Friday Recs: Books that feel like fall, apple galettes, and calling all GBBO-heads

#64. Also: can we please bring leggings back?

This is the Friday post at Downtime, a feel-good weekly roundup of recommendations and delightful distractions. If the email cuts off, you can view it on the web.

Hi all,

Happy Friday and happy October! What are you up to this weekend? We’re going to a farm with Lily, picking some pumpkins, and I’d like to grab a few spooky-adjacent (I can’t do full spooky…) decor for the house. (Maybe these adorable ghost candles?!) Needless to say, I’m in peak cozy mode and just so, so ecstatic that it’s finally fall.

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A post shared by @mignonettetakespictures

On a different and more serious note, I want to boost the work that World Central Kitchen is doing in North Carolina (where I went to middle and high school) and the surrounding areas post Hurricane Helene, in light of all the destruction and devastation there. If you can, please consider donating directly. WCK is an organization that Downtime/Girls’ Night In has supported for many years and I’m always in awe of their willingness to jump right into the action after any tragedy. If you have other orgs we can donate to, please share them in the comments.

x Alisha

P.S. I’m sharing a refreshed monthly “Catching Up” edition this Sunday exclusively for my paid subscribers, complete with a fun giveaway of a few of my favorite things from September! 🎉 For the next seven days, I’m offering 20% off an annual subscription here (about $4/month).

As a reminder, paid subscribers to Downtime get extra monthly content, access to the full archives, giveaways, and coming soon—a few new evergreen resources I’m working on. And of course, you get to directly support the newsletter and all that goes into it. x

1. WATCH: Great British Bakeoff (on Netflix) is BACK, baby, and I’m basically doing somersaults in our living room. This is my Super Bowl!!! How adorable is Hazel? How insane was Sumayah’s duck illusion cake (and even more wild that she didn’t win Star Baker)? How happy are we that Alison Hammond is back as co-host? And I think Mike looks just like Stephen Fry… We’re discussing this all and more in our subscriber chat - join us!!

2. READ: Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio caught my eye this week. This book was released earlier this year but flew under the radar for me; it was recently announced as a finalist for the National Book Award. The book is about a young woman who is raised by her undocumented grandparents and attends Harvard, infiltrating “the school’s elite subcultures"—internships and literary journals, posh parties and secret societies.” Sounds perfect for anyone craving a campus novel that also touches on important topics like race, culture, and immigration. (This book by Lauren Ling Brown that was just announced as Reese’s Book Club pick for October also piqued my interest as it follows similar themes of mixed race, class, and privilege within an elite academic institution.)

3. BAKE: I made a frankenstein-ed combination of Deb Perelman and Alison Roman’s apple galette recipe and it turned out pretty great and wasn’t too difficult. I used frozen puff pastry, made Deb’s version of the salted caramel coating, and used Alison’s heavy cream + egg combo for the egg wash. I sliced the apples with a knife vs. a mandoline. Highly recommend. There’s just something about baking with apples in the fall that brings all the joyful vibes. And your house will smell INCREDIBLE after. Shanah tovah to all my Jewish members of the Downtime community!

if you could just SMELL this through the screen!

Last week’s most-clicked link was… This 3-pack of ankle socks in the perfect fall colors. 👌

Okay, hear me out!!!! I stuffed my leggings towards the back of my closet over the past few years. I don’t know why. I guess I just thought they were taboo? No longer acceptable in public now that we’re a few years post-lockdown? But recently—maybe it’s my Mom Life Mode taking over—but I’ve been rifling through my closet hunting for a good pair. Turns out, I only own ONE really fantastic pair of high-waisted leggings and they are these from Lululemon.

I’ve been seeing leggings pop up more and more on my style feed, but this time styled not for workouts but for every day occasions/going out into the world. And I love all of it. How could I not?! They’re so comfortable. I especially love how Maddie styled hers here with a white tee plus a big roomy sweater on top. This feels like an easy uniform to copy and I may try it this weekend.

Do you a solid leggings rec? Please share in the comments!

Photo credit:

• Left and right image: @maddiepriorhullstyling

• Center image: @luenagamaa

Are there books that just evoke fall to you? Here are a few of mine…