In 2026, Food & Wine predicts protein will continue to dominate grocery aisles — but it’ll need to make room for "fibermaxxing." Cosmopolitan suggests that burgundy was so fall/winter 2025, and we should prepare ourselves for Yves Klein Blue. The designers who spoke to The Wall Street Journal think analog will be in for the home (landline phones!), while smart-everything will be out. And The San Francisco Chronicle’s Arts & Culture columnist Tony Bravo thinks we’ll be done with aoili in 2026, but we’ll give a warm (re)welcome to 20th century philosopher Hannah Arendt. Everyone, as usual, thinks there will be a “vibe shift.”

Whether based on actual market research, gut instinct, or stalking trendsetters, we love the annual tradition of leaving X behind and anticipating Y instead. We say goodbye to eating poorly, not saving money, and being self-centered, then we vow to exercise, open an IRA, and volunteer at the food pantry. Whether any of these things remain in the past or become part of our routine is never the point: It’s about believing in a better, sexier, kinder tomorrow!

A few years ago, I decided to come up with my own list of INS/OUTS for the year. Some were big changes (less scrambling — eggs excluded) while others were small shifts (eat more graham crackers). I opened it up to a few friends, and I kept track of their answers to present to them on New Year’s Day the following year. 

Some of my favorites have included the entire state of Michigan being OUT (Lacy); moon signs and jumpers being IN (Jackie); spending $300 on an evening out with random people who may or may not split the bill — an obvious OUT (Anne); and a big IN of “literally do just one thing at a time, death to multitasking” (Anna).

This little tradition I created three years ago is what birthed this newsletter. I love the idea of saying this SUCKS, or this RULES and then wondering… ok, so what could replace it or why do I love/hate it? It’s a collection of little pet peeves, big annoyances, great loves, and little amusements. Wow, could I be describing everyday life? Absolutely I am, which makes it exceptionally easy to generate new essays for you each week.

Without further ado, and to get your own motor running, may I present my 2026 INS/OUTS:

IN:

• Tucking away little observations. Some of my favorite activities are those that let my mind wander and make space for picking up on odd little moments: walking the dog (without headphones), cooking/baking, taking a shower. The observations are usually a little absurd but amusing, like taking photos of interesting graffiti on dumpsters or wondering if there’s a thrill to being a metal scrapper. You see, the David Sedarises and Joan Didions of the world were not listening to podcasts and scrolling instagram, they were keeping journals and talking to their friends. I want to collect my silly little thoughts more and gift them to you all like those crows who bring twine and bottle caps to the humans who feed them. 

• Sun-dried tomatoes. While much of my adolescence is now being recycled — insofar as the fashion and Bill Clinton’s sexcapades (release the files!) — let’s revisit sun-dried tomatoes! J Wortham brought up the ingredient in a roundup of their favorite sweet treats of 2025 and I thought, damn, I haven’t considered the SDT in a minute. She deserves her comeback tour!

• Windows (not the operating system). A few months back I was talking with my friend Lauren about the underappreciated joy of taking a walk at night so you can see inside peoples' homes. This is especially true during the holiday season, when you can spot all the Christmas trees in apartment windows. Also: Let’s bring back window shopping. In a guest essay for The New York Times, fashion critic Robin Givhan mused on why shopping today (particularly online shopping) is so dull: “Remember window shopping?” she wrote. “That meandering outing was a reminder that shopping could be much more than a simple transaction. It could be an invitation to daydream.”

• Dates (not the fruit, though also good). Dates with Dave, with friends, with myself. Let’s go get a little treat together. Let’s meet for a glass of wine. Maybe I’ll take myself out for yoga and a coffee. I want to do a special little something out in the world, and frequently. It doesn’t have to be expensive: It could be wandering into a grocery store and touching bags of dried beans. Winter is Slow Saturday season (more info forthcoming on that!) and nothing battles the Chicago gray skies like happy hour oysters. And as much as I love parties, sometimes I’m not looking for the group setting. I need some really juicy one-on-one time with my people. Ideally over those fancy Spanish corn nuts.

• Beautiful shoes. I think my sneaker era has been an important and powerful time for me, but now I feel drawn to more structural footwear. (Tap dances into the future.)

OUT:

• The Spotify algorithm. How many times have I just tapped on a machine-created playlist? How many times have I let the algorithm take over at the conclusion of a record? It’s lazy of me, and the algorithm never does a great job. I think some of us are feeling our frustrations mounting: The robots are doing just an OK job, and often you really need that human touch (see also: Roombas). More vinyl nights, more making my own playlists in 2026. And are we all moving to a different steaming platform yet…?

• Online shopping. I started this in earnest in 2025 and it was kind of a game-changer. I ended up purchasing far fewer items once I added inconvenience back into the equation, and I was no longer drawn into spending money just because I got an email about a sale. The added bonus was that I began really styling my existing wardrobe and pairing items I hadn’t thought to pull together previously. So I’m continuing this practice into the new year — with some additional shopping perimeters added to the mix (stay tuned!).

• Psychoanalysis as conversation. I’m not sure when this happened, but at some point in the last year or so I grew weary of analyzing myself or others in conversation. This isn’t to say a nice heart-to-heart session, bitch fest, or other such analytical chat isn’t necessary and fun sometimes — but I think the culture of psychoanalysis has worn on me. We’ve been swimming in therapy culture for the last few years and we’ve collectively peeled back more onions than une école of French chefs. 

• Jeans. I dunno, man. I just think there are better and more interesting pants.

• Delaying. I was interviewing someone recently and they referenced the old phrase: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. I have some Big Goals right now, and it’s very easy for me to get overwhelmed with the final dream… and push it further into the future. But if I can break it down to small steps, I think I’ve got a real crack at it.

I hope you all have a happy, healthy, goofy New Year. Please do share your INS/OUTS with me! And as for this newsletter… I’m cooking up some really fun posts, promotions, and more for 2026.