It’s been a long time (years!) since I’ve shared my Project Life pages online. I’m both nervous and excited to begin sharing them again. Today, a look at some of the spreads in my 2025 album.
For the last two years (2024 and 2025), I’ve not begun keeping an album until July. I’ve also not gone back to fill in the first half of the year for either year—and I don’t plan to. Is this ideal? No. Am I happy to have some of the year documented v. none of it? Yes.
Some of these spreads are unfinished; they still need journaling. The holdup: I’m still not sure whether I want to handwrite or type my journaling onto the cards that are missing journaling. So it goes sometimes (most times).
In 2024, I included in my Project Life album for the first time the media I consumed throughout the year, using 6″ x 8″ pages divided into 2″ x 2″ pockets and Avery self-adhesive insertable tabs. I enjoyed the practice and continued it in 2025.
In 2024, I included thumbnails for only the movies I streamed at home. In 2025, I included thumbnails for movies that I streamed at home (on the left) and movies that I watched in the theater (on the right), separated by pages holding my “movie ticket stubs” (I am endlessly annoyed about the disappearance of well-designed and quality-crafted ephemera).
I included only those TV shows and podcasts that I watched or listened to either in full (season or series) or consistently throughout the year. If I watched an episode or two of a TV show or listened to an episode or two of a podcast to get a feel for it and didn’t continue watching or listening beyond that episode or two, I didn’t include it.
I do realize that I watch a lot of TV. Much of my TV time is spent pedaling away on a stationary bike.
I LOVE a good soapy show (Call the Midwife, Grey’s), and a good DC show/political drama (Homeland, Scandal, Slow Horses). Homeland was partly a rewatch (I’d seen only the first four seasons). I’d never seen Grey’s or Scandal before and I loved both. Fisk is excellent autistic representation. Pernille, a Norwegian show on Netflix, was my favorite watch all year. Charming, heart-wrenching, funny. I wanted to live inside their life. 12/10.
Most enjoyed podcasts in 2025:
The perennial favorites:
Diss and Tell (RIP)
Even the Royals (RIP)
I Said No Gifts!
Scamfluencers
Smosh Reads Reddit
The others:
Articles of Interest
The Knife: Off Record
The Severance Podcast
The Telepathy Tapes
Trail Tales
True Crime Bullshit
The latest season of Articles of Interest—”Gear”—is so good. It explores how military apparel inspired America’s early outdoor industry, and how military apparel continues to inspire that industry, as well as streetwear and fashion in general. For example, did you know Lockheed Martin makes streetwear? Neither the fuck did I.
I started listening to The Knife: Off Record after hearing a teaser for an episode of the show that covers the murder of someone who was, once upon a time, in my social circle. It was the first time I’d listened to a true crime podcast from the perspective of someone who knew the victim and it completely rewired how I think about true crime podcasts and the true crime industry. The hosts did a great job with the story, and I’ve been listening ever since.
Corner of a Cinnabon box from our annual Cinnabon (and Build-A-Bear) trip
Second row
Corner of a recipe card I ripped up to recycle after messing up the recipe I was writing on it
Scrap of a popcorn bag from the popcorn machine in the waiting area of where I had my flat tire replaced (boo to having a flat tire, thank god it was under warranty and cost me $0.00 to replace)
Scrap of packaging from a box of Pizza Hut my son brought home
Third row
Leaf from the neighborhood
Part of the bag I brought home my holiday cards in from Oblation
Portion of packaging on a notebook I bought for a new project
Label from new sweatpants I (finally!) bought myself during Black Friday sales
Piece of an old refund/gift card that I cut up while going through a small stack of old gift cards to see which still have money on them and which don’t
