July is the month that asks you to slow all the way down.

But we’re not slowing down because we’re tired (even though you might actually be 😅) or because the world is forcing us to. Nah, we’re slowing down because July, with its long heavy light and its heat that makes rushing feel physically impossible, is actually an invitation. 

In July, the pace drops, the days stretch, and if you’re paying attention, you’ll notice that something in you has been waiting for permission to match it.

This is the month we honor the woman who knows that how she does anything is how she does everything. The woman who has a sequence to her mornings, a specific candle she lights at a specific hour, a ritual she keeps because she decided her life was worth designing on purpose.

That’s the world The Unbothered are living in this July. Devotional, grounded, unhurried. A month shaped by ceremony, by the pleasure of doing things in a specific order, by the quiet power of a life built by design.

How July Feels

July feels like the particular stillness of a morning you designed before anyone else woke up. Like remembering that the way you do the small things is the whole point. Like something low and slow filling the room with patience and intention — the smell of something cooking, a candle lit before it’s necessary, a drink poured into something worthy of the occasion.

It feels like still air and long light and the world finally matching your pace. Like the moment you stop rushing yourself somewhere and realize you were already there. July is the month you get to live inside what you’ve been building.

What July Sounds Like

The Unbothered July playlist was built for a morning you designed before the world woke up: slow, deliberate, warm. The kind of music you only play when you’re doing something intentiona (like how our Moms used to play music when she was cleaning up on a Saturday morning, lol)l. 

Erykah Badu anchors it, rooted and earthy, completely at home in herself. Jill Scott follows, warm and unhurried, the sound of a woman who has decided her pace. India.Arie for the woman who knows exactly who she is. Sade, Solange, Maxwell, D’Angelo, Musiq Soulchild, Ledisi — deep neo-soul and classic R&B with weight, music that sounds like a summer ceremony from the inside.

This playlist is not meant to just be background noise, I hope it transports you to another time where life was simpler and music was really talking about something. Put it on when you’re getting ready, when you’re cooking, when you’re doing something that deserves your full presence. It’ll get you through a few activities because it’s 20 songs, with all the warmth, depth, and summer ceremony baked in. Listen here →

What We’re Consuming This Month

Reading: Kennedy Ryan’s The Kingmaker. If you’ve been following her work — and after Hook Shot and the Hoops series, you should be — this one is already on your list. Ryan writes women who never have to shrink to be chosen and men who are worth the wait. July is the month to read something that makes you feel completely present in your own desires. Start it this weekend, I know I already have it queued up on my Kindle (Kinnie).

Watching: Love Island. Unashamedly, completely, without explanation (and we’re even going to TikTok to watch all the recaps and think pieces 🤣). There is something deeply Unbothered about a woman who watches what she wants and enjoys it fully — no justification, no apology, no hedging about it being a guilty pleasure. It is a pleasure, period, full stop. 

Doing: Go somewhere you’ve never thrifted before. A different town, an unfamiliar neighborhood, a shop you’ve driven past and never stopped at. Give yourself 2 hours and no list. Let the finds come to you.

What’s In Our World This Month

These are the things making July feel like something worth slowing down for. All linked via ShopMy →

Satin hair scarves — I’m like 15-20 colorways/patterns in and not stopping. The ones you tie like a bandana with your hair down are the whole summer aesthetic. They cost almost nothing, they go with everything, and they make every outfit feel like it was thought about. I find them all the time now at Ross or TJ Maxx (honestly, it’s like a fun little treasure hunt to visit the Ross or TJMaxx on a different side of town to see what they have). Shop it →

Yellow kitten heel sandals — The shoe of the summer. Low heel, open toe, the color of something warm and decided. I matched mine with a yellow purse one day and I haven’t looked back. For the 4th of July I wore jeans, a blue and white striped shirt and red accessories with the red strappy kitten heel. So much fun and easy to walk in. Shop it →

Purse organizer inserts — The thing that finally made switching purses feel effortless. Little pouches that are for makeup and toiletries work perfectly for purse organization. I have so many in different sizes, colors, and even patterns like lemons, strawberries, stripes — everything transfers in two minutes. It’s been so fun and easier for my ADHD brain to grab and go depending on my outfit. Makes a huge difference if you struggled to switch bags because you’d always forget something. Shop it →

Purse charms — The smallest way to make something entirely yours. One charm changes the whole energy of a bag and has so much personality to it! Shop it →

Sunroom ottoman — Got a proper one for the sunroom and it changed everything about how I sit in there. Feet up, drink in hand, screen door open, waterfall in the background. This is the summer setup. Shop it →

German chocolate cookies — A square of cookie on one side, chocolate on the other. I eat 3 (minimum, lol) every single day. You should find a little treat that makes you happy like I have, or just eat mine if you love chocolate because this German chocolate is the BEST. Shop it →

The Unbothered July Syllabus

The Syllabus is what The Unbothered do in the world this month which includes options that are free, accessible, and always analog. All you need is a willingness to show up for your own life.

Things to Do This July

• Wake up 30 minutes before you have to and do nothing productive with it
• Set your table for one meal this month like it actually matters
• Go somewhere in your city you’ve been meaning to explore all summer
• Build a playlist you only play when you’re doing something intentional
• Sit outside before 8am at least once this month
• Buy yourself one small thing just because it makes you smile
• Write one sentence about what you want July to feel like — then live it
• Watch something you love without explaining it to anyone

Hobbies for Every Kind of Unbothered Woman

For The Ritualist: Morning pages — 3 longhand pages every morning before anything else. The ceremony of showing up to the page.

For The Wanderer: Thrifting as slow travel — a new shop, a new neighborhood, no list. Come home with one thing that means something.

For The Nester: Furniture and object rearranging — one afternoon, one room. Move things until the space tells you something different about itself.

I wrote an article on Substack about making any room feel like yours, read it here.

For The Sensualist: Perfume layering — two fragrances worn together, chosen deliberately. Build a summer scent that belongs only to you.

I wrote an article on Substack about building a signature scent wardrobe, read it here.  

For The Unplugged: Handwriting practice — a beautiful font, a physical notebook, fifteen minutes a day. Slow, satisfying, entirely screen-free.

For all of us: Headscarf styling — one scarf, ten ways. YouTube, a mirror, no pressure. The most affordable summer accessory deserves a whole afternoon.

How to Anti-Rot Your Morning

1. Sit up before you pick up your phone
2. Make your morning drink like it’s the only task
3. Step outside before the heat arrives
4. Write one line about how you want today to feel

How to Anti-Rot Your Evening

1. Change the lighting before you change anything else
2. Eat something slow — at the table, without a screen
3. Put your phone in another room after 8pm
4. Do one small thing that closes the day on purpose

How to Anti-Rot Your Weekend

1. Go thrifting with no budget pressure — just browse
2. Cook something that takes the whole afternoon
3. Wake up without an alarm at least one morning
4. Make something with your hands — no goal required

This Month’s Unbothered Type: The Ritualist

July belongs to The Ritualist. She does things in a specific order — and the order is the whole point. She has a candle for every mood and lights the right one without thinking about it. She treats her morning like a contract she made with herself the night before. She is not rigid, she’s rooted. And there is a difference.

Her July looks like waking up before the house knows she’s awake and keeping that hour entirely for herself. Choosing 1 object this month to make her morning feel more like hers. Building a summer playlist she only plays during intentional moments. Taking the long way through everything — the morning, the meal, the evening. Ending July with a sequence for her evenings that she didn’t have in June.

Her anthem: “I don’t need it to be perfect. I need it to be mine.”

Not sure which type you are? Take the quiz 

The July Collection

Members of the Banked & Balanced Club are receiving July’s Collection this month — The Ritualist’s month, pure and unwinged. A Cajun Shrimp Boil with Garlic Butter Sauce, Hibiscus Ginger Lemonade, 2 solo dates built around ceremony, and twelve ritual cards about devotion, design, and the practice of building a life on purpose.

Ready to go deeper? Join the Club today to reserve August’s Collection.  

We’re Unbothered. Welcome to July.