According to Alyssa

          With our busy schedules, Eric and I have been struggling to find a time to squeeze in some fall activities.  But with a small window of time this past weekend, we finally managed!

          If you're like me, the thought of horror movies makes you want to collapse into a trembling mess under a killer-proof pile of warm blankets.  (Three years ago, my mom bought The Exorcism of Emily Rose and I hid it in the house so that I wouldn't have to walk in on anybody watching it and accidentally see something terrifying.  I no longer live at home and I still haven't revealed its hiding place...)  But that doesn't mean that you can't participate in all of the fun that Halloween movies have to offer!  Just go for a non-scary flick that both horror and non-horror fans can enjoy.  And you'll get the added bonus of sleeping through the night!

1. Psycho - Despite popular belief, this movie is NOT scary.  I spent years of my life not knowing how wonderful it truly was because I was told it was a horror film.  It may have been scary when it was first released, but it certainly isn't now.  Plus, if you're a film fan in general, you get to enjoy Alfred Hitchcock's incredible direction!
2. Hocus Pocus - THE Halloween movie.  If you don't own this movie, get it.  If you can't find it, don't worry!  ABC Family is showing it at least twice this year! "Boooooooooook!"
3. The Haunted Mansion - Singing statue heads. That's it.
4. Corpse Bride - Everyone loves watching The Nightmare Before Christmas around Halloween time, and don't get me wrong...I do too!  (My boyfriend and I have watched it twice this fall already.)  But I think that Corpse Bride is often forgotten and truly shouldn't be!
5. Scream - One of my all-time favorite movies for any time of the year!  If you're of drinking age, you can even have a "Screamathon" that mimics the "Stabathon" of Scream 4 and watch all four films with your friends.  Or you can do this without alcohol!  My "Screamathon 2k14" will be happening very soon! Watch for my post on that!

          I'm so excited to announce that my first published piece of writing is up on Maniac Magazine's blog!  Okay...so it's more of a list than anything, but we all have to start somewhere, right?!

          So, I've just gotten around to creating my playlist for this fall and I figured I'd share it! I realize that most of these songs are not from this year, but they are what I'll be listening to whilst playing in the leaves and such! Let me know in the comments what your favorite autumn songs are so we can share thoughts!

          Every year, my favorite month changes and with everything that is happening this year, I think October will take the cake.  Fall is a wonderful time of the year to begin with.  Sweaters are worn, tea is made and all of the pesky bugs die or hibernate or whatever it is that bugs do.  But October is where it all begins.

          Don't get me wrong, I'm loving September!  The weather is finally begin to cool down and a breeze comes along every once in a while, but living in Pittsburgh means that one day will be hotter than hell and one will represent the tundra.  I'm ready for a constant!  And besides, who doesn't love pumpkin flavored everything? Mmmmmmm!

          But this year, October just so happens to be full of exciting events that are taking place in my life as well as yours!  So, I've compiled a list of what I'm looking forward to experiencing (and blogging about!) next month.

• October 1 - Gilmore Girls on Netflix 
• Though I've never watched this show, I've seen enough gifs on Tumblr to know that I've made a huge mistake.  So, obviously I'm going to binge watch.  NO SPOILERS PLEASE :)
• October 3 - Mean Girls Day
• "On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was."
• October 5 - Hoodie Allen at Fall Fest
• If you don't know who Hoodie Allen is, I highly suggest checking out his music!  He's an up and coming (not sure if that's the right term) rapper with several awesome mixtapes and albums under his belt.  I've been to two of his shows in the past, and I'll definitely be checking this one out, especially since it's free!  The University of Pittsburgh does a free concert as part of their Fall Fest every year.  Last year I got to meet OneRepublic. So awesome!
• October 8 - American Horror Story: Freak Show
• Season 4 of the series is sure to be just as spooky as the first three!  (Though I'll admit I'm still too scared to watch Asylum!)
• October 27 - Taylor Swift "1989"
• This is one that I am truly psyched for!  I am a HUGE Taylor Swift fan and I look forward to every album that she puts out because it's always a new musical experience and she is constantly reinventing herself.  Definitely counting down to this day!
• October 31 - Halloween
• BOO! (Also arguably my favorite holiday. Can't wait to decide what to be this year! More on this soon...)
• October ?? - Kitten
• FINALLY.  After years of wanting my own pet, (my family has two dogs and a cat), I am finally getting my own kitten!  This is partly because I moved away from home and partly good timing due to the fact that my friend Alli's cat just had kittens a week ago! I am ridiculously excited to welcome a little furball into my home....although my boyfriend is just as pumped.

Have I missed anything on my list?!