Food
Passionfruit has always been big in Australia, but I see it starting to work it's way into mainstream here. Great news for me!
Tapioca pearls have been big for some time now as the key ingredient in "Bubble Tea", that fabulous asian sweet tea with extra wide straw to suck up the pearls. Now these extra large pearls are making their way into desserts in their whole form, rather than the jelly-like tapioca of old.
Design
Ottomans, formerly used solely as foot rests, are getting much bigger and being used to replace the coffee table. I'm not sure why, but every magazine these days features a well-placed tray on the ottoman with teacups or whatever you need most in your living room. Doesn't that just say that it's more practical to have a level surface? I personally love the ottoman as bench seat, or the ottoman cube to tuck under a table, and then use as extra seating when required (around that coffee table!).
Fashion
I've been seeing a lot of
suede shoes. Gorgeous and to-die-for, but extremely impractical.
Music
Watch out for a little group called
Jet. They're in line with the garage rock groups, but have the most incredibly infections hit "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" from 2003. Oh - and
Pharrell Williams is just going to continue to be a sauvant superstar and own the hip-hop world as a producer for years to come, I think. He's cute to boot.
