Recs #79: Sugar cookies, racy romance, tiny home upgrades, and love tokens

A Valentines-y post. ❤️

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 and happy Valentine’s Day! 🩷

Do you have any plans? We keep it simple with a nice steak dinner at home (we just got these steak knives) and a no-gifts policy. It takes the pressure off and keeps things low-key and cozy—exactly what two tired parents need, right?

I have many talents, but cookie decorating is not one of them! They were delicious, though.

We had another snow day this week (and a daycare closure), so I leaned into the cozy vibes and baked a batch of sugar cookies in advance—because what’s a snow day without a little extra sweetness? This sugar cookie recipe is close to the one I used (the almond extract is a *must*), and a recent decorating class tipped me off to using meringue powder for the royal icing. Highly recommend. We read The Snowy Day, bundled up for a sledding adventure with Lily, and fully embraced the wintry magic.

Wishing you a warm and joyful weekend.

—Alisha

P.S. Don’t forget to enter this month’s big beauty giveaway! I love seeing so many of you excited about it—it’s a good one. Paid subscribers can comment in the chat thread here to enter.

👀 Previously on Downtime…

• Valentine’s counter-programming: Downtime readers’ thoughts on being single

• A Valentine’s gift edit

• A recap of my and our January favorites

• A smart tip on how to not overthink hangouts

A still from Running Point, featuring a Sephora subplot that made me lol.

📺 Watching: Running Point (on Netflix).

Kate Hudson plays a former party girl who suddenly has to run her family’s pro basketball team, and it’s been such an easy, fun show to watch. Mindy Kaling co-created it, so you know the humor is there, and Brenda Song as her no-nonsense chief of staff is a highlight—she’s the kind of character who can make even the toughest players break a sweat with just a sharp look (or a perfectly timed f-bomb.) What fun show are you watching right now?

❤️ 3 Things I’m Loving:

• Beauty: I rounded up my recent beauty empties in my January recap, but one brand I have to shout out is Crown Affair. They sent me a few things to try, and their leave-in conditioner is the standout—a lightweight, silky formula that soaks right in, plus it smells so good. I haven’t tried their dry shampoo yet, but I know plenty of people swear by it. (Fun fact: The founder, Dianna, also has a great newsletter called

  Take Your Time
  on creativity and personal growth!)

• Tech: I asked for the Bose QuietComfort headphones as my Christmas gift last year and I’m a super fan. They’re comfortable and cushy on the ear, the noise cancelling function works great (good for when I want to read vs. watch whatever’s on TV…), and they stay on my head vs. my AirPods that always seem to fall out of my ears.

• Style: Doen just launched their Spring collection and my favorite spring/summer top, the Henri, is now available in a pretty light yellow and soft pink color. (I actually wrote about my love for this top on Cup of Jo here!) I wear mine with jeans, with a slip skirt, shorts, a mini skirt… It’s a top that instantly ups the fancy factor; it’s well-made, feels special, and has pretty details like lace trim and a pintucked bodice. **It does lean sheer, just FYI. I snagged mine during a Hand Me Doen secondhand sale, which are the best!

The Henri top, worn 3 ways.

✨ 3 tiny home upgrades that sparked joy this week

Continued after the paywall.

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Keep reading for: small but satisfying home upgrades, racy romance recs, a wise tip to avoid spiraling, links you’ll love, and more... ❤️