april is for the girls with big feelings
yes, I'm talking about The Tortured Poets Department and Emily Henry's Funny Story
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With Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department currently on repeat and Emily Henry’s Funny Story now on shelves, it really is a great month for the girlies who feel their feelings BIG.
A quick Coachella weekend one recap before I launch into all the other things I’m dying to talk about.
If you followed along on Instagram you know that I didn’t actually go to the music festival. Instead, I attended a weekend full of brand activations and parties including 818 Outpost, Nylon House, Camp Poosh, and Neon Carnival to name a few. This was only my second year attending, so I only had last year to compare things to, but this year really felt like influencer-chella. Like my TikTok FYP come to life. And I recognize that is why ~I~ was included at these parties, but still…it felt like every influencer in LA just hopped in the car and drove two hours to the desert to dress up in different clothes, but do the same thing they do on the regular here in LA. Certainly not complaining and immensely grateful for all the gifted outfits and products I was provided ahead of the weekend. It was super fun! But it certainly did feel a little silly.
For details on my outfits, check out my LTK shop HERE! Or message me and I’ll send you a link.
Listening Lately
The Tortured Poets Department
Last Thursday night at 9pm PST sharp, I pressed play on Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD). I sat crosslegged on my bed, lyrics pulled up (thank you Apple Music) and devoured those first 16 songs of what we would shortly find out was a double album (31 songs in total!) My immediate reaction…girlie was DEPRESSED when she wrote these songs.
Maybe her most personal album to date, TTPD feels almost invasive, like mainlining Swift’s deepest, darkest, most intimate feelings on her romantic relationships of the last few years, as well as her relationship to her fans and fame.
We will of course never really know what Swift is/was feeling or thinking — all we have to go off are the lyrics she gives us — but if we are to take the lyrics as even a fraction of truth, she has been struggling. At first listen, my takeaway was TTPD was a beautiful piece of art that I don’t think I’ll be listening to over and over the way I have her other albums simply because it was so sad and made me so concerned. And given how specific the songs are, I found it hard to separate the listening experience from the lore of who each song was about.
Swift’s mention of her casual alcoholism, massive amounts of suicidal ideation, and general self-destructive backsliding nature of the relationships described made this a tough listen. Is this a safe space to say at first listen, I feared TTPD might rank as my least favorite Taylor Swift album to date? Again, not because I didn’t like it. But because I like all her other albums SO much. And this one just feels heavy. Even the biggest bops — like I Can Do It With A Broken Heart — are utterly heartbreaking. I find myself a little troubled by the flippant nature with which people are making TikToks to some of these lyrics, as if they haven’t really listened at all.
But it’s been a few days now and I cannot stop listening to the anthology. With every time through, it grows on me more and more. And there are so many musical and lyrical parallels to earlier songs to process. I’ve had Fortnight stuck in my head since the music video dropped Friday. Current favorite songs (I know this will change with time) include Down Bad, Florida!!!, Guilty as Sin?, and The Prophecy. This isn’t the first time Swift’s music has had to grow on me over time for me to truly appreciate it (looking at you Reputation and Lover — sorry!)
If someone came to me and said “I’ve never listened to Taylor Swift, what should I start with?” I wouldn’t lead them to this album. I am overall a bit confused by the commercial roll out of the album with a subject matter so personal — though less confused when I remember how important breaking records is to Swift.
But for those of us who have been fans for a long time (I’ve been singing along since July 4th, 2007 — yes I do know the exact date) this album is another 31 colors to add to our box of Swift colored crayons. Two hours of lyrics to study, learn, and internalize so that when the moment in our lives arises, we have the vocabulary with which to quote a lyric at it. A warning to friends who backslide, a message to get up and keep going through the tears, a beat with which to shake our asses even on our toughest days. And a reminder that we do not know what anyone, even the shiniest, biggest star is really going through.
Reading Lately
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Happy pub day to Funny Story by Emily Henry! As I wrote when I read an early copy back in January (thank you, Berkley!) Henry’s latest book tells the story of Daphne and Miles, two seemingly opposite people thrown together out of necessity when Daphne’s fiancé breaks of their wedding for his childhood best friend, who just happens to be Miles’ girlfriend.
In desperate need of a new living situation, Daphne moves into Miles’ spare bedroom. And in an effort to prove to their exes how well they’re doing, they decide to pretend they are dating. What follows is, in true Emily Henry fashion, a smart, beautiful, thoughtful story that had me constantly on the verge of happy tears.
Tropes include fake dating, friends to lovers, and forced proximity for those who care. Henry doesn’t miss and if you have loved her earlier works, you’ll love this, too.
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
For fans of Emily Henry, I highly recommend this book! I listened to the audiobook (thanks PRH Audio!) An overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past.
Fun fact: I had lunch at Joan’s on Third in LA last week and saw a woman walking by with a heavily annotated copy and felt compelled to yell out “that book is so good!” to which she responded she was literally giving the copy to THE Joan of Joan’s on Third to read next. Read it to be like Joan.
No One Can Know by Kate Alice Smith
I’m currently a third of the way into our April Reading Lately Book Club book, and I have a feeling I’ll be finishing it tonight. With short chapters and multiple POVs and timelines, it’s the kind of thriller that just sucks you right in. Three sisters, two murders, and too many secrets to count.
Products Lately
Quick reminder I (try to) link all my outfits and products on my LTK shop, so if you follow me on other social pages and ever want to know where something is from, you can check that out HERE!
Tavi Active — code SAMANTHA for 20% off site-wide from Vooray, TAVI, and ToeSox, and code SAMANTHA30 for an additional 30% off sale items
Birthdate Candles — code Samantha10 at checkout
Our Place — discount applied through this link
Kush Queen — code Samantha at checkout
Homesick Candles — they sent me a personally curated package (pictured below) and I’m obsessed