Rule 3: Don't Provoke the Monsters in the First Place

It snowed in Philadelphia yesterday.  I was not okay with this for many reasons, but one in particular was that yesterday was the Saturday night of Halloween.  It was the night when most people were headed out to Halloween parties in their carefully crafted/thrown together at the last minute costumes.  If you had been counting on a relatively warm night so that you could wear shorts, short skirts, or other equally cold costumes, things just didn't work out so well.

Personally, I prefer being warm on Halloween and am willing to sacrifice the look of my costume so I don't freeze.  Usually, this just means wearing a coat.  In order to be helpful to anyone who might be going out on Halloween itself, here's a list of warm costume ideas that you can probably still make sexy if you want:

Rule 2: Always Pay Attention to the Warnings from the Cryptic Old Man

Happy Halloween month!  Part of the reason I love October so much is because of the lead-up to the end.  There are jack-o-lanterns up and down my street, the scariest haunted house in the country across the city, and Halloween costume ideas everywhere.  I have more of an excuse than usual to buy my favorite candy* and I get to go to parties while wearing wings and/or bizarre hats.  It's great! 

*My roommate Anita on fun-size candy: "...but they're not fun because they're smaller than regular candy!"

Rule 1: Never Search the Attic Alone

I can't say that I like scary movies.  There are parts I enjoy, such as the suspense and plot twists, but in general I get caught up too easily and need to hold someone's hand (or grip their arm, either way) to get to the end.  I've watched a few Paranormal Activity-type movies, but in general I avoid anything remotely slasher-like.  Suspense and psychological thrillers are more my speed.  I know most people older than twelve can handle a terrifying-movie-packed October, but in case you want to get in the Halloween spirit without as many nightmares, here are my favorite frightening movies that most people would probably rate PG for scariness.

Weekend in the Mitten

 For my birthday weekend, Eric and I flew back to Ann Arbor for the Michigan-Minnesota game.  We both got to see good friends (though sadly, there were some people I didn't get to see!  Forty-eight hours was too fast a trip for me - I'm sorry if you're reading this and I didn't get to say hi!) and go to some favorite places around town.  I got to hit Frita Batidos, and though they weren't serving the Caramel Rum Cream batido anymore, they did get their liquor license.  Eric and I also stopped at Zingerman's, Ashley's, and the Brown Jug, among many other places.  The weather cooperated and it was a gorgeous weekend to walk around and visit parts of campus I'd missed.  The leaves were just starting to change colors on the Diag, and the air was crisp.

Cheers to Wine

For many years I've had a very specific vision of what my life would look like after I graduated from college.  I would get a good job - that part was always vague - in a major city.  I would have a well-decorated apartment that was often filled with sunlight.  I would wear professional, fashionable outfits and adorable shoes, which would be miraculously comfortable, and I'd walk around the city wearing cool trench coats and pea coats as the weather permitted.  After work, I'd either go out to a wine bar and have a drink or two with my equally successful and fashionable friends or I'd go home and whip up a nutritiously well-balanced meal that looked like it came from the pages of Gourmet.  Since graduating, I've learned that this is harder to do than I'd thought.  For one thing, decorating an apartment to make it look like a Crate & Barrel catalog is extremely expensive.  But still, I've slowly started on the path towards my Sophisticated Urban Working Girl dream.  

Kind of like Kate Beckett from Castle, though I'm not tough enough to be a cop.