Morning Brew - 🫒 EVOO

Early on in the pandemic, virtual happy hours replaced beers IRL. Eight-hundred and sixty months later, companies have gotten more creative: There’s virtual bingo. Even magic shows! But in a healthy work culture, you’re marked optional on social gatherings. What happens when attendance is required?

In The Cut’s most recent Ask a Boss column, one reader wonders if hitting “Decline” could impact her upward mobility.

The author, Alison Green, invoked the F-bomb in response: Family. “Offices that like to say they’re like a family are some of the ones most likely to penalize you if you don’t take part in workplace social events,” she wrote. “They tend to have a built-in distrust of people who don’t buy into the ‘family’ model, and in those cases ‘not a team player’ often really just means ‘has boundaries around their non-work time and advocates for their own needs.’”  

To be clear, sure, you can sleuth your Slack rooms for future groomsmen, but we’ve all been to enough guacamole-laden goodbye parties to know that once Todd sends around his personal contact info, you’re more likely to forget all about him than find him seated next to you at Thanksgiving dinner. In other words, you should feel empowered to set boundaries with your coworkers, because Grandma doesn’t know Todd. 

If you have no idea where to start, Forbes shared 10 ways to set healthy boundaries at work. Gems from the guide include learning to say no (practice with your local hot dog vendor if you have to), and taking time to think before responding to big asks. 

Digital and paper planners that are worth your $$$.

• This stylish daily planner lets you jot down priorities, schedules, and miscellaneous to-dos—but with perforated pages that you can rip out and bring to Whole Foods. 
• The mobile app TeuxDeux will remind you that Bread Day is on Thursdays and that “change guest room sheets” is still on your Parents in Town prep list—all at a glance. 
• Saying you’ll go to the gym “2–3 times a week” is setting you up for failure, per this TikToker and productivity coach.

• Read: From a boutique villa on a private Nicaraguan island to a geodome on a 12-acre farm in the Catskills, super travelers like Bobby Berk and Mara Hoffman shared their best vacation rentals with Condé Nast Traveler. 
• Listen: On a new episode of The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos, Rob Lowe revealed his proudest accomplishment—and shockingly, it’s not how well he’s aged over the years.
• Watch: For Diary of a Song, Lorde spilled the tea on her breezy summer hit “Solar Power” and spoke about her highly anticipated new album’s aesthetic. 

The Green Light to Great Grapes

Before reaching your glass, a normal bottle of wine goes from the winery to distributors to the shelf at your local wine store. And in all that mumbo jumbo, your low prices get lost to high markups.

Seems unnecessary, right? Well, that’s exactly what Empathy founders (and wine industry insiders) Gary Vaynerchuk, Jon Troutman, and Nate Scherotter thought.

That’s why Empathy, a direct to consumer wine brand, is skipping the middlemen to make high quality wine accessible to everyone. Empathy simplifies the wine buying experience by offering red, white, and rosé delivered right to your door.

And if that's not enough, Empathy partners with farmers that prioritize sustainable farming practices. They’re radically transparent about their supply chain, so you can enjoy your quality wine guilt-free.

Find your perfect wine today and get 20% off plus free shipping on your first order with code WELCOME.

Tomorrow is a big day here in the Brewniverse. We’re launching Money Scoop, our new personal finance newsletter. Every Tuesday and Thursday, our writer/CPA (but like, the cool kind) Ryan Lasker, will discuss anything and everything you want to know about student loans, mortgages, portfolio management, retirement planning, and a million other things. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss an issue. It could just be the most lucrative newsletter you ever read.

Subscribe to Money Scoop before tomorrow’s first issue here.

Today we’re taking a quick spin through the luscious world of Mediterranean cuisine. 

• Author Yasmin Khan says a proper Greek salad “never uses finely diced vegetables.” Click to learn the veggie-chopping and feta-plating techniques she suggests instead. 
• Feta is a cheese of all trades. This whipped dip can be 1) served with crudités and charred pita as an app 2) a condiment for your lunchtime tartine or 3) spooned straight from the Tupperware container when no one is looking. 
• And with the juice of 2,320 Koroneiki and Athinoelia olives, Gaea’s Greek EVOO is a pantry staple for any souvlaki dish or salad. Says who? Chef Matt Hyland of Pizza Loves Emily in New York.