The Shows That Kept Me Company in 2020

Screen & Sound · The Lori Diaries

If there's one thing I've become particularly good at this year, it's deciding to watch just one episode and then discovering that it's suddenly much later than I intended. In 2020, television has been a little bit of everything for me: a trip to Paris, a visit to Buckingham Palace, a return to familiar New York apartments, and occasionally a rather tense evening with people who make spectacularly bad decisions. These are the ten shows I kept thinking about, recommending, or coming back to this year.

A Little Christmas, One Vlog at a Time: My Vlogmas 2020 Watchlist

Everything Else · The Lori Diaries

December has arrived, and my YouTube subscriptions have started looking suspiciously like a Christmas advent calendar. There are trees to decorate, presents to wrap, festive coffees to make, and an impressive number of people convincing me that I, too, need another candle. After the year we've had, I'm finding an unexpected amount of comfort in watching somebody else potter around their house and get excited about Christmas.

Soph x Revolution Extra Spice: The Palette That Earned Its Mess

Everything Else · The Lori Diaries

I went to Istanbul for a short trip in October and came home with a little something extra in my makeup bag: Soph x Revolution's Extra Spice palette. It wasn't a new release, but I'd wanted to try it for ages. Two months later, it's looking considerably less pristine than the day I bought it, which should tell you something about how much I've been using it.

A Swift Master-PEACE: Finding Comfort in the Long Pond Sessions

Screen & Sound · The Lori Diaries

I've been trying to find the right word for folklore: the long pond studio sessions, and I keep coming back to the same slightly ridiculous one: master-PEACE. Yes, I know how that sounds. But after the year we've had, there's something about watching Taylor Swift sit in a quiet studio and sing the songs that got me through the summer that feels a little like being allowed to exhale.