“Even though sugar was very expensive, people consumed it till their teeth turned black, and if their teeth didn’t turn black naturally, they blackened them artificially to show how wealthy and marvelously self-indulgent they were.”
― Bill Bryson, At Home: A Short History of Private Life

I’m not good at trends, kittens. I enjoy watching other people follow most of them, and enjoy my friends who are better able to keep up with them than I, but I’m perfectly happy to take my time in jumping on bandwagons. This goes for food, music, fashion, and most things in general. It has saved me a lot of bother, money, and time waiting through an initial craze period to gauge genuine interest.

I just barely got around to reading Eat, Pray, Love, which I found deep and poignant in many places, very highlight-able, and self-indulgent in the extreme. (I’ve also just barely discovered Goodreads reviews, or rather how to write them. I’m probably having too much fun.) I still like darker and more color saturated, nail polish colors even though pastels have been all the rage. Most films I’m willing to wait to rent rather than see in theatres – though of course there are exceptions. I still haven’t read The Hunger Games trilogy. Et cetera.

But on a recent Saturday I finally got to try a cronut (after the minor culinary frenzy earlier this year). And I’ve got to say, those suckers are seriously tasty! I’m wouldn’t queue up for them in NYC for hours at a time, but now that the furor has died down and they’re actually findable in London…I think I shall indulge, very occasionally.

Perhaps I should have jumped on this particular bandwagon sooner?

How about you, ducklings? Are you a trend observer or follower, and of what sorts?