🎃 October: Past the pumpkin patch...
October Dates, an Autumnal Playlist, a "Haunted" Mashup and more!
Dear Reader,
“…and the tractor rides, Look now, the sky is gold”
It’s almost that time of year when the air gets crisp, vibrant leaves crunch under your feet, and spiced lattes, apple cider and pumpkins all peak in popularity. Aka, it’s my favorite time of the year, and I can’t wait to see what this month has to hold! We’ve got a busy one ahead, with the Eras Tour restarting, loads of album anniversaries to celebrate, and more.
I hope this October newsletter helps you get into the autumnal spirit and celebrate the month with: a calendar of Swiftie happenings; my October Swiftie playlist; a “Haunted” mashup for spooky season; and an October recipe perfect for cozy mornings. Plus, check out some exciting things to look forward to at the end of the newsletter. Happy October!
In this newsletter you’ll find:
🗓️ Swiftie October Dates - important dates to keep track of this month
🎧 My October Swiftie Playlist - with links and a quick overview of the playlist
🎶 A “Haunted” mashup - perfect for spooky season
🥣 October Bowl Recipe - a cozy bowl to wake up to
🫶 Coming Up - exciting things to look forward to!
💌 Upcoming Dear Reader Newsletters
👗 A Swiftie’s Closet - Coming Very Soon!
📱 Swiftie Phone Case Giveaway - Final Call!
Swiftie October Dates
Taylor Swift reallllly loves to release albums in October. You’ll notice that in this month’s Swiftie Dates there’s a total of 8 album releases - 5 studio albums, 1 re-recording, 1 platinum edition, and interestingly enough, Taylor’s Holiday Collection was also first released in October. But we’ll get to that in a minute.
First, can we take a moment to appreciate that we’ll celebrate the anniversaries of Midnights, Red, Taylor Swift, Speak Now, 1989 and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) ALL in the span of 1 week? Also, how has it almost been a year since we got the gift of 1989 (Taylor’s Version)?! It honestly feels like just yesterday that I listened to “It Is Over Now (Taylor’s Version)” for the first time, and I still haven’t gotten over it - or any of the vault tracks from that album.
Which October album release is your personal favorite?
If you’re surprised that Taylor first released her holiday collection in October, you’re not alone. October feels a bit early to me to be listening to Christmas tunes. But I suppose it also makes sense to pave the way to the holidays with a release a few months prior. The October 14th, 2007 release of Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection was a Target exclusive, and it was released to other retailers on December 2nd, 2008. If you haven’t listened to the album, it’s such a fun way to get into the Christmas spirit! I’ll definitely share more as we get closer to the holiday season.
October also marks the return of The Eras Tour - are you excited?! I’m so curious to see what Taylor does in this final leg of the tour. Only 15 days until Miami N1!
Finally, I added the first Chiefs game of the month to the calendar, in case Taylor makes an appearance. She hasn’t been to the last two away games, but she was at the first two home games in Kansas City, and this October 7th game is back at Arrowhead. The Chiefs also have games on the 20th and 27th, but those are also Eras Tour dates, so I think it’s safe to assume Taylor won’t make it to those 😋
A couple of extra dates I didn’t know about until after I’d shared this calendar on social media are: National Poetry Day on October 3rd (today!), and Travis’ birthday on October 5th!
What are you most excited about happening this month?
October Swiftie Playlist
My Swiftie October Playlist gives all the fall feels to get you into Swiftie Season 🍁 It celebrates the leaves changing to red and gold, pulling out your cardigan, getting into spooky season and more!
“Red (Taylor’s Version)” was the clear opening song for this playlist, since the album Red (Taylor’s Version) is the ultimate autumnal album - in my humble opinion. From there we hit on fall classics like “The Best Day” (which never fails to make me tear up), and “You Belong With Me” (the football game shots from that music video always bring me back to this time of year). We’re putting on big coats and “cardigan”s, before the playlist brings us into a spooky season filled with “Haunted” and “blood moonlit” lyrics. After leaving the burning witches in “Cassandra”, we end the month with the classic “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)”, just in time for the peak of fall.
You can listen to my October Swiftie Playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube. I also have clean versions up on Spotify and Apple Music.
Click here for links to all of my playlists!
A Mashup That’ll Leave You “Haunted”
As we get into spooky season, there’s a number of Taylor Swift songs that fit the occasion. But one of my all time favorites is “Haunted”. This is a mashup I did of “The Way I Loved You” with “Haunted” - I was actually inspired by The Summer I Turned Pretty when I first worked on it, but I think it really fits this time of year. Let me know if you’d like to hear more of these two songs together, or any other “Haunted” mashups!
October Apple Pie Porridge Bowl
With autumn in full swing this month, I’m embracing the return of cozy breakfast bowls and foaming lattes. This October bowl features one of my go-to meals this time of year - apple pie porridge. It’s so easy to make, and full of nourishing ingredients and autumnal flavors. I usually just eyeball measurements when I make it for my family, but here’s some more specific ones if you’d like to try it yourself:
1 diced apple
1 cup almond/oat milk
1 cup boiling water
1.5 cups oats
2 tbsp ground flax seeds (opt)
1-2 tbsp maple syrup
Handful of raisins
Handful of chopped walnuts
Toppings: granola, sliced apples, blueberries, etc.
Chop up your apple into small pieces. Add these to a pot on the stove, along with your liquids (water and milk). Let boil for a few minutes, to allow the apple pieces to soften.
Add oats, ground flax seeds, maple syrup, raisins and chopped walnuts. Cook until the oatmeal is cooked to your desired texture (add more water and/or milk if needed).
Serve up and top with granola, fruit, or whatever else you fancy!
Coming Up
Upcoming Dear Reader Newsletters
For the first time I included a graphic of when my Dear Reader newsletter is going out this month in my October Swiftie dates post! This month every subscriber will have two free emails (this being one of them!), and paid subscribers will receive an extra three emails. If you’re interested in receiving these bonus emails and supporting this newsletter, you can upgrade your subscription for $5/month or $50/year.
A Swiftie’s Closet - Coming Very Soon!
If you love Taylor Swift-inspired outfits, then you just may be interested in a new closet I’m starting - A Swiftie’s Closet! I’ll be reselling affordable Taylor Swift-inspired clothes and shoes, for all ages and sizes.
So if you’re planning on going to an upcoming Eras Tour or another Taylor Swift themed event, and/or if you just love discovering Taylor Swift-inspired clothes and shoes - this closet might have just what you’ve been looking for! I’ve got a quick preview reel up here on the new Instagram I created @aswiftiescloset - the closet will launching very soon and I’ll share updates over there, so you can follow along if you’re interested. And let me know here or over on this preview post where you prefer to shop - Poshmark, Depop, Vinted, Mercari, or anywhere else?!
Swiftie Phone Case Giveaway - Final Call!
Today is the final day for my Swiftie phone case giveaway with Popclings! I’ve been obsessed with my own Swiftie phone cases, so I’m super excited to get to share a case with two of you. If you’d like to enter before the giveaway closes you can on this post, or this one 🫶
And that’s a wrap on this October newsletter! Until next time…
I had the best day with you today,
Bekah
🎶 Can I Ask You a Question? 🎶
🥳 What are you most excited about happening in October?!
🎶 What’s your favorite October album release?
🎧 What other mashups would you like to hear this month?
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