Happy October!

It's the first day of October, one of my favorite months of the year, and I finally feel like it's fall. I had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season this morning! (By the way, that tall -- a.k.a. very, very small -- latte was more than $4; how is that possible?!)

I absolutely love autumn and everything it entails: refreshingly crisp weather, beautiful colored leaves, and fun activities like Mizzou football Saturdays, pumpkin patches, and corn mazes. Best of all, October means it's time for Halloween! Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday, trumping Christmas (I know, I know, I'm crazy). I'm excited for what the month has to bring...





I made a summer bucket list, and it was a complete failure (despite a wonderful summer!) so for fall, I am determined to scratch some of these activities off my list:

1. Enjoy every Mizzou home gameday by donning my best black-and-gold and cheering on the Tigers, whether it be at a bar, tailgate or Faurot Field.
2. Decorate our apartment for fall and Halloween.
3. Do my usual pumpkin carving, but also try out some pretty pumpkin decorating ideas, like glitter spray paint or chevron stripes.
4. Indulge in everything pumpkin: pumpkin pie, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin muffins... (And try not to gain 10 pounds in the process).
5. Go to Oktoberfest in Soulard. (Tickets purchased!)
6. Go to a haunted house (or the haunted asylum that I chickened out at last year).
7. Do the local zombie paintball hayride. (Tickets purchased!)
8. Get outside as much as possible and enjoy the beautiful weather before winter (i.e., actually use my tennis courts, have a picnic in the park, bike the Katy Trail again). 
9. Finally plan a weekend for Megan to come visit. 
10. Do some "fall cleaning" and organizing because "spring cleaning" and summer cleaning just didn't happen... And now that boyfriend has moved in, we need to better organize our space.

What are you most excited about for autumn?

Eerily Beautiful Abandoned Buildings

Follow my blog with Bloglovin I love history, architecture and anything spooky, so a fascination with abandoned buildings -- especially the ones that possess an eerie beauty -- is a natural fit for me. There's something really stirring and captivating about a place that was once gorgeous falling into disarray. The forgotten tokens, some small (like papers, a doll) and some huge (like a grand piano), add a Miss Havisham quality that tugs at the heart.

I am often amazed by the abandoned places I've seen with my own eyes in major metropolitan cities. I've seen examples everywhere I go, and that's surprising: Chicago, St. Louis, New York. Often times crumbling relics of the past are surrounded by occupied structures in the present. Why hasn't anyone resurrected that building, I always wonder. Why is no one concerned about it? It depresses me, but it also fascinates me.

 Ballroom, Lee Plaza Hotel, Detroit (via)

Church, Gary, Indiana (via)

 Highland Park police station, Detroit (via)

 City Hall subway station, NYC (via)

City Hall subway station, NYC (via)

Hyde Park hospital, Illinois (via)

Chicago (via)

 Michigan Central Building, Detroit (via)

Farewell Building, Detroit (via)

 David Broderick Building, Detroit (via)

 Cathedral, Philadelphia (via)

David Whitney Building, Detroit (via)

United Artist Theater, Detroit (via)

Ballroom, American Hotel, Detroit (via)

Amusement park, South Korea (via) 

Roller coaster, Japan (via)

 Amusement park, Japan (via)

Once-lovely apartment buildings, Detroit (via)

Biology classroom, Wilbur Wright High School, Detroit (via)

Amusement park, China (via)

Amusement park, China (via)

Danvers State Hospital (via)

These are just some images I've seen lately that really gave me the chills. There are so many more (an endless amount) out there. 

What do you think? These circumstances really sadden me, especially because there's so much wasted potential. Some of these buildings are huge and were once beautiful -- the hotels, churches, etc. -- and now they've fallen into such a state of destruction that they will likely never be saved. 

But they're still pretty cool to look at.

Trip to the New Orleans French Quarter

January has already been a great month, because I've been able to indulge in two weekend getaways with my boyfriend. The first was a weekend in New Orleans, one of my favorite cities.

I absolutely adore the French Quarter. And I'm not talking about Bourbon Street. (Although it's beloved for a reason.) I love the quiet side streets lined with adorably crumbling buildings that are a to-die-for mixture of French, Spanish and Southern architecture.


 


I love the lively crowds of people in Jackson Square: the carriage protesters duking it out with the miniature mule breeder, the vivacious street performers amusing hordes of happy people, the pseudo-physics and tarot card readers mixing in with the Southern frat boys.






And most of all, I love the food. I wish every Sunday morning could be spent at Cafe Du Monde for the rest of my life.




 

I sometimes daydream about how life would be if I wrote full-time from an apartment in the heart of the French Quarter, where I could stumble down the street for inspiration.

But for now, weekend getaways will suffice.

5 Things You Must Do in New Orleans' French Quarter, 

According to Ali:

1. Eat beignets. Lots of 'em. Eat them with abandon and don't give a damn about the powdered sugar splattering all over your jeans -- or your face. My Favorites: Cafe Du Monde and Cafe Beignet on Royal St. (You must try Cafe Du Monde at least once in your life, but Cafe Beignet's are just as good and it's a quieter/calmer atmosphere. Especially when you get there early and snag a seat in the shady courtyard.)

2. Eat pralines (and pronounce them "prah-leens," of course). These are easily on my list of the top five most amazing things I've ever eaten. My Favorites: Southern Candymakers on Decatur St. Get a lb. You won't be disappointed.

3. Eat gumbo and shrimp etouffee. Sensing a pattern here? I love eating - and I love eating in New Orleans. You can't go to New Orleans without enjoying some gumbo and shrimp etouffee. My Favorite: I don't have a hands-down favorite for these since I love them pretty much anywhere I try them, but I had some especially delish gumbo at Pierre Maspero.

4. Take the St. Charles Ave. streetcar! Hop on the St. Charles Ave. streetcar at the stop off Canal, and you'll get a calming tour of the Garden District and experience a slice of New Orleans history. It's $1.25 each way, so plan on having $2.50 exact change prepared.

5. Do a nighttime ghost tour! This was hands-down the best thing I did on my first trip to New Orleans. I'm both a history buff and a lover of all things spooky, so this was perfect for me. Doing the tour at night adds an extra chill to the experience, and it's surprisingly (and eerily) calm in the streets at night. My Favorite: Skip the one with the tour guides who dress up. As I was on my tour, with four other people and a witty, laid-back guide who was very knowledgeable, I felt bad for the massive 20-person horde I saw walking the streets with a dude in a cheap costume and vampire make-up. I wish I could remember the exact company I toured through (this was a couple years ago) but nonetheless, it wasn't the cheesy costumed crew.

Did you notice my five things didn't even touch on Bourbon Street? There is so much fun to be had in New Orleans: Great live music, great drinks, great people. My list could go on and on if I let it.

Have you ever been to New Orleans? What was your favorite part?