BLONDE PT. 2: Who is Marilyn Monroe?

New York Times Best Selling author of The Last Thing He Told Me is officially a Koffee with Kaeyla as of today. Laura Dave is today’s guest and we talk about everything you guys have been wondering since I posted a random TikTok after finishing her book. Will there be a sequel? What is going on with the Apple TV+ series? How do you stay in a creative flow? What distracts you? What inspires you? What an incredible conversation I got to have with Laura Dave. I am so excited to share this episode with you guys. Cheers to this being the first, and certainly not the last, episode with THE Laura Dave. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave: Buy On Amazon Now!!

Happy New Years Eve! In today's episode, Abba Gray and I will be finishing our conversation on athletic identity. More specifically, talking about identifying with other things besides an "athlete". Of course, I will talk about Ted Lasso more in the future because season 3 is supposed to come out in the spring, but please enjoy this conversation (over coffee) that Abba and I had! Cheers to 2023.

The last time I got to sit down with. You guys and have a casual cup of coffee was this last spring before graduation, and after a made the 5th year decision. With that being said, today’s episode is December’s solo episode. Everything from breaking up with my last college boyfriend to deciding to go back to Grad school, and so much more — including a HUGE announcement regarding a guest. Cheers to sitting down and catching up, I love you guys!

As one of the most anticipated movies of the year, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has officially been released in theaters. After meeting 181 million domestic debuts and earning over 331 million worldwide during opening weekend, the film has officially shaken the marvel franchise and the rest of the world with it. After the passing of Chadwick Boseman in August 2020, the film began receiving more attention. Fans were demanding director Ryan Coogler and the Marvel Franchise as a whole to address whether or they were going to recast T’Challa. After Marvel stated they will not be recasting Black Panther, the hashtag #RecastTChalla surfaced on Twitter where fans went back and forth on whether or not Marvel’s decision was the right one. In this week’s episode, we will be taking a look at the history of the Black Panther, the significance of the character, how Wakanda Forever paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman, and whether or not the sequel has gone above and beyond its expectations or not. !!! SPOILERS ARE PRESENT IN THIS EPISODE REGARDING WAKANDA FOREVER !!!

During Pt 1 you met Norma Jeane. A young girl whose optimism shined brightly in spite of her hard childhood, whose self-awareness was very developed, and whose story has been ignored for far too long. In part 1 we took a look at her life from 1926 when she was born up until 1946 when she signed with 21st Century FOX. In this week’s episode, we will be taking a closer look at the second half of her life from 1946 to 1962 when she passed. You will not only be introduced to the true Marilyn Monroe, but also several key examples within Netflix’s original movie BLONDE where her image is exploited, misrepresented, and disrespected. How we tell someone’s story matters, and it should be handled with care and intentionality — no matter the legacy that person made that is the least they deserve. Cheers to Marilyn Monroe and the legacy she has left behind. TW: topics such as rape, sexual assault, abortion, forced abortion, child abuse, and emotional abuse are mentioned not discussed in this episode.

During Pt. 1 we looked at the research that's been collected over the last two decades and discussed the important conversation Ted Lasso is bringing to light. This week on KWK, Ted Lasso has inspired me to continue the conversation regarding athletes' mental health. Retired athlete's mental health is not talked about enough so today I am sitting down with former Division II Track and Field athlete Abba Gray to discuss what she has done to help her navigate the roller coaster that is life after sports.  Cheers to athletes current and former everywhere, you matter with and without your sport <3

The official trailer for Blonde was released during the summer — a film based on a fiction novel by Joyce Carol Oates, and after 3 months the movie was officially released on Netflix on September 28th…and it is not what you think it is. Today we are taking a closer look at the few great things about this film, and writer/director Andrew Dominik’s questionable decisions regarding the story of the film. I will be walking you through a side-by-side comparison of Marilyn Monroe’s life and this distasteful film about her life while discussing the consequences of presenting a fiction-based story about a very real and historic human being. Cheers to the true Marilyn Monroe. TW: sexual abuse, violence, abortion.

During the year 2020, tv shows and movie lovers around the world were gifted programs such as Outer Banks, Enola Holmes, After We Collided, and Hamilton. Later on in the year, Ted Lasso hit Apple TV+ in August and has taken the nation by stride with Midwest-styled humor and Lasso’s phenomenal coaching style. As a former division II college soccer player, this show has not only helped me after retirement but encouraged me to start coaching soccer. There is a lot to be said about a current and former athlete's mental health, and this show does a great job at not only furthering that conversation but also is an outstanding example of an unhealthy and healthy sports environment. Today, we are sitting down to talk more about the benefits of watching Ted Lasso and its connections to the former KWK subject — athletic identity. TW: SUICIDE IS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE, PLEASE BE ADVISED Cheers to all my athletes current and retired xx

Regardless of whether or not you are a hopeless romantic, you have heard of The Notebook and — potentially — a small synopsis of the epic love story that has become a classic go-to romance movie for everyone. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams gave us one of the most romantic and entertaining love stories between a poor and passionate young man and an enthusiastic rich young woman. There is a lot to be said about the way their story was told, and ultimately how much an example of love it truly is. In today’s episode, I will be exploring the brilliance of this film, and how it can help us become more intentional with love. So I will ask you the question, that has become a very popular meme, and turn it into a rather serious question — what do you want? Cheers to hopeless romantics everywhere, this episode is for you xo ! SPOILERS ARE IN THIS EPISODE !

The Spider-man films are well-known for far more than just being Marvel films, but also for the lead actor who portrays Peter Parker. Andrew Garfield is who we are taking a closer look at today. The Amazing Spider-man series consists of two films, and after watching both of them (plus every other spider-man movie), there is something we can take away from it when focusing on one main theme within the films.&nbsp; The Human Choice. &nbsp;In today’s episodes, I will review the film while also taking a closer look at what it means to make the human choice and how The Amazing Spider-man can teach us to understand it. I will also break down the comparison that is often made between the Sam Raimi films and Marc Webbs films in an attempt to understand the universal hate around this film.&nbsp; Cheers to our first Marvel film review xx