time to buy the kefir on bonus
from Hugh Grant haircuts to a silly little fish meme, you've got a juicy one for this lunch break
Čau it’s Ilze. I spent the past week in Latvia – a land of generous portions.
The most Latvian classic meal you can get is a palm-sized pork chop and a mountain of potatoes. So naturally, there was some leftover action over the week. And it made me think of a recent NYT piece announcing the death of the doggy bag, claiming that fewer people are asking to take their leftovers home.
There are a bunch of reasons. Logistics – carrying a takeout container around is neither sexy nor practical, especially if it’s not the last stop of the night. It also pointed to the quiet shame some people feel when asking a waiter to pack up their food.
So I did a little inquiry:
At Thai Thai Poppetje in Amsterdam, takeaway containers are still requested, though most skip them if they’ve got plans after. But they love when people take food home: “It’s a compliment—it means they liked it.”
The article also mentions that people are reluctant to claim the scraps when sharing dishes—since we’re still in our wine-bar-sharing-plates era. September, a charming wine bar-slash-restaurant in Amsterdam confirmed – not many people ask for boxes, but they’d prefer guests take the leftovers instead of wasting them.
The article says Gen Z in particular is not fond of the leftover life. Some supposedly don’t do leftovers on principle.
But isn’t meal prepping just eating leftovers, pre-planned? Make it make sense.
Plus, some foods just taste better the next day—like lasagna, and cold beetroot soup.
🗞️News
Allegedly Collosal Biosciences (yes, of woolly mouse fame) "de-extincted" direwolves - but they’re really just GMO grey wolves made to look like the Game of Thrones direwolves. More phenotype than prehistory - something something, Jurassic Park, something something.
Exhibition news: Hockney’s biggest exhibit to date opens in Paris and Tilda Swinton coming to Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam.
A YouTube doc claiming Hailey Bieber stalked Justin and is obsessed with Selena is taking over TikTok discourse. We’re not a celeb gossip outlet, so not our circus… but the internet sure is watching.
After Vogue’s thinspo version of Hairspray, we’ve got a chronically online girl’s take on Hairspray climbing the trending page; plus a BUNCH of Nikki Blonsky discourse.
🧂Trends
Grillz for the 9-to-5ers
We’ve graduated from tooth gems to custom grillz in the fashion communities of Europe.
Grillz, once a symbol of hip-hop culture, are now showing up on everyday 9-5ers - especially on the girlies. Imagine your local matcha clean girl or 4AM gym rat financebro with ‘em on.
It’s been a growing trend since last year - from the traditional old school grillz to more abstract art pieces. Is this gentrification of fashion, yet another trend born from Black American influence? Or the normalization of personality in the office? Probably the former.
Steve Le Poisson
New brainrot alert! French TikTok is obsessed with Le Poisson Steve, originally a tune by Tomo, which went viral all over thanks to an animated clip by illustrator Vigz.
Steve is an orange fish with arms and legs, strutting his stuff.
He’s inspired a wave of artistic recreation and fun little animations. We love the art community for running with it.
Gut Feelings
Everyone’s chasing a ‘healthier gut microbiome’ - and kefir is having its moment rn. Water kefir, traditional kefir, kefir kefir kefir.
In case you’re not familiar, kefir is a fermented drink - regular ‘kefir’ is made with milk, while ‘water kefir’ uses water kefir grains (think more like a kombucha). Yummy probiotics either way.
The Tea has been Steeped
The tea is hot, cold, and every temperature in between. We're not just talking matcha or sleepy herbal infusions anymore: it's full-blown brewing.
Iced tea concoctions made with Monin syrups, earl grey syrup swirled into matcha, and homemade brews with fresh ingredients - these variety of teas are becoming the drink of choice for the aesthetically inclined.
Matcha with Earl Grey Syrup
Speaking of tea, this particular recipe is the current it-girl of matcha combinations.
Move over Times New Roman, Century Schoolbook is in… apparently
The latest font chatter says we’re entering the Century Schoolbook era, especially in academic and resume circles.
Of course, this isn’t the first time people tried to dethrone Times New Roman - we’ve heard the Calibri allegations, the Century Gothic stans, the occasional Garamond hype.
But let’s be real: nothing has quite the authority of TNR.
Small-screen shows
With White Lotus S3 wrapping, we’re on the hunt for new content - and it’s getting smaller-screened. TikTok and Instagram shows are having a moment.
One making noise is Group Chat, where 27-year-old TikToker plays multiple characters tangled in a chaotic group chat.
In the interview series section (think Chicken Shop Date, Isaac-style street chats, and Subway Takes), the latest fave is Track Star. The host plays music for random people on the street and asks them to guess the artist. It’s gotten big enough that Charli XCX and Bon Iver are now participating.
90s rom-com cut
News from the barber: the look of the season is Hugh Grant in the 90s —middle part, floppy sides, full heartthrob energy.
Over-the-top cakes
Birthday outfit? Who cares. These days, it’s the cake stealing the spotlight. Sprinkles, unhinged captions, wild colors, maybe even the portrait made out of icing - the sillier, the better.
🚨Follow-Ups
The Louise Carmen craze is truly officially international - we mentioned them last August, and now DIYing these leather bound books and organization systems is the craft everyone’s hopping on.