Hindsight is 2025
A cute, gay little look back at last year.
New year, same Substack. We all love a recap post. Or at least I do, so that’s what you’re getting this week. And while I try not to get too hung up on resolutions or put a particular pedestal under calendar dates arbitrary to modern living, it’s admittedly a good opportunity for reflection and recall… Especially since I have a shit memory.
(Yes, I realize most recap posts come before the year ends. Call me a rebel. Or, behind.)
I went back through my photos to relive some of my favorite moments of the year (spoiler: October was a big month) and remind myself that while the world often seems to be spiraling into doom and chaos, our days are still our lives, and I feel lucky that so many of the days this past year have mattered deeply.
Note: I stole the format for this post from John August, a screenwriter I admire.
January
A lot of winter hibernating. Books. TV. Film. Video Games. The usual suspects, which I intend to lean on once again this winter for sanity.
One highlight in January is always my husband’s birthday. Last year we had amazing sushi and soul-warming kaisen-don at The Residence of Mr. Moto, and Kevin had his wonderful penpal Ruiko from Japan come and visit for a little NYC adventure.
February
I saw Lucy Darling at a tiny cramped theatre in Manhattan where Kevin and I drank the strongest gin and tonics of our lives.
March
Finally got reservations at Theodora, which had been on my dining-out list for ages. I highly, highly recommend! It also happened to be the night of the Oscars, so Kevin and I ate and then rushed home to see Anora win Best Picture!
(Super exciting for me as it was one of my top films of 2024.)
We also did more wedding planning, notably a second cake tasting we couldn’t resist because all of the flavors from our local bakery Luckybird are out of this world!
Seriously, you can’t go wrong, and we ended up getting three flavors because we’re indecisive queers, but our wedding signature that I’d suggest in a heartbeat is the Poached Pear Cake. It’s exquisite, light, and lends itself to any season.
April
I visited Nashville for the first time!
Here’s a video of some ducks Kevin and I saw at Centennial Park to prove it:
That was definitely the cutest moment of the month, but naturally we did all of the touristy things as well! Ate at Biscuit Love (good, but heavy). Explored the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Toured RCA Studio B (this may sound cheesy, but you really do feel a presence where Elvis and so many other artists once recorded).
I also saw a MASSIVE and kinda random Athena statue plus a MASSIVE and not so random Dolly Parton bust made of fabric and flowers:
And, of course, we ate a ton of food. If you need any Nashville recs, my favorite restaurants we checked out were Noko (Asian-fusion, recommended by my boss who’s a local, and it didn’t disappoint) and Audrey (Southern heritage, get the cornbread).
May
Kevin and I threw our Bachelor Party in Puerto Rico!
My father’s side of the family is from Puerto Rico, so it’s one of my favorite places on earth. Every time I go, I get to relive childhood memories visiting the island with my grandparents, and sharing that with my husband and all of our friends was a joy.
It was a group trip of 24 people… so it was a lot. But the heat and exhaustion were worth all of the memories made. Though how we got this many people to agree and coordinate together is still beyond me.
June
Spent the first half of the month recuperating from the aforementioned trip to PR. Kevin and I worked on more wedding to-dos, but perhaps more impressively we beat (or, rather, completed to our satisfaction) an indie game called Blue Prince.
If you like puzzle-based video games and games you can play with your partner, this one is a blast. It’s a unique blend of strategy, puzzles, and a deeply immersive mystery story, and it requires 100% of your attention, making it a great way to escape and connect with one another (we had to go full Nancy Drew and filled an entire notebook trying to solve everything!).
And most excitingly…
I got married! Well, legally. Kevin and I decided to get legally married in June prior to our actual wedding celebration in October, mostly for the sake of ease.
It’s a great tip if you’re planning a wedding: One less thing you have to worry about on your wedding day, and it allowed us to go straight to our cocktail hour and spend more time with friends and family. We also got legally married on our dating anniversary, so a succinct way to add even more significance to that day.
July
Perhaps our quietest month of the year next to February. Did some summer reading, city exploring and bought our suits for the wedding.
August
More of the above! I’m realizing as I write this that July through September were pretty much a blur as I was hyper-fixated on the upcoming nuptials.
One great memory though was visiting the Green-Wood Cemetery, a hidden gem in Brooklyn that offers peaceful walks on beautifully kept lawns and gardens. It’s also home to an art collective, arboretum, and an amazing colony of Monk Parakeets that nest in the landmarked gatehouse's gothic spires.
September
Planned extensively for the wedding. Attended a different wedding for a close friend at work. Explored The Bronx Zoo for my birthday (I’d never been!).
And… experienced pure celestial BLISS, felt my soul leave my body when I got to go to the LADY GAGA MAYHEM BALL TOUR! Easily one of the best concert experiences I’ve had in a long time (though I’m not a frequent concert-goer).
October
This entire post was kind of leading here: I got married!
To the funniest, most caring, loving and beautiful man in my life. I’ll keep the sappy writing to a minimum, but needless to say, October 18th 2025 was the best day of 2025 and a day that’ll be imprinted on my heart forever. I’ll throw in a few cute pictures here, and maybe I’ll do an extended wedding recap post later down the line!
November
Voted for Mamdani. Learned how to play Mahjong.
December
Threw our annual Litmas holiday party and visited family for the holidays!
And now for a little stats recap for the Calvin Culture of it all…
It was a busy year for me. I definitely saw that hinder my culture consumption in 2025. I don’t know how I feel about this. I hope it means I spent more time traveling and being with friends and family, but I know work + wedding planning stress were also a contributor. I wish I had read more, but that’d always the case. Here’s where I landed:
I watched 183 films in 2025.
-27% compared to 2024 (I somehow, perhaps disturbingly, watched 252 movies in 2024).
39% of the films I watched this year were 2025 premieres. I’ll post a best films of 2025 recap (maybe soon, maybe closer to the Oscars, I’m undecided), but remember you can always follow me on Letterboxd and see my ranked list of 2025 films.
Favorite new release watch in 2025: One Battle After Another (2025), dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
Favorite backlog watch of 2025 (excluding rewatches): The Worst Person in the World (2021), dir. Joachim Trier
I read 12 books in 2025.
Feeling a little low about this, it’s less than half of what I read in 2024, but I’m trying to be better about not comparing myself to others, and I know, big picture, the median American reads something like two books a year, but still… something to strive for in 2026!
Here’s what I read:
Queer (1985) by William S. Burroughs
The Nickel Boys (2019) by Colson Whitehead
Nightbitch (2021) by Rachel Yoder
Captive Prince (2013) by C.S. Pacat
Wandering Stars (2024) by Tommy Orange
I Who Have Never Known Men (1995) by Jacqueline Harpman
Piranesi (2020) by Susanna Clarke
Martyr! (2024) by Kaveh Akbar
The Rachel Incident (2023) by Caroline O’Donoghue
Orbital (2023) by Samantha Harvey
The History of Sound (2024) by Ben Shattuck
Hamnet (2020) by Maggie O’Farrell
The good thing is that at least I read well. I’d highly recommend pretty much all of these books (save maybe Nightbitch and Captive Prince).
My favorite read of the year was The History of Sound, which I reviewed in more detail here, but Piranesi was a very close second.
I saw 7 shows in 2025.
A Streetcar Named Desire (with a dreamy Paul Mescal playing a not so dreamy man)
Lady Gaga Concert, The Mayhem Ball Tour (I’m counting it)
Prince Faggot
Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York
I linked the shows still running. My favorite show was Death Becomes Her, which is still on! Best singing was Chess, but the book and songs weren’t for me.
I played 5 video games in 2025.
Video games are a passion for Kevin, so I do my best to play and be in the know when it comes to new releases and top games. That said, I don’t have the patience, skill or follow-through for many of them. But I do end up enjoying several games each year, many of them co-op games so Kevin and I can play together.
This year I played and beat:
Split Fiction - really fun and imaginative couch co-op!
And I’m very close to beating:
The Witcher 3
Expedition 33: Clair Obscur — I know a lot of my readers love books and film, and let me tell you… this video game is for you! The story and characters are so moving. Especially for fantasy lovers!
I ate at 97 restaurants in 2025.
Won’t list them all, but let’s just say, I love to eat. Kevin is actually the restaurant-logger in our relationship, but we mostly eat and rate everything together (and thankfully have similar broad tastes in food).
My favorite new restaurants I tried this year were:
Theodora New York, NY
COTE New York, NY
Matilda Hensonville, NY
The Residence of Mr. Moto New York, NY
Lilia New York, NY
And that’s a wrap on Calvin Culture 2025. Thanks for reading!
I’m so impressed with the restaurants omg
You had an incredible year! Congrats again, you cutie pies. Can’t wait to see what comes in 2026!