October // The Outsiders

I was born on Halloween and I've always thought that says a lot about me. Growing up, and all through my teens, I was always trying new styles, fashion or otherwise, and even trying to be someone different. I always enjoyed being seen as the weird one, liking the things that I wasn't supposed to like, from socially unacceptable things to just silly superstitious things (my favorite number has always been 13). In that way, I always loved and related to The Addams Family because they reveled in the odd things that everyone else shied way from.
October, to me, is always the excitement of my impending birthday, seeing fun Halloween decorations, costumes and items in stores, watching the leaves change colors, that distinct smell of a chilly Autumn night, pumpkins, scarecrows and other Autumn decorations. Halloween is the one day of the year that everyone tries to be an outsider, but I'm a Halloween baby, and I was born this way. ;)

Watch: Ruby Gloom 

I came across Ruby Gloom a few years ago when it was still fairly new. I instantly fell in love with it. Just the animation style, the character's style. It's so adorable! This show is like The Addams Family but a group of kids (teens?) living in a big house together in Gloomsville, where the sun never shines. But they're all the most happy characters! (Except for Misery. Misery is her thing.) They're always having so much fun and crazy adventures! The characters are all so different and odd! Iris is the out-of-control crazy one, Frank and Len are the stupid rocker dudes, Poe is the uptight serious one, Misery is a walking disaster, and Ruby is the cheerful glue that holds them all together. I just love it so much, guys! If there's one family of outsiders I'd want to be a part of, it would be this one. (If you're not convinced you'll love it, just take a look at the show's intro.)

Listen: Marina and the Diamonds

I got both of Marina's albums a couple months ago, and I am still listening to them. That's quite a long time for me to be consistently listening to one artist/album/playlist and not get sick of it. Her music may be a good dose of pop, but Marina's on the outside of the other pop stars. She makes fun of those fame-seeking girls in 'Hollywood'. Her lyrics are so much more than "pop". Her first album stays away from love songs and instead focuses on Marina's social observations. "Girls are not meant to fight dirty / Never look a day past thirty" Her second album focuses on archetypes ('Homewrecker', 'Teen Idle', 'Primadonna') with more personal lyrics. I love Marina's music for its dance-pop catchy-ness and its thought-provoking lyrics. I love when an artist can combine intelligent lyrics that I can relate to and also enjoy singing and dancing along to the fun beat.

Read: Alice, I Think

When I had to choose a book on my theme "Outsiders", odd Alice first came to mind. Alice is the stereotypical awkward social outsider. Joining public school after growing up home schooled by slightly hippie parents, Alice finds herself in all sorts of awkward teen social situations made even more awkward by Alice's lack of social interaction with peers. (Think Cady in Mean Girls but even weirder.) The descriptions of her thrift-store outfits alone make it clear what a freak this girl would look like walking down the street of her small Canadian town. Throughout the three books in the series, Alice finds herself faltering through many typical teen situations including boys, a local beauty pageant, friends, family, school, and her on-going quest for the strangest outfits she can find. (If you're not much of a reader, Alice, I Think was also briefly a Canadian TV show.)

 Last Fall // I've started collecting skulls // Halloween props // A wig just for fun

Looking Forward to...

My Birthday (and a whole week off!)

It's only a month away! I still don't have definite plans, but I have lots of ideas that just need to be confirmed. No matter what I plan, I know I have the entire week free! I felt so grown-up booking "vacation time". Am I grown-up? Is 23 grown-up? Do grown-ups say "grown-up"? I'll be using the week for fun birthday and Halloween plans, of course, and I'll also try to fit in as much baking, photo shoots, video shoots, and blogging as I can while I have the time! I have a very busy month ahead of me and it's not going to get any less busy as we head into the Christmas season!

Halloween

I've got everything I need to make my costume, so that's my project this month! I'll leave the costume a surprise, but I will say that I didn't want a pre-made costume because I'm doing my own interpretation of this... character. It's been a long time since I put effort into making a costume, so I'm excited to actually have a proper costume and celebrate Halloween this year, not just my birthday. (Which is on Halloween. In case you didn't know that. I'm sure I've mentioned it before.) My friend and I are also working on Halloween party ideas. Like I said, I've never really had a Halloween party, as I always try to make the day more about my birthday, but this year I'm trying to embrace Halloween. (Not that I don't like Halloween, I'm just very self-centered.)

Autumn Weather

The weather changed very quickly this year! It seems that September began and- BAM! It was colder, the leaves were falling, and it got darker an hour earlier. I'm enjoying workin' it in my new leather jacket on my walks to work and the smell of chilly Autumn evenings on my walks home. I'm all for Autumn- but Winter better hold off as long as possible! It better not snow on my birthday like two years ago! Last year I was still riding my bike at the beginning of December- let's do that again. Yay, for global warming, right?!

New Camera and iPhone 5!

This week I am buying myself a (well deserved, I think) early birthday present- a new camera! I've been putting off all of my video ideas for months (years!) because I didn't want to waste good ideas on my crappy, old camcorder. Soon I'll have lots of HD videos for you! I have a few photo shoots & videos planned for this month already, so watch out!

It's also time for me to upgrade my phone to the new iPhone 5! I've had the iPhone 3GS for three years, so I'm due for an upgrade. I am very excited about having not one, but two HD cameras on my phone! (Second camera for videos & no need to carry around a separate camera in order to capture spontaneous moments in good quality photos!)

Aside from the excitement of these new gadgets, just the fact that I'm earning enough money to buy these for myself is pretty exciting to me!