big news: i’m starting a newsletter! catch up on all of my latest stories and current favorites—from home goods and clothes to reading and music—and get a behind-the-scenes look at my life and career. the newsletter will come out on the last sunday of each month, so you officially have one week until the first one drops.
signing up to get my newsletter is easy: go to my refreshed website kellymdawson.com, and a pop-up page will prompt you for your deets. while you’re there, take a look around. i have new info on my copywriting and marketing work, links to press and speaking engagements, and a “book an appointment” page where you can put time on my cal to chat about your next big moves—i’ll help you get there! special thanks to @fellowbrands and @alexandragater for helping me with this project. looking forward to sharing more big things with you in the newsletter. don’t forget to sign up! link is in my profile. 💕
image description: an illustration of a green leaf on a blue background with “sign up for my newsletter” in black ink over it. pink is highlighting the text.
ahh! i’ve been published in the new york times! the @nytimes !! this has been such a whirlwind and such a blast, and i’m so excited to share it. read the story from the link in my profile, and a special thanks to flippers @ellewoodworthy , @ericthevintagehunter , @trishasprouse , @flipdaddie , and @clintonaverytharp .
image description: a screenshot of my new york times story “furniture flippers will take that dresser you’re done with, thank you,” featuring a lead image of elle woodworthy leaning up against a dresser and smiling in her warehouse.
i’ve been writing home tours for @archdigest since 2017, but this time, the tables have turned! take a tour of my own place, and see how i struck a balance between style and accessibility. the link is in my profile and stories.
image description: i’m wearing a lilac-colored long dress and sitting on a leather chair next to a ceramic elephant that’s being used as a side table. my chair is in front of a white bookcase filled with books, magazines, and objects, and there’s a fiddle leaf fig in the corner by the window.
is your dance card filled?
photo caption: i’m wearing a blue striped shirt, white jeans, and a leather jacket on a boat tour of chicago’s architecture. i’m a little sad that i’m not a big-haired food critic slow dancing with my engaged best friend on the back on this boat, which is presently covered in chairs and likely full of people who weren’t as obsessed with “my best friend’s wedding” as a kid.
back in 2008, a random czech worker placed five girls in dorms along the same hallway in prague. a million years later, we all got together for the first time since at @pendrychicago . it’s the perfect spot for a weekend getaway! we cheered on a white sox game, laughed at a second city show, gawked on an architecture tour, shopped around logan square and lincoln park, and ate and drank really well in between — all in about 72 hours. that’s the thing about meeting at 20: you tend to feel that way together forever.
“summer house” has been my favorite reality show for the last few years. to speak about it publicly as a fan for @glamourmag during its pop culture takeover? um, is this thing on? 😊
photo description: a screenshot of text from today’s glamour magazine story about the bravo show “summer house” by writer @anavcolon .
whenever we pop into bart’s books, i wonder if this will be the time i pull a title off a shelf and a spider says, “ojai.”
image description: my friend noelle is standing in front of an outdoor bookshelf wearing jeans, sunglasses, and a t-shirt.
so this year, ya know, could’ve gone more smoothly. but hey, at least costco pizza stays the same. (if this changes, send help.)
i didn’t meet any big goals this year. i wrote and traveled and blah blah blah. but big goals? not really. and i think that’s important to mention! because honestly, who cares? life isn’t always a race and sometimes chunks of time go by without a lot of fuss. even if you don’t have a highlight reel, you’re still moving forward. and thank goodness there’s always pizza.
i’ve loved the zora neale hurston line, “there are years that ask questions and years that answer” for a long time, and i always think of it on my birthday. this was a question year: am i becoming the woman i want to be, and what does she look like? how does she protect herself, value herself, push herself? who gets to experience that, and who doesn’t? i’ve found the answers in a close circle of loved ones, in saying what i may not have said before, and in knowing that whatever is for me will find me. oh, and by making it all look really dang hot. 🥰😘
image description: i’m sitting on the side of the fountain in nyc’s washington square park wearing a pink dress and sunglasses. i have an apple watch and crossbody purse on.
for my latest essay in @cupofjo , i wrote about something i resisted doing for years. maybe it was because i was stubborn. maybe it was because most of the available solutions are ugly. maybe it was because i wasn’t letting my body be. do you think it was all three? yep, it’s all three. read how i’m learning to accept my body as it changes, which is something we all gotta face, on cupofjo.com now. (and shoutout to @michaelgravesdesign for making a beautiful cane.)
photo description: i was walking past this building wearing a pink maxi dress, blue high tops, sunglasses, and a blue cane while on my way to meet a friend for brunch in NYC’s west village, and i had no idea why there were so many people gathered. but i heard people singing the first few cords of the “friends” theme song, looked across the street at their pretend building, and was like, “gotcha.” we came back to take a smiling photo in front of it, even though i never had the box set.
summer weather is just getting started ‘round here, so i figure i can post some of my family faves from the “official season.” we went to a redwood grove i had never been to in santa barbara, lots of beach and pool and lake time with our gigantic family just like the ol’ days, prime vintage shopping with a bunch of women squealing and saying “omg, try this on, this would look great on you” and lots and lots of auntie time. the last collection of photos are my favorite, when my niece gave my dad a bite of her churro, so we all did until he told us to stop. 😂
when we lived in london and crossed the street, i’d yell, “hit me, pay for my student loans!” if a car got too close. more than a decade later, somehow elizabeth (and her husband) still want to hang out with me. we had so much fun in SF and our fave spots around petaluma, where it’s so easy to do what we’ve always done: find excuses to make each other laugh.
image description: the first shot is from my seat at oracle park, which had a lovely view of the bay and glorious food, even though i’m a dodger fan for life. the second is on the back of a pedicab with stephen and elizabeth—i’m wearing a cap that says “auntie” because we’re on everyone’s team. the third photo is probably the best veggie scramble i’ve ever had, the fourth is a corner of san francisco on a rare hot day. the fifth is watching “grease” in the park, the sixth is an old building in petaluma, the seventh is me at copperfield, a great bookstore in petaluma. the eighth is elizabeth and i at oracle park, and the last is my glass of rosé at mcevoy farm.
