Dear Reader,
Happy April, and TTPD Release Month! Iâve been insanely excited for The Tortured Poets Department since Taylor announced it at the Grammyâs in February. But watching her recorded acceptance speech at the iHeart Music Awards last night, and especially her mention of how proud she is of this new album - it just hit me that we get to hear it so so soon đą I cannot wait!
April is a month known for its rainy showers and the start of blooming flowers. I hope this newsletter can give you inspiration for the month ahead - dates to note; a playlist to listen to while weâre waiting for TTPD; some mashups to check out; and a fun baking recipe perfect for the post-Easter spring season.
In this newsletter youâll find:
Swiftie April Dates - important dates to keep track of, plus reminders of when my own Dear Reader Newsletters will hit your inbox this month.
My April Swiftie Playlist - a playlist to take you through the month of April.
My Mashup of the month - featuring more of my Eras Tour mashups.
My Featured Recipe of the month - Sourdough Discard Carrot Cake
Coming Up - some fun things to look forward to!
Swiftie April Dates
This Swiftie April Dates may appear to have a little bit less going on than recent previous months. BUT the fact that weâre getting TS11 on the 19th blows April to a whole new level of activity! I appreciate Taylor giving us time and space to give her new album our full attention - to listen, process, and re-listen, on repeat đ
As always, I included Taylorâs singles that released in past Aprilâs: âThe Story Of Usâ, âYou Belong With Meâ, and âME!â And do you remember the Spotify Singles?! I used to listen to Taylorâs cover of September on loop.
Of course I couldnât leave off âHigh Infidelityâ day - do you really want to know where I was April 29th? And for the first time I decided to add my own Dear Reader Newsletter dates to this calendar - just to give you a heads up of when to look out for them in your inbox!
Finally, this month weâre celebrating the anniversary of Taylorâs first re-recorded album: Fearless (Taylorâs Version). Itâs the album that kicked off the whole re-recording process, and itâs such a good one. A lot of songs from that album feature on this monthâs playlist.
April Swiftie Playlist
April is known for its rain. So I made rain a central theme of my April Swiftie Playlist. The playlist explores different aspects of rainy days - from the passion and romance of meeting in the pouring rain, to the storms of life, to washing things Clean to end with that glorious sunrise, I hope this playlist can take you through the month - or at least until TTPDâs release!
In my March newsletter I told you about a new series I was starting on my YouTube channel, breaking down my music playlists. I finally got up the first video of that series - a breakdown of my March Swiftie Playlist - a couple of days before the end of the month (I was traveling around California for most of March, and got a bit behind đ). If you havenât checked that video out yet, you can watch it here on YouTube!
Iâm working on another video breaking down this April playlist, so keep your eyes open for it. If thereâs anything youâd like to see covered in that video, let me know! Iâve also got my Spring Swiftie playlist coming this month - what's your favorite Taylor Swift spring song? đ¸âď¸
You can listen to my April Swiftie Playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube. If you prefer a clean version of the playlist, here it is on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.
Click here for links to all of my playlists!
Featured Mashup: More Eras Tour Mashups
During the previous leg of The Eras Tour I had so much fun trying to recreate Taylor Swiftâs mashups (she performed so many of them). I made it my mission to share at least one mashup for every Eras Tour show mashup she performed. I havenât quite met that goal - but these are the mashups I shared last month, in case you missed them. Let me know if you have future mashups requests, and stay tuned for more mashups coming to my Instagram this month!
Featured Recipe: Sourdough Discard Carrot Cake
With Easter just behind us, it feels like the perfect time of year to share my Vegan Sourdough Discard Carrot Cake. I made this for the first time last year for Easter, and I filmed the process to upload as the very first video on my YouTube channel! Since then Iâve been shifting my YouTube channel to incorporate a lot more Taylor Swift content, but recipes are definitely still in play. Plus, baking is, and has been, such a big part of Taylorâs life. Sheâs often baking up reportedly amazing creations, and sharing it with those around her.
My recipe for this Sourdough Discard Carrot Cake is in the description of the YouTube video. It uses sourdough discard (I explain what that is in the video), which helps make the cake so light and fluffy. If youâd also like to check out a couple of carrot cake recipes from baking blogs Taylor Swift has specifically recommended in the past, hereâs this recipe from Joy The Baker, and this one from Smitten Kitchen.
I always try to relate my featured recipes to a specific Taylor Swift song. For this carrot cake recipe I have a couple of Taylor Swift songs in mind that could fit. I used one as the audio on this Instagram post. But I wanted to ask you - what Taylor Swift song would YOU listen to while baking and/or eating this up?! đ
Coming Up
Hereâs some fun content to look out for this month - Iâve got ideas on what to cover in my upcoming Dear Reader Newsletter, but would love to hear what you would most be interested in seeing! Let me know in the comments of this post.
đ April 13th - free for all Dear Reader subscribers!
Would you like to see an email gearing up for TTPDâs release, such as breaking down the TTPD tracklist or something else TTPD related?
đ April 22nd - a bonus newsletter for paid subscribers!
In March I shared a roundup of âRecent Recsâ, and last month I shared a breakdown of TTPD and all its variants. For this bonus email, I could share anther TTPD related newsletter, as thereâll be so much to discuss once the album is out! Would you be interested in first impressions, initial thoughts, or anything along those lines?
đśđĽ Over on Instagram and YouTube, Iâve got more music breakdown videos and my Spring Swiftie Playlist coming your way!
âď¸ Finally, Iâve got some fun travel content coming from my California trip:
For over two and a half weeks I traveled around LA (the angelâs city), Palm Springs, and San Diego. It was mainly a working/visiting family trip, but I packed a lot of fun things in too! I did a day in Disneyland, hit museums and gardens and the beach, and of course a number of Taylor Swift-related spots too - in fact, you may be surprised how many I came across! Let me know if thereâs any travel content youâre particularly interested in.
I love connecting with you! 𫶠Let me know your thoughts and requests in the comments. And until next timeâŚ
You know there's many different ways that you can kill the one you love
The slowest way is never loving them enough,
Bekah
đś Can I Ask You a Question? đś
đśđ¸âď¸ What's your favorite Taylor Swift spring song?
đĽđ Which Taylor Swift song would you listen to while baking/eating carrot cake?
âď¸ What travel content would you like to see?
đ Would you be interested in more TTPD newsletter content for this monthâs upcoming newsletters (i.e. breaking down the tracklist, first impressions, and/or anything else TTPD related)?
𫶠There are 650+ subscribers to the Dear Reader newsletter - Iâm so happy youâre here! If you havenât yet subscribed and are interested, and/or know a Swiftie who might also enjoy these emails, subscribe here and share here!
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