Three On Thursday

Today’s 3 things are for those of us who identify as Swifties . . .

1. On Monday, Taylor Swift put a countdown calendar on her website with an end time of 12:12am on Tuesday. There was lots (and lots) of speculation about what this might mean and what would happen when the clock ran out. I subscribed to the theory that it meant she was announcing a new album . . . and that’s what happened.
2. The backdrop of that countdown was orange. To be more exact, orange glitter. And when the album and title, The Life of a Showgirl, was announced, orange took over not just the Swiftverse but more like the whole world. It seems like every brand, from M&Ms to Betty Crocker to American Airlines to Crumbl and the Empire State Building itself, turned orange to align with the album’s aesthetic and Taylor Swift’s orange era. It’s sort of mind blowing that one tiny announcement could have such a gigantic impact on brands and trends across the world.
3. Last night, Taylor was the special guest on the New Heights podcast which is hosted by her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and his brother Jason Kelce. Dale and I, along with 1.3 million other people, watched it on YouTube when it dropped and the views are now up to 8.5 million. We were entranced and delighted by the whole thing. Taylor was open and vulnerable, talking about the huge impact buying her masters and owning all of her music has had on her outlook, candidly discussing the impact of the ERAs tour, and revealing the album cover and song track titles. She and Travis were adorable together, they are clearly happy and it was wonderful to see that. She rarely does interviews so this was a pretty big moment. I made a pitcher of Aperol Spritzes to celebrate.
   

The album comes out on October 3rd.

Here’s your daily dahlia:

This one is Tempest and I posted it to illustrate that dahlias are gorgeous in every stage of their life, from bud to blossom.