👵🏼💅 Gen Z is giving ... granny

It’s Tuesday, Boston.

🥩🍸 Got $50? Here are your dinner plans. Step one: Head to Bar Mezzana for its $49 steak frites and tini Tuesday deal. Step two: Finish the night with a $1 soft serve at Summer Shack. BOOM.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• New state symbols 

• It’s getting humid in here

• A local “Love Island” star

Up first…

CULTURE

This ain’t your grandma’s hobby

Knitting. Baking. Birding. Gardening. We’re not talking about your grandma, we’re talking about the 20-somethings turning to “granny hobbies” as a way to unplug and improve their mental health.

Here’s what to know:

👵 “Grannycore” is trending online. See: The thousands of videos on social media and tons of articles about young creators embracing the granny aesthetic and rebranding old-fashioned hobbies. Need a visual? Artist Ella Emhoff (also, Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter) might just be the queen of grannycore, running a trendy craft club on Substack with tens of thousands of subscribers, and posting videos crocheting her own outfits or sewing pillows on IG. 

🧶 Local shops have noticed the uptick IRL. Thanks in part to the new social media visibility, local yarn and craft shops like Stitch House and Boston Fiber Company told us they’ve seen an influx of 20-somethings. “People come in and [say] … ‘I saw this influencer posted … this cute crochet top. I wanna make it too,’” said Sara Ingle, Boston Fiber Company’s owner. 

🧠 Besides looking good online, granny hobbies are actually good for you. In our digital world, we often find ourselves with “popcorn brain,” bouncing from one task (or tab) to the next all day long. The slower, more analog nature of granny hobbies works against that, reintroducing us to delayed gratification by forcing us to unplug and focus intently on a task, according to Dr. Ashwini Nadkarni, a psychiatrist at Mass General Brigham. As Ingle put it: “So much of [granny hobbies] is waiting … you can’t make a sweater in an hour.”

🤩 They’re also helping Gen Z rediscover the passion project. Hobbies are a great way to fill your life with a purpose that has nothing to do with work, a crucial piece of mental health and well-being that young workers are looking for. “Hobbies are there for us to create something tangible in our lives that reflects our unique personality,” Nadkarni said. “… so it's actually nice when it doesn't become something that you're doing for other people.” 

👬 And a third space + a baked-in common interest = the perfect recipe to help young people build community. Stitch House and Boston Fiber Company host social knitting groups or sip and stitch nights where they’ve seen real-life friendships bloom between young crafters. “It's been really wonderful, the relationships that I've been able to witness form,” said Annissa Essaibi George, owner of Stitch House. “I don't know if the activity is about the activity or … the human connection.”

QUICK QUESTION!

🧶 Would you try a “granny hobby”?

TOGETHER WITH THE ASTICOU HOTEL IN NORTHEAST HARBOR 

This and not knowing what day it is

🦞🌲 🌊 Because that’s what a vacation is for. At the Asticou Hotel in Northeast Harbor, your only job is to hike, unwind, and maybe order another lobster roll. With refreshed rooms, coastal views, and easy access to Acadia National Park, it’s classic Maine — with a little extra comfort. Don’t miss your last chance to book your stay now to save 25% and enjoy the perfect New England summer. 

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🤔 What do armored mud balls, bar pizza, and Bell’s Seasoning have in common? They’re all being considered as potential state symbols by the Mass. legislature. Just like we have a state bird (the black-capped chickadee) and doughnut (Boston cream), folks want state officials to add more animals, foods, and objects to the list. Why? The reasons run the gamut, according to WBUR: To recognize local businesses, highlight endangered species, and pay homage to local history. But whether they’ll actually pass is TBD. 

🔑 Josh Kraft is a man with a plan … for reentry after prison. On Thursday, the mayoral candidate announced his plan to support people returning from prison. The approach: Create a 90-day reentry timeline to help folks source housing, jobs, and mental health support via financial literacy training, counseling, and more — all of which would happen before they leave. Also in Kraft’s plan? Reinstating the city’s “Operation Exit” and establishing a “Boston Reentry Network” of local universities, nonprofits, and officials. 

🥵 It’s not just hot in here. It’s HUMID. In fact, it’s shaping up to be one of Boston’s most humid summers on record, and the trend isn’t new. The past eight summers have seen above-average daily dew points, according to the Globe, which isn’t great news for many reasons. For one, more humidity = a Boston that feels more like what we’d expect from Washington D.C. or Baltimore. Which then = more intense and frequent storms, more mosquitos and ticks, and higher risk for heat-related illnesses. Ugh.

🍦 Boston has a lot of good ice cream. But these are the BEST. At least, according to the local chefs and bartenders Boston.com asked. Here’s a taste: Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery + Cafe loves a cherry vanilla and peach froyo at Cabot’s in Newton. Matt Gaudet, culinary director of Sidell Hospitality, thinks Toscanini’s B3 (brown butter, brown sugar, and brownies) is the ticket. And Danielle Pattavina, owner of Momma’s Grocery + Wine, stands by the black raspberry and vanilla from Vinal General Store in Somerville. Here are alllll the recs.

LOCAL SPOTLIGHT

Your dream vintage thrift market? It’s popping up in Charlestown.

B-Side is a proud media sponsor of Select Markets, the local vintage clothing pop-up team who’s bringing us Summer Thrift Festival on Saturday, July 19 at The Yard Charlestown (right off the Orange Line)! Expect more than 80 vintage vendors, a fill-a-bag station, temporary tattoos, food trucks, MINI GOLF!? and more. Grab your tickets fast! B-Side members get $5 off early bird tickets.

🚨 SPOILER ALERT: There are spoilers ahead for the season finale of “Love Island USA” below. Scroll at your own risk, and don’t say we didn’t warn you! 🚨

ONE LAST THING

Our local “Love Island” star

He might’ve made his name in the villa, but Bryan Arenales, one half of “Love Island USA’s” newest winning couple, is an Everett native! 

Arenales entered the show midway through this season as a (literal) hot new bombshell, and after some requisite flirting and coupling, settled down with the “people’s princess” Amaya Espinal, a.k.a Amaya Papaya. 

The two won fans’ hearts for their adorably wholesome vibes and peppy energy, becoming “closed off” (Love Island slang for exclusive) in the finale, and earning enough fan votes to win the show … and the $100,000 that goes with it, which they chose to split.

“Meeting Amaya turned my experience around ridiculously,” said Arenales. “I’m so thankful to meet this person, I would do this experience a hundred times over.” Awwwwwww.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

😍 Thanks for reading! Petition to throw them a duck boat parade? 

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, The Asticou Hotel in Northeast Harbor, for supporting local journalism and offering New Englanders a slice of coastal Maine paradise. 

🥟 The results are in: Looks like B-Side Certified is heading to China Pearl next month with 32% of the vote. Dim sum, here we come.

🥳 🎟️ Don't forget to grab your tickets to Best Day Ever, our Aug. 2 food, music, and shopping par-tay at Artists for Humanity!

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].