A Gen X lens on the culture that shaped us
Exploring the music, TV, books, and cultural touchstones that defined the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, and why they still matter today.
I was born in the ’70s, grew up as a child of the ’80s, and lived my teen years in the ’90s.
Graduating high school in 1995 (and college in 1999) meant I spent those years surrounded by mixtapes, mall jobs, and the first wave of internet life.
For three years, I worked at GapKids, stacking jeans and tiny graphic tees with precision (and a trusty a folding board), and learning how the mall was more than a shopping center: it was the beating heart of teen culture.
When I wasn’t at work, I was at concerts, like Radiohead at Cole Field House and HFStival in 1994, catching the network TV line-up, or snapping black and white photos with my Pentax K1000 (and spending equal amounts of time in a dark room).
Those experiences, mixed with a father who had a massive vinyl collection and played in rock bands, and a mother who worked a 9-to-5 and cherished the arts, gave me a love of music, memories, and culture that still resonates today.
My Story & Roots
I grew up in a world of mixtapes, mall jobs, and the early days of the internet. These are the things that shaped me, and maybe shaped you, too.
Mall Jobs & Everyday Life in the ’90s
In the early ’90s, the mall was more than a shopping center — it was the heart of teenage life. For three years, I folded tiny T-shirts and straightened denim walls at GapKids in Montgomery Mall, where I earned a paycheck and a crash course in independence.
When I wasn’t working retail, I was hitting up Urban Outfitters in Georgetown, or digging through Goodwill racks for ’70s clothes long before thrifted fashion was cool again.
Dog-eared paperbacks lived on my nightstand, everything from Stephen King to L.M. Montgomery.
Music, Vinyl & Festivals That Shaped Me
Music was always playing in the background of my life, shaping moods and memories. In the early ’90s, I saw Radiohead at Cole Field House, and one summer I spotted a Hootie & the Blowfish sign at a beach bar in Pawley’s Island — both before their names were everywhere.
At home, my parents’ massive vinyl collection and my dad’s time in rock bands gave me an early soundtrack of everything from The Beatles and Pink Floyd, to Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Cat Stevens. By the mid-’90s, I was in packed fields at HFStival and Lollapalooza, discovering what it meant to share live music with thousands of strangers.
From Darkrooms to Star Trek TNG Marathons
If music shaped me, creativity gave me an outlet, whether in the darkroom or in front of the TV. Armed with a Pentax K1000, I spent hours shooting black-and-white photos and watching them appear under the glow of a darkroom lamp.
When I wasn’t in the darkroom, or hanging with friends, I was glued to Star Trek: The Next Generation, where LeVar Burton, Patrick Stewart, Whoopie Goldberg, etc., taught me that imagination could shape the future as much as books could. And like every teen of the ’90s, I tuned into The Real World, My So-Called Life, and The Wonder Years, stories that felt raw and familiar in ways reruns never could.
Nostalgia in Everyday Media
Even before “nostalgia” was a buzzword, I was soaking up reruns from my parents’ generation. Leave It to Beaver, My Three Sons, I Dream of Jeannie, and The Brady Bunch ran on endless loops during summer mornings or sick days, giving me a window into worlds that felt both foreign and comforting. Those shows stitched together the hours at home, helping to shape how I understood family, humor, and what “normal” looked like in other decades.
And let’s not forget Saturday morning cartoons in the 1980s, where our favorite toys came to life on screen. An era of rainbows, stuffed animals, Cabbage Patch crazes, and Lisa Frank!
First Email & the Digital Front
By college, the future arrived in the form of my first email address and access to the World Wide Web and early chat environments … the precursor to what we’ve now dubbed social media. What a time!
Mall jobs and mixtapes, concerts and cameras, reruns and dial-up: these were the threads of my Gen X story, and they’re the echoes I carry into Nostalgia Notebook today.
Snapshots From the Era
My Digital Journey & Authority
In 2010, I launched (a)Musing Foodie with little more than a love of cooking and a camera on my kitchen counter. What started as a small creative outlet grew into a site that reached millions of readers, became a hub for family-friendly recipes, and connected me with communities of writers, brands, and creators.
I learned SEO by trial and error, taught myself the ins and outs of WordPress, and spent years refining how to tell stories online in ways that both search engines and real humans valued.
Over the years, my work was featured by brands, shared across social media, and supported through Mediavine ads and affiliate partnerships. I became fluent in the language of digital publishing: building authority, creating evergreen content, and balancing creativity with analytics.
Beyond recipes, I wrote essays, music features, and cultural reflections that reminded me how much I love telling stories that go beyond the kitchen. Selling (a)Musing Foodie in 2024 gave me the chance to take that knowledge and start fresh with a new vision.
I understand what it takes to build an online home that readers trust and return to.
Liza Hawkins, Creator of Nostalgia Notebook
With Nostalgia Notebook, I’m bringing that same digital know-how into a space that feels deeply personal. I understand what it takes to build an online home that readers trust and return to, and I’m using those lessons to explore the culture of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s with curiosity and care.
This site is part authority, part scrapbook, and part love letter to the eras that shaped us — created with the experience of someone who has lived it and built communities online for over a decade.
What You’ll Find in the Notebook
At Nostalgia Notebook, you’ll find a mix of personal reflections, cultural deep-dives, and practical guides that celebrate the best of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. Whether you grew up with mixtapes, Saturday morning TV, or the thrill of getting your first email, this space is about remembering what shaped us and discovering how those echoes show up today.
- Essays: Reflections and stories that connect personal memories with broader pop culture.
- Guides: How-tos for vinyl, playlists, gifts, reading lists, thrifting, and more — modern takes on retro favorites.
- TV & Film / Music / Books & Podcasts: Curated rewatch lists, throwback recommendations, and cultural commentary.
- Newsletter: A weekly dose of nostalgia delivered straight to your inbox, with fresh throwbacks and links to explore.