Monday Newsletter: Aly's A Year Older Edition

Dec 20, 2021

Hi, friends!
I know I haven’t updated in a few days, but for good reason.

I took a very (very) rare weekend off for my birthday.

A post shared by alywalansky (@alywalansky)

I had a super nice time, with friends and family and cake and doing all my favorite things - blowouts, drinking martinis (dirty, with truffle blue cheese olives), and eating steak and oysters. And cake!

As it looks like many of us are headed back into a new shelter in place, my friends and I were all very cognizant this would quite possibly be our last time together for a while, and really tried to make the most of it. And i’m so grateful - especially after being separated for so very long - it was a time we got to enjoy, among all the crazy.

Speaking of gatherings — I’ve been getting many emails the last few weeks about if I anticipate doing events and trips and such in January. The answer, is, sadly, as of now, unlikely.

This new variant is spreading very quickly, and even those of us who are vaccinated and boosted do not have full protection. If you do have an event, I encourage you to have rapid testing at the door (and good luck finding those test kits right now), and a strict vaccination policy. At this point, consider only those boosted to be fully vaccinated. But really, even better? Embrace virtual events for a while again. They saved us last year, they can again — in fact, a few brands have already reached out to me about hosting small virtual events in the new year. I’m also already confirmed to attend a bunch. I know virtual isn’t the same, but it’s great to have as an option right now. (And god willing, this is a blip and only temporary.)

Here's what I'm working on (believe it or not, there's A LOT.)

Normally, headed into a holiday week, things are kind of quiet on the work front. But that’s not the case this week. I am busy!

1. For TODAY.com, I'm taking pitches on deals and freebies at chain restaurants in honor of National Bacon Day. Through the end of day today.

2. For Clean Plates, I'm looking for credible nutritionists, MDs, and dietitians to comment on Reasons You Absolutely Need to Eat Less Sugar. Would love responses by EOD tomorrow.

3. For SPY.com, I'm working on all of the following:

best products for single people -- This is sort of adjacent to to Valentine's Day + guide to being single, through products

how to keep coffee fresh - open to expert input on this one, but also open to product pitches

Best places to get gift cards online (self-explanatory!)

Best vaccination card holders

Best smart coffee makers

best coffee table books

Best Valentine's Delivery Gifts (thanks, omicron...)

Best Valentine's Gifts To Get On Sale Now

Best Valentine's Gifts - this is an all-encompassing Valentine's Day gift guide.