According to Alyssa

          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?!

          This past June, I got to see one of the best bands around right now...BASTILLE!  I attended the show at Pittsburgh's Stage AE with my friends Alli, Laura, and Julie.  (It was my first outdoor show at this venue.)  I think the sun hated us that day because it beat down unbearably and made us sweat and took the tiny bit of vodka we snuck in the parking lot (sorry, Mom), and turned us all a tiny bit tipsy.  At one point, I attempted to sell merchandise for the opening band, Wolfgang...(sorry again, Mom..) and was swiftly sent back to the show by some dude from Brighton...(England).  But Bastille was just as amazing as I imagined they would be (I ended up being front row, of course) and I got to enjoy some pizza with the girls and my boyfriend after.  SCORE!

          Today, I re-designed my dresser top.  I decided to go with the theme "Sugar and Spice" and mix a little pop with a little rock and roll.  I think I love it!

         I realized today that I haven't formally introduced myself to the blogosphere, so here is just a quick list of some of my favorite things!

Color: When it comes to clothing, I'm all about black. (All black errrthang).  But as far as home decor and just visuals in general, I'm a big fan of teal and mint.

Book:  My all-time favorite book would have to be Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.  I'm actually collecting different editions and covers!

Movie:  I'm always finding new movies that I fall in love with, but I think the first movie that made me say "YES. This is it." would have to be Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.  (And yes, I have read the book.)

Place:  No city has ever made me feel the way that New York does.  The entire city is to me what Tiffany's is to Holly Golightly.  (Another favorite book and movie!)


Restaurant: The Harris Grill here in Pittsburgh makes THE BEST
quesadillas.  (And their Long Island Iced Teas aren't bad either!)

Makeup Brand:  I'm really loving MAC and Urban Decay right now!

Comedian:  Bo Burnham.  He's ridiculously smart and I pick up on something new every time I listen to one of his songs or watch one of his specials.

TV Show:  I'm having a pretty difficult time answering this one because I watch SO many shows.  My boyfriend and I just finished the entirety of Prison Break which was absolutely incredible on so many levels, but my forever favorite show is Gossip Girl. (Yes, Chuck Bass.)

YouTuber: I think everything Zoe Sugg does is wonderful.  I love her blog as well as her Zoella channel and her MoreZoella channel.  I look forward to watching her vlogs at the end of every day because they just relax me and put me in a better mood.  (So much better than reality TV.)

          Just a quick note to announce that I will be starting to blog for Maniac Magazine in the next week and I couldn't be more excited about this!

          We'll be watching my brother play in his football game on Friday night (I can't believe he's a senior already! Wah!), and then on Saturday we'll get to delight in all that the Bloomsburg Fair has to offer us (aka THE BEST FOOD I'VE EVER HAD).  So exciting!

          My sister, Taylor, is coming home this weekend as well so we'll all be together for the first time since June!  Can't wait!

          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?!

          Today, I decided that I was going to try something new and different.  So, I went to the gym.  Now, you should know that I have zero attraction to the idea of working out.  In fact, I intentionally didn't pack sneakers when I went on vacation just so that my sister couldn't try to make me do anything physical.  Being overheated and sweaty (ew!) just doesn't suit me and I've never understood the whole "endorphins" thing.  But nonetheless, I decided to give it a go, because toned legs might actually feel pretty nice.

          So, after calling and getting directions to the gym, I laced up my Nikes, slipped into some mesh shorts and worked out.  (I think?)  I'm not really sure what qualifies as a workout, but I pedaled through a half an hour on the bike machine (which told me that I did 12.5 miles) and then attempted to do some leg, butt, and abdominal exercises.  Those made my muscles feel as if some workout God (or Goddess) was squeezing them with all their might, so I think that's good!  Is exercise productivity measure in pain units?  If it is, then I've definitely succeeded.

          Beforehand, I was a bit worried that the gym would be full of people judging me, but instead there was only a small, beer-bellied, middle-aged man wearing cargo shorts and high-top Jordans.  I may not know much about workout couture, but I'm pretty sure that's not the correct attire sir.

          Though I'm still not a fan of salt water escaping from my pores, I do enjoy a bit of loud music, and of course the gym is the perfect atmosphere for an iPod, headphones, and my favorite Pandora stations; so perhaps working out wasn't all that bad.  Maybe I'll even do it again sometime!  For now though, I'm going to enjoy this bag of peanut M&Ms. (Yum!) I tried.


(P.S. Major props to people who do this and much harder every day. Damn.)