🎆 July: I'm captivated by you baby...

Your Roundup of July Swiftie Inspo!

Jul 04, 2025

Dear Reader,

“…like a fireworks show” 🎇

Happy 4th of July! Whether you're soaking up the sun, enjoying fireworks, or however you’re spending your Friday, I hope today brings you some sparkling joy. In this special 4th of July edition, we’re celebrating all things July - from festive popsicles and firework-filled mashups to a new Swiftie playlist and a calendar full of Taylor-coded dates to look out for this month. I hope this newsletter gives you some fun summer inspo - let’s dive in!

In this newsletter you’ll find:

📆 Swiftie July Dates - important dates to keep track of this month
🎶 July Swiftie Playlist - with a walkthrough of the playlist and links to listen
🎧 July Mashup - including fireworks for your 4th of July festivities
❤️🤍💙 Featured Recipe - “End Game” 4th of July Popsicles
💌 Coming Up - this month’s upcoming Dear Reader Newsletters

📆 Swiftie July Dates

After some quieter months, July has quite a lot going on for us Swifties! This month’s Swiftie Calendar includes song lyric mentions, album anniversaries, National Snake Day, and The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 kicking off - what’re you most looking forward to?!

Taylor doesn’t have a lot of songs that mention specific dates - and in July we get two of them in “End Game” and “Last Kiss”! This month we’re celebrating two years of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), and 5 years since the surprise drop of folklore. Also, an event not included on this calendar, but one that will definitely be marked on my IG (keep an eye out!), is the Tayvis anniversary of Travis at Taylor’s Kansas City N2 Eras Tour show (July 8, 2023). That night set something in motion that I don’t think any of us were expecting.

This month we also get the Season 3 premiere of The Summer I Turned Pretty! I include it on our Swiftie calendar because I think lots of Swifties watch the show. I myself started watching the show because I heard it used a lot of Taylor’s songs - and it’s just gotten better and better. Jenny Han, the author of the book trilogy, has masterfully used Taylor’s discography through 2 seasons, and I can’t wait to see what Season 3 brings.

Finally, I know we’re past clowning for Rep TV, now that Taylor owns all of her old music. But does that mean we shouldn’t be clowning for something to happen on National Snake Day? 🐍 Let me know what you think!

🎶 July Swiftie Playlist

My July Swiftie Playlist takes you on a journey through the month of July. Each song embodies different elements of summertime, to help get you in the summer mood!

I started off with “Slut!” because for me the sound of this song is the epitome of summer in July. From the moonlit swimming pool to the clinking of glasses, this song always transports me to a tropical holiday. The playlist flows right into “Death By A Thousand Cuts”, with more movement and a brighter sound that still (to me) feels very summer.

Next up is “End Game” and something being born on the 4th of July. Then the playlist softens with the folksy sounds of “illicit affairs” and the softness of “Last Kiss”. I purposely used the OG version of “Last Kiss'“ because I feel like the emotion in it is unmatched, and I just love the quality and youthfulness of Taylor’s voice. Now that Taylor owns all of her music, I’m enjoying going back to the OG albums and deciding which version of a song to include on my upcoming playlists, depending on which version best fits the flow and feel of the playlist.

“imgonnagetyouback” brings back some playfulness to our July soundtrack, and we retain those 4th of July party vibes with “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”. Next up I chose to go with the (Taylor’s Version) of “The Way I Loved You” because I love the matureness of Taylor’s vocals and the clarity of the production. Plus, I felt it was a bit jarring to go back to Taylor’s OG Fearless album and her youthful voice right in-between a track from Reputation and then TTPD.

“My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” has the sandbox imagery that I feel pairs so well with “Suburban Legends” and its crashing waves. “I Can See You” is a nod to Taylor’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) album drop in July 2023, and the music video premiere of that song. Finally the playlist ends on the softer notes of “Sweet Nothing” and its July mention (a pebble that we picked up last July), into the final track of a golden summer, “Daylight”.

There’s a quick walkthrough of my July Playlist! I love sharing these insights into how I put my monthly playlists together - I hope you enjoy them too.

You can listen to it on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and YouTube – no clean versions were necessary for this playlist!

Click here for links to all of my playlists!

🎧 July Mashup: Sparks Fly

For today’s 4th of July holiday, I thought I’d share a throwback to this mashup of Sparks Fly x gold rush! Even if you’re not enjoying fireworks today, I hope you can enjoy the fireworks in this mashup.

I’m woefully behind on sharing new mashups - but I’ve got some in the works that I can’t wait to share with you, and I always love hearing your requests! 🫶

❤️🤍💙 “End Game” 4th of July Popsicles

Continuing with our 4th of July festivities, here’s a refreshing summer treat that is perfect all summer long.

These red, white and blue 4th of July “End Game” popsicles are so fun to make, and super festive for the holiday. The blue layer is frozen blended blueberries + blue spirulina powder (optional), with a bit of coconut water to help them blend. The white layer is plain yogurt (I used Kite Hill’s dairy-free yogurt). And the red layer is blended frozen strawberries (with a splash of coconut water).

To make the popsicles, blend the ingredients for the red layer, and pour it into a popsicle mold, about 1/3 of the way. Put in the freezer to set (~1 hour). Then repeat with the white layer, and end with the blue layer.

I shared this recipe for 4th of July last year, but it’s such a fun one so I’m sharing it again! I’ll have another recipe in the newsletter coming out on July 16th, so keep an eye out for that 👩🏻‍🍳

💌 Coming Up

Finally, here’s some content to look out for this month! I’m working on a (Taylor’s Version) Timeline newsletter, for paid subscribers. I had planned on sharing this last month, soon after the news that Taylor bought all of her masters! Life got in the way, but it’ll be coming your way very soon!

July 16th will drop a The Summer I Turned Pretty (TSITP) edition newsletter in your inbox - just in time for the Season premiere that same day. And I haven’t decided on the topic for July’s paid newsletter, coming on the 22nd - so if you have any requests, let me know!

Upcoming Dear Reader Newsletters

💌 June 9th - A (Taylor’s Version) Timeline - a bonus newsletter for paid subscribers
💌 June 16th - TSITP Edition! - Free for all Dear Reader subscribers
💌 July 22nd - TBD - a bonus newsletter for paid subscribers
- If you’re interested in receiving these extra emails and supporting me and this newsletter, you can upgrade your subscription for $5/month (or $50/year).

That’s a wrap on this July newsletter! Until next time…

I see sparks fly,

Bekah

🎶 Can I Ask You a Question? 🎶

🥳 What are you most excited about happening in July?
🎶💌 Any mashup requests? And/or upcoming content requests?!

Dear Reader