Vol. 10, No. 2 | Turndown Service

Hey Ya’ll!

I know that Dry January is underway for quite a few people. I accidentally slipped into it but finally made the conscious decision to finish out the month.

It’s not that unfamiliar. At the end of October, I stopped drinking for 8 weeks. The end date was December 22 and even after that, I didn’t drink that much. By that point, I’d survived not drinking in Jamaica, avoiding it for several work dinners with lots of alcohol available, and not having a drop of wine on the 15-hour flight to Johannesburg. My secret is tea. Drink more tea.

Here’s what else I’ve been thinking about:

• I’m currently doing a juice cleanse for a few days. I don’t really buy into most of the benefits, but I think it’s just great to not have to think about what to eat for a while. I found this juice company in Atlanta a few months ago and I’m in love with their juices. It honestly doesn’t feel like a chore to just drink juice because they’re so good. This sounds like a sponsored ad, but it isn’t. I don’t know them and they don’t know me. It’s just genuinely good stuff. They’re called Bamboo, and you can check them out here. They ship if you aren’t in Atlanta.

• Speaking of good stuff, I stayed at a resort in Jamaica back in November (again, without alcohol) and I loved it so much. Most of you will remember that I don’t really love resorts, but this one was different. I also try to avoid Montego Bay, but again, this one proved me wrong. Everything was amazing. It felt like I was actually on vacation which is truly rare. It’s a big claim, but Half Moon is my very favorite hotel in Jamaica and one of my favorites in the world.

• One of the things I realized I love about Half Moon was that they did turndown service and left great snacks. A few other hotels do this well. Soho House does it exceptionally well. I also stayed at a hotel in Johannesburg that was solid. This is such a rare luxury at hotels these days but it makes such big impact.

• While in South Africa, we took a flight from the national park to Cape Town. For my snack, I had a Kit Kat. I haven’t had one in years (and now that I think about it, it’s a bit strange they had this on the plane). My boyfriend was utterly appalled as he saw me eating it and smugly remarked that he was glad this was the first time he saw this. Tell me if this is weird: I bite off the chocolate on each end. Then the chocolate on the sides. Then I wiggle off and eat the bottom layer and then the top layer. Then I eat the perfect middle layer. One might even venture to say I don’t like Kit Kats. I like wafers. Am I the only one who eats a Kit Kat this way?

• All these snacks probably explain why I’m doing a juice fast.

• Accidentally, all of those things flowed together, but my last point has absolutely nothing to do with anything. There’s a wedding a chapel in a liquor store in New Orleans. Apparently, the world’s first. Do with that what you will.

I hope you’re all doing well! I’m actively working on the new site and I’m excited to roll out some new content in a few weeks.

Shannon

P.S. - In naming this newsletter, I’m still unsure how I landed at turndown service. But then I just wrote that last sentence and realized that it kinda goes with dry January as well… so let’s just say it was all intentional.