giveaways

• More to come!

Writing is work, and your support sustains this newsletter and all the hours that go into it each week. Being directly supported by readers means I can continue to invest time and effort into bringing you quality content.

Founding Members

Becoming a founding member means that you continue to believe in, and support, the next chapter of Downtime. If you choose this option, you have my eternal gratitude (seriously, thank you!).

Why become a paid subscriber?

The paid tier helps support all the hours of research, editing, writing, reading, designing, production, admin, and so much more that goes into producing content. It lets me pay my editor, guest writers, designers, and any other contributors. What’s more, your paid subscription enables and sustains Downtime for the long run; my hope is for this to become majority reader-supported. The media industry is in a challenging place right now, and I strongly believe in this direct support model.

P.S. For every 100 paid sign-ups, I comp 10 subscriptions. If you’re not able to swing a paid subscription right now, please see here for a comped subscription. If you’d like to donate a subscription, you can do that here.

Programming note: I plan to take a month off in the fall from publishing to take maternity leave. Periodically throughout the year, I also plan to take a few vacations and breaks as (hopefully) any working person would!

Who writes this?

Alisha is a curiosity-fueled, self-professed homebody who’s been oversharing on the internet since 2001. (Remember Livejournal? No? That’s likely for the best.)

I’m a 33-year-old introvert through and through: on most weekends, you’ll find me on the couch with my nose stuck in a book (my taste varies from Wolf Hall to Emily Henry’s romance novels—I’ve got the range!!), rearranging tchotchkes in our house, or poking at the climbing roses in my garden. I’m mixed-race (Korean and Dominican) and think about identity, belonging, and community a lot.

After growing up in Korea and the South, I studied Sociology and History at Harvard University, had a brief stint working in NYC in brand strategy consulting, and I’ve now settled just outside of Washington, D.C. (a.k.a. the suburbs), where I worked in tech for a while before raising a bit of venture capital funding to launch my own business. Now, aside from writing this newsletter, I also consult with consumer brands on brand, marketing, content, and community on the side. I live with my husband and our small fluffy dog. I also recently shared that we have our first baby on the way this fall!

Note on ads and affiliate links: I do work with sponsors from time to time. I take great care in vetting them (and turn down lots), and they allow me to grant comped subscriptions. I also use affiliate links (i.e. when you click a rec and buy something, I might get a small cut at no cost to readers). Thank you so much for your support!

Find me on the internet…

• You can email me at alisha@downtimenewsletter.com.

• You can follow along on Instagram @alisharamos. Say hi!

• If you’re interested in sponsoring this newsletter, please click here.